JP2004167488A - Wiping unit, maintenance apparatus, and imaging apparatus equipped with those - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to adequately wipe dirt off a nozzle forming face of a functional liquid droplet ejecting heads. <P>SOLUTION: A wiping unit 35 wipes the dirt off the nozzle forming face 67 of the functional liquid droplet ejecting heads 7 using a traveling wiping sheet 182 and comprises a detergent spraying head 195 for spraying a detergent onto the wiping sheet 182 to impregnate with the detergent, the detergent spraying head being disposed at the upstream side of the ejecting heads 7 in the sheet traveling direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiping unit for wiping a functional liquid droplet ejection head represented by an ink jet head, a maintenance device, and a drawing device including the same.

  Conventional methods and apparatuses for manufacturing an organic EL device using this type of functional liquid droplet ejection head have not reached the practical stage, but are theoretically known. In this case, a liquid luminescent material is introduced as a functional liquid into the functional liquid droplet ejection head, discharged into a large number of pixel areas, and then the solvent in the luminescent material is vaporized (dried) to form an organic EL luminescent layer. To form.

  In such a conventional apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device using a functional droplet discharge head, if a material that easily reacts with oxygen or the like in the air is used as a light emitting material, the functional droplet discharge head can be used under a normal environment. The luminescent material ejected from the air and flying comes into contact with air in a wide area, and there is a problem that deterioration is easily promoted. In addition, there is a problem that cracks and the like easily occur in a process in which the landed light emitting material reacts with oxygen and the like and dries.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wiping unit, a maintenance device, and a drawing device including the same, which can effectively prevent deterioration and damage in a process of forming an organic EL functional layer by discharging a light emitting functional material. It is an issue.

  The wiping unit of the present invention is a wiping unit that performs a wiping operation of a nozzle forming surface of a functional droplet discharge head by a running wiping sheet, and is located on a front side in a sheet feeding direction of the functional droplet discharge head. A cleaning liquid spray head for spraying and impregnating the wiping sheet with a cleaning liquid.

  In this case, it is preferable to further include a wiping roller that presses the wiping sheet against the nozzle forming surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head while the traveling wiping sheet rotates.

  In this case, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid spray head is located on the near side of the wiping roller in the sheet feeding direction and faces the wiping roller in parallel.

  In this case, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid spray head is provided with a plurality of spray nozzles arranged side by side according to the width of the wiping sheet.

  In this case, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid spray head is provided with a plurality of tubes connecting to the spray tank and connected to the cleaning tank.

  In these cases, a payout reel that feeds out the wiping sheet wound in a roll, a takeup reel that takes up the wiping sheet after the wiping operation, and a takeup motor that takes up and rotates the takeup reel, are further provided. It is preferable that the pay-out reel is fed with a wiping sheet stretched by a torque limiter provided thereon, and the take-up reel winds up the wiping sheet so as not to be slackened.

  In this case, it is preferable that the apparatus further includes a speed detection roller provided with a speed detector that detects a feed speed of the wiping sheet, and the speed detector controls the winding motor based on the detection result.

  In these cases, it is preferable to further include a cleaning liquid pan that receives the cleaning liquid dripping from the wiping sheet.

  In these cases, the cleaning liquid is preferably a solvent for the functional liquid.

  The maintenance device of the present invention includes the wiping unit described above, and a moving table that mounts the wiping unit and moves the wiping unit in the wiping direction, and the moving table moves the wiping sheet while the wiping sheet is running. The whole is moved in the wiping direction.

  In this case, a cleaning unit mounted on the moving table adjacent to the wiping unit and suctioning the functional liquid to the functional liquid discharging head is further provided, and the moving table is provided for the functional droplet discharging head facing the maintenance position. It is preferable that the wiping operation is performed with the wiping unit facing after the functional liquid suction is performed with the cleaning unit facing.

  The drawing apparatus of the present invention forms the functional film by selectively discharging the functional liquid onto the substrate while relatively scanning the functional droplet discharge head, into which the functional liquid is introduced, with the above-described maintenance apparatus. And a droplet discharge device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The ink-jet head (droplet discharge head) of an ink-jet printer can discharge minute ink droplets (droplets) with high precision in the form of dots. Alternatively, application to the manufacturing field of various parts is expected by using a photosensitive resin or the like.

  The apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the present embodiment is incorporated in a manufacturing line for an organic EL device, which is a kind of a so-called flat display, and uses a plurality of functional droplet discharge heads to discharge light-emitting materials and the like from discharge nozzles thereof. The functional liquid is discharged (ink-jet method) to form an EL light emitting layer and a hole injection layer of each pixel which performs a light emitting function of the organic EL device.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, first, the structure of the organic EL device will be described, and a manufacturing method (manufacturing process) thereof will be described. Next, a description will be given of an organic EL device manufacturing apparatus including a drawing apparatus that scans the mounted functional droplet discharge head and peripheral equipment thereof, together with a manufacturing method thereof. Although there are a chamber device, a transfer device, and a drying device as peripheral equipment, in the present embodiment, the chamber device will be mainly described, and the transfer device and the drying device will be briefly described.

  1 to 13 show the manufacturing process of an organic EL device including an organic EL element and the structure thereof. This manufacturing process includes a bank part forming step, a plasma processing step, a light emitting element forming step including a hole injection / transporting layer forming step and a light emitting layer forming step, a counter electrode forming step, and a sealing step. It is configured.

  In the bank portion forming step, the inorganic bank layer 512a and the organic bank layer 512b are stacked at predetermined positions on the circuit element portion 502 and the electrode 511 (also referred to as a pixel electrode) formed in advance on the substrate 501, so that the opening portion is formed. A bank portion 512 having 512 g is formed. As described above, the bank part forming step includes a step of forming the inorganic bank layer 512a on a part of the electrode 511 and a step of forming the organic bank layer 512b on the inorganic bank layer.

First, in the step of forming the inorganic bank layer 512a, as shown in FIG. 1, the inorganic bank layer 512a is formed on the second interlayer insulating film 544b of the circuit element portion 502 and on the pixel electrode 511. For the inorganic bank layer 512a, an inorganic film such as SiO ₂ or TiO ₂ is formed on the entire surface of the interlayer insulating layer 514 and the pixel electrode 511 by, for example, a CVD method, a coating method, a sputtering method, an evaporation method, or the like.

  Next, the inorganic film is patterned by etching or the like to provide a lower opening 512c corresponding to the position where the electrode surface 511a of the electrode 511 is formed. At this time, the inorganic bank layer 512a needs to be formed so as to overlap with the peripheral portion of the electrode 511. As described above, by forming the inorganic bank layer 512a so that the peripheral portion (part) of the electrode 511 and the inorganic bank layer 512a overlap, the light emitting region of the light emitting layer 510 can be controlled.

  Next, in the step of forming the organic bank layer 512b, as shown in FIG. 2, the organic bank layer 512b is formed on the inorganic bank layer 512a. The organic bank layer 512b is etched by photolithography or the like to form an upper opening 512d of the organic bank layer 512b. The upper opening 512d is provided at a position corresponding to the electrode surface 511a and the lower opening 512c.

  The upper opening 512d is preferably formed wider than the lower opening 512c and narrower than the electrode surface 511a, as shown in FIG. As a result, the first laminated portion 512e surrounding the lower opening portion 512c of the inorganic bank layer 512a extends to the center of the electrode 511 beyond the organic bank layer 512b. In this manner, by opening the upper opening 512d and the lower opening 512c, an opening 512g penetrating the inorganic bank layer 512a and the organic bank layer 512b is formed.

  Next, in the plasma processing step, a region exhibiting ink affinity and a region exhibiting ink repellency are formed on the surface of the bank portion 512 and the surface 511a of the pixel electrode. This plasma processing step includes a preheating step, an ink-philic step of processing the upper surface (512f) of the bank portion 512, the wall surface of the opening 512g, and the electrode surface 511a of the pixel electrode 511 so as to have ink affinity, and an organic material. The ink repelling step of processing the wall surfaces of the upper surface 512f and the upper opening 512d of the bank layer 512b so as to have ink repellency, and the cooling step are roughly classified.

  First, in the preheating step, the substrate 501 including the bank portion 512 is heated to a predetermined temperature. The heating is performed, for example, by attaching a heater to a stage on which the substrate 501 is mounted, and heating the substrate 501 together with the stage using the heater. Specifically, it is preferable that the preheating temperature of the substrate 501 be, for example, in the range of 70 to 80 ° C.

Next, in the ink-friendly process, a plasma process (O ₂ plasma process) using oxygen as a process gas in an air atmosphere is performed. As a result of this O ₂ plasma treatment, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrode surface 511a of the pixel electrode 511, the first stacked portion 512e of the inorganic bank layer 512a, and the wall surface and the upper surface 512f of the upper opening portion 512d of the organic bank layer 512b become ink-friendly. It is processed. By this ink-philic treatment, a hydroxyl group is introduced into each of these surfaces to impart ink-philicity. In FIG. 3, the portion subjected to the parent ink processing is indicated by a dashed line.

Next, in the ink-repellent process, a plasma process (CF ₄ plasma process) using methane tetrafluoride as a process gas is performed in an air atmosphere. As shown in FIG. 4, the CF ₄ plasma treatment performs an ink-repellent treatment on the wall surface of the upper opening 512d and the upper surface 512f of the organic bank layer. By this ink repelling treatment, a fluorine group is introduced into each of these surfaces to impart ink repellency. In FIG. 4, the area exhibiting the ink repellency is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  Next, in the cooling step, the substrate 501 heated for the plasma processing is cooled to room temperature or a control temperature of the inkjet step (droplet discharging step). By cooling the substrate 501 after the plasma treatment to room temperature or a predetermined temperature (for example, a control temperature for performing an inkjet process), the next hole injection / transport layer formation step can be performed at a constant temperature.

