JP2005305269A - Droplet discharge apparatus, method of cleaning head, method of manufacturing electro-optic device, electro-optic device and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet discharge apparatus in which a liquid is prevented from being raked from a nozzle opening by a cleaning member to surely prevent the soiling of a nozzle face of a head with the liquid when the nozzle face is wiped by the cleaning member, a method of cleaning the head, a method of manufacturing an electro-optic device, the electrooptic device and an electronic apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet discharge apparatus 10 for discharging droplets to a work is provided with a liquid storage part 300 for supplying the liquid to the head 11, the head 11 to which the liquid 1900 is supplied from the liquid storage part 300 and from which the droplets are discharged, the cleaning member 60 for cleaning the nozzle face 70 of the head 11 and a position changing means 500 for moving a liquid boundary surface 1901 in the head 11 to the inside of the head 11 by changing a relative height position of the liquid storage part 300 and the head 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device for discharging droplets onto a workpiece, a head cleaning method, an electro-optical device manufacturing method, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

The droplet discharge device is sometimes used as a drawing system, and this drawing system discharges droplets onto a workpiece by an ink jet method. This drawing system may be used in the manufacture of electro-optical elements such as flat panel displays.
A droplet discharge apparatus that discharges droplets by an ink jet method has a head for discharging droplets. The nozzle surface of the head needs to be cleaned as necessary. For this reason, a head cleaning method has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-270426 A (page 10, FIG. 18)

This type of head cleaning device cleans the nozzle surface with the wiping sheet pressed against the nozzle surface after discharging foreign matter such as bubbles, dust, or solidified ink from the nozzle opening to the outside. To. However, an ink meniscus (ink boundary surface) is located in each nozzle opening on the nozzle surface side of the head, and this meniscus is formed at a position close to the nozzle surface.
For this reason, if the residual ink on the nozzle surface is wiped while pressing a wiping sheet as used conventionally against the nozzle surface, the ink meniscus in each nozzle opening is broken, and the ink in the nozzle opening This causes a phenomenon that the ink is scraped to the nozzle surface side.

For this reason, even though the nozzle surface is cleaned, the ink scraped from the nozzle opening adheres to the nozzle surface. The ink adhering to the nozzle surface does not always adversely affect the ejection of droplets by the ink jet method, but if the ink remaining on the nozzle surface adheres near the nozzle opening, the ink jet method performed thereafter The ink droplet ejection operation due to the ink droplet causes a flight bending phenomenon of the ink droplet.
Further, if ink adheres to the nozzle surface for a long time, it also leads to corrosion of the nozzle plate constituting the nozzle surface.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and prevents the cleaning of the nozzle surface from the nozzle opening by the cleaning member when the nozzle surface of the head is wiped by the cleaning member, and reliably prevents the nozzle surface from being contaminated by the liquid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a droplet discharge device, a head cleaning method, an electro-optical device manufacturing method, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a droplet discharge device for discharging droplets onto a work, wherein the liquid storage unit stores liquid, and the liquid is supplied from the liquid storage unit. The head for discharging the droplets, the cleaning member for wiping the nozzle surface of the head, the relative height position of the liquid reservoir and the head are changed, and the liquid boundary surface in the head is It is achieved by a droplet discharge device comprising position changing means for moving to the inside of the head.

According to the configuration of the first invention, the liquid storage part stores the liquid. The head is supplied with liquid from the liquid storage unit and discharges droplets. The cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface of the head. The position changing means changes the relative height position between the liquid storage section and the head, and moves the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head.
As a result, the liquid supply surface in the head moves to the inside of the head, so that when the cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface of the head, the cleaning member does not scrape the liquid to the nozzle surface side. Accordingly, since the nozzle surface is not contaminated by the liquid, it is possible to prevent the flying curve of the droplet when the droplet is ejected. Further, since the droplets do not adhere to the nozzle surface, corrosion of the nozzle surface can be surely prevented.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the position changing unit is a liquid storage portion position changing portion that moves the head position of the liquid storage portion up and down with respect to the head.
According to the configuration of the second invention, the position changing means is a liquid storage portion position changing portion that lowers the head position of the liquid storage portion with respect to the head.
Accordingly, the position changing means moves the liquid supply surface in the head to the inside of the head by moving the head position of the liquid storage unit up and down relative to the head by moving the head position of the liquid storage unit up and down with respect to the head. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the cleaning member from scraping the liquid to the nozzle surface side.

According to a third invention, in the configuration of the first invention, the position changing means is a head position changing unit that moves the head up and down with respect to a head position of the liquid storage unit.
According to the configuration of the third invention, the position changing means is a head position changing unit that moves the head up and down with respect to the water head position of the liquid storage unit.
Thereby, the position changing means can move the liquid in the head to the inside of the head with certainty by moving the head up and down relative to the head position of the liquid reservoir. For this reason, when the cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface, it is possible to reliably prevent the cleaning member from scraping the liquid to the nozzle surface side.

4th invention is the structure of 1st invention or 2nd invention, The said cleaning member is a strip | belt-shaped cleaning sheet which cleans the said nozzle surface, being sent to a longitudinal direction, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
According to the configuration of the fourth invention, the cleaning member is a belt-like cleaning sheet. This strip-shaped cleaning sheet cleans the nozzle surface while being sent in the longitudinal direction.
Thereby, when the belt-shaped cleaning sheet wipes the nozzle surface, the liquid boundary surface in the head moves to the inside of the head, so that the belt-shaped cleaning sheet does not scrape the liquid to the nozzle surface side.

