JP2008114207A - Droplet discharge device and functional liquid supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet discharge device which can carry out an exchange of the kinds of functional liquids supplied to a droplet discharge head more simply and more efficiently compared to the conventional arts, and at the same time, can suppress a fluid volume of the functional liquid or a cleaning liquid consumed in exchanging, as little as possible, and a functional liquid supply method supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device. <P>SOLUTION: In the droplet discharge device 1 provided with the droplet discharge head 10 discharging the droplets of the functional liquid to a workpiece, a functional liquid feed mechanism 80 supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10 is provided. The functional liquid feed mechanism 80 is provided with a plurality of plumbings 90 different for every kind of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10, and at the same time, provided with a selector 83 selecting the plumbing 90 supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10 among a plurality of plumbings 90 to switch. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device including a droplet discharge head that discharges droplets of a functional liquid onto a workpiece, and a functional liquid supply method that supplies the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device. is there.

There is an industrially applied liquid droplet ejection apparatus (inkjet drawing apparatus) that forms a pattern on a work by ejecting a liquid droplet of a functional liquid from a liquid droplet ejection head onto a work such as a panel substrate. This type of liquid droplet ejection apparatus includes a liquid droplet ejection head that ejects functional liquid droplets and a functional liquid supply mechanism that supplies functional liquid to the liquid droplet ejection head. The functional liquid supply mechanism includes a functional liquid tank that stores the functional liquid, and a pipe that communicates and connects the functional liquid tank and the droplet discharge head. The liquid droplet discharge head is replenished with the functional liquid in the functional liquid tank.
JP 2003-26673 A

  By the way, in the above-described droplet discharge device, drawing processing on a plurality of different types of workpieces may be sequentially performed with one droplet discharge device. In that case, it is necessary to exchange the type of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head every time the type of the work to be subjected to the drawing process is changed. In particular, in a droplet discharge device used for multi-product small-quantity production, such functional liquid must be frequently exchanged.

  Conventionally, however, there has been only one piping system for supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head. Therefore, each time the type of functional liquid is replaced, a connection between the functional liquid tank and the droplet discharge head is required. It was necessary to clean the inside of the piping. However, a droplet discharge device that performs drawing processing on a large panel substrate is very large in size, and the length of a pipe that connects the functional liquid tank and the droplet discharge head is long. For this reason, exchanging the type of functional liquid accompanied by cleaning in the pipe requires a lot of time and manpower, and a large amount of cleaning liquid and functional liquid used for cleaning must be consumed. If it does so, there existed a possibility of causing the fall of the operation rate of a droplet discharge apparatus, and also the problem that it became a factor of the increase in the material cost in manufacture of a product.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and an object of the present invention is to easily and efficiently replace the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head as compared with the conventional method, It is an object of the present invention to provide a droplet discharge device capable of suppressing the amount of the functional liquid to a small amount and a functional liquid supply method for supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a functional liquid supply mechanism for supplying the functional liquid to the liquid droplet ejection head in a liquid droplet ejection apparatus including a liquid droplet ejection head that ejects functional liquid droplets onto a workpiece. The functional liquid supply mechanism includes a plurality of different piping systems for each type of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head, and the functional liquid is supplied to the droplet discharge head from the plurality of piping systems. A piping system selection means is provided for selecting and switching the piping system for supplying the pipe.

  According to the present invention, in the droplet discharge device, at least one of the plurality of piping systems is a cleaning liquid piping system that supplies a cleaning liquid to the droplet discharge head.

  In the droplet discharge device according to the present invention, the piping system includes a liquid storage tank that stores the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid, and an individual pipe connected to the liquid storage tank. And a selector for selecting and switching an individual pipe communicating with the droplet discharge head from the individual pipes.

  In the droplet discharge device, the present invention is characterized in that an opening / closing valve for opening and closing a flow path of the individual pipe is installed in the individual pipe.

  In addition, the present invention provides a liquid droplet ejection apparatus, including a common pipe that connects the selector and the liquid droplet ejection head, and the selection than the individual pipe that connects the liquid storage tank and the selector. The common pipe connecting the container and the droplet discharge head is configured to have a shorter pipe length.

  According to the present invention, in the droplet discharge device, the droplet discharge device includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads, and the functional liquid is supplied from the one functional liquid supply mechanism to the plurality of droplet discharge heads. It is characterized by comprising.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the droplet discharge device, the droplet discharge unit includes a plurality of droplet discharge units including the droplet discharge head, and the functional liquid is supplied to the plurality of droplet discharge units from the one functional liquid supply mechanism. It is characterized by being configured to be supplied.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a functional liquid supply method for supplying the functional liquid to a liquid droplet ejection head provided in a liquid droplet ejection apparatus that ejects functional liquid droplets onto a workpiece. The functional liquid is supplied to the liquid droplet ejection head by selecting and switching a piping system for supplying the functional liquid to the liquid droplet ejection head from a piping system.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the functional liquid supply method, when the piping system is switched, the piping system is switched to a cleaning liquid piping system that supplies a cleaning liquid, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the droplet discharge head. And

  Further, the present invention provides the functional liquid supply method, wherein the switching of the piping system is performed by communicating with the droplet discharge head of each individual pipe connected to a plurality of liquid storage tanks storing the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid. It is characterized by performing by selectively switching.

  According to the present invention, the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head can be exchanged by selecting and switching the piping system of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head by the piping system selection means. This kind of replacement can be performed efficiently in a short time, and the operating rate of the droplet discharge device can be improved. In addition, since it is configured to switch a plurality of piping systems, it is unnecessary to perform cleaning work in the pipe, which was conventionally necessary when changing the type of functional fluid, even if cleaning work is required. Since the length of the piping in that part can be shortened, it is possible to reduce the amount of cleaning liquid and functional liquid consumed when replacing the type of functional liquid, which reduces the material cost associated with product manufacturing. The increase can be suppressed.

  According to the present invention, since at least one of the plurality of piping systems is a cleaning liquid piping system that supplies the cleaning liquid to the droplet discharge head, the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head is switched. In addition, by selecting this cleaning liquid piping system, the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the droplet discharge head and cleaned. Therefore, the operation of exchanging the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head can be performed more efficiently in a shorter time, and the operating rate of the droplet discharge device can be improved.