  Next, in a light emitting element formation step, a light emitting element is formed by forming a hole injection / transport layer and a light emitting layer on the pixel electrode 511. The light emitting element forming step includes four steps. That is, a first droplet discharging step of discharging a first composition for forming a hole injection / transport layer onto each of the pixel electrodes, and drying the discharged first composition on the pixel electrode. A hole injection / transport layer forming step of forming a hole injection / transport layer on the substrate, and a second droplet discharging step of discharging a second composition for forming a light emitting layer onto the hole injection / transport layer. And a light emitting layer forming step of drying the discharged second composition to form a light emitting layer on the hole injecting / transporting layer.

  First, in the first droplet discharging step, a first composition including a hole injection / transport layer forming material is discharged onto the electrode surface 511a by an inkjet method (droplet discharging method). Note that it is preferable to perform the first droplet discharging step and the subsequent steps in an inert gas atmosphere such as a nitrogen atmosphere without water or oxygen, or an argon atmosphere. (If the hole injection / transport layer is formed only on the pixel electrode, the hole injection / transport layer formed adjacent to the organic bank layer is not formed.)

  As shown in FIG. 5, an inkjet head (functional droplet ejection head) H is filled with a first composition containing a material for forming a hole injection / transport layer, and the ejection nozzle of the inkjet head H is positioned in the lower opening 512c. The first composition droplet 510c whose liquid amount per droplet is controlled is discharged from the discharge nozzle onto the electrode surface 511a while the ink jet head H and the substrate 501 are relatively moved while being opposed to the electrode surface 511a.

  As the first composition used here, for example, a composition in which a mixture of a polythiophene derivative such as polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) is dissolved in a polar solvent can be used. As the polar solvent, for example, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), normal butanol, γ-butyrolactone, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) and its derivatives, carbitol acetate And glycol ethers such as butyl carbitol acetate. The material for forming the hole injection / transport layer may be the same material for each of the R, G, and B light emitting layers 510b, or may be changed for each light emitting layer.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ejected first composition droplet 510c spreads on the electrode surface 511a and the first stacked portion 512e subjected to the ink-philic treatment, and fills the lower and upper openings 512c and 512d. The amount of the first composition discharged onto the electrode surface 511a depends on the size of the lower and upper openings 512c and 512d, the thickness of the hole injection / transport layer to be formed, and the hole injection / transport in the first composition. It is determined by the concentration of the layer forming material and the like. Further, the first composition droplet 510c may be discharged not only once but also several times onto the same electrode surface 511a.

  Next, in the hole injection / transport layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 6, the discharged first composition is subjected to a drying treatment and a heat treatment to evaporate the polar solvent contained in the first composition, thereby forming an electrode surface. A hole injection / transport layer 510a is formed on 511a. When the drying process is performed, the evaporation of the polar solvent contained in the first composition droplet 510c mainly occurs near the inorganic bank layer 512a and the organic bank layer 512b, and the hole injection / transport layer is combined with the evaporation of the polar solvent. The forming material is concentrated and precipitates.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, evaporation of the polar solvent also occurs on the electrode surface 511a by the drying process, thereby forming a flat portion 510a made of the hole injection / transport layer forming material on the electrode surface 511a. Since the evaporation rate of the polar solvent is substantially uniform on the electrode surface 511a, the material for forming the hole injection / transport layer is uniformly concentrated on the electrode surface 511a, thereby forming a flat portion 510a having a uniform thickness. You.

  Next, in a second droplet discharging step, a second composition including a light emitting layer forming material is discharged onto the hole injection / transport layer 510a by an inkjet method (droplet discharging method). In the second droplet discharging step, in order to prevent the hole injection / transport layer 510a from re-dissolving, the hole injection / transport layer 510a is used as a solvent of the second composition used in forming the light emitting layer. Use an insoluble non-polar solvent.

  However, on the other hand, the hole injection / transport layer 510a has a low affinity for the non-polar solvent, so that even if the second composition containing the non-polar solvent is discharged onto the hole injection / transport layer 510a, the hole injection / transport layer 510a does not. / The transport layer 510a and the light emitting layer 510b may not be able to be in close contact with each other, or the light emitting layer 510b may not be coated uniformly. Therefore, in order to increase the affinity of the surface of the hole injection / transport layer 510a with the nonpolar solvent and the material for forming the light emitting layer, it is preferable to perform a surface modification step before forming the light emitting layer.

  Therefore, the surface modification step will be described first. In the surface modification step, the same solvent as the non-polar solvent of the first composition used for forming the light emitting layer or a surface modification solvent which is a similar solvent is applied by an inkjet method (droplet discharge method), a spin coating method, or the like. Alternatively, it is performed by applying the solution on the hole injection / transport layer 510a by a dipping method and then drying the applied material.

  For example, in the application by the inkjet method, as shown in FIG. 7, the inkjet head H is filled with a solvent for surface modification, and the ejection nozzle of the inkjet head H is formed on the substrate (that is, the hole injection / transport layer 510a is formed). The surface reforming solvent 510d is discharged from the discharge nozzle H onto the hole injection / transport layer 510a while the inkjet head H and the substrate 501 are relatively moved while facing the substrate. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the surface modifying solvent 510d is dried.

  Next, in a second droplet discharging step, a second composition including a light emitting layer forming material is discharged onto the hole injection / transport layer 510a by an inkjet method (droplet discharging method). As shown in FIG. 9, the inkjet head H is filled with a second composition containing a blue (B) light emitting layer forming material, and the ejection nozzles of the inkjet head H are positioned in the lower and upper openings 512c and 512d. While the ink jet head H and the substrate 501 are relatively moved to face the hole injecting / transporting layer 510a, the ink is ejected from the ejection nozzle as a second composition droplet 510e having a controlled liquid amount per droplet. The composition droplet 510e is discharged onto the hole injection / transport layer 510a.

  As the light emitting layer forming material, a polyfluorene-based polymer derivative, a (poly) paraphenylenevinylene derivative, a polyphenylene derivative, polyvinylcarbazole, a polythiophene derivative, a perylene-based dye, a coumarin-based dye, a rhodamine-based dye, or an organic material based on the above polymer An EL material can be doped and used. For example, it can be used by doping rubrene, perylene, 9,10-diphenylanthracene, tetraphenylbutadiene, Nile Red, coumarin 6, quinacridone, or the like.

  As the nonpolar solvent, a solvent which is insoluble in the hole injection / transport layer 510a is preferable, and for example, cyclohexylbenzene, dihydrobenzofuran, trimethylbenzene, tetramethylbenzene, or the like can be used. By using such a non-polar solvent for the second composition of the light emitting layer 510b, the second composition can be applied without redissolving the hole injection / transport layer 510a.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the discharged second composition 510e spreads over the hole injection / transport layer 510a and fills the lower and upper openings 512c and 512d. The second composition 510e may be discharged onto the same hole injection / transport layer 510a not only once but also several times. In this case, the amount of the second composition in each time may be the same, or the amount of the second composition may be changed each time.

  Next, in the light emitting layer forming step, the light emitting layer 510b is formed on the hole injection / transport layer 510a by performing a drying treatment and a heat treatment after discharging the second composition. In the drying process, the non-polar solvent contained in the second composition is evaporated by performing a drying process on the second composition after the discharge, and a blue (B) light emitting layer 510b as shown in FIG. 10 is formed.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, similarly to the case of the blue (B) light emitting layer 510b, a red (R) light emitting layer 510b is formed, and finally, a green (G) light emitting layer 510b is formed. Note that the order of forming the light emitting layer 510b is not limited to the order described above, and may be formed in any order. For example, it is possible to determine the order of formation according to the light emitting layer forming material.

  Next, in a counter electrode forming step, as shown in FIG. 12, a cathode 503 (counter electrode) is formed on the entire surface of the light emitting layer 510b and the organic bank layer 512b. Note that the cathode 503 may be formed by stacking a plurality of materials. For example, it is preferable to form a material having a small work function on the side close to the light emitting layer. For example, Ca, Ba, or the like can be used, and depending on the material, it is better to form a thin layer of LiF or the like on the lower layer. There is also. It is preferable that the work function is higher on the upper side (sealing side) than on the lower side. The cathode (cathode layer) 503 is preferably formed by, for example, an evaporation method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like, and is particularly preferably formed by an evaporation method in that damage to the light emitting layer 510b by heat can be prevented.

Further, lithium fluoride may be formed only on the light emitting layer 510b, or may be formed only on the blue (B) light emitting layer 510b. In this case, the upper cathode layer 503b made of LiF is in contact with the other red (R) light emitting layer and green (G) light emitting layer 510b, 510b. In addition, it is preferable to use an Al film, an Ag film, or the like formed by an evaporation method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like on the cathode 12. Further, a protective layer such as SiO ₂ or SiN may be provided on the cathode 503 to prevent oxidation.

  Finally, in a sealing step shown in FIG. 13, a sealing substrate 505 is laminated on the organic EL element 504 in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen, argon, and helium. The sealing step is preferably performed in an atmosphere of an inert gas such as nitrogen, argon, and helium. It is not preferable to perform the step in the air, since when the cathode 503 has a defect such as a pinhole, water, oxygen, or the like may enter the cathode 503 from the defective portion and oxidize the cathode 503. Finally, the cathode 503 is connected to the wiring of the flexible substrate, and the wiring of the circuit element section 502 is connected to the driving IC, whereby the organic EL device 500 of the present embodiment is obtained.

  Note that the ink repellent film, the cathode 503, the pixel electrode 511, and the like may also be formed by an ink-jet method using a liquid material.

  Next, an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device will be described. As described above, in the manufacturing process of the organic EL device, a hole injection / transport layer forming step of forming a hole injection / transport layer (hole injection layer) (first droplet discharge step + drying step) and a surface modification The quality step and the light emitting layer forming step for forming the light emitting layer (second droplet discharging step + drying step) are performed by an inkjet method using a functional droplet discharging head. In response to this, in the organic EL device manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment, a drawing apparatus that scans the functional droplet discharge head while discharging the light emitting functional material is used.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the hole injection layer forming equipment A that performs the hole injection / transport layer formation step (including a surface modification step if necessary) includes a first droplet ( A chamber device that includes the above-described drawing apparatus 1a equipped with a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing a light emitting functional material (hole injection layer material), a drying apparatus 2a, and a substrate transport apparatus 3a, and accommodates them. 4a. As described above, the hole injection / transport layer formation step is preferably performed in an atmosphere of an inert gas, and the chamber device 4a is provided as a means for this.

