JP2005169805A - Aligning mechanism of recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the recording position accuracy of a recording device while solving the problem of the structure of an aligning mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The recording device has a head to perform recording to a recorded member, a first angle correction means to correct the angle of rotation of the head, a fixing means to fix the recorded member, a second angle correction means to correct the angle of rotation of the fixing means, and a stage equipped with the fixing means and capable of moving within a horizontal plane. The head has a permeable portion, a plurality of first alignment marks provided in the permeable portion, a plurality of second alignment marks provided in the recorded member or the fixing means, and an imaging means arranged above the head, a moving means to vertically and horizontally move the imaging means, a control means to correct the first angle correction means and the second angle correction means from information of the first alignment marks and the second alignment marks caught by the imaging means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an alignment mechanism in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording member by discharging droplets.

  As one method for recording on a recording member, there is an ink jet method in which recording is performed by discharging droplets from nozzles provided in a head. Among those employing this method, printers for printing color images on paper are best known.

  However, the ink jet method is applied not only to printers but also to manufacturing apparatuses such as a color filter manufacturing apparatus and a DNA chip manufacturing apparatus because of the advantage that minute droplets can land on a predetermined place. FIG. 7 shows an example of a DNA chip manufacturing apparatus.

  On the surface plate 40, a Y-axis stage 34 and guide rails 35a and 35b that can be positioned with high accuracy are fixed in parallel. An X-axis stage 33 that can be positioned with high accuracy is attached to the movable parts of the Y-axis stage 34 and the guide rails 35a and 35b with high accuracy. A substrate θ stage 32 is fixed to the movable part of the X-axis stage 33, and a chuck 31 is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate θ stage 32.

  The chuck 31 is connected to a pump and a tube (not shown), and the glass substrate 20 as a recording member is adsorbed to the chuck 31 when the pump sucks air. Accordingly, the chuck 31 and the glass substrate 20 can be positioned with high accuracy in the XY directions, and the angle around the Z axis (θ direction) can be corrected. A head alignment camera 101 is attached to the movable part of the X-axis stage 33. Therefore, the imaging position of the head alignment camera 101 follows the movement of the chuck 31 in the XY plane, but is not affected by the rotational movement of the chuck 31.

  Columns 42a and 42b are fixed on the surface plate 40, and bridges 41a and 41b are fixed to the columns 42a and 42b, respectively. The bridges 41a and 41b are fixed by a stay 103, and the strength of the structures of the support columns 42a and 42b and the bridges 41a and 41b is maintained. A substrate alignment camera 102 is attached to the stay 103. Further, a head θ stage 30 is fixed between the bridges 41 a and 41 b, and the head 10 is fixed to the head θ stage 30. Thereby, the head 10 has a configuration capable of correcting the angle in the θ direction.

  When drawing accuracy on the glass substrate 20 is required as in a DNA chip manufacturing apparatus, it is possible to prevent a reduction in drawing accuracy due to an assembly error of the apparatus and an error in a position / tilt for fixing the head 10 and the glass substrate 20. Alignment is performed for the purpose.

  An alignment method will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a relative relationship among the head 10, the glass substrate 20, the head alignment camera 101, and the substrate alignment camera 102. Head alignment marks 11 a and 11 b are provided on the lower surface of the head 10. Further, substrate alignment marks 21 a and 21 b are provided on the surface of the glass substrate 20.

  First, the head alignment camera 101 is moved below the head alignment mark 11a, and the position of the head alignment mark 11a is read. Similarly, the head alignment camera 101 is moved under the head alignment mark 11b, and the position of the head alignment mark 11b is read. The inclination of the head 10 is calculated from the positions of the head alignment marks 11a and 11b, and the head 10 is corrected by the angle. The position of the head alignment marks 11a and 11b is read again after correction, and the corrected tilt and position of the head 10 are stored.

  Next, the substrate alignment mark 21a is moved under the substrate alignment camera 102, and the position of the substrate alignment mark 21a is read. Similarly, the substrate alignment mark 21b is moved below the substrate alignment camera 102, and the position of the substrate alignment mark 21b is read. The inclination of the glass substrate 20 is calculated from the positions of the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b, and the glass substrate 20 is corrected by the angle. Again, after correction, the positions of the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b are read, and the tilt and position of the glass substrate 20 are stored. From the corrected positions of the head 10 and the glass substrate 20, the relative relationship between the two is grasped, and the drawing start position is determined.

  The configuration of the conventional example has the following problems. When taking an image captured by the head alignment camera into an image processing system outside the apparatus, a cable connecting the head alignment camera and the image processing system is necessary. Further, in order to illuminate the imaging portion, it is necessary to connect the head alignment camera and the light source with a light guide. Since the head alignment camera moves in the XY plane by the X-axis stage and the Y-axis stage, a long cable / light guide is required according to the scanning distance of the X-axis stage and the Y-axis stage. Further, since the cable / light guide repeatedly bends as the head alignment camera moves, there is a problem in terms of durability.