  According to the invention, the piping system includes a liquid storage tank that stores the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid, and an individual pipe connected to the liquid storage tank, and the piping system selection unit communicates with the droplet discharge head. Since a selector for selecting and switching individual pipes is provided, a functional liquid supply mechanism that can switch the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head can be realized with a simple configuration at low cost. .

  Further, according to the present invention, since the open / close valve for opening / closing the flow path of the individual pipe is provided in the individual pipe of each piping system, the open / close valve of the flow path of the individual pipe other than that selected by the selector is provided. It is possible to reliably switch the communication with the droplet discharge head of each individual pipe by selecting the individual pipe with the selector.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the length of the common pipe that needs to be cleaned is shorter than each individual pipe that does not need to be cleaned when the functional liquid is replaced. In this case, it is possible to reduce the amount of the cleaning liquid and functional liquid consumed at the time, and it is possible to suppress the increase in material cost associated with the manufacture of the product by the present droplet discharge device.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the droplet discharge device includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads, and the functional liquid is supplied to the plurality of droplet discharge heads from one functional liquid supply mechanism. Even in the liquid droplet ejection apparatus having the liquid droplet ejection head, the number of functional liquid supply mechanisms can be reduced, so that the liquid droplet ejection apparatus can be miniaturized and the mechanism can be simplified accordingly.

  In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of droplet discharge units each including a droplet discharge head are provided, and the functional liquid is supplied to the plurality of droplet discharge units with one functional liquid supply mechanism. Since it is configured, the functional liquid supply mechanism can be shared by a plurality of droplet discharge units, and the number of functional liquid supply mechanisms can be reduced. Simplification can be achieved.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the functional liquid is supplied by switching the piping system through which the functional liquid is circulated for each type of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head. It is no longer necessary to clean the circulating piping, or even if cleaning is required, the length of the piping in that part can be shortened, so the type of functional fluid can be replaced efficiently in a short time, It is possible to improve the operating rate of the droplet discharge device. In addition, it is possible to reduce the amount of cleaning liquid and functional liquid consumed when exchanging the type of functional liquid, and it is possible to suppress an increase in material costs associated with the manufacture of products.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the piping system is switched, the piping system is switched to the piping system that supplies the cleaning liquid and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the droplet discharge head. The droplet discharge head can be easily cleaned. Therefore, the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head can be exchanged more efficiently in a shorter time, and the operating rate of the droplet discharge device can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, the switching of the piping system is performed by selectively switching the communication with the droplet discharge head of the individual piping connected to the liquid storage tank in which the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid is stored. The type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head can be exchanged efficiently in a short time.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
1 to 3 are diagrams showing a schematic overall configuration example of a droplet discharge device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. 3 is a side view thereof. 4 to 6 are diagrams showing a configuration example of the head unit 20 included in the droplet discharge device 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a side view seen from the direction A in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view seen from the direction B of FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the droplet discharge head 10 mounted on the head unit 20. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 provided in the droplet discharge device 1.

  The droplet discharge device 1 is a device incorporated in a panel substrate production line such as a so-called flat display, and works (substrates) by a droplet discharge method using a droplet discharge head 10 that discharges droplets of functional liquid. A color filter of a liquid crystal display device or a light emitting element that becomes each pixel of an organic EL device is formed on the top. As shown in each of the above drawings, a functional liquid droplet is ejected onto a workpiece to perform a drawing process. A droplet discharge head 10, a head unit 20 to which the droplet discharge head 10 is attached, a carriage unit 30 on which the head unit 20 is mounted, a moving mechanism 40 that moves the carriage unit 30 and the workpiece W, and droplet discharge A maintenance mechanism 60 that performs maintenance of the head 10 and a functional liquid supply mechanism 80 that supplies functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10 are configured. . Although not shown in the drawings, the droplet discharge device 1 includes a control mechanism (not shown) for controlling the entire device, an air supply means for supplying compressed air for driving / control to each part of the device, a work piece, and the like. Various auxiliary devices such as an air suction device that performs air suction for sucking W to the suction table 45 described below are also provided. Further, a workpiece recognition camera 16 used when setting the workpiece W on the set table 42 described below of the moving mechanism 40 and a head recognition camera (not shown) for correcting the position of the head unit 20 mounted on the carriage unit 30 are also installed. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving mechanism 40 includes a set table 42 for setting the workpiece W and an X-axis table that extends in the X-axis direction that is the main scanning direction and moves the set table 42 in the same direction. 41, a Y-axis table 51 that includes a pair of Y-axis support bases 57 and extends in the Y-axis direction that is the sub-scanning direction, and a carriage unit 30 that is movably supported along the Y-axis table 51. ing. The Y-axis table 51 is bridged across the X-axis table 41 by a plurality of support columns 52, and a plurality of carriage units 30 are arranged along the Y-axis direction on the Y-axis table 51 (this embodiment). 7 are arranged side by side, and each carriage unit 30 is mounted with a head unit 20 to which a plurality of droplet discharge heads 10 are attached. A region where the X-axis table 41 and the Y-axis table 51 intersect is a drawing region C in which drawing is performed on the workpiece W. On the other hand, on one end side of the drawing area C along the Y-axis table 51, a maintenance frame 64 on which the suction unit 62 and the wiping unit 63 of the maintenance mechanism 60 are installed is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the X-axis table 41 includes a set table 42 for setting the workpiece W, an X-axis air slider 43 for slidably supporting the set table 42 in the X-axis direction, and an X-axis direction. A pair of left and right X-axis linear motors (not shown) that extend and move the workpiece W in the X-axis direction via the set table 42, and the X-axis air slider 43 are moved in parallel with the X-axis linear motor. A pair of X-axis guide rails 44 for guiding is provided. In this X-axis table 41, when the X-axis linear motor is driven, the X-axis air slider 43 is moved along the X-axis direction while being guided by the X-axis guide rail 44, and the workpiece on the set table 42 is moved to the X-axis. It is designed to move in the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the set table 42 includes a suction table 45 that sucks and sets the workpiece W, and a θ table 46 that rotatably supports the suction table 45. The suction table 45 is formed of a thick plate-shaped stone, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a suction groove 45a for sucking the workpiece W is formed on the surface thereof. A suction hole (not shown) communicating with the air suction means is formed in the suction groove 45a, and a suction force is applied to the workpiece W through the suction groove 45a.