  The chamber device 4a is composed of a main chamber 4aa that houses the drawing device 1a, and a sub-chamber 4ab that houses the drying device 2a and the substrate transfer device 3a, and also stores a connection portion (transport path) thereof in a tunnel shape. I have. The main chamber 4aa adopts a method of forming a good atmosphere by continuously flowing an inert gas (details will be described later), and the subchamber 4ab circulating an inert gas to form a good atmosphere. It adopts the method of doing. Reference numeral 5 in the drawing denotes a substrate transfer device.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 15, the light emitting layer forming equipment B for performing the light emitting layer forming step includes a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing the second liquid droplet (light emitting functional material: RGB light emitting layer material). The drawing apparatus 1b, the drying apparatus 2b, and the substrate transfer apparatus 3b mounted are provided in three sets for each color, and the chamber apparatus 4b for accommodating these is provided in three sets. Similarly to the above, the light emitting layer forming step is preferably performed in an atmosphere of an inert gas, and a chamber device 4b is provided as a means thereof. In this case, the chamber device 4b also accommodates three main chambers 4ba accommodating each drawing device 1b, each drying device 2b and each substrate transporting device 3b, and connects these connecting portions (transporting paths) in a tunnel shape. It comprises three sub-chambers 4bb to accommodate.

  The drawing apparatus 1a of the hole injection layer forming facility A and each drawing apparatus 1b of the light emitting layer forming facility B have the same structure except that the light emitting functional material introduced into each functional droplet discharge head is different. . Each of the drying devices 2a and 2b, each of the substrate transfer devices 3a and 3b, and each of the chamber devices 4a and 4b have the same or similar structure. Therefore, if the trouble in exchanging the functional droplet discharge head and exchanging the supply system of the light emitting functional material is neglected, any one set of equipment (drawing apparatus 1, drying apparatus 2, substrate transport apparatus 3, and chamber apparatus 4) Thus, it is possible to manufacture an organic EL device.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, each constituent device is exemplified by a set of facilities at the left end in FIG. This will be described, and description of other equipment will be omitted.

  The substrate having undergone the above-described bank portion forming step and the plasma processing step is transferred from the substrate transfer device 5 located at the left end of FIG. 15 to the substrate transfer device 3 (3b) by a device (not shown), where the direction and posture are set. It is converted and conveyed to the drawing apparatus 1 (1b). The substrate transferred from the substrate transfer device 3 (3b) to the drawing device 1 (1b) is set in the drawing device 1 (1b). In the drawing apparatus 1 (1b), a B-color luminescent material (droplets) is discharged into a large number of pixel regions (openings 512g) of the substrate by the functional droplet discharge head (second droplet discharge step).

  Next, the substrate coated with the luminescent material is transferred from the drawing apparatus 1 (1b) to the substrate transport apparatus 3 (3b), and is introduced into the drying apparatus 2 (2b) by the substrate transport apparatus 3 (3b). In the drying device 2 (2b), the substrate is exposed to a high-temperature inert gas atmosphere for a predetermined time to vaporize the solvent in the luminescent material (drying step). Here, the substrate is again introduced into the drawing apparatus 1 (1b), and the second droplet discharging step is performed. That is, the second droplet discharging step and the drying step are repeated a plurality of times, and when the light-emitting layer has a desired film thickness, the substrate passes through the substrate transfer device 3 (3b) to form an R-color light-emitting layer. It is conveyed to the intermediate drawing apparatus 1 (1b) in order to convey it, and finally to the rightmost drawing apparatus 1 (1b) to form a light emitting layer of G color. These operations are performed in an inert gas atmosphere in the chamber device 4 (4b). The order of the operations for forming the B, R, and G color light emitting layers is arbitrary.

  Although the detailed description of the drying device 2 and the substrate transfer device 3 is omitted, for example, in the case of the drying device 2, besides blow drying or vacuum drying in which an inert gas is blown, a device using a hot plate or a lamp (infrared lamp) And the like are preferred. The drying temperature is preferably 40 ± 2 ° C. to 200 ± 2 ° C.

  Next, the drawing apparatus 1 and the main chamber (chamber means) 4 which are the main components of the present invention will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 16 to 19, the drawing apparatus 1 includes a droplet discharge device (droplet discharge means) 10 and an auxiliary device 11 therefor. The auxiliary device 11 supplies a light-emitting functional material (light-emitting material: functional liquid) to the droplet discharge device 10 and collects unnecessary functional liquid. The functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 drives and controls each component. It has an air supply device 14 for supplying compressed air, etc., a vacuum suction device 15 for sucking air, a maintenance device 16 for performing maintenance of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7, and the like.

  The droplet discharge device 10 includes a gantry 21 installed on the floor, a stone stool 22 installed on the gantry 21, an X-axis table 23 installed on the stool 22 and a Y-axis table 24 orthogonal thereto. The main carriage 25 includes a main carriage 25 suspended from the Y-axis table 24 and a head unit 26 mounted on the main carriage 25. Although details will be described later, a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7 are mounted on the head unit 26 via a sub-carriage (carriage) 41. In addition, a substrate (functional droplet discharge target) W is set on the suction table 81 of the X-axis table 23 corresponding to the plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7.

  In the droplet discharge device 10 of the present embodiment, the substrate W moves in synchronization with the driving of the functional droplet discharge head 7 (selective discharge of functional droplets). Scanning is performed by both operations of reciprocating the X-axis table 23 in the X-axis direction. Correspondingly, so-called sub-scanning is performed by the Y-axis table 24 by the forward movement of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 in the Y-axis direction. Note that the main scanning may be performed only by the forward movement (or the backward movement) in the X-axis direction.

  On the other hand, the home position of the head unit 26 is the left end position in FIGS. 17 and 19, and the head unit 26 is carried or replaced from the left side of the droplet discharge device 10 (details will be described later). ). The above-described substrate transport device 3 faces the near side of the drawing, and the substrate W is loaded / unloaded from the near side. On the right side of the droplet discharge device 10 in the figure, the main components of the auxiliary device 11 are integrally provided.

  The ancillary device 11 includes a cabinet type common machine base 31, the air supply device 14 and the vacuum suction device 15 housed in one half of the common machine base 31, and one half of the common machine base 31. And a maintenance device 16 accommodating the main devices on a common machine base 31.

  The maintenance device 16 includes two large and small flushing units 33 that receive periodic flushing of the functional droplet discharge head 7 (discharge discharge of functional liquid from all the discharge nozzles), and suction and storage of the functional liquid of the functional droplet discharge head 7. And a wiping unit 35 for wiping the nozzle forming surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7. The cleaning unit 34 and the wiping unit 35 are arranged on the common machine base 31 described above. Further, the smaller flushing unit 33A is disposed near the substrate W, and the larger flushing unit 33B is disposed near the home position of the head unit 26 (details will be described later).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the main chamber 4 has a so-called clean room configuration in which an electric room 38 and a machine room 39 are provided in a chamber room 37. Nitrogen gas, which is an inert gas, is introduced into the chamber room 37, and the above-described droplet discharge device 10 and the auxiliary device 11 housed therein are exposed to an atmosphere of nitrogen gas as a whole. It works.

  Here, a series of operations of the drawing apparatus 1 that operates in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas will be briefly described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. First, as a preparation stage, the head unit 26 is carried into the droplet discharge device 10 and set on the main carriage 25. When the head unit 26 is set on the main carriage 25, the Y-axis table 24 moves the head unit 26 to a position of a head recognition camera (not shown), and the position of the head unit 26 is recognized by the head recognition camera. Here, based on the recognition result, the head unit 26 is θ-corrected, and the position of the head unit 26 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is corrected on the data. After the position correction, the head unit (main carriage 25) 26 returns to the home position.

  On the other hand, when a substrate (in this case, each substrate to be introduced) W is introduced onto the suction table 81 of the X-axis table 23, a main substrate recognition camera 90, which will be described later, recognizes the position of the substrate at this position (delivery position). I do. Here, based on the recognition result, the substrate W is θ-corrected, and the position of the substrate W in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is corrected on the data. After the position correction, the substrate (suction table 81) W returns to the home position. At the time of the initial adjustment of the X-axis and Y-axis tables 23 and 24 (so-called exit), an alignment mask is introduced on the suction table 81, and the initial adjustment is performed by a sub-board recognition camera 108 described later.

  When the preparation is completed in this manner, in the actual droplet discharge operation, first, the X-axis table 23 is driven, the substrate W is reciprocated in the main scanning direction, and the plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7 are driven. A selective discharge operation of the functional droplet onto the substrate W is performed. After the substrate W has returned, the Y-axis table 24 is driven to move the head unit 26 by one pitch in the sub-scanning direction. 7 is performed. By repeating this several times, a droplet is discharged from the end of the substrate W (all regions).

  In the present embodiment, the substrate W, which is the object to be ejected, is moved in the main scanning direction (X-axis direction) with respect to the head unit 26, but the head unit 26 is moved in the main scanning direction. It may be. Further, the head unit 26 may be fixed, and the substrate W may be moved in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

  Next, the constituent devices of the above-described droplet discharge device 10, the auxiliary device 11, and the main chamber 4 will be described in order, but before that, the main parts of the droplet discharge device 10 will be described in order to facilitate understanding. The head unit 26 will be described in detail.