  Up to now, various proposals have been made as alignment methods for color filter manufacturing apparatuses and the like, and there is also a method for performing alignment using only a substrate alignment camera.

  For example, in the proposal described in Patent Document 1, stage correction is performed by comparing the landing position of a droplet and the position of a reference mark with a substrate alignment camera. Similarly, in the proposal described in Patent Document 2, droplets are ejected to a blank serving as a substitute for a glass substrate, and the ejection data when the droplet is photographed by the substrate alignment camera and the position of the alignment mark on the glass substrate are used. The position of the chuck, the angle of the head, and the angle of the glass substrate are corrected. Furthermore, in the proposal described in Patent Document 3, the alignment portion arranged outside the drawing area of the glass substrate is detected by the substrate alignment camera, thereby positioning the ink nozzle and the opening to be drawn. Yes.

JP-T 09-511585 JP 2001-286812 A Japanese Patent Registration No. 0259626

  However, the proposals of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 cause the following problems. The biggest factor related to the drawing accuracy when recording on the recording member is the ejection performance of the head itself, which causes variations in the drawing position even during each ejection. Therefore, even if high-accuracy positioning of the chuck can be realized, errors due to the ejection performance of the head are added up when correcting the position of the chuck and the rotation of the head based on the drawn dots, and the deviation from the ideal value. May become larger than before correction.

  The proposal of Patent Document 3 has the following problems. Unlike the color filter manufacturing apparatus, in the DNA chip manufacturing apparatus, there are various combinations of types of liquid droplets and drawing patterns for drawing on the glass substrate, and it is necessary to change the head each time. Therefore, if the head is replaced, an error occurs in the fixed position each time. Therefore, not only the alignment of the glass substrate but also the alignment of the head is necessary. Here, the alignment includes correction of the angle between the glass substrate and the head and relative alignment between the glass substrate and the head. In order to minimize the error of the drawing position in the angle correction of the glass substrate and the head, the drawing direction of the glass substrate and the head are not made to match the drawing direction of the glass substrate and the nozzle array of the head. It is necessary to match each nozzle row with the scanning direction of the stage.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an alignment mechanism that can improve the recording position accuracy of the recording apparatus while solving the problem of the configuration of the alignment mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to a head for recording on a recording member, first angle correction means for correcting a rotation angle of the head, and fixing for fixing the recording member. A recording apparatus comprising: means; a second angle correcting means for correcting the rotation angle of the fixing means; and a stage movable in a horizontal plane on which the fixing means is mounted. A plurality of first alignment marks provided on the transmission part, a plurality of second alignment marks provided on the recording member or the fixing means, an imaging means disposed above the head, and the imaging means vertically The first angle correction based on information on the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark captured by the imaging means, and a moving means for moving in a horizontal direction and a horizontal direction Characterized in that it has a control means for correcting the stage and the second angle correction means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head for recording on a recording member, first angle correction means for correcting a rotation angle of the head, fixing means for fixing the recording member, and fixing means. In a recording apparatus including a second angle correction unit that corrects a rotation angle and a stage that is movable in a horizontal plane on which the fixing unit is mounted, the head includes a transmission part, and a plurality of units provided in the transmission part A first alignment mark, a plurality of second alignment marks provided on the recording member or the fixing unit, an imaging unit disposed above the head, and an imaging position of the imaging unit with the first alignment mark The first angle correction means and the first angle correction means based on the information of the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark captured by the imaging means; Characterized in that it has a control means for correcting the second angular correction means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the first alignment mark is arranged such that a straight line connecting the first alignment marks coincides with the scanning direction of the stage after the alignment of the head. The second alignment mark is provided on the recording member or the fixing means so that a plurality of straight lines connecting the second alignment marks are aligned with the scanning direction of the stage after the recording member is aligned. A plurality of the alignment marks are provided, and an interval between the first alignment marks and an interval between the second alignment marks are substantially the same.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a shutter is provided in the optical path of the imaging means.

  According to the present invention, even when only one alignment camera is used, the head and the recording member can be accurately aligned by combining with the operation of the stage.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a DNA chip manufacturing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  Since the configuration of the drawing system is the same as that of the conventional example, the same number is assigned to that of the conventional example, and the description thereof is omitted. Regarding the configuration of the alignment system, the alignment camera 1 is arranged above the head 10. The alignment camera 1 is the only camera for alignment. The alignment camera 1 is fixed to a camera Z stage 2, and the camera Z stage 2 is fixed to a camera X stage 3 passed between bridges 41a and 41b.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the head according to the present invention.