  The Y-axis table 51 is installed on a Y-axis support base 57 that supports a plurality of bridge plates 53 and a Y-axis slider and moves the bridge plate 53 in the Y-axis direction via the Y-axis sliders. Y-axis linear motor (not shown) to be moved, and a pair of Y-axis guide rails (not shown) installed on the Y-axis support base 57 along with the Y-axis linear motor to guide the movement of each Y-axis slider And. By driving the Y-axis linear motor, each Y-axis slider is guided by the Y-axis guide rail and translated along the Y-axis direction. Thereby, the bridge plate 53 moves along the Y-axis direction. In this case, by controlling the driving of the Y-axis linear motor, each bridge plate 53 can be moved independently along the Y-axis direction, or all the bridge plates 53 can be moved together. Is also possible.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the carriage unit 30 and is a side view of the carriage unit 30 as viewed from one side in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, the bridge plate 53 is provided with a suspension member 54 suspended from the lower surface side of the bridge plate 53 and a rotation support mechanism 55 installed at the lower end of the suspension member 54. A head unit mounting table 56 on which the head unit 20 is mounted is attached. The rotation support mechanism 55 is configured to support the head unit mounting table 56 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. Although not shown in the drawings, the suspension member 54 incorporates a head unit lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the head unit mounting table 56 via the rotation support mechanism 55, and the head unit mounting table is supported by the head unit lifting mechanism. The height position of the head unit 20 placed on 56 can be adjusted.

  4 to 6, the head unit 20 includes a head plate 21, a plurality of (in this embodiment, 12) droplet discharge heads 10 attached to the head plate 21, and each droplet discharge head. The head holding member 22 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the head plate 21 has a main body portion 21a formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape with a part cut away, and a pair of sides attached to both sides in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 21a. The support members 23 and 23 and a pair of handles 24 and 24 provided at the end portions of the support members 23 are provided. The handles 24, 24 are used for gripping the head unit 20 when it is placed on the head unit mounting table 56. The main body portion 21a is made of a thick plate such as stainless steel, and mounting openings 25 for attaching each of the six droplet discharge heads 10 are formed in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 21a. A hole 19 for reducing the weight is formed. Each of the mounting openings 25 is arranged along the arrangement of the six droplet discharge heads 10 so that the axis thereof is slightly inclined with respect to the axis along the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 21a. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the head unit 20 is mounted on the head unit in such a direction that the longitudinal direction of the main body 21 a of the head plate 21 is parallel to the sub-scanning direction (Y-axis direction) of the droplet discharge device 1. It is adapted to be placed on the mounting table 56.

  As a result, six droplet ejection heads 10 installed on the head plate 21 at a predetermined angle with respect to the main scanning direction (X-axis direction) are arranged along the sub-scanning direction (Y-axis direction). It will be in a state of being arranged in two rows. Further, the droplet discharge heads 10 in each row are arranged in a state of being shifted from each other with respect to the sub-scanning direction (Y-axis direction). They are continuous in a partially overlapping state in the scanning direction. The arrangement pattern of the droplet discharge heads 10 described above is an example, and other than this, as long as the dots formed by all the discharge nozzles 15a of each of the six droplet discharge heads 10 are configured to be continuous in the sub-scanning direction. It is also possible to adopt an arrangement pattern of Further, the number of the droplet discharge heads 10 to be arranged and the number of the arrangements are arbitrary.

  Further, the head plate 21 is provided with a pair of pipe connection assemblies 26 and 26 and a pair of wiring connection assemblies 27 and 27 installed at positions above the droplet discharge heads 10 in each row. One of the pipe connection assemblies 26, 26 is connected to the filter material supply system of the droplet discharge device 1, and the other wiring connection assemblies 27, 27 are connected to the control system of the droplet discharge device 1. Has been. FIG. 4 shows only the pipe connection assembly 26 attached to each droplet discharge head 10 in one row of the pair of pipe connection assemblies 26, 26, and each droplet discharge head 10 in the other row. The wiring connection assembly 26 attached to is not shown.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each pipe connection assembly 26 includes a pair of spacers 28, 28 erected on both ends in the long side direction of the main body 21 a of the head plate 21, and pressers passed between the spacers 28, 28. The plate 29 and a plurality of sets (six sets) of piping adapters 36 mounted on the holding plate 29 are configured. Each piping adapter 36 is fixed to the holding plate 29 with the head side connecting portion 36a at the lower end slightly protruding. Further, a pipe connection member 38 is interposed between the head side connection portion 36 a of the pipe adapter 36 protruding below the press plate 29 and the liquid droplet ejection head 10 disposed below the press plate 29. .

  As shown in FIG. 6, each wiring connection assembly 27 includes a bending support member 37 erected at the left and right ends of the head plate 21, a connector base 32 fixed to the upper end of the bending support member 37, and the connector base 32 And four head relay boards 34 with wiring connectors 33 attached to the head. Each of the four head relay boards 34 is connected to the two head boards 13 of each droplet discharge head 10 described below via a flexible flat cable (not shown). As shown in FIG. 5, the head unit 20 is further provided with a relay board cover 35 that covers the wiring connection assembly 27.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a pressure control valve 50 is installed on the upper side of each pipe connection assembly 26. 4 and 5, the pressure regulating valve 50 is not shown. The pressure control valve 50 is for stably supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10 without being affected by the head of the functional liquid tank 81 described below of the functional liquid supply mechanism 80. An inflow port 73 that communicates with the liquid ejection side, and an outflow port 74 that communicates with the liquid droplet ejection head 10 side. FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration of the pressure control valve 50. As shown in the figure, the pressure control valve 50 communicates the primary chamber 75 communicating with the inflow port 73, the secondary chamber 76 communicating with the outflow port 74, and the primary chamber 75 and the secondary chamber 76. A communication channel 77 is formed in the valve housing 78. A diaphragm 79 is provided on one side surface of the primary chamber 75 so as to face the outside, and a valve body 86 that opens and closes the communication channel 77 by the diaphragm 79 is provided in the communication channel 77. is set up. As a result, the functional liquid introduced from the functional liquid tank 81 into the primary chamber 75 is supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 via the secondary chamber 76. At this time, a predetermined adjustment reference pressure (here, The diaphragm 79 is displaced by the atmospheric pressure. Then, the valve body 86 provided in the communication channel 77 opens and closes, and the pressure in the secondary chamber 76 is adjusted so that the functional fluid pressure in the secondary chamber 76 becomes a predetermined pressure (slightly negative pressure). The