  21 to 24 are structural diagrams of the head unit. As shown in these drawings, the head unit 26 includes a sub-carriage 41, a plurality of (twelve) functional droplet discharge heads 7 mounted on the sub-carriage 41, and the sub-carriage 41 And a plurality of (12) head holding members 42 for individually attaching the head holding members 42. The twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7 are divided into right and left portions each of six, and are arranged at a predetermined angle with respect to the main scanning direction.

  Further, the six functional droplet discharge heads 7 are disposed so as to be displaced from each other in the sub-scanning direction, and all the discharge nozzles 68 (described later) of the twelve functional droplet discharge heads 7 are sub-scanned. It is continuous (partially overlapped) in the direction. That is, in the head arrangement of the embodiment, the six functional droplet discharge heads 7 arranged in the same direction on the sub-carriage 41 are arranged in two rows, and the functional droplet discharge heads are arranged between the head rows. The arrangement is such that the heads 7 are rotated by 180 ° with respect to each other.

  However, this arrangement pattern is merely an example. For example, adjacent functional droplet discharge heads 7 in each head row are arranged at an angle of 90 ° (the adjacent heads have a “C” shape), It is possible to arrange the functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7 between rows at an angle of 90 ° (the heads between rows are arranged in a “C” shape). In any case, the dots by all the ejection nozzles 68 of the twelve functional droplet ejection heads 7 need only be continuous in the sub-scanning direction.

  In addition, if the functional droplet discharge head 7 is a dedicated component for various substrates W, it is not necessary to set the functional droplet discharge head 7 to be tilted, and it is sufficient to dispose the functional droplet discharge head 7 in a staggered or stepwise manner. Furthermore, as long as a nozzle row (dot row) of a predetermined length can be formed, this may be formed by a single functional droplet discharge head 7 or a plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7. Good. That is, the number, the number of rows, and the arrangement pattern of the functional droplet discharge heads 7 are arbitrary.

  The sub-carriage 41 includes a substantially rectangular main body plate 44 partially cut away, a pair of left and right reference pins 45 provided at intermediate positions in the long side direction of the main body plate 44, and both long sides of the main body plate 44. It has a pair of left and right support members 46, 46 attached to the parts, and a pair of left and right handles 47, 47 provided at the end of each support member 46. The left and right handles 47, 47 serve as parts for holding the head unit 26, for example, when the assembled head unit 26 is placed on the above-described droplet discharge device 10. The left and right support members 46, 46 serve as portions for fixing the sub-carriage 41 to the set portion of the droplet discharge device 10 (all will be described later). Further, the pair of reference pins 45 serve as references for positioning (position recognition) the sub-carriage (head unit 26) 41 in the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis directions on the premise of image recognition. .

  Further, on the sub-carriage 41, a pair of left and right pipe connection assemblies 49, 49 and a pair of left and right wirings which are located above the bisected functional droplet discharge head group 7S and are connected to these functional droplet discharge heads 7 are provided. Connection assemblies 50, 50 are provided. Each piping connection assembly 49 is connected by piping to the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 of the drawing apparatus 1, and similarly, each wiring connection assembly 50 is connected by wiring to a control device (head driver: not shown) of the drawing apparatus 1. It has become. In FIG. 22, one (left) piping connection assembly 49 is omitted.

  As shown only in FIGS. 21 and 23, the head unit 26 is further provided with a board cover 51 that covers both wiring connection assemblies 50. The board cover 51 includes a pair of side covers 53, 53 that cover the side surfaces of each wiring connection assembly 50, and an upper surface cover 54 that extends between the pair of side covers 53, 53. The top cover 54 is attached after setting the head unit 26 to the droplet discharge device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 25, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 is a so-called two-unit type, and includes a liquid introduction unit 61 having two connection needles 62 and 62 and a two-unit unit connected to the side of the liquid introduction unit 61. Head substrate 63, two pump units 64 connected downward to the liquid introduction unit 61, and a nozzle forming plate 65 connected to the pump unit 64. The above-described piping connection assembly 49 is connected to the liquid introduction section 61, and the above-described wiring connection assembly 50 is connected to the two connectors 66, 66 of the head substrate 63. On the other hand, the pump part 64 and the nozzle forming plate 65 constitute a rectangular head main body 60 protruding toward the back side of the sub-carriage 41. Further, on the nozzle forming surface 67 of the nozzle forming plate 65, two nozzle rows 69, 69 in which a number of discharge nozzles 68 are arranged in a row, are formed.

  Next, other components of the droplet discharge device 10, the auxiliary device 11, and each component of the main chamber 4 will be described in order.

  26 to 29 show a gantry 21 and a stone platen 22 of a droplet discharge device equipped with an X-axis table. As shown in these figures, the gantry 21 is configured by assembling angle materials or the like in a rectangular shape, and has a plurality (nine) of support legs 71 with adjust bolts dispersedly arranged at a lower portion. A plurality of (eight) fixing members 72 for fixing the stone slab 22 at the time of transportation or the like are protruded laterally at an upper portion of the gantry 21 at a ratio of two to each side. Attached to. Each fixing member 72 is formed in an “L” shape like a bracket, the base end of which is fixed to the upper side surface of the gantry 21, and the distal end side of which is in contact with the lower side surface of the stone platen 22 via an adjustment bolt 73. Are in contact with each other. The stone stool 22 is mounted on the gantry 21 in a non-fastened state. When the stone stool 22 is transported, the stone stool 22 is moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction ( Fixed to the front, back, left and right).

  The stone surface plate 22 is designed so that the X-axis table 23 and the Y-axis table 24 for moving the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 with high precision do not cause a deviation in accuracy (particularly flatness) due to surrounding environmental conditions, vibration, and the like. It is a solid stone material that supports and is rectangular in a plan view. Below the stone platen 22, three main support legs 75 and six auxiliary legs 76 with adjustment bolts for supporting the stone platen 22 on the gantry 21 are provided. The three main support legs 75 are for supporting the stone surface plate 22 at three points and for obtaining the parallelism (including the horizontality) of the surface thereof, and the six auxiliary legs 76 are for supporting the stone surface plate 22. It supports portions deviating from the three main support legs 75 and suppresses their bending.

  For this reason, as schematically shown in FIG. 29, the three main support legs 75, 75, 75 are arranged so as to form an isosceles triangle, and the two main support legs 75 forming the base are connected to the stone surface plate 22. Is disposed on the substrate loading side (the left side in the figure, the near side in FIG. 16). Further, the six auxiliary legs 76, 76, 76, 76, 76, 76 are uniformly and dispersedly arranged so as to be 3 × 3 vertically and horizontally including the three main support legs 75, 75, 75. Have been.

  In this case, an X-axis table 23 is set on the stone platen 22 with its axis aligned with the center line along its long side, and a Y-axis table 24 is set with its axis aligned with the center axis along its short side. Have been. Therefore, the X-axis table 23 is directly fixed on the stone platen 22, and the Y-axis table 24 has its four columns 78 fixed on the stone platen 22 via the spacer blocks 79, respectively. Thus, the Y-axis table 24 is disposed so as to cross the X-axis table 23 and to be orthogonal to the upper side thereof. Reference numeral 80 in FIG. 27 denotes four small blocks for fixing a main board recognition camera described later, and the main board recognition camera is also fixed on the stone surface plate 22.

  As shown in the X-axis moving system in FIGS. 26 to 28 and the θ-moving system in FIGS. 30 to 32, the X-axis table 23 extends in the long side direction of the A suction table 81 for suction setting by suction, a θ table 82 for supporting the suction table 81 (see FIGS. 30 to 32), an X-axis air slider 83 for supporting the θ table slidably in the X-axis direction, and θ. An X-axis linear motor 84 for moving the substrate W on the suction table 81 in the X-axis direction via the table 82, and an X-axis linear scale 85 provided along with the X-axis air slider 83 (see FIGS. 26 to 29). Have been.

  The X-axis linear motor 84 is located on the loading side of the head unit 26 of the X-axis air slider 83, and the X-axis linear scale 85 is located on the side of the auxiliary device 11 of the X-axis air slider 83. They are arranged in parallel. The X-axis linear motor 84, the X-axis air slider 83, and the X-axis linear scale 85 are directly supported on the stone platen 22. A vacuum tube connected to the vacuum suction device 15 (not shown) is connected to the suction table 81, and the substrate W set by the air suction is suctioned so as to maintain flatness.

  An X-axis cable carrier 87 is disposed on the side of the auxiliary device 11 of the X-axis linear scale 85 in a state of being accommodated in a box 88 on the stone platen 22 in parallel with the auxiliary device 11. The vacuum tube of the suction table 81, the cable for the θ table 82, and the like are accommodated in the X-axis cable bear 87 so as to follow the movement of the suction table 81 and the θ table 82 (see FIGS. 27 and 28). ).

  In the X-axis table 23 configured as described above, the suction table 81 and the θ table 82 that have sucked the substrate W are moved in the X-axis direction by guiding the X-axis air slider 83 by driving the X-axis linear motor 84. . In the reciprocating movement in the X-axis direction, the relative main scanning of the functional droplet discharge head 7 is performed by the forward movement from the substrate loading side to the back side. In addition, based on the recognition result of the main board recognition camera 90 described later, the θ correction of the substrate W by the θ table 82 (angle correction in a horizontal plane) is performed.

  FIG. 33 shows a main board recognition camera. As shown in the figure, a pair of main board recognition cameras 90, 90 are arranged immediately above the suction table 81 so as to face the board loading position (delivery position). The pair of main board recognition cameras 90 and 90 are configured to simultaneously recognize images of two reference positions (not shown) of the board.

  As shown in FIGS. 34, 35 and 36, the Y-axis table 24 extends in the short side direction of the stone platen 22, and has a bridge plate 91 for suspending the main carriage 25, and a bridge plate. A pair of Y-axis sliders 92, 92 that support both ends 91 and are slidable in the Y-axis direction, a Y-axis linear scale 93 provided in parallel with the Y-axis slider 92, and a pair of Y-axis sliders 92, 92 are used as guides. A Y-axis ball screw 94 for moving the bridge plate 91 in the Y-axis direction, and a Y-axis motor 95 for rotating the Y-axis ball screw 94 forward and backward are provided. Further, a pair of Y-axis cable bears 96, 96 are disposed on both sides of the pair of Y-axis sliders 92, 92, respectively, and are accommodated in boxes 97, 97, respectively.