  The head 10 includes a nozzle plate 12, an ink storage portion 13, and a head frame 14. The ink storage portion 13 is an inner portion of the head frame 14 and is made of a permeable material. The ink storage unit 13 is divided into a plurality of liquid chambers (not shown), and can store various types of inks without mixing them. The ink stored in the liquid chamber of the ink storage unit 13 is guided to the nozzle plate 12 attached to the lower surface of the ink storage unit 13 through an ink flow path (not shown). By applying a voltage to the nozzle plate 12, the ink is ejected below the head 10.

  A head alignment mark 11 a is also provided on the lower surface of the head 10. Since the position where the head alignment mark 11a is provided is a position on the lower surface of the ink storage portion 13 and the nozzle plate 12 is not attached, the head alignment mark 11a can be observed from above the head 10. . On the opposite side of the head alignment mark 11a across the nozzle plate 12, a similar head alignment mark 11b (not shown) is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the alignment system according to the present invention.

  Substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b are provided on the glass substrate 20 as a recording member. The distance between the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b is the same as the distance between the head alignment marks 11a and 11b. The straight line connecting the head alignment marks 11 a and 11 b and the straight line connecting the substrate alignment marks 21 a and 21 b are arranged so as to coincide with the scanning direction of the X-axis stage 33. With the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the alignment camera 1 arranged above the head 10 can observe the head alignment marks 11a and 11b provided on the lower surface of the head 10 and the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b existing below the head. .

  Here, the material of the member to be recorded is made of glass, but it may be a plastic film, ceramic, or the like that can accept ink and can inspect the manufactured DNA chip.

  Based on FIG. 6, a detailed alignment method will be described.

  In the drawing, the head alignment marks 11a and 11b are indicated by “◯” and the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b are indicated by “+”. First, as shown in FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the head 10 and the glass substrate 20 are tilted and fixed with respect to the scanning direction of the stage. Here, the scanning direction of the stage is the XY direction in the drawing. The position of the alignment camera 1 in the XY plane is fixed at a position where the head alignment mark 11a is captured. Thereafter, the height of the head alignment camera 1 is adjusted by the camera Z stage 2 so that the focus of the alignment camera 1 is on the surface of the glass substrate 20. Then, the glass substrate 20 is moved so that the alignment camera 1 can catch the substrate alignment mark 21b. At this time, the position of the substrate alignment mark 21b in the image captured by the alignment camera 1 is stored.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the glass substrate is moved only in the X direction so that the alignment camera 1 can catch the substrate alignment mark 21 a. Here, the position of the substrate alignment mark 21a in the image captured by the alignment camera 1 is stored. The tilt of the glass substrate 20 from the X direction is calculated from the previously stored image information of the substrate alignment mark 21b, the image information of the substrate alignment mark 21a, and the amount of movement of the stage, and the angle of the glass substrate 20 is corrected by the tilt amount. .

  At this time, the distance between the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b is also calculated from the image information and the amount of stage movement. Thus, the direction indicated by the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b of the glass substrate 20 matches the X direction of the stage. In this state, the image of the substrate alignment mark 21a is read again, the height of the alignment camera 1 is changed by the camera Z stage 2, and the image is read with the focus on the head alignment mark 11a. The amount of deviation between the two marks is calculated from the image information of the substrate alignment mark 21b and the image information of the head alignment mark 11a, and the glass substrate 20 so that the substrate alignment mark 21b and the head alignment mark 11a are at the same position in the XY plane. Correct the position of. Then, the alignment camera 1 is moved by the camera X stage 3 to a position where the alignment camera 1 catches the head alignment mark 11b. This time is the state shown in FIG.

  Here, the image of the head alignment mark 11b is read, the height of the alignment camera 1 is changed by the camera Z stage 2, and the image is read with the focus on the substrate alignment mark 21b. Then, the inclination of the head 10 is calculated from the image information of the substrate alignment mark 21b, the image information of the head alignment mark 11b, and the distance between the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b calculated earlier, and the angle of the head 10 is corrected by the inclination. As a result, the direction indicated by the head alignment marks 11a and 11b of the head 10 matches the X direction of the stage. Finally, the height of the alignment camera 1 is changed again with the camera Z stage 2 to read the images of the substrate alignment mark 21b and the head alignment mark 11b, calculate the amount of deviation between the two marks from the image information, and the substrate alignment mark 21b. The position of the glass substrate 20 is corrected so that the head alignment mark 11b is at the same position in the XY plane. This position can be used as a reference for the relative positional relationship between the head 10 and the glass substrate 20.

<Embodiment 2>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  4 and 5 are perspective views showing the features of the DNA chip manufacturing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is the configuration of the camera shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 4 shows an overview of the camera system.