  By providing such a pressure control valve 50 between the functional liquid tank 81 and the droplet discharge head 10, the droplet discharge head 10 can function without being affected by the head of the functional liquid tank 81 as described above. It becomes possible to supply the liquid stably. That is, by setting the difference in height between the position of the nozzle surface 15 (see FIG. 9) of the droplet discharge head 10 and the position of the pressure control valve 50 (center of the diaphragm 79) to a predetermined value, the supply pressure of the functional liquid Can be maintained at a predetermined pressure. When the valve body 86 is closed, the primary chamber 75 and the secondary chamber 76 are cut off, and the pressure regulating valve 50 absorbs pulsation and the like generated on the functional liquid tank 81 side (primary side). Has a damper function. In addition, the functional liquid tank 81 is replenished with the functional liquid that has been supplied under pressure. In this case, the pressure in the primary chamber 75 increases and the pressure control valve 50 is closed, so that the functional liquid is replenished. Sometimes, it is possible to prevent excess functional liquid from being discharged from the droplet discharge head 10.

  Next, the configuration of the droplet discharge head 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the droplet discharge head 10 is connected to a functional liquid introduction section 12 that introduces a functional liquid, two head substrates 13 that are connected to the functional liquid introduction section 12, and a lower portion of the functional liquid introduction section 12. And a head main body 14 in which an in-head flow path (not shown) filled with the functional liquid is formed. In addition, a connecting needle 11 that is connected to a pipe (common pipe 84 described below) that communicates with the functional liquid tank 81 and supplies the functional liquid to the functional liquid introducing section 12 is installed in the functional liquid introducing section 12. The head body 14 includes a cavity 14a (piezoelectric element) and a nozzle plate 14b having a nozzle surface 15 in which a large number of discharge nozzles 15a are opened. When the droplet discharge head 10 is driven to discharge, functional liquid droplets are discharged from the discharge nozzle 15a of the nozzle surface 15 by the pumping action of the cavity 14a by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element. Yes.

  A large number of discharge nozzles 15a are arranged at equal intervals (two-dot pitch intervals) to form two divided nozzle rows, and each divided nozzle row is equivalent to one dot pitch between each other. The position is shifted. This makes it possible to perform drawing processing at a 1-dot pitch (high resolution) by discharging droplets. In addition, the 12 × 7 droplet discharge heads 10 mounted on the head unit 20 correspond to any of R, G, and B color functional liquids (inks), and the work is made from three color functional liquids. The drawing pattern can be drawn.

  A head unit mounting table in which the head unit 20 shown in FIG. 4 to which the droplet discharge head 10 having the above-described configuration is attached is attached to each bridge plate 53 aligned along the Y-axis support base 57 shown in FIGS. The head unit 20 is arranged in a straight line along the Y-axis direction by being placed on the head 56. In the present embodiment, by arranging the seven head units 20 side by side, the 12 × 7 all droplet discharge heads 10 are continuously arranged in the Y-axis direction, and the drawing lines of the head units 20 are arranged. One drawing line is formed continuously in the Y-axis direction.

  Next, the maintenance mechanism 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance mechanism 60 includes a flushing unit 61 that receives and discards droplets from the droplet discharge head 10, and a suction unit that sucks and forcibly discharges functional liquid from the droplet discharge head 10. 62 and a wiping unit 63 for wiping the nozzle surface 15 of the droplet discharge head 10. The flushing unit 61 is installed on the X-axis table 41 of the droplet discharge device 1, and the suction unit 62 and the wiping unit 63 are below the position where the head unit 20 can move along the Y-axis table 51. It is installed on the installed maintenance stand 64.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the flushing unit 61 includes a pre-drawing flushing unit 65 and a regular flushing unit 66. The pre-drawing flushing unit 65 performs a flushing process by ejecting and driving all the droplet ejection heads 10 of the head unit 20 immediately before ejecting the functional liquid onto the workpiece W during the rendering operation on the workpiece W by the droplet ejection device 1. The regular flushing unit 66 performs the flushing process by discharging the entire droplet discharge head 10 of the head unit 20 when the drawing operation is temporarily stopped, such as when the workpiece W is replaced. is there.

  The pre-drawing flushing unit 65 includes a pair of pre-drawing flushing boxes 67 and 67 for receiving the functional liquid installed on the set table 42. Each pre-drawing flushing box 67, 67 is formed in a rectangular elongated box shape, and an absorbent material (not shown) is laid on the bottom thereof. The pre-drawing flushing boxes 67 and 67 are installed along a pair of sides whose long sides are parallel to the Y-axis direction of the suction table 45 via a box support member (not shown). The top surfaces of these pre-drawing flushing boxes 67 and 67 are substantially flush with the top surface of the suction table 45. Therefore, when the workpiece W is reciprocated in the X-axis direction via the suction table 45, all the droplet discharge heads 10 of the head unit 20 face the pre-drawing flushing boxes 67 and 67 immediately before facing the workpiece W, Flushing before drawing can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the regular flushing unit 66 includes a regular flushing box 68 and a pair of box support members 69 that are mounted on the X-axis air slider 43 and support the regular flushing box 68. The regular flushing box 68 is formed in a rectangular box shape whose upper surface is opened so as to receive the functional liquid, and an absorbent material (not shown) for absorbing the functional liquid is laid on the bottom surface. Further, the regular flushing box 68 is configured to have a size capable of including all the droplet discharge heads 10 of the head unit 20 so as to receive regular flushing from the all droplet discharge heads 10 of the head unit 20. The box column member 69 is fixed to the slider body 43a of the X-axis air slider 43 together with the set table 42. When the X-axis air slider 43 is moved, the periodic flushing box 68 is also connected via the box column member 69. It is configured to move along the X-axis direction.