According to a fifth invention, in the configuration of the first invention or the second invention, the cleaning member contacts the nozzle surface and moves relative to the nozzle surface to clean the nozzle surface. It is a blade.
According to the configuration of the fifth invention, the cleaning member is a blade. The blade cleans the nozzle surface by moving relative to the nozzle surface in contact with the nozzle surface.
Thus, when the blade wipes the nozzle surface, the blade does not scrape the liquid to the nozzle surface side.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head cleaning method for cleaning a nozzle surface of a head provided in a droplet discharge device for discharging droplets onto a work, wherein the nozzle of the head Before the surface is wiped by the cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid reservoir and the head is changed by the position changing means, and the position change for moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head And a wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head. Achieved.

According to the configuration of the sixth aspect of the invention, in the position changing step, before the nozzle surface of the head is wiped by the cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid reservoir and the head is changed by the position changing means, The liquid interface is moved into the head. The wiping step wipes the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head.
Thereby, since the liquid supply surface in the head moves to the inside of the head, the cleaning member does not scrape the liquid to the nozzle surface side when the cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface of the head. Accordingly, since the nozzle surface is not contaminated by the liquid, it is possible to prevent the flying curve of the droplet when the droplet is ejected. Further, since the droplets do not adhere to the nozzle surface, corrosion of the nozzle surface can be surely prevented.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electro-optical device manufacturing method for manufacturing an electro-optical device using a droplet discharge device that discharges droplets from a head onto a work, wherein the droplet discharge When the nozzle surface of the head of the apparatus is wiped by the cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid reservoir and the head is changed by the position changing means, and the liquid boundary surface in the head is moved into the head. A position changing step for moving, a wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head into the head, and after wiping the nozzle surface And a droplet discharge step of discharging the droplet onto the workpiece. This is achieved by a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device.

Thereby, since the liquid supply surface in the head moves to the inside of the head, the cleaning member does not scrape the liquid to the nozzle surface side when the cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface of the head. Accordingly, since the nozzle surface is not contaminated by the liquid, it is possible to prevent the flying curve of the droplet when the droplet is ejected. Further, since the droplets do not adhere to the nozzle surface, corrosion of the nozzle surface can be surely prevented.
Therefore, the electro-optical device manufacturing method performed in this way can manufacture an electro-optical device with higher manufacturing quality.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electro-optical device manufactured by using a droplet discharge device that discharges droplets from a head onto a workpiece, the nozzle surface of the head of the droplet discharge device. A position changing step for moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head by changing the relative position of the liquid storage portion and the head by the position changing means when the cleaning member is wiped by the cleaning member And a wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head by the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head, and after wiping the nozzle surface, This is achieved by an electro-optical device obtained by performing a droplet discharging step for discharging a droplet.

  Thereby, since the liquid supply surface in the head moves to the inside of the head, when the cleaning member wipes the nozzle surface of the head, the wiping member can prevent the phenomenon that the liquid is scraped to the nozzle surface side. Accordingly, since the nozzle surface is not contaminated by the liquid, it is possible to prevent the flying curve of the droplet when the droplet is ejected. Further, since the droplets do not adhere to the nozzle surface, corrosion of the nozzle surface can be surely prevented. The electro-optical device obtained in this way has a better manufacturing quality.

  A ninth invention is characterized in that the electro-optical device according to the eighth invention is mounted.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the droplet discharge device of the present invention. The droplet discharge device 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be used as a drawing system. As an example, this drawing system is incorporated in a production line of an organic EL (electroluminescence) device, which is a kind of so-called flat panel display. The droplet discharge device 10 can form a light emitting element to be each pixel of the organic EL device.

The droplet discharge device 10 can be used as, for example, an ink jet drawing device. The droplet discharge device 10 is for forming a light emitting element of an organic EL device by a droplet discharge method (inkjet method). The head of the droplet discharge device 10 (also referred to as a functional droplet discharge head) can form a light emitting element of an organic EL element. Specifically, in the manufacturing process of the organic EL element, the head in which the light emitting functional material is introduced is relative to the substrate (an example of a workpiece) on which the bank part is formed through the bank part forming process and the plasma processing process. By performing scanning in this manner, the droplet discharge device 10 can form the hole injection / transport layer and the light emitting layer film forming portion corresponding to the position of the pixel electrode on the substrate.
For example, by preparing two droplet discharge devices 10, the first droplet discharge device 10 forms a hole injection / transport layer, and the other droplet discharge device 10 has R (red), G Light emitting layers of three colors (green) and B (blue) can be formed.

  The droplet discharge device 10 of FIG. 1 is accommodated in a chamber 12. The chamber 12 has another chamber 13. In the chamber 13, a work carry-in / out table 14 is accommodated. The workpiece carry-in / out table 14 is a table for carrying the workpiece W into the chamber 12 or carrying out the processed workpiece W from the table 30 in the chamber 12.

A chamber 12 shown in FIG. 1 accommodates a maintenance unit 15 that performs maintenance of the head 11. A recovery unit 16 is provided outside the chamber 12.
The maintenance unit 15 includes a suction unit 400, a cleaning unit (wiping unit) 600, a flushing unit (not shown), a discharge inspection unit (not shown), a weight measurement unit (not shown), and the like.
The flushing unit is for receiving droplets preliminarily ejected from the head 11. The suction unit 400 is for sucking liquid and bubbles from the nozzles on the nozzle surface of the head 11.
Although the cleaning unit is hereinafter referred to as a wiping unit, the wiping unit 600 is for wiping off dirt such as liquid adhering to the nozzle surface with a cleaning member (wiping member). The discharge inspection unit inspects the discharge state of the droplets discharged from the head 11. The weight measurement unit measures the weight of the droplets ejected from the head 11.
The recovery unit 16 includes, for example, a droplet recovery system that recovers droplets and a cleaning liquid supply system that supplies a cleaning solvent used after wiping.