  The Y-axis motor 95 is composed of a servomotor. When the Y-axis motor 95 rotates forward and backward, a bridge plate 91 screwed to the Y-axis motor via a Y-axis ball screw 94 causes a pair of Y-axis sliders 92, It moves in the Y-axis direction with 92 as a guide. That is, as the bridge plate 91 moves in the Y-axis direction, the main carriage 25 moves in the Y-axis direction. In the reciprocating movement of the main carriage (head unit 26) 25 in the Y-axis direction, the sub-scan of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 is performed by the forward movement from the home position side to the auxiliary device 11 side.

  On the other hand, on the four columns 78, a mounting plate 98 having a rectangular opening 98a as a movement path of the main carriage 25 is supported. On the mounting plate 98, the rectangular opening 98a escapes. A pair of Y-axis sliders 92, 92 and a Y-axis ball screw 94 are arranged in parallel with each other. The pair of Y-axis cable bears 96, 96 are mounted together with the boxes 97, 97 on a pair of support plates 99, 99 projecting outward from the mounting table plate 98.

  A cable mainly connected to the head unit 26 is accommodated in the Y-axis cable bearer 96 on the substrate loading side, and a tube for a functional liquid mainly connected to the head unit 26 is accommodated in the Y-axis cable bearer on the opposite side. (Both not shown). These cables and tubes are connected to the plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7 of the head unit 26 via the bridge plate 91 described above.

  As shown in FIGS. 37 and 38, the main carriage 25 includes a hanging member 101 having an external appearance “I” shape fixed to the bridge plate 91 from below, and a θ table attached to the lower surface of the hanging member 101. 102, and a carriage body 103 attached to be suspended from the lower surface of the θ table 102. The hanging member 101 faces the rectangular opening 98a of the mounting table 98.

  The carriage body 103 includes a base plate 104 on which the head unit 26 is seated, an arch member 105 for supporting the base plate 104 so as to be vertically suspended, and a pair of temporary placing angles 106 provided at one end of the base plate 104 so as to protrude. , 106 and a stopper plate 107 provided at the other end of the pace plate 104. Outside the stopper plate 107, the pair of sub-substrate recognition cameras 108 for recognizing the substrate W are provided.

  A rectangular opening 111 into which the main body plate 44 of the head unit 26 fits loosely is formed in the base plate 104, and the head unit 26 is positioned and fixed to left and right opening edges 112 of the base plate 104 constituting the rectangular opening 111. Bolt holes 113, 113, two through holes 114, 114 and a positioning pin 115.

  The head unit 26 is carried and set by the two handles 47, 47 in the main carriage 25 configured as described above. That is, the carried-in head unit 26 is temporarily placed on both the temporary placement angles 106 and 106 (temporary placement). Here, a tube connected to the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 provided on the bridge plate 91 is connected to the pipe connection assembly 49 of the head unit 26 by piping, and a control system cable is connected to the wiring connection assembly 50 by wiring. Further, the upper cover 54 is attached. Then, the handles 47, 47 are gripped again, and the head unit 26 is pushed forward by using both the temporary placing angles 106, 106 as guides, and this is set on the left and right opening edges 112, 112 of the base plate 104. I have.

  Next, the common machine base 31 of the auxiliary device 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 39 to FIG. 42, the common machine base 31 has a cabinet-type machine body 121 in which two large and small accommodation chambers 122a and 122b are formed via a partition wall, and a movable body provided on the machine body 121. It has a table 123, a common base 124 fixed on the moving table 123, and a tank base 125 provided at an end position on the machine body 121 that is separated from the moving table 123. The cleaning unit 34 and the wiping unit 35 are mounted on the common base 124, and the intermediate tank 126 of the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 described below is mounted on the tank base 125.

  On the lower surface of the machine body 121, six support legs 128 with adjustment bolts and four casters 129 are provided, and on the droplet discharge device 10 side, the gantry 21 of the droplet discharge device 10 is connected. A pair of connecting brackets 130, 130 for performing the operation. As a result, the droplet discharge device 10 and the accessory device (common machine base 31) 11 are integrated, and the accessory device 11 can be separated and moved as necessary.

  The main part of the air supply device 14 and the vacuum suction device 15 is accommodated in the smaller accommodation room 122b of the machine body 121, and the tanks of the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 are accommodated in the larger accommodation room 122a. Have been. A joint group 131 for connecting to the tanks faces a rectangular opening 121a formed on the upper surface of the end of the machine body 121 (left end view in the figure). Further, a waste liquid pump 152 to be described later is provided near the rectangular opening 121a (see FIG. 16).

  The moving table 123 extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body 121, and has a rectangular table 133 that supports the common base 124, a pair of moving sliders 134, 134 that slidably supports the rectangular table 133, and a pair of moving sliders 134. A ball screw 135 is provided between the moving sliders 134, 134, and a moving motor 136 for rotating the ball screw 135 forward and backward. The moving motor 136 is connected to an end of the ball screw 135 via a coupling 137, and the square table 133 is screwed to the ball screw 135 via a female screw top 138. Thus, when the moving motor 136 rotates forward and backward, the rectangular table 133 and the common base 124 advance and retreat in the X-axis direction via the ball screw 135.

  The moving table 123 moves the cleaning unit 34 and the wiping unit 35 placed on the common base 124. When the moving table 123 is driven, the head unit 26 It faces directly above. When the cleaning unit 34 sucks the functional liquid in close contact with the plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7 of the head unit 26, the nozzle forming surface 67 of each functional droplet discharge head 7 becomes dirty. The wiping unit 35 approaches the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7 and operates so that the nozzle forming surface 67 wipes off dirt (details will be described later).

  A cable carrier 139 is provided beside the moving table 123 in parallel with the moving table 123. The cable carrier 139 is fixed on the common machine base 31 and has a distal end fixed to the common base 124. Cables and air tubes for both units 34 and 35, a cleaning tube and a waste liquid (to be described later) are used. For use) is accommodated (not shown).

  Next, the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the piping system diagram of FIG. 43, the functional liquid supply / recovery device 13 includes a functional liquid supply system 141 that supplies a functional liquid to each functional droplet discharge head 7 of the head unit 26, and a function sucked by the cleaning unit 34. A functional liquid recovery system 142 that recovers the liquid, a cleaning liquid supply system 143 that supplies the solvent of the functional liquid to the wiping unit 35 for cleaning, and a waste liquid recovery system 144 that collects the waste liquid of the functional liquid from the flushing unit 33 Have been.

  44 and 45 show a group of tanks housed in the larger housing chamber 122a of the common machine base 31. A plurality of tanks are placed on the draw-out type liquidproof pan 146. On the liquidproof pan 146, a cleaning tank 147 of the cleaning liquid supply system 143, a reuse tank 148 of the functional liquid recovery system 142, and a pressurized tank 149 of the functional liquid supply system 141, which constitute a tank group, are arranged side by side. Along with the cleaning tank 147 and the reuse tank 148, a small-sized waste liquid tank 150 of a waste liquid recovery system 144 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 43, the waste liquid tank 150 is connected to the flushing unit 33 via a waste liquid pump 152, and collects the functional liquid discharged to the flushing unit 33 by each functional droplet discharge head 7 into the waste liquid tank 150. The reuse tank 148 is connected to the suction pump 153 of the cleaning unit 34, and collects the functional liquid sucked from each functional droplet discharge head 7 by the suction pump 153. As shown in FIG. 46, the waste liquid pump 152 and the opening / closing valve 154 on the upstream side of the intermediate tank 126 described later are fixed to the support plate 155. It is attached (see FIG. 16).

  As shown in FIG. 43, the cleaning tank 147 has an inflow side connected to the air supply device 14 and an outflow side connected to a cleaning liquid spray head spray nozzle (described later) 195 of the wiping unit 35. That is, the cleaning tank 147 supplies the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 195 to the cleaning liquid spray head 195 by the compressed air introduced from the air supply device 14. Although the details will be described later, the cleaning liquid discharged by the cleaning liquid spray head 195 is impregnated in the wipe pinking sheet 182 for wiping the functional droplet discharge head 7. The washing tank 147 is further connected to a tank pressurizing tube 156.

  The inflow side of the pressurized tank 149 is connected to the air supply device 14, and the outflow side is connected to the intermediate tank 126 of the functional liquid supply system 141. The intermediate tank 126 and the head unit (the pair of pipe connection assemblies 49, 49, 49) 26 are connected by a plurality of tubes 157. The pressurized tank 149 is a main tank for the functional liquid, and supplies the internal functional liquid to the intermediate tank 126 by compressed air introduced from the air supply device 14. Further, a tube 158 for tank pressurization is connected to the pressurized tank 149.

  In this case, the functional liquid is supplied from the pressurized tank 149 to the intermediate tank 126 at a predetermined head pressure. In the intermediate tank 126, the head pressure on the pressurized tank 149 side is cut off, and the functional liquid is mainly discharged. The functional liquid is supplied by the pumping operation of the head 7, that is, the driving of the piezoelectric element by a pump. This is to prevent the function liquid from dripping from the discharge nozzle 68 of the function liquid droplet discharge head 7. Therefore, the height position of the intermediate tank 126 is adjusted by the tank base 125 and the like so that unnecessary head pressure is not applied to the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 from the intermediate tank 126.

  47 to 49 show the intermediate tank 126. The intermediate tank 126 is fixed on the above-mentioned tank base 125, has a liquid level window 162, 162 on both sides, and has a rectangular tank body 161 closed in the form of a flange, and two liquid level windows 162, 162. It includes a liquid level detector 163 for detecting the liquid level (water level) of the functional liquid, a pan 164 on which the tank main body 161 is placed, and a tank stand 165 supporting the tank main body 161 via the pan 164. I have.