  The box column member 69 is such that the upper end surface of the regular flushing box 68 is slightly lower (about 2 to 3 mm) than the height position of the nozzle surface 15 of the droplet discharge head 10 mounted on the head unit 20. The regular flushing box 68 is supported so that the height can be adjusted. 1 and 2, the position on the near side in the X-axis direction of the X-axis table 41 is the workpiece replacement position D, and the box column member 69 faces the set table 42 to the workpiece replacement position D. When this happens, the regular flushing box 68 is supported so as to face the head unit 20. Thereby, it is possible to perform the regular flushing of all the droplet discharge heads 10 of the head unit 20 while the workpiece W is being replaced, and it is possible to maintain the droplet discharge head 10 in an appropriate state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of suction units 62 are provided corresponding to each head unit 20 mounted on each carriage unit 30, and these are arranged in the Y-axis direction on the maintenance frame 64. Aligned. Each suction unit 62 has twelve caps 62a corresponding to the twelve droplet discharge heads 10 mounted on the head unit 20, and faces the head unit 20 that performs suction from the lower side. Each cap 62a is brought into close contact with the nozzle surface 15 of each droplet discharge head 10. Further, an elevating mechanism (not shown) that raises and lowers the suction unit 62 to bring the cap 62a into and out of contact with the droplet discharge head 10 (nozzle surface 15), and a tightly attached cap 62a shown in FIG. A suction mechanism 91 that applies a suction force to each droplet discharge head 10 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the suction mechanism 91 includes a suction pump (suction drive source) 93 such as a tube pump that sucks the functional liquid from the cap 62 a to the recovery tank 92, and a flow path between the cap 62 a and the suction pump 93. A suction valve (opening / closing means) 94 provided in the (suction passage), a controller 94a for controlling the opening and closing of the suction valve 94, and a suction pressure for detecting a suction abnormality provided between the suction valve 94 and the suction pump 93. A detection sensor 99, a waste liquid pump 96 that sends the functional liquid collected in the collection tank 92 to the functional liquid bottle 95, a tank upper limit detection sensor 97 that detects the upper limit of the functional liquid in the collection tank 92, and the like. ing.

  The suction of the functional liquid by the suction mechanism 91 (forced discharge of the functional liquid) performs a drawing process for a predetermined number of works W in order to eliminate (prevent) clogging of the droplet discharge head 10 (discharge nozzle 15a). This is performed every time or after drawing processing for a predetermined time. In addition, when the type of the functional liquid is exchanged by the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 described below, the functional liquid is filled in the common pipe 84 and the liquid droplet ejection head 10 from the selector 83 to the liquid droplet ejection head 10. Also suction is performed. Furthermore, suction is also performed when the droplet discharge device 1 is newly installed or when the droplet discharge head 10 is replaced. On the other hand, the cap 62a of the suction unit 62 is also used to cover the droplet discharge head 10 to protect it when the droplet discharge apparatus 1 is not in operation. In this case, the head unit 20 faces the suction unit 62 and the cap 62a is brought into close contact with the nozzle surface 15 of the droplet discharge head 10, thereby sealing the nozzle surface 15 and preventing the discharge nozzle 15a from drying.

  Further, the cap 62 a of the suction unit 62 also has a function as a flushing box that receives the functional liquid discharged by the discard discharge (preliminary discharge) of the droplet discharge head 10, and a part of the head facing the suction unit 62. In the case of performing suction only on the unit 20, the other head unit 20 that does not perform suction is discarded from the cap 62a. In this case, the cap 62a is moved to a position where the upper surface of the cap 62a is slightly separated from the nozzle surface 15 of the droplet discharge head 10 by the elevating mechanism.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the wiping unit 63 wipes the nozzle surface 15 of the droplet discharge head 10 with the wiping sheet 70 sprayed with the cleaning liquid, and feeds the wiping sheet 70 wound in a roll shape. A winding unit 71 that winds up, a cleaning liquid supply unit (not shown) that sprays the cleaning liquid onto the fed wiping sheet 70, and a wiping unit 72 that wipes the nozzle surface 15 with the wiping sheet 70 sprayed with the cleaning liquid. Yes. The wiping operation is performed after suction by the suction unit 62, and wipes off dirt adhering to the nozzle surface 15. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiping unit 63 is disposed closer to the drawing area C than the suction unit 62, and faces the head unit 20 that returns to the drawing area C after being sucked by the suction unit 62. Thus, the wiping operation can be performed efficiently.

  Although not shown, each suction unit 62 and wiping unit 63 are supported by a unit lifting mechanism incorporated in the maintenance frame 64 so as to be movable up and down, and the two units 62 and 63 are moved to a predetermined retracted position. By lowering, a work area for maintaining the unit itself and replacing the head unit 20 mounted on the carriage unit 30 can be secured on the suction unit 62 and the wiping unit 63. In addition to the above units, the maintenance mechanism 60 omits illustration and detailed explanation, but the discharge failure inspection unit for inspecting the discharge failure of the droplet discharge head 10 or the discharge from the droplet discharge head 10 is omitted. A weight measuring unit for measuring the weight of the formed droplets may be provided.

  Here, a series of operations when the drawing process is performed on the workpiece in the droplet discharge device 1 having the above configuration will be briefly described. First, the set table 42 is placed at the workpiece replacement position D on the X-axis table 41, and the workpiece W conveyed by a workpiece conveyance mechanism (not shown) is placed on the set table 42 and held by suction. Then, by driving the X-axis table 41, the workpiece W is moved forward in the main scanning (X-axis) direction via the set table 42. In synchronization with the forward movement of the workpiece W, the droplet discharge head 10 of the head unit 20 facing the drawing region C is driven, and the functional droplet selective discharge (drawing) processing for the workpiece W is performed. When the forward movement of the workpiece W is completed, the Y-axis table 51 is driven, and the head unit 20 moves by a predetermined distance along the Y-axis direction. Then, the X-axis table 41 is driven again, and the discharge driving of the droplet discharge head 10 is performed in synchronization therewith, so that the work W is moved backward and the functional droplets are selectively discharged to the workpiece W. Is done. As described above, in the droplet discharge device 1, the movement of the workpiece W in the main scanning direction, the discharge driving (main scanning) of the droplet discharge head 10 in synchronization therewith, and the movement of the head unit 20 in the sub-scanning direction ( By alternately repeating (sub scanning), the drawing process for the workpiece W is performed.