  The chamber 12 and the chamber 13 are individually air-controlled so that the atmosphere in the chamber 12 and the chamber 13 does not vary. The reason why the chamber 12 and the chamber 13 are used in this way is that, for example, in the case of manufacturing an organic EL element, the influence of the atmosphere can be eliminated because the moisture in the atmosphere is disliked. A dry air atmosphere is maintained by continuously introducing and exhausting dry air into the chamber 12 and the chamber 13.

Next, components in the chamber 12 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
In the chamber 12, the frame 20, the head 11, the carriage 19, the liquid storage unit 300, the first operation unit 21, the second operation unit 22, the table 30, the guide base 17, and the liquid storage unit position change unit 500 are accommodated. doing.
The frame 20 in FIG. 1 is provided horizontally along the X-axis direction. The guide base 17 is provided along the Y-axis direction. The frame 20 is above the guide base 17. The X axis corresponds to the first movement axis, and the Y axis corresponds to the second movement axis. The X axis and the Y axis are orthogonal to each other and are also orthogonal to the Z axis. The Z axis is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG.

The first operation unit 21 is for linearly reciprocating and positioning the carriage 19 and the head 11 along the frame 20 along the X-axis direction.
The second operation unit 22 has a table 30. The table 30 can also be loaded with a workpiece W as shown in FIG. The table 30 of the second operation unit 22 holds the workpiece W when a droplet is applied from the head 11 to the workpiece W. Then, the second operation unit 22 can position the workpiece W by linearly moving on the guide base 17 along the Y-axis direction.

  The first operation unit 21 includes a motor 21A for linearly moving the carriage 19 and the head 11 in the X-axis direction for positioning. The motor 21A can linearly move the carriage 19 and the head 11 in the X-axis direction by using, for example, a feed screw. The motor 21A may be a rotary electric motor or a linear motor.

  The motor 22 </ b> A of the second operation unit 22 can position the table 30 by linearly moving the table 30 along the guide base 17 in the Y-axis direction. As the motor 22A, for example, a rotary electric motor that rotates a feed screw can be used. As the motor 22A, a linear motor can be used in addition to the rotary motor.

  The table 30 of the second operation unit 22 has a mounting surface 30A. The mounting surface 30A is a surface perpendicular to the Z-axis direction in FIG. The mounting surface 30A has a suction portion 30B. The suction portion 30B can suck the workpiece W by vacuum suction. Thereby, the workpiece | work W can be reliably fixed so that attachment or detachment is possible, without shifting | deviating with respect to the mounting surface 30A.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a structural example of the carriage 19 and the head 11 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the shape around the carriage 19 and the head 11, and FIG. 3 is an example of a front view seen from the direction E in FIG.
The carriage 19 can be positioned by moving in the X-axis direction by a motor 21A shown in FIG. The carriage 19 detachably holds the head 11 using a head holder 61.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the motor 62 is actuated by a command from the control unit 200, the head holder 61 and the head 11 unit can be moved up and down along the Z-axis direction and positioned. The head 11 can rotate in the θ direction around the U axis by operating another motor 63 in accordance with a command from the control unit 200.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the head 11 has a nozzle plate 64. The lower surface of the nozzle plate 64 is a nozzle surface 70. The nozzle surface 70 has nozzle openings 121 to 126 for a plurality of nozzles. The head 11 is connected to the liquid storage unit 300. The liquid storage unit 300 stores liquid to be discharged onto the workpiece W, and the liquid storage unit 300 is also referred to as a functional liquid storage unit. The liquid in the liquid reservoir 300 can be ejected from the nozzle openings 121 to 126 by, for example, the ink jet method by the operation of the piezoelectric vibrator 789 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4A shows an example of a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators 789 arranged in the head 11. One piezoelectric vibrator 789 is arranged corresponding to each nozzle of the head 11 shown in FIG. The control unit 200 in FIG. 4A gives a signal to the driving unit 201, and the driving unit 201 operates any piezoelectric vibrator in the plurality of piezoelectric vibrators 789, thereby operating the piezoelectric element. From the nozzle openings 121 to 126 of the nozzle corresponding to the vibrator 789 shown in FIG. 2, droplets can be ejected by an ink jet method.

Next, the liquid storage unit 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 4 (B).
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the liquid storage unit 300 includes a plurality of liquid packs 111 to 116 and a container 301 that stores these liquid packs. Although six liquid packs 111 to 116 are shown in this example, the number of liquid packs is not particularly limited, and may be one, two or more, five, or seven or more.
Each liquid pack 111 to 116 is made of a flexible material, and each liquid pack contains the same type or different types of liquid. The inside of the container 301 is configured to pressurize the liquid packs 111 to 116 by supplying compressed air from the outside so that the liquids can be separately discharged from the liquid packs 111 to 116.

  In FIG. 5, the container 301 of the liquid storage unit 300 is supported by, for example, a support member 303. The container 301, together with the support member 303, can be positioned by moving up and down in the height direction along the Z-axis direction by the operation of the liquid storage unit position changing unit 500. The liquid storage unit position changing unit 500 is an example of a position changing unit, and operates according to a command from the control unit 200.