  The tank stand 165 includes a mounting plate 167 and two support members 168 and 168 erected on the support plate 167, and the height and the level of the tank main body 161 are adjusted by the two support members 168. It can be fine-tuned. A supply tube 169 connected to the pressurized tank 149 is connected to the upper surface of the (tank) body 161 of the tank, and six connectors 170a for the tube (reference numeral 158 in FIG. 43) connected to the head unit 26 and One connector 170b for opening to the atmosphere is provided.

  The liquid level detector 163 is composed of a full liquid detector 163a and a low liquid detector 163b which are disposed slightly apart from each other in the vertical direction. The full liquid detector 163a and the low liquid detector 163b are connected to the tank stand 165. On the other hand, the height is individually adjustable on the base side. Each of the full liquid detector 163a and the low liquid detector 163b has a pair of plate-like arms 163c, 163c extending toward both liquid level windows 162, 162 of the tank body 161. A light-emitting element 163d facing one liquid level window 162 is mounted on one of 163c and 163c, and a light receiving element 163e facing the other liquid level window 162 is mounted on the other. That is, the light emitting element 163d and the light receiving element 163e constitute a transmission type liquid level sensor.

  On the upstream side of the supply tube 169 connected to the intermediate tank 126, an opening / closing valve 154 is provided (see FIGS. 43 and 46), and the supply of the functional liquid to the intermediate tank 126 is performed by the opening / closing valve 154. Is controlled. That is, the opening / closing valve 154 is controlled to open and close by the liquid level sensor (full water detection) of the full liquid detector 163a and the liquid level sensor (low water detection) of the liquid reduction detector 163b, and the liquid level of the intermediate tank 126 is always full. Adjusted to be between fluid reductions. Thereby, the fluctuation of the water head pressure in the functional liquid supplied from the intermediate tank 126 to each functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 is minimized.

  As shown in FIG. 43, six pipes 157 from the intermediate tank 126 are connected to the header pipes from the intermediate tank 126 to a plurality of (12, 24 nozzle rows 69) functional droplet discharge heads 7. The tubes are branched into 12 via 166, and each of the tubes is branched into two by a Y-shaped joint in the vicinity of each functional droplet discharge head 7 (total of 24 tubes). Accordingly, in each of the pipelines from the intermediate tank 126 to the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7, the pipeline lengths are the same, and the pressure loss (tube friction loss) is the same.

  Next, the maintenance device 16 will be described in the order of the wiping unit 35, the cleaning unit 34, and the flushing unit 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 50 to 55, the wiping unit 35 is composed of a winding unit (FIGS. 50 to 52) 171 and a wiping unit (FIGS. 53 to 55) 172 which are separately configured. They are arranged on the common base 124 in a state where they face each other. The winding unit 171 is disposed on the near side of the common base 124, and the wiping unit 172 is disposed on the back side of the common base 124, that is, on the cleaning unit 34 side.

  The wiping unit 35 according to the embodiment moves the wiping sheet 182 described below with respect to the head unit 26 immediately above the cleaning unit 34, that is, the head unit 26 stopped at the cleaning position. To wipe the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7. For this reason, the wiping unit 35 is fed out from the winding unit 171 and is wound around the winding unit 171 around the wiping unit 172 for the wiping operation.

  As shown in FIGS. 50, 51 and 52, the winding unit 171 includes a cantilever type frame 174, an upper reel 175 and a lower winding reel 176 rotatably supported by the frame 174, And a winding motor 177 for winding and rotating the winding reel 176. A sub-frame 178 is fixed to the upper part of the frame 174. The sub-frame 178 supports a speed detecting roller 179 and an intermediate roller 180 at both ends so as to be located ahead of the pay-out reel 175. I have. Further, a cleaning liquid pan 181 for receiving the cleaning liquid is provided below these components.

  A roll-shaped wiping sheet 182 is inserted into the feeding reel 175, and the wiping sheet 182 fed from the feeding reel 175 is sent to the wiping unit 172 via the speed detection roller 179 and the intermediate roller 180. A timing belt 183 is stretched between the take-up reel 176 and the take-up motor 177, and the take-up reel 176 is rotated by the take-up motor 177 to take up the wiping sheet 182.

  Although details will be described later, the wiping unit 172 is also provided with a motor (wiping motor 194) for feeding the wiping sheet 182, and the feeding reel 175 is opposed to the wiping motor 194 by a torque limiter 184 provided therein. To rotate the brakes. The speed detecting roller 179 is a grip roller composed of two freely rotating upper and lower rollers 179a and 179b, and the winding motor 177 is controlled by a speed detector 185 provided on the roller. That is, the pay-out reel 175 feeds out the wiping sheet 182 in a stretched state, and the take-up reel 176 winds up the wiping sheet 182 without causing slack.

  As shown in FIGS. 53, 54 and 55, the wiping unit 172 includes a pair of left and right stands 191 and 191 and a base frame 192 having a substantially “U” -shaped cross section supported by the pair of stands 191 and 191. , A wiping roller 193 rotatably supported by the base frame 192, a wiping motor 194 for rotating the wiping roller 193, a cleaning liquid spray head 195 facing the wiping roller 193 in parallel, and a base frame. A pair of double-acting air cylinders 196 and 196 for raising and lowering the 192 is provided.

  Each of the pair of stands 191 and 191 includes a fixed stunt 198 located on the outside and a movable stand 199 slidably mounted in the up and down direction inside the fixed stunt 198. An air cylinder 196 is provided upright. A plunger 196a of each air cylinder 196 is fixed to a movable stand 199, and a pair of air cylinders 196 and 196 that are driven simultaneously drives a base frame 192 and a wiping roller 193 and a wiping motor 194 supported by the base frame 192. Go up and down.

  The wiping roller 193 is configured by a grip roller including a driving roller 202 connected to a wiping motor 194 via a timing belt 201 and a driven roller 203 that contacts the driving roller 202 with the wiping sheet 182 interposed therebetween. . The drive roller 202 is formed of, for example, a rubber roller having a core portion wound with rubber having elasticity or flexibility. It is designed to be pressed.

  The cleaning liquid spray head 195 sprays a cleaning liquid composed of a functional liquid solvent or the like on the wiping sheet 182 sent from the intermediate roller 180 near the wiping roller (drive roller 202) 193. Therefore, a plurality of spray nozzles 204 are provided side by side on the front surface of the cleaning liquid spray head 195, that is, on the wiping roller 193 side, in accordance with the width of the wiping sheet 182, and a tube connected to the cleaning tank 147 on the rear surface. A plurality of connectors 205 for connection are provided.

  The wiping sheet 182 sprayed with the cleaning liquid is impregnated with the cleaning liquid and faces the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 to wipe it off. A cleaning liquid pan is also provided on the base frame 192 below the wiping roller 193, and can receive the cleaning liquid dripping from the wiping sheet 182 together with the cleaning liquid pan 181 of the winding unit 171. .

  Here, a series of wiping operations will be briefly described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. When the cleaning of the head unit 26 is completed, the moving table 123 is driven, and the wiping unit 35 is advanced to bring the wiping unit 35 sufficiently close to the head unit 26. When the wiping roller 193 moves to the vicinity of the functional droplet discharge head 7, the moving table 123 is stopped, and both air cylinders 196 and 196 are driven to wipe (contact) the functional droplet discharge head 7. The take-up roller 193 is raised.

  Here, the winding motor 177 and the wiping motor 194 are driven to wipe and feed the wiping sheet 182 and start spraying the cleaning liquid. At the same time, the moving table 123 is driven again, and while the wiping sheet 182 is being fed, the wiping roller 193 is advanced so as to wipe the lower surfaces of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7. When the wiping operation is completed, the feeding of the wiping sheet 182 is stopped, the wiping roller 193 is lowered, and the wiping unit 35 is moved back to the original position by the moving table 123.

  Next, the cleaning unit 34 will be described with reference to FIGS. The cleaning unit 34 includes a cap unit 211 in which twelve caps 212 are arranged on a cap base 213 corresponding to the twelve functional droplet discharge heads 7, a support member 214 for supporting the cap unit 211, and a support member 214. And a lifting mechanism 215 for raising and lowering the cap unit 211 via the. As shown in FIG. 43, the cleaning unit 34 includes a suction tube 216 connected to each cap 212, a header pipe 217 to which twelve suction tubes 216 are connected, and a suction pipe provided on the downstream side of the header pipe 217. A pump 153 is provided. Further, the suction pump 153 communicates with the reuse tank 148.

  The support member 214 includes a support member main body 242 having a support plate 241 that supports the cap unit 211 at an upper end, and a stand 243 that supports the support member main body 242 in a vertically slidable manner. A pair of air release cylinders (air pressure cylinders) 244 and 244 are fixed to the lower surfaces on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 241, and the pair of air release cylinders 244 and 244 are described later via the operation plate 245. The atmosphere release valve 231 is opened and closed (“open” by downward movement, and “closed” by upward movement).

  The elevating mechanism 215 includes an elevating mechanism (air pressure cylinder) 246 and a lower elevating mechanism (air pressure cylinder) 247. The lower elevating mechanism 247 is fixed on a stand base 248 and moves the elevating mechanism 246 up and down. The elevating mechanism 246 has its plunger fixed to the support plate 241, and raises and lowers the support member main body 242. In this case, the lower surface of the head unit 26 (the nozzle forming surface 67 of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7) and the upper surface of the cap unit 211 have a predetermined gap, and the elevating mechanism 246 raises and lowers the gap. The lower elevating mechanism 247 performs elevating for adjusting the gap. Therefore, during normal operation, only the lifting / lowering device 246 is driven.