  Next, the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 provided in the droplet discharge device 1 will be described. A functional liquid supply mechanism 80 shown in FIG. 10 supplies a functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10, and stores a functional liquid tank (liquid storage tank) 81 for storing the functional liquid L, and the functional liquid tank 81. And an individual pipe 82 connected thereto. The functional liquid tank 81 and the individual piping 82 constitute a piping system 90 for supplying the functional liquid L to the droplet discharge head 10. The functional liquid tank 81 is installed for each type of functional liquid L to be stored, and one functional liquid supply mechanism 80 is provided with a plurality of piping systems 90 including these functional liquid tanks 81 and individual pipes 82. Yes. Each individual pipe 82 connected to each functional liquid tank 81 is connected to a selector 83. The selector 83 and the droplet discharge head 10 are connected by a single common pipe 84, and the pressure control valve 50 described above is installed in the middle of the common pipe 84.

  The selector 83 is a piping system selection unit that selects and switches the individual pipe 82 communicating with the droplet discharge head 10 from among the connected individual pipes 82, and selects any one of the individual pipes 82. It is configured to communicate with the droplet discharge head 10 sequentially. That is, the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 includes a plurality of piping systems 90 that are different for each type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10, and the droplet discharge head 10 has a plurality of piping systems 90. A selector 83 that selects and switches the piping system 90 that supplies the functional fluid is provided.

  Further, at least one of the plurality of functional liquid tanks 81 included in the droplet discharge device 1 is a cleaning liquid tank 81a in which the cleaning liquid L ′ is stored, and a cleaning liquid pipe 82a is connected to the cleaning liquid tank 81a. . The cleaning liquid here can be used as a solvent for the ink when ink is used as the functional liquid. Also, a mixture of alcohol and water may be used. On the other hand, each individual pipe 82 (including the cleaning liquid pipe 82a) is provided with a choke valve 85 that is an open / close valve for opening and closing the flow path. As a result, by closing the choke valve 85 installed in the individual pipe 82 other than the individual pipe 82 selected by the selector 83 and communicating with the common pipe 84, the flow path of the individual pipe 82 is closed. Can be done.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the selector 83 can be attached to an upper position of the pressure control valve 50 on the head unit 20 mounted on the carriage unit 30 in the droplet discharge device 1. On the other hand, the functional liquid tank 81 can be installed on a floor (not shown) on which the droplet discharge device 1 is installed, and between the selector 83 and the functional liquid tank 81. Are connected by individual pipes 82. By arranging the selector 83 and the functional liquid tank 81 as described above, the individual pipe 82 connecting the selector 83 and the functional liquid tank 81 is long from the carriage unit 30 of the droplet discharge device 1 to the floor. Although the pipe length is required, the common pipe 84 only communicates between the droplet discharge head 10 (pipe connection assembly 26) and the selector 83, so that a short pipe length is sufficient. Therefore, the pipe length of the common pipe 84 connecting the selector 83 and the droplet discharge head 10 is shorter than that of the individual pipe 82 connected to each functional liquid tank 81. Can do.

  Next, a procedure for exchanging the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 by the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 having the above configuration will be described. Here, after performing the drawing process with the functional liquid (ink) supplied from one functional liquid tank 81 to the liquid droplet ejection head 10, the functional liquid supplied to the liquid droplet ejection head 10 is changed to another type. The case where it replaces | exchanges for a functional liquid is demonstrated. First, the inflow of the functional liquid from the individual pipe 82 to the selector 83 is stopped by closing the choke valve 85 of the individual pipe 82 already selected by the selector 83 and communicating with the common pipe 84. In this state, the selection of the selector 83 is switched to select the cleaning liquid pipe 82a, and the individual pipe 82 communicating with the common pipe 84 is used as this cleaning liquid pipe 82a. On the other hand, the head unit 20 faces the suction unit 62 of the maintenance mechanism 60, and the droplet discharge head 10 is covered with the cap 62a of the suction unit 62. Then, the choke valve 85 of the cleaning liquid pipe 82a is opened, and the cleaning liquid L ′ is sucked from the droplet discharge head 10 by the suction mechanism 91 connected to the cap 62a, whereby the cleaning liquid is circulated to the common pipe 84 and the droplet discharge head 10. Thus, the common pipe 84 and the droplet discharge head 10 are cleaned.

  When the common pipe 84 and the droplet discharge head 10 are cleaned, the suction of the cleaning liquid L ′ by the suction mechanism 91 is stopped, and the choke valve 85 of the cleaning liquid pipe 82a is closed. Then, the individual pipe 82 connected to the functional liquid tank 81 storing the type of functional liquid L to be used next is selected by the selector 83, and the individual pipe 82 and the common pipe 84 are communicated. Thereafter, the choke valve 85 of the individual pipe 82 is opened, and the functional liquid L is sucked from the droplet discharge head 10 through the cap 62 a by the suction mechanism 91, and the functional liquid L is applied to the common pipe 84 and the droplet discharge head 10. Circulate.

  Further, when the type of the functional liquid supplied from the droplet discharge head 10 is switched to the functional liquid L stored in another functional liquid tank 81, the same procedure as described above may be repeated.

  As described above, when the type of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 is switched, the previous functional liquid that has remained in the common pipe 84 and the droplet discharge head 10 due to the cleaning process in the common pipe 84. Must be processed as waste liquid, and in this cleaning process, the cleaning liquid for cleaning the common pipe 84 and the inside of the droplet discharge head 10 must be consumed. However, in the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 provided in the droplet discharge device 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, the selector 83 is more preferable than the individual pipe 82 connecting each functional liquid tank 81 and the selector 83. Since the common pipe 84 connecting the droplet discharge heads 10 is configured to have a shorter pipe length, the functional liquid supplied from the functional liquid tanks 81 whose connection has been switched sequentially flows. It is possible to minimize the amount of functional liquid that must be discharged as waste liquid remaining in the common pipe 84 and the amount of cleaning liquid consumed in cleaning the common pipe 84. Therefore, it is possible to suppress as much as possible the waste of the functional liquid and the cleaning liquid accompanying the exchange of the types of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10.