The liquid packs 111 to 116 in FIG. 5 are detachably connected to the corresponding nozzles 81 to 86 of the head 11 by liquid supply tubes 91 to 96, respectively. One end of the liquid supply tube 91 is detachably connected to the connection portion 111A of the liquid pack 111. The other end portion of the liquid supply tube 91 is detachably connected to the connection portion 81 </ b> A of the head 11.
Similarly, one end portions of the liquid supply tubes 92 to 96 are detachably connected to the connection portions 112A to 116A of the liquid packs 111 to 116, respectively. The other end portions of the liquid supply tubes 92 to 96 are detachably connected to the connection portions 82A to 86A on the head 11 side, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, the head 11 has a plurality of nozzles 81 to 86. The nozzles 81 to 86 have nozzle openings 121 to 126, respectively. For example, several tens or several thousand nozzles 81 are arranged along the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5 to form a nozzle row. The other nozzles 82 to 86 also form nozzle rows in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The nozzle openings 121 to 126 are formed facing the nozzle surface 70 of the nozzle plate 64.
This nozzle surface 70 faces downward Z2 in the Z-axis direction in the example of FIG. Thus, for example, six nozzle rows (nozzle opening rows) are arranged on the nozzle surface 70 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the structural example of the liquid storage part position change part 500 shown in FIG. 5 is demonstrated.
The liquid storage unit position changing unit 500 in FIG. 6 includes a base 501, motors 502 and 502, feed screws 503 and 503, and nuts 504 and 504. The nuts 504 and 504 are fixed to the support member 303. The motors 502 and 502 are set on the base 501. The output shaft of each motor 502 is connected to one end of a feed screw 503. The feed screw 503 is engaged with the corresponding nut 504.

As a result, when the control unit 200 sends a command signal to the motors 502 and 502, the motor 502 rotates normally and reversely, so that the support member 303 and the liquid packs 111 to 116 are in the Z1 direction, which is the upward direction of the Z axis. It can be positioned by moving along the Z2 direction, which is the downward direction.
As a matter of course, the liquid storage unit position changing unit 500 may adopt other forms regardless of the form shown in FIG.
The liquid storage unit position changing unit 500 shown in FIG. 6 changes the relative height position of the head 11 and the liquid storage unit 300 during the liquid discharge shown in FIG. 7 and the wiping (cleaning) shown in FIG. .

6 does not change the height of the head 11 in the Z-axis direction, but changes the height position of the liquid storage unit 300 with respect to the head 11.
FIG. 7 shows a state in which droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings of the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 is cleaned (wiped) by a wiping member.

7 and 8, the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 is indicated by the nozzle surface height LN. At the time of liquid ejection in FIG. 7, the height position E1 of the liquid storage unit 300 is lower than the nozzle surface height LN by the distance D in the Z2 direction. This distance D is, for example, 20 mm to 40 mm. The head position of the liquid 1900 in the liquid reservoir 300 corresponds to the height position that is the liquid outlet position.
On the other hand, at the time of wiping shown in FIG. 8, the height position E1 of the liquid reservoir 300 is lower than the nozzle surface height LN by the distance D1. The distance D1 in FIG. 8 is larger than the distance D shown in FIG. 7, and is, for example, 50 mm to 70 mm.

At the time of liquid ejection shown in FIG. 7, a meniscus 1901 of the liquid 1900 of the head 11 is formed in the nozzle openings 121 to 126. The meniscus 1901 is formed in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 70. The meniscus 1901 is also referred to as a liquid interface.
At the time of wiping in FIG. 8, the liquid reservoir 300 is further lowered with respect to the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 than in the state of FIG. 7, so that the meniscus 1901 of the liquid 1900 moves from the nozzle surface 70 to the inside of the head 11. Furthermore, it will be in the state which went into the Z1 direction which became deeper. The nozzle openings 121 to 126 are also referred to as nozzle holes. For this reason, the head position of the liquid 1900 is further lowered as compared with the nozzle surface 70.

Next, the suction unit 400 and the cleaning unit 600 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
First, an example of the structure of the suction unit 400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9.
A suction unit 400 shown in FIG. 9 includes a cap body 401, an absorbent material 402, a suction pump 403, and a waste liquid tank 404. An absorbent material 402 is accommodated in the cap body 401.
The suction unit 400 and the cleaning unit 600 shown in FIG. 1 are located in a non-operating area outside the range where the head 11 discharges liquid to the workpiece W (HP), and are arranged in an area called a home position. Has been. The head 11 is positioned at the home position HP shown in FIG. 9 by the operation of the first operation unit 21 shown in FIG. 1 so as to face at an upper position of the cap body 401 as shown in FIG. 9A.

  The cap body 401 in FIG. 9 accommodates the absorbent material 402. The cap body 401 is a member for sealing each nozzle opening of the nozzle surface 70. For this purpose, the upper side of the cap body 401 is opened, and the absorbent body 402 is accommodated in the cap body 401. The absorbent material 402 can be made of, for example, a porous material that easily absorbs liquid. A bottom portion 405 of the cap body 401 is connected to the suction pump 403 via a suction tube 406.

In the suction pump 403, the cap body 401 is brought into close contact with the nozzle surface 70 as shown in FIG. 9B from the state of FIG. 9A by the operation of the motor 409, and each nozzle opening of the nozzle surface 70 is sealed. . In this sealed state, the suction pump 403 is actuated by the motor 407, and foreign matters such as bubbles, dust or solidified liquid in each nozzle in the head 11 are sucked from the nozzle openings to the absorbent material 402 side. It is like that.
When the suction pump 403 operates in this way, the liquid absorbed by the absorbent 402 is discharged to the waste liquid tank 404 through the suction tube 406. The motors 407 and 409 operate under the control of the control unit 200.