  A camera system fixing plate 4 is fixed between the bridges 41a and 41b. A camera Z stage 2 is attached to the camera system fixing plate 4, and the alignment camera 1 is fixed to a movable part of the camera Z stage 2. The alignment camera 1 is disposed above the head 10. A lens barrel 5 is fixed between the alignment camera 1 and the head 10.

  FIG. 5 shows details of the configuration of the lens barrel 5.

  The lens barrel 5 includes a case 6, a half mirror 7, and mirrors 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, and the case 6 is fixed to the fixing portions 4 a, 4 b, 4 c of the camera system fixing plate 4. The image of the head alignment mark 11 a of the head 10 is reflected by the mirror 8 a, further reflected by the mirror 8 b, and transmitted through the half mirror 7 and taken into the alignment camera 1. A head alignment mark 11b (not shown) is directly below the mirror 8c. The image of the head alignment mark 11 b is reflected by the mirror 8 b and further reflected by the half mirror 7 and is taken into the alignment camera 1. Thus, by adjusting the height of the alignment camera 1 with the camera Z stage 2, the head alignment marks 11a and 11b and the substrate alignment marks 21a and 21b of the glass substrate 20 that have moved below the head 10 are replaced with the alignment camera. 1 can be observed selectively.

  Further, shutters (not shown) are incorporated between the mirrors 8a and 8b and between the half mirror 7 and the mirror 8c. By opening and closing this shutter, the image of the head alignment mark 11a or 11b or the substrate alignment mark 21a or 21b can be selectively taken into the alignment camera 1.

  According to the above configuration, the head 10 and the glass substrate 20 can be aligned in the same process as the method described in the first embodiment without moving the alignment camera 1 in the horizontal direction.

  In the present embodiment, the mirrors 8a, 8b, 8c and the half mirror 7 are used as means for guiding the imaging position of the alignment camera 1 to the positions of the head alignment marks 11a, 11b. However, optical means such as prisms and optical fibers are also used. good.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an alignment mechanism in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording member by discharging droplets.

1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus to which an alignment mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the head which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the detail of the alignment mechanism which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the alignment mechanism which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the detail of the alignment mechanism which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the alignment mechanism which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus to which a conventional alignment mechanism is applied. It is a perspective view explaining the detail of the alignment mechanism of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Alignment camera 2 Camera Z stage 3 Camera X stage 4 Camera system fixing plate 5 Lens barrel 6 Case part 7 Half mirror 8a-8c Mirror 10 Head 11a, 11b Head alignment mark 12 Nozzle plate 13 Ink storage part 14 Head frame 20 Glass substrate 21a, 21b Substrate alignment mark 30 Head θ stage 31 Chuck 32 Substrate θ stage 33 X axis stage 34 Y axis stage 35a, 35b Guide rail 40 Surface plate 41a, 41b Bridge 42a, 42b Post

Claims (4)

  A head for recording on a recording member, a first angle correction unit for correcting the rotation angle of the head, a fixing unit for fixing the recording member, and a second angle for correcting the rotation angle of the fixing unit In a recording apparatus including a correction unit and a stage movable in a horizontal plane on which the fixing unit is mounted, the head has a transmission part, and a plurality of first alignment marks provided on the transmission part, A plurality of second alignment marks provided on the recording member or the fixing unit, an imaging unit disposed above the head, a moving unit for moving the imaging unit in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the imaging Control means for correcting the first angle correction means and the second angle correction means from information on the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark captured by the means Alignment mechanism in the recording apparatus characterized by having.   A head for recording on a recording member, a first angle correction means for correcting the rotation angle of the head, a fixing means for fixing the recording member, and a second angle for correcting the rotation angle of the fixing means In a recording apparatus including a correction unit and a stage movable in a horizontal plane on which the fixing unit is mounted, the head has a transmission part, and a plurality of first alignment marks provided on the transmission part, A plurality of second alignment marks provided on the recording member or the fixing means, an imaging means disposed above the head, and an optical means for guiding the imaging position of the imaging means to the position of the first alignment mark; The first angle correction unit and the second angle correction unit are corrected based on the information of the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark captured by the imaging unit. Alignment mechanism in the recording apparatus characterized by comprising a control unit.   A plurality of the first alignment marks are provided on the head so that a straight line connecting the first alignment marks coincides with a scanning direction of the stage after the alignment of the head, and a straight line connecting the second alignment marks is provided. A plurality of the second alignment marks are provided on the recording member or the fixing means so as to coincide with the scanning direction of the stage after alignment of the recording member, and the interval between the first alignment marks and the second alignment mark 3. An alignment mechanism in a recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between them is substantially the same.   3. An alignment mechanism in a recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a shutter in the optical path of the image pickup means.

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