  In addition, when ink is used as the functional liquid in the droplet discharge device 1, a large number of slightly different types of ink are prepared for each type of work on which drawing processing is performed, even for the same color ink. , It may be necessary to switch between them. In that case, in the droplet discharge device 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable to store different types of ink for each functional liquid tank 81 as the functional liquid stored in each functional liquid tank 81. In addition to this, when the ink discharged from the droplet discharge head 10 is used by switching to ink having a necessary concentration according to the type of work to be drawn, each functional liquid tank 81 has It is only necessary to store inks of similar colors and different densities. Furthermore, in order to be able to switch the color of the ink ejected from the droplet ejection head 10 when performing the drawing process of the workpiece, each color ink is stored in each functional liquid tank 81. It is also possible to leave. In addition, the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 by the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 of the present embodiment is not limited to the ink described above, and other liquid materials such as a wiring material (pattern) and a wire forming material, Another liquid material or the like may be stored in the functional liquid tank 81 and supplied to the droplet discharge head 10.

  As described above, the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 included in the liquid droplet ejection apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of piping systems 90 that differ depending on the type of functional liquid supplied to the liquid droplet ejection head 10, and the plurality of these systems. Since the selector 83 for selecting and switching the piping system 90 for supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head 10 is provided from among the piping systems 90 of FIG. The type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 can be switched. Therefore, the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 can be exchanged efficiently in a short time, and the operating rate of the droplet discharge device 1 can be improved. In addition, since the plurality of piping systems 90 are configured to be used by switching, the pipe length of the common piping 84 that must be cleaned at the time of replacement can be shortened, so that it is consumed when the type of functional liquid is replaced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of the cleaning liquid for cleaning the inside of the pipe and the functional liquid discharged as waste liquid, and it is possible to suppress an increase in material cost associated with the production of the product.

  Further, in the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 described above, one of the plurality of piping systems 90 is the cleaning liquid piping system 90 a that supplies the cleaning liquid to the liquid droplet ejection head 10, and therefore is supplied to the liquid droplet ejection head 10. When the type of the functional liquid is switched, the selector 83 selects the cleaning liquid piping system 90a, so that the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 for cleaning. Therefore, the type of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10 can be exchanged more efficiently in a shorter time, and the operating rate of the droplet discharge device 1 can be improved.

  Further, in this functional liquid supply mechanism 80, since the choke valve 85, which is an open / close valve for opening and closing the flow path, is installed in the individual piping 82 provided in each piping system 90, other than being selected by the selector 83. The flow path of each individual pipe 82 can be closed by this choke valve 85, and the communication of each individual pipe 82 to the droplet discharge head 10 can be switched reliably. In addition to this, if the selector 83 itself has a function of closing the flow path of the individual pipe 82 other than the individual pipe 82 selected by the selector 83, each individual pipe in this embodiment is provided. The choke valve (open / close valve) 85 installed in 82 can be omitted.

  Further, in the droplet discharge device 1 of the present embodiment including the plurality of droplet discharge heads 10, the functional liquid is supplied to the plurality of droplet discharge heads 10 from the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 having the above configuration. It is also possible to configure. That is, although detailed illustration is omitted, in the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 shown in FIG. 10, the common pipe 84 is branched in the middle, and the branch pipe downstream of the branch portion is connected to each droplet discharge head 10. What is necessary is just to comprise. Thereby, even in the droplet discharge apparatus 1 that performs drawing processing on a large panel substrate having a plurality of droplet discharge heads 10 as in the present embodiment, the number of installed functional liquid supply mechanisms 80 is reduced. Therefore, the size of the droplet discharge device 1 and the mechanism can be simplified accordingly.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the same or corresponding components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Further, matters other than those described below and parts other than those shown in the drawings are the same as those in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of the functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 included in the droplet discharge device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 included in the droplet discharge device 1-2 of the present embodiment, a droplet discharge device (hereinafter referred to as the droplet discharge device 1) having the same configuration as the droplet discharge device 1 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment. A plurality of droplet discharge units 1), and a plurality of droplets are discharged from one functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 to the plurality of droplet discharge units 1 a. is there.

  The functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 of the first embodiment except for the common pipe 84-2. As shown in FIG. 11, a branch portion 84-2a is provided in the middle, and the branch portion 84-2a branches into a plurality of branch pipes 84-2b. It is connected to the droplet discharge head 10 of the droplet discharge device 1a. Since the selector 83 of the functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 is installed on the upstream side of the branch portion 84-2a of the common pipe 84-2, each droplet discharge unit 1a as in the first embodiment. Is installed in the vicinity of the position where the branch portion 84-2a of the common pipe 82-2 between the droplet discharge units 1a is provided.

  Further, when each droplet discharge unit 1a includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads 10, the illustration thereof is omitted, but each branch pipe 84-2b is similar to the droplet discharge device 1 of the first embodiment. May be further branched into a plurality of branch pipes in each droplet discharge unit 1a, and these branch pipes may be connected to the plurality of droplet discharge heads 10, respectively.

  As described above, the droplet discharge device 1-2 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of droplet discharge units 1a each including the droplet discharge head 10, and the plurality of units are supplied from one functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2. Since the functional liquid is supplied to the liquid droplet discharge unit 1a, a plurality of liquid droplet discharge units can be used even if the liquid droplet discharge unit 1 is a large-scale liquid droplet discharge device 1 provided with a plurality of liquid droplet discharge units 1a. Since the functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 can be shared by 1a and the number of the functional liquid supply mechanisms 80-2 can be reduced, the size of the droplet discharge device 1 can be reduced and the mechanism can be simplified. be able to.

  The liquid droplet ejection apparatus 1 (1-2) can be used for manufacturing various flat displays, various electronic devices, and optical devices. Next, a method for manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display device will be described as an example of a manufacturing method using the droplet discharge device 1 (1-2). 12A and 12B are partially enlarged views of the color filter of the liquid crystal display device. FIG. 12A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE ′ of FIG. In addition, some hatching of each part of sectional drawing is abbreviate | omitted. As shown in FIG. 12A, the color filter 100 includes pixels (filter elements) 112 arranged in a matrix, and the boundary between the pixels is partitioned by a partition 113. Each of the pixels 112 has one of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) ink (filter material) introduced therein. In this example, the arrangement of red, green, and blue is a so-called mosaic arrangement, but other arrangements such as a stripe arrangement and a delta arrangement may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, the color filter 100 includes a translucent substrate 111 and a light shielding partition 113. The portion where the partition 113 is not formed (removed) constitutes the pixel 112 described above. Each color ink introduced into the pixel 112 constitutes a colored layer 121. An overcoat layer 122 and an electrode layer 123 are formed on the upper surfaces of the partition 113 and the colored layer 121.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a process for manufacturing a color filter. In addition, some hatching of each part of sectional drawing in a figure is abbreviate | omitted. Here, the surface of the transparent substrate 111 made of non-alkali glass having a thickness of 0.7 mm, a length of 38 cm, and a width of 30 cm is washed with a cleaning solution in which 1% by weight of hydrogen peroxide is added to hot concentrated sulfuric acid. After rinsing, air drying is performed to obtain a clean surface. A chromium film with an average thickness of 0.2 μm is formed on the surface by sputtering to obtain a metal layer 114 ′ (FIG. 13: S1).