Next, the cleaning unit 600 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The cleaning unit 600 is also called a wiping unit. The cleaning unit 600 includes, for example, a winding unit 601 and a wiping unit 603 as shown in FIG. The winding unit 601 is a device for taking out and winding up the wiping sheet 700. The wiping sheet 700 is an example of a strip-shaped cleaning sheet. The winding unit 601 includes a feeding reel 610, a winding reel 611, a speed detection roller 612, and intermediate rollers 613 and 614.
The wiping sheet 700 wound around the winding unit 601 passes between the speed detection roller 612 and the intermediate roller 614 and is guided by the intermediate roller 613 while being guided to the wiping roller 1880 side of the winding unit 601. It has become.

The wiping sheet 700 is taken up on the take-up reel 611 side via the wiping roller 1880 and the roller 1881. When the wiping sheet 700 is sent to the wiping roller 1880 side, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the wiping sheet 700.
The wiping unit 603 includes the wiping roller 1880, the roller 1881, and the motor 1883 described above. When the motor 1883 is operated, the take-up roller 1880 rotates in the R direction and continuously feeds the wiping sheet 700. As the strip-like wiping sheet 700, for example, a cloth or a nonwoven fabric excellent in liquid absorbability can be used.

The wiping unit 603 shown in FIG. 10 can be moved in the Z-axis direction by an actuator 620. Therefore, the wiping roller 1880 can be positioned by moving in the Z-axis direction.
The moving table 630 can move the wiping unit 603 and the winding unit 601 along the X-axis direction. Accordingly, the wiping unit 603 and the winding unit 601 can be integrated with each other along the X-axis direction, or can be close to or away from the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11.
A cleaning liquid recovery unit 640 for receiving the cleaning liquid is formed below the take-up reel 611. The take-up reel 611 is operated by a motor 641. The operations of the motors 1883 and 641 are controlled by commands from the control unit 200.

Next, a preferred embodiment of a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device and a cleaning method according to an embodiment of a droplet discharge device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 11, the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device includes steps ST1 to ST8. The cleaning method includes steps ST1 to ST7.

In the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device in FIG. 11, the cleaning method is performed on the nozzle surface of the head so that the head can ensure good liquid discharge characteristics. In other words, the following cleaning method is performed in order to ensure the performance of discharging the liquid satisfactorily from the nozzle opening on the nozzle surface. The basic operation of the cleaning method is the following two operations.
First, liquid is forcibly sucked from the nozzle of the head, and foreign matters such as bubbles, dust or solidified liquid in the nozzle of the head, which are the cause of hindering the ink jet type discharge operation, are discharged to the outside. Then, the nozzle surface that is soiled by the suction of the liquid is wiped (wiped) by the cleaning member, and is held so that the nozzle surface is in a clean state. As a result, the head can stably discharge ink jet liquid.

  In step ST1 shown in FIG. 11, the head is capped. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9A, the cap body 401 is raised in the Z1 direction by the motor 409 from the state where the cap body 401 is separated from the nozzle surface 70 as shown in FIG. 9B. . As a result, the cap body 401 is in close contact with the nozzle surface 70, and the cap body 401 seals each nozzle opening.

  Next, in step ST2 of FIG. 11, the liquid is sucked. In this liquid suction operation, the suction pump 403 shown in FIG. 9B is driven, and foreign matters such as bubbles, dust, or solidified liquid in the nozzles of the head 11 are discharged from the nozzle openings to the absorbent material 402 side. Then, the liquid absorbed in the absorbent 402 is discharged to the waste liquid tank 404 side through the suction pump 403 due to the negative pressure in the cap body 401 by the suction pump 403.

  In step ST3 shown in FIG. 11, the process waits to ensure a stable time. The reason why the standby state for securing the stable time is maintained is as follows. That is, in step ST2, the inside of the suction tube 406 has a negative pressure due to liquid suction. If the cap body 401 moves away from the nozzle surface 70 in this negative pressure state, a sudden pressure fluctuation is applied to the meniscus of the liquid at each nozzle opening of the nozzle surface 70, and each meniscus is broken or bubbles are generated in the nozzle. There is a risk of entering the liquid.

For this reason, after the suction pump 403 is stopped, a certain period of time is ensured as a stable time, and the process waits for the pressure in the cap body 401 to return from the negative pressure state to the normal pressure.
Next, the process proceeds to step ST4 in FIG. 11, and the cap is opened by the cap body 401 being lowered in the Z2 direction as shown in FIG. 9C.

The process moves to the position changing step ST5 in FIG.
In the position changing step ST5, the liquid storage unit 300 is lowered as shown in FIG. 8 from the time of liquid ejection (reference position) shown in FIG. That is, when the control unit 200 shown in FIG. 6 sends a command to the motors 502 and 502, the feed screws 503 and 503 rotate synchronously, and the support member 303 is lowered by a predetermined amount in the Z2 direction. As described above, the height position E1 of the liquid storage unit 300 decreases from the distance D between the height LN of the nozzle surface shown in FIG. 7 to the distance D1 shown in FIG. As a result, the head positions of the liquid packs 111 to 116 are further lowered as compared with the position of the nozzle surface 70.

As described above, the liquid storage unit 300 moves down from the reference position in FIG. 7 to the position at the time of wiping shown in FIG. 8 with respect to the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11, whereby the position of the meniscus 1901 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the head rises so as to enter the inside of the nozzle of the head to the position of the meniscus 1901 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the meniscus 1901 is raised to the inside of the nozzles 81 to 86, the process proceeds to the wiping step ST6 shown in FIG.
In this wiping step ST6, wiping (wiping) of the nozzle surface 70 is performed, for example, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 shows how the nozzle surface 70 is wiped using the wiping sheet 700 in the wiping step ST6.
FIG. 12A shows a state in which the wiping sheet 700 starts wiping by contacting the nozzle surface 70 by the wiping roller 1880. Even when the wiping sheet 700 reaches the nozzle openings 121 to 126, the meniscus 1901 is already in the position raised inside the nozzle opening, and therefore the wiping sheet 700 does not affect the formation state of the meniscus 1901.

Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, the wiping sheet 700 further moves in the X1 direction, the wiping sheet 700 passes through the nozzle openings 121 to 126, and the residual liquid 1050 remaining on the nozzle surface 70 is removed. Adsorbed and moved further in the X1 direction as shown in FIG.
As described above, even when the wiping sheet 700 is pressed against the nozzle surface 70 to perform wiping (wiping), the wiping sheet 700 does not affect the formation state of the meniscus 1901. The nozzle surface 70 can be reliably wiped.

Next, in step ST7 of FIG. 11, the liquid storage unit 300 shown in FIG. 8 is raised in the Z1 direction to the state (reference position) at the time of liquid ejection as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the liquid storage unit 300 is raised, and the height position E1 of the liquid storage unit 300 is maintained at the distance D with respect to the nozzle surface height LN. The liquid can be returned to the normal head position.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the meniscus 1901 of the liquid 1900 descends in the nozzles 81 to 86, and the meniscus 1901 is positioned in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 70. An optimum meniscus 1901 position for ejecting droplets by an ink jet method can be secured.
After the cleaning of the nozzle surface is completed, the droplet discharge device 10 shown in FIG. 1 draws a work W for the electro-optical device by discharging predetermined droplets onto the workpiece W on the table 30. be able to. In this case, the head 11 discharges a functional droplet for drawing to a predetermined position of the workpiece W. This is step ST8 in FIG.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the meniscus inside the head can be further raised into the inside of the head during wiping, that is, pulled in, so that the nozzle surface is wiped by the cleaning member during wiping. In doing so, it is possible to prevent the wiping sheet as the cleaning member from scraping the liquid in the nozzle opening to the nozzle surface side.
As a result, no liquid adheres to the nozzle surface. Accordingly, since the liquid left unwiped does not adhere near the nozzle opening, the droplets ejected by the ink jet method do not cause the flight bending.
Further, since there is no phenomenon that the liquid adheres to the nozzle surface for a long time, it is possible to reliably prevent the phenomenon that the nozzle surface is corroded even though no liquid droplet is ejected.

The workpiece W manufactured by the droplet discharge device 10 of the present invention after cleaning in this way can increase the manufacturing accuracy and improve the manufacturing quality of the electro-optical device.
The product quality of an electronic apparatus equipped with such an electro-optical device can be further improved.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 13 is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, but the type of actuator used is different. The other components in FIG. 13 are the same as the corresponding components shown in FIG.

The liquid storage unit position changing unit 500 shown in FIG. 13 uses a fluid pressure cylinder 1501 instead of the electric motor. For example, an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder can be used as the cylinder 1501. The cylinder 1501 operates according to a command from the control unit 200. The rod 1502 of the cylinder 1501 is connected to the support member 303. The two guide shafts 1510 pass through the guide member 1520 of the support member 303. The guide member 1520 is fixed in parallel between the bases 501 and 1530.
Accordingly, when the cylinder 1501 is operated, the liquid storage unit 300 together with the support member 303 moves up and down in the Z-axis direction, and can be positioned at the reference position shown in FIG. 7 and the lowered position shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the liquid storage unit 300 side can move up and down with respect to the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 in the Z-axis direction. As a result, the height of the liquid reservoir 300 is changed with respect to the nozzle surface height LN of the head 11.
On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 14, the head 11 can move up and down in the Z-axis direction with respect to the liquid storage unit 300 by operating the motor 62. The motor 62 is the motor shown in FIG. 2 and constitutes a part of the head position changing unit 1800.
The head position changing unit 1800 is an example of a position changing unit. The head position changing unit 1800 includes a motor 62, a feed screw 1801, and a nut 1802, as illustrated in FIG. The nut 1802 is fixed to the shaft 1803. A feed screw 1801 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 62. When the feed screw 1801 is rotated by the operation of the motor 62, the nut 1802, the shaft 1803, the head holder 61, and the head 11 can be moved and positioned in the Z-axis direction.

  As described above, in the embodiment of FIG. 14, the head 11 side can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction, and the position of the liquid reservoir 300 can be fixed. In FIG. 14A, the nozzle surface height LN of the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 is higher than the height position E1 of the liquid reservoir 300 by a distance D. In this state, the meniscus 1901 in the nozzle openings 121 to 126 of the head 11 is located in the vicinity of the nozzle surface 70.

In FIG. 14B, the nozzle surface 70 of the head 11 is raised in the Z1 direction. As a result, the height LN1 of the nozzle surface is larger by the distance D2 than the height position E1 of the liquid reservoir 300. As a result, the meniscus 1901 rises to the inside of the head along the inside of the nozzle openings 121 to 126.
As described above, instead of the liquid storage unit 300 side changing the height position with respect to the head 11, the head 11 side may change the height position with respect to the liquid storage unit 300 side. .

FIG. 15 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, a wiping blade 1700 is used as the cleaning member. The wiping blade 1700 is a plate-like member made of, for example, rubber or elastomer that can be elastically deformed.
The wiping member 1700 has a tip portion 1701, and the tip portion 1701 is elastically deformed while being mechanically pressed against the nozzle surface 70 as shown in FIG. When the head moves or the wiping blade 1700 moves in the X1 direction, the tip portion 1701 wipes the nozzle surface 70 as shown in FIGS. 15A to 15B. At this time, since the meniscus 1901 has already risen to the inside of the nozzle openings 121 to 126, the tip 1701 does not adversely affect the state of the meniscus 1901, and the meniscus 1901 reliably maintains its shape.