  The twelve caps 212 correspond to the head bodies 60 of the twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 7, and are fixed to the cap base 213 in the same arrangement and the same inclination posture as the twelve head bodies 60. . As shown in FIG. 61, each cap 212 is composed of a cap body 219 and a cap holder 220. The cap body 219 is urged upward by two springs 221 and 221 so that the cap body 219 can move up and down slightly. It is held by a holder 220. The cap base 213 is formed with twelve mounting openings 223 corresponding to the twelve caps 212, and is formed with twelve shallow grooves 224 so as to include the mounting openings 223. Each cap 212 has its lower part inserted into the mounting opening 223 and is screwed to the shallow groove 224 with the cap holder 220 positioned in the shallow groove 224 (see FIG. 60).

  On the surface of each cap main body 219, a concave portion 226 including the two nozzle rows 69, 69 of the head main body 60 is formed, a seal packing 227 is attached to a peripheral portion of the concave portion 226, and an absorbing portion is provided on a bottom portion. A material 228 is laid. A small hole 229 is formed at the bottom of the recess 226, and the small hole 229 communicates with the L-shaped joint 230 to which the suction tube 216 is connected. When sucking the functional liquid, the seal packing 227 is pressed against the head main body 60 of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 to seal the nozzle forming surface 67 of the head main body 60 so as to cover the two nozzle rows 69, 69. Stop. Reference numeral 231 in the drawing denotes an atmosphere release valve, which is a function that is impregnated in the absorbent 228 by being opened by the atmosphere release cylinder at the final stage of the suction operation of the functional liquid. The liquid can also be sucked.

  The cleaning unit 34 thus configured is moved to the cleaning position by the moving table 123, whereas the head unit 26 is moved by the Y-axis table 24 and faces directly above the cleaning unit 34. Here, the elevating mechanism (elevating device 246) 215 is driven to press the twelve caps 212 from the lower side against the twelve functional droplet discharge heads 7 of the head unit 26. The cap 212 pressed against each functional liquid droplet ejection head 7 has its cap main body 219 slightly sunk against its two springs 221 and 221, and its seal packing 227 is attached to the nozzle forming surface 67 of the head main body 60. Adheres evenly.

  Subsequently, the suction pump 153 is driven to suck the functional liquid from all the ejection nozzles 68 of the twelve functional droplet ejection heads 7 via the cap unit 211. Then, immediately before the completion of the suction, the air release valve 231 is opened to complete the suction. When the suction operation is completed, the lifting / lowering mechanism (the lifting / lowering device 246) 215 is driven again to lower the cap unit 211. When the head is stored, for example, when the operation of the apparatus is stopped, the cap unit 211 is raised, and the functional droplet discharge heads 7 are sealed with the caps 212 to be in a storage state.

  Next, the flushing unit 33 will be described with reference to FIGS. The flushing unit 33 receives the functional liquid droplets ejected by the functional liquid droplet ejecting head 7. In the drawing apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the movable type small-sized movable with the substrate (suction table 81) W by the X-axis table 23. A flushing unit (FIGS. 62 and 63) 33A and a fixed large flushing unit (FIGS. 64 to 66) 33B directly fixed on the stone platen 22 are mounted.

  The movable flushing unit 33A is mainly used for flushing the head unit 26 during the droplet discharging operation, and the fixed flushing unit 33B is mainly used for flushing the head unit 26 during standby.

  Therefore, first, the flushing unit 33A of the movable type will be described with reference to FIGS. The flushing unit 33A is disposed on the box 88 of the X-axis cable bear 87 described above (see FIG. 30). The flushing unit 33A includes a slide base 251 fixed on the X-axis cable bear 87, a long plate-shaped slider 252 provided on the slide base 251 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and a pair of flushing boxes 253 fixed on both ends of the slider 252. , 253, and a pair of functional liquid absorbing materials 254, 254 laid in each flushing box 253.

  The pair of flushing boxes 253 and 253 have a width corresponding to each functional droplet discharge head group 7a of the head unit 26 and have a length corresponding to the moving range of each functional droplet discharge head group 7a in the sub-scanning direction. It is formed in an elongated shape. The pair of flushing boxes 253 and 253 extend from the slider 252 at a right angle to the upper side of the X-axis table 23 and are disposed so as to sandwich the suction table 81. In addition, a drainage joint 256 forming a drain port is attached to the bottom of the center of each of the flushing boxes 253 and 253. A drain tube (not shown) connected to the drain joint 256 passes through the inside of the X-axis cable bear 87 and is connected to the waste liquid tank 150.

  A pair of mounting pieces 257, 257 extending toward the θ table 82 of the X-axis table 23 are fixed to the slider 252 and located between the pair of flushing boxes 253, 253. The tip of 257 is fixed to the base of the θ table 82. That is, a pair of flushing boxes 253 and 253 are guided by the slide base 251 and move together with the θ table 82 via the slider 252.

  In the movable-type flushing unit 33A configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 30, when the flushing unit 33A goes forward together with the θ table 82, first, the flushing box 253 on the right side shown in FIG. Pass just below. At this time, a plurality of (twelve) functional droplet discharge heads 7 sequentially perform a flushing operation, and the head unit 26 shifts to a normal droplet discharge operation as it is. Similarly, when the flushing unit 33 </ b> A returns, the left flushing box 253 first passes immediately below the head unit 26. At this time, the plurality of functional droplet discharge heads 7 sequentially perform a flushing operation, and the head unit 26 shifts to a normal droplet discharge operation as it is.

  That is, in the movable type flushing unit 33A, flushing is appropriately performed while the head unit 26 is reciprocating for main scanning. Therefore, the head unit 26 and the like do not move only for the flushing operation, and the flushing does not affect the tact time.

  Next, the fixed type flushing unit 33B will be described with reference to FIGS. 64, 65 and 66. A flushing unit 33B, flushing boxes 261 and 261 whose upper surfaces are opened to receive the functional liquid droplets, two sets of functional liquid absorbers 262 and 262 laid in the flushing box 261, and an elevating cylinder 263 for raising and lowering the flushing box 261. , A box stand 264 for supporting the flushing box 33B.

  The flushing box 33B is a shallow tray-like member formed in a rectangular shape. Inside the flushing box 33B, two sets of functional liquid absorbing materials 262 corresponding to the two rows of functional droplet discharge head groups 7a and 7a of the head unit 26 are provided. , 262 are spaced apart. Further, in the flushing box 261, a scattering prevention plate 266 for preventing the scattering of the functional liquid droplets at the time of flushing is provided so as to sandwich each functional liquid absorbing material 262 from both sides. The bottom plate of the flushing box 33B is provided with drainage joints 267 serving as drain ports at a total of four locations corresponding to the respective functional liquid absorbents 262. A drain tube (not shown) connected to the drain joint 267 is connected to the waste liquid tank 150.

  The box stand 264 includes a fixed stunt 268, a movable stand 269 slidably mounted on a side surface of the fixed stunt 268 in a vertical direction, and a stand base 270 that supports the fixed stand 268. The elevating cylinder 263 is provided on the stand base 270 so as to face the fixed stunt 268, and the plunger 263 a of the elevating cylinder 263 is fixed to the movable stand 269 via a bracket 271.

  The flushing box 33B at the time of operation of the apparatus is at the ascending position by the elevating cylinder 263, but at the time of non-operation, has been moved to the descending position so as not to hinder maintenance or the like. In the droplet discharge device 10 of the embodiment, after the discharge of the functional liquid droplets and the forward movement of the substrate, the head unit 26 is flushed by the Y-axis table 24 while the substrate W is moving back. The flushing is performed by moving to the position of the unit 33B.

  Next, the main chamber 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description of the main chamber 4, the lower side of FIG. 67 is described as “front”, the upper side “rear”, the left side is “left”, and the right side is “right”. The main chamber 4 includes a chamber room 37 for accommodating the above-described drawing apparatus 1, an electric room 38 provided at the right front of the chamber room 37, and a machine room (gas supply facility) 39 provided at the right rear of the chamber room 37. It has. As the inert gas filled in the chamber 37, it is preferable to use any of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. In the present embodiment, cost and safety are reduced. Considering this, nitrogen (nitrogen gas) is used.

  The inert gas (nitrogen gas) is introduced from a gas production apparatus (not shown) into the machine room 39 via the gas introduction unit 301, where it is subjected to harmony treatment and introduced into the chamber room 37. Further, the inert gas in the chamber room 37 is appropriately exhausted from an exhaust duct 302 attached to the front left portion of the chamber room 37, and sent to a gas processing device (not shown). That is, a gas supply facility is configured by the gas production apparatus, the gas introduction unit 301, the machine room 39, and the like, and a gas exhaust facility is configured by the exhaust duct 302 and the gas processing apparatus.

  The chamber room 37 is a prefabricated type in which the left side wall 311, the right side wall 312, the front double panel 313, the rear double panel 314, the floor wall 315, and the top wall 316 are mutually sealed with an airtight material and assembled. It is. On the other hand, the droplet discharge device 10 housed inside the chamber 37 is housed in a posture in which the front-back direction is the Y-axis direction and the left-right direction is the X-axis direction. The front double panel 313 and the rear double panel 314 are detachable panels, and in consideration of maintenance and the like, the auxiliary device 11 of the drawing apparatus 1 faces the front double panel 313 to carry in the head unit 26 and the like. In consideration, the home position side of the head unit 26 faces the rear double panel 314. Further, a delivery opening 317 with a shutter for carrying in / out the substrate W is formed in the left side wall 311.

  Each of the front double panel 313 and the rear double panel 314 is composed of two outer panels 313a and 314a with detachable windows and two inner panels 313b and 314b. It is interlocked so that it can be opened only when introduced. At the rear upper part of the right side wall 312, an air supply port 319 connected to the machine room 39 is formed, and correspondingly, at the front lower part of the left side wall, an exhaust port 320 connected to the exhaust duct 302 is formed.

  In the present embodiment, the supply of the inert gas (air supply) and the exhaust are made continuous to form an atmosphere of the inert gas in the chamber room 37, and the inert gas flowing from the air supply port 319 is provided. Flows diagonally in the chamber 37 and reaches the exhaust port 320. In the diagonal direction, a region where the droplet discharge device 10 performs a droplet discharge operation, that is, a discharge area, faces the main flow path of the airflow.