As shown in FIG. 15B, the tip 1701 wipes away the residual liquid 1050 remaining on the nozzle surface 70 and removes it from the nozzle surface 70 as shown in FIGS. 15B to 15C. be able to.
Thus, the wiping blade 1700 shown in FIG. 15 can be used in place of the wiping sheet 700 shown in FIG.

  The embodiment of the droplet discharge device of the present invention can be used to manufacture an electro-optical device (device). Examples of the electro-optical device include a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) device, an electron emission device, a PDP (Plasma Display Panel) device, an electrophoretic display device, and the like. The electron emission device is a concept including a so-called FED (Field Emission Display) device. Further, as the electro-optical device, various devices including metal wiring formation, lens formation, resist formation, and light diffuser formation are conceivable.

  FIG. 16 shows a structural example of an organic EL device when the droplet discharge device of the present invention is used as a drawing device for manufacturing an organic EL device which is a kind of flat panel display. The organic EL device 701 is provided for an organic EL element 702 including a substrate 711, a circuit element portion 721, a pixel electrode 731, a bank portion 741, a light emitting element 751, a cathode 761 (counter electrode), and a sealing substrate 771. A wiring of a flexible substrate (not shown) and a driving IC (not shown) are connected.

  A circuit element portion 721 is formed on the substrate 711 of the organic EL element 702, and a plurality of pixel electrodes 731 are aligned on the circuit element portion 721. Bank portions 741 are formed in a lattice pattern between the pixel electrodes 731, and light emitting elements 751 are formed in the recess openings 744 generated by the bank portions 741. A cathode 761 is formed on the entire upper surface of the bank portion 741 and the light emitting element 751, and a sealing substrate 771 is laminated on the cathode 761.

A manufacturing process of the organic EL element 702 includes a bank part forming process for forming the bank part 741, a plasma treatment process for appropriately forming the light emitting element 751, a light emitting element forming process for forming the light emitting element 751, and a cathode 761. And a sealing step in which a sealing substrate 771 is stacked on the cathode 761 and sealed.
That is, the organic EL element 702 is formed by forming the bank portion 741 at a predetermined position on the substrate 711 (work W) on which the circuit element portion 721 and the pixel electrode 731 are formed in advance, and then performing plasma processing, the light emitting element 751 and the cathode 761 (opposing Electrode) are sequentially formed, and further, a sealing substrate 771 is laminated on the cathode 761 and sealed. Note that the organic EL element 702 is easily deteriorated by the influence of moisture in the atmosphere, and therefore, the organic EL element 702 is manufactured in a dry air or inert gas (nitrogen, argon, helium, etc.) atmosphere. preferable.

Each light emitting element 751 includes a hole injection / transport layer 752 and a film forming portion including a light emitting layer 753 colored in any one color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). The light emitting element forming step includes a hole injecting / transporting layer forming step for forming the hole injecting / transporting layer 752 and a light emitting layer forming step for forming the three-color light emitting layer 753. .
The organic EL device 701 is manufactured by manufacturing the organic EL element 702 and then connecting the wiring of the flexible substrate to the cathode 761 of the organic EL element 702 and connecting the wiring of the circuit element unit 721 to the driving IC.

Next, the case where the droplet discharge device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the manufacture of a liquid crystal display device will be described.
FIG. 17 shows a cross-sectional structure of the liquid crystal display device 801. The liquid crystal display device 801 includes a color filter 802, a counter substrate 803, a liquid crystal composition 804 sealed between the color filter 802 and the counter substrate 803, and a backlight (not shown). On the inner surface of the counter substrate 803, pixel electrodes 805 and TFT (thin film transistor) elements (not shown) are formed in a matrix. Red, green, and blue colored layers 813 of the color filter 802 are arranged at positions facing the pixel electrode 805. An alignment film 806 for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction is formed on the inner surfaces of the color filter 802 and the counter substrate 803, and a polarizing plate 807 is formed on the outer surfaces of the color filter 802 and the counter substrate 803. Is glued.

  The color filter 802 includes a translucent transparent substrate 811, a large number of pixels (filter elements) 812 arranged in a matrix on the transparent substrate 811, a colored layer 813 formed on the pixels 812, and each pixel 812. A light-shielding partition 814 for partitioning. An overcoat layer 815 and an electrode layer 816 are formed on the top surfaces of the colored layer 813 and the partition 814.

  A manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device 801 will be described. First, a partition 814 is formed in the transparent substrate 811, and then a colored layer 813 of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) is formed in the pixel 812 portion. . Then, an overcoat layer 815 is formed by spin coating with a transparent acrylic resin paint, and an electrode layer 816 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is further formed to form a color filter 802.

  A pixel electrode 805 and a TFT element are formed in the counter substrate 803. Next, after applying the alignment film 806 to the counter substrate 803 on which the color filter 802 and the pixel electrode 805 are formed, they are bonded to each other. Then, after the liquid crystal composition 804 is sealed between the color filter 802 and the counter substrate 803, a polarizing plate 807 and a backlight are stacked.

Embodiments of the droplet discharge device of the present invention can be used to form the filter elements (R (red), G (green), and B (blue) colored layers 813) of the color filter. Further, by using a liquid material corresponding to the pixel electrode 805, the pixel electrode 805 can be used.
In addition, as other electro-optical devices, devices including preparation of a preparation in addition to metal wiring formation, lens formation, resist formation, and light diffuser formation are conceivable. Various electro-optical devices can be efficiently manufactured by using the above-described droplet discharge device for manufacturing various electro-optical devices (devices).

  The electronic apparatus of the present invention is equipped with the electro-optical device. In this case, the electronic apparatus corresponds to various electric products in addition to a mobile phone and a personal computer equipped with a so-called flat panel display.

  FIG. 18 illustrates a shape example of a mobile phone 1000 that is an example of an electronic apparatus. A cellular phone 1000 includes a main body portion 1001 and a display portion 1002. The display unit 1002 uses, for example, an organic EL device 701 or a liquid crystal display device 801 which is an electro-optical device as described above.

FIG. 19 illustrates a computer 1100 that is another example of the electronic apparatus. A computer 1100 includes a main body portion 1101 and a display portion 1102. The display unit 1102 can use the organic EL device 701 and the liquid crystal display device 801 which are examples of the electro-optical device as described above.
The embodiment of the droplet discharge device of the present invention can also be used for black and white or color printing (printing) on an object to be printed which is an example of a workpiece. In this case, the liquid storage unit is an ink cartridge, and this ink cartridge stores one type or a plurality of types of ink (for example, black, yellow, magenta, cyan, light cyan, light magenta, etc.) separately. . Each ink is an example of a liquid.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle surface (liquid ejection surface) of the head can keep the liquid ejection well by rubbing and wiping with the cleaning member. At the time of rubbing (at the time of wiping), the liquid head on the liquid supply side on the liquid supply side is moved up and down to prevent liquid droplets from flowing out from the nozzle openings of the head, and a good liquid discharge surface can be secured.
Conversely, the liquid reservoir is not moved up and down, but the head is moved up and down, so that the liquid can be prevented from flowing out from the head during wiping.
Thus, during wiping, the nozzle surface of the head can be finished in a clean state, droplets can be stably ejected using an ink jet method, and the nozzle surface can be maintained clean over a long period of time.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments may be combined with each other.

The top view which shows preferable embodiment of the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a carriage, a head, and the like of the droplet discharge device in FIG. 1. The front view seen from the E direction in FIG. 2 which shows the carriage, head, etc. of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a piezoelectric vibrator of a head and a structure example of a liquid storage unit. The figure which shows the example of a connection of a liquid storage part and a head. The figure which shows the structural example of the liquid storage part position change part of a liquid storage part. The figure which shows the positional relationship example of the nozzle surface of a head and a liquid storage part at the time of liquid discharge (reference position). The figure which shows the positional relationship of the nozzle surface of a head and a liquid storage part at the time of wiping. The figure which shows a mode that a nozzle surface is attracted | sucked by a suction unit. The figure which shows the structural example of a cleaning unit. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a preferred embodiment of a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device and a cleaning method according to the present invention. The figure which shows a mode that the nozzle surface is wiped with a wiping sheet. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the example of a shape of the organic electroluminescent apparatus manufactured with the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the liquid crystal display device manufactured with the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. The perspective view which shows the mobile telephone which is an example of an electronic device provided with the display apparatus manufactured by embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the computer which is another example of an electronic device.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, 11 ... Head, 70 ... Nozzle surface, 81 thru | or 86 ... Nozzle, 121 thru | or 126 ... Nozzle opening, 300 ... Liquid storage part, 400 ...・ Suction unit, 500... Liquid reservoir position changing unit, 600... Cleaning unit, 1900... Liquid, 1901... Meniscus (liquid interface)

Claims (9)

A droplet discharge device for discharging droplets onto a workpiece,
A liquid reservoir for storing liquid;
A head that is supplied with the liquid from the liquid reservoir and discharges the droplet;
A cleaning member for wiping the nozzle surface of the head;
Position changing means for changing the relative height position of the liquid storage section and the head and moving the liquid boundary surface in the head to the inside of the head;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising:   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position changing unit is a liquid storage unit position changing unit that moves a water head position of the liquid storage unit up and down with respect to the head.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position changing unit is a head position changing unit that moves the head up and down with respect to a water head position of the liquid storage unit.   The droplet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a belt-shaped cleaning sheet that cleans the nozzle surface while being sent in a longitudinal direction.   3. The liquid according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a blade that cleans the nozzle surface by contacting the nozzle surface and moving relative to the nozzle surface. 4. Drop ejection device. A head cleaning method for cleaning a nozzle surface of a head provided in a droplet discharge device for discharging droplets onto a workpiece,
Before the nozzle surface of the head is wiped by the cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid storage portion and the head is changed by the position changing means, and the liquid boundary surface in the head is moved to the inside of the head. A position change step to
A wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head into the head;
A method of cleaning a head, comprising: An electro-optical device manufacturing method that manufactures an electro-optical device using a droplet discharge device that discharges droplets from a head onto a workpiece,
When wiping the nozzle surface of the head of the droplet discharge device with a cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid reservoir and the head is changed by the position changing means, and the liquid boundary surface in the head is A position changing step for moving to the inside of the head;
A wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head into the head;
A method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, comprising: a droplet discharge step of discharging the droplet onto the workpiece after wiping the nozzle surface. An electro-optical device manufactured using a droplet discharge device that discharges droplets from a head to a workpiece,
When wiping the nozzle surface of the head of the droplet discharge device with a cleaning member, the relative position between the liquid reservoir and the head is changed by the position changing means, and the liquid boundary surface in the head is A position changing step for moving to the inside of the head;
A wiping step of wiping the nozzle surface of the head with the cleaning member after moving the liquid boundary surface in the head into the head;
An electro-optical device obtained by wiping the nozzle surface and performing a droplet discharge step for discharging the droplet onto the workpiece.   9. An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 8.

Images