  A gas introduction unit 301 connected to the gas producing apparatus is provided above the machine room 39, and the inside of the machine room 39 is appropriately partitioned by a partition 321 and the gas introduction unit 301 is connected to the above-described air supply port 319 from the gas introduction unit 301. A gas flow path 322 is formed. The gas flow path 322 branches on the downstream side of the gas introduction unit 301, and passes through a gas conditioning apparatus 303, which will be described later, to one main gas flow path 323 reaching the air supply port 319, and a filter 330 of the gas conditioning apparatus 303. And the other bypass flow path 324 directly reaching the air supply port 319 via the air supply port 319 (see FIG. 67).

  The flow rates of the main gas flow path 323 and the bypass flow path 324 are adjusted by the manual dampers 325 and 325 when the main chamber 4 is installed. Therefore, the inert gas during the normal operation is appropriately sent from the main gas passage 323 and the bypass passage 324 into the chamber 37.

  In the main gas flow path 323, a gas conditioning device 303 including a cooler (tealing unit) 327, a heater (electric heater) 328, a fan (sirocco fan) 329, and a filter (hepa filter) 330 is provided. Thus, the atmosphere of the inert gas in the chamber 37 is maintained at a predetermined temperature and humidity. For example, the atmosphere of the embodiment is maintained at 20 ° C. ± 0.5 ° C. Note that the filter 330 may be provided directly below the ceiling wall 316 in order to increase the filtration area. That is, in the chamber 37, the filter 330 may be provided just below the ceiling wall 316 like a partition.

  An outside air passage 332 joins the main gas passage 323 on the upstream side of the gas conditioner 303. The outside air intake 333 of the outside air passage 332 is open to the lower side surface of the machine room 39, and the downstream end of the outside air passage 332 joins the main gas passage 323 on the upstream side of the cooler 327. Further, two high airtight dampers 334 and 334 and an electromagnetic valve 342 are interposed in the outside air passage 332 so that the inflow of outside air during normal operation can be reliably prevented.

  For example, when performing maintenance of the drawing apparatus 1, it is necessary to change the atmosphere of the chamber room 37 from the inert gas to the outside air before opening the double doors 313 and 314. In such a case, the gas damper 335, the electric valve 343, and the electromagnetic valve 344 of the gas introduction unit 301 are closed, the high airtight dampers 334, 334 of the outside air passage 332 are opened, and the exhaust dampers 340, 340 described later are opened. The fan 329 is driven to send outside air into the chamber 37. Since the outside air is forcibly sent in this manner, the outside air can be replaced in a short time.

  On the other hand, an oxygen concentration meter 337 and a moisture meter 338 are installed in the chamber room 37, and based on the measurement results of these instruments, the motor-operated valve 343 of the gas introduction unit 301 is controlled, and the oxygen concentration and the moisture concentration are adjusted. In each case, they are maintained at 10 ppm or less.

  Two exhaust dampers 340 and 340 are provided in the exhaust duct 302, and one of the dampers 340 is controlled to open and close, and the other damper 340 is controlled based on the measurement result of the pressure gauge 341 in the chamber 37. The inside of the chamber 37 is controlled so as to always have a positive pressure. This prevents outside air from flowing into the chamber room 37 from a seal portion (a defective portion of the airtight material) or the like.

  As described above, the droplet discharge device 10 and the auxiliary device 11 are housed in the chamber 37, and the droplet discharge operation by the droplet discharge device 10 is performed in the atmosphere of the inert gas. An organic EL device can be stably manufactured without the functional droplet (light emitting material) that has landed being altered or damaged.

It is sectional drawing of the bank part formation process (inorganic bank) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the bank part formation process (organic matter bank) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the plasma processing process (hydrophilization process) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a plasma processing step (water-repellent processing) in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a hole injection layer forming step (droplet ejection) in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the hole injection layer formation process (dry) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a surface modification step (droplet ejection) in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the surface modification process (dry) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the B light emitting layer formation process (droplet discharge) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the B light emitting layer formation process (dry) in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the R, G, and B light emitting layer formation process in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a counter electrode forming step in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the sealing process in the manufacturing method of the organic EL device which concerns on embodiment. It is a key map of hole injection layer formation equipment concerning an embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram of the light emitting layer formation equipment which concerns on embodiment. 1 is an external perspective view of a drawing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an external front view of a drawing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an external side view of a drawing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an external plan view of a drawing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a droplet discharge device of a drawing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a head unit of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a head unit of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of a head unit of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of a head unit of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a functional droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a side view of the circumference of a stone surface plate of the droplet discharge device which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view around a stone surface plate of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a front view of the circumference of the stone surface plate of the droplet discharge device which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the support form of the stone surface plate of the droplet discharge device which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view of the X-axis table of the droplet discharge device concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the X table of the droplet discharge device concerning an embodiment. It is a front view of the X table of the droplet discharge device concerning an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view around a main board recognition camera of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a Y-axis table of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of a Y-axis table of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of a Y-axis table of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main carriage of a Y-axis table according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main carriage of a Y-axis table according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view of the common machine base of the droplet discharge device concerning an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a common base with a common base removed from the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a side view of the common machine of the droplet discharge device concerning an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a common base of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a piping system diagram of the functional liquid supply and recovery device of the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view around the pump group of the functional liquid supply / recovery device according to the embodiment. It is a top view around the pump group of the functional fluid supply and recovery device according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view around the waste liquid pump of the functional liquid supply / recovery device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an intermediate tank of the functional liquid supply / recovery device according to the embodiment. It is a side view of the intermediate tank of the functional liquid supply / recovery device according to the embodiment. It is a front view of the intermediate tank of the functional fluid supply and recovery device according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view of a winding unit in a wiping unit. It is a top view of a winding unit in a wiping unit. It is a front view of the winding unit in a wiping unit. It is a perspective view of the wiping unit in a wiping unit. It is a top view of the wiping unit in a wiping unit. It is a front view of the wiping unit in a wiping unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation | movement of the wiping unit which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the cleaning unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of the cleaning unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the cleaning unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cleaning unit according to the embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view of a cap of a cleaning unit. It is a perspective view of the flushing unit (movable type) which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view of the flushing unit (movable type) which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the flushing unit (fixed type) which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view of the flushing unit (fixed type) which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view of the flushing unit (fixed type) which concerns on embodiment. It is a system diagram of a main chamber concerning an embodiment. It is a top view of the main chamber concerning an embodiment. It is a front view of the main chamber concerning an embodiment. It is a right side view of the main chamber concerning an embodiment. It is a left side view of the main chamber concerning an embodiment.

Explanation of reference numerals

A Hole Injection Layer Forming Equipment B Light Emitting Layer Forming Equipment W Substrate 1 Drawing Device 4 Main Chamber 7 Functional Droplet Discharge Head 10 Droplet Discharge Device 11 Attached Device 16 Maintenance Device 23 X-axis Table 24 Y-axis Table 26 Head Unit 34 Cleaning Unit 35 Wiping unit 67 Nozzle forming surface 123 Moving table 147 Cleaning tank 171 Winding unit 172 Wiping unit 177 Winding motor 179 Speed detecting roller 181 Cleaning liquid pan 185 Speed detector 193 Wiping roller 195 Cleaning liquid spray head 204 Spray nozzle 205 Connector 500 Organic EL device 501 Substrate 502 Circuit element section 504 Organic EL element 510a Hole injection / transport layer 510b Light emitting layer

Claims (12)

A wiping unit that performs a wiping operation of a nozzle forming surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head by a running wiping sheet,
A wiping unit, comprising: a cleaning liquid spray head that is positioned on the front side of the functional liquid droplet discharge head in the sheet feeding direction and sprays and impregnates the cleaning liquid onto the wiping sheet.   The wiping unit according to claim 1, further comprising a wiping roller for rotating the wiping sheet traveling and pressing the wiping sheet against a nozzle forming surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head.   3. The wiping unit according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning liquid spray head is located on a front side of the wiping roller in a sheet feeding direction and faces in parallel with the wiping roller. 4.   The wiping unit according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning liquid spray head is provided with a plurality of spray nozzles arranged side by side in accordance with a width of the wiping sheet.   5. The wiping unit according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning liquid spray head is provided with a plurality of tubes connecting to the respective spray nozzles and connected to a cleaning tank. A feeding reel for feeding out the wiping sheet wound in a roll, a winding reel for winding the wiping sheet after the wiping operation, and a winding motor for winding and rotating the winding reel, further comprising:
6. The reel according to claim 1, wherein the reel is wound with a wiping sheet stretched by a torque limiter provided on the reel, and the winding reel winds the wiping sheet so as not to be slackened. The wiping unit according to the above. A speed detection roller provided with a speed detector for detecting a feed speed of the wiping sheet, further comprising:
The wiping unit according to claim 6, wherein the speed detector controls the winding motor based on a detection result.   The wiping unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a cleaning liquid pan that receives the cleaning liquid dripping from the wiping sheet.   9. The wiping unit according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid is a solvent of the functional liquid. A wiping unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A moving table for mounting the wiping unit and moving the wiping unit in the wiping direction,
The maintenance device according to claim 1, wherein the moving table moves the wiping sheet in a state where the wiping sheet is running in the wiping direction as a whole. A cleaning unit mounted on a moving table adjacent to the wiping unit and configured to suction a functional liquid to the functional liquid ejection head,
The moving table is characterized in that, after the functional liquid ejection head facing the maintenance position, the cleaning unit is exposed to perform the functional liquid suction, and then the wiping unit is exposed to perform the wiping operation. The maintenance device according to claim 10, which performs the maintenance. A maintenance device according to claim 10 or 11,
A droplet discharge device that relatively scans the functional droplet discharge head into which the functional liquid has been introduced with respect to a substrate, and selectively discharges the functional material onto the substrate to form a functional film. Drawing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images