  The substrate is dried on a hot plate at 80 ° C. for 5 minutes, and then a photoresist layer (not shown) is formed on the surface of the metal layer 114 ′ by spin coating. A mask film on which a required matrix pattern shape is drawn is brought into close contact with the surface of the substrate, and exposure is performed with ultraviolet rays. Next, this is immersed in an alkaline developer containing potassium hydroxide at a ratio of 8% by weight to remove the unexposed photoresist and pattern the resist layer. Subsequently, the exposed metal layer is removed by etching with an etchant containing hydrochloric acid as a main component. In this way, a light shielding layer (black matrix) 114 having a predetermined matrix pattern can be obtained (FIG. 13: S2). The thickness of the light shielding layer 114 is approximately 0.2 μm. The width of the light shielding layer 114 is approximately 22 μm.

  On this substrate, a negative transparent acrylic photosensitive resin composition 115 ′ is further applied by spin coating (FIG. 13: S3). This is pre-baked at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes, and then exposed to ultraviolet rays using a mask film on which a predetermined matrix pattern shape is drawn. The unexposed resin is developed with an alkaline developer, rinsed with pure water, and spin-dried. After baking as final drying is performed at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes to sufficiently cure the resin portion, the bank layer 115 is formed, and the partition 113 including the light shielding layer 114 and the bank layer 115 is formed (FIG. 13: S4). ). The film thickness of the bank layer 115 is 2.7 μm on average. The bank layer 115 has a width of about 14 μm.

  In order to improve the ink wettability of the colored layer forming region (particularly the exposed surface of the glass substrate 111) partitioned by the obtained light shielding layer 114 and bank layer 115, dry etching, that is, plasma treatment is performed. Specifically, a high voltage is applied to a mixed gas obtained by adding 20% oxygen to helium to form an etching spot in a plasma atmosphere, and the substrate is etched by passing under the etching spot.

  Next, each of the R (red), G (green), and B (blue) inks is ejected into the pixel 112 formed by being partitioned by the partition 113 by the droplet discharge device 1 (1-2). (FIG. 13: S5). The droplet discharge head (inkjet head) 10 uses a precision head to which the piezoelectric effect described above is applied, and selectively ejects 10 micro ink droplets for each colored layer forming region. The drive frequency is 14.4 kHz, that is, the ejection interval of each ink droplet is set to 69.5 μsec. The distance between the head and the target is set to 0.3 mm. In order to prevent the flying speed from the head to the target colored layer formation region, the flying curve, and the generation of split stray droplets called satellites, the waveform (including voltage) that drives the piezo element of the head as well as the physical properties of the ink )is important. Accordingly, a waveform having a condition set in advance is programmed, and ink is applied to a predetermined color arrangement pattern by simultaneously applying ink droplets of three colors of red, green, and blue.

  As an ink (filter material), for example, an inorganic pigment is dispersed in a polyurethane resin oligomer, cyclohexanone and butyl acetate are added as low boiling solvents, butyl carbitol acetate is added as a high boiling solvent, and a nonionic surfactant 0 0.01% by weight is added as a dispersant, and a viscosity of 6 to 8 centipoise is used.

  Subsequently, the applied ink is dried. First, the ink layer 116 was set by leaving it in a natural atmosphere for 3 hours, then heated on a hot plate at 80 ° C. for 40 minutes, and finally heated in an oven at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes to form the ink layer 116. A colored layer 121 is obtained by performing a curing process (FIG. 13: S6). An overcoat layer 122 having a smooth surface is formed on the substrate by spin-coating a transparent acrylic resin paint. Further, an electrode layer 123 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is formed in a required pattern on the upper surface to form a color filter 100 (FIG. 13: S7).

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, the specification, and the drawings. Is possible. It should be noted that any shape, structure, and material not directly described in the specification and drawings are within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited. For example, the number of installations of the piping system 90 including the functional liquid tank 81 and the individual piping 82 provided in the functional liquid supply mechanism 80 (80-2) of each of the above embodiments is not limited to the number shown in the above embodiments. The number can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the number of types of functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head 10. Further, the number of installation of the cleaning liquid piping system 90a is not limited to one system shown in each of the above embodiments, and a plurality of systems can be used.

  In addition, the specific configuration of the droplet discharge device 1 (droplet discharge unit 1a) shown in each of the above embodiments is an example, and the droplet discharge device 1 according to the present invention includes a functional liquid droplet on a workpiece. The specific configuration of other parts such as the moving mechanism 40 may be different from that of the above embodiment as long as it includes the droplet discharge head 10 that discharges the liquid. In the second embodiment, the number of droplet discharge units 1a is set to three. However, the number of droplet discharge units 1a may be other than this. In addition, the installation locations of the selector 83 and the functional liquid tank 81 shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the selector 83 and the functional fluid tank 81 can be installed in places other than those described above. .

  Further, in the liquid droplet ejection apparatus 1 of each of the embodiments described above, the case where the number of head units 20 is set to 7 and the seven-unit head unit is configured has been described. For example, it is also possible to configure a 10-unit head unit by arranging 10 head units 20 side by side.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a droplet discharge device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the whole structure of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is a side view which shows the whole structure of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is a top view which shows the structure of the head unit with which a droplet discharge apparatus is provided. It is a side view which shows the structure of a head unit. It is a side view which shows the structure of a head unit. It is a figure which shows the structure of a carriage unit. It is a sectional side view which shows the structure inside a pressure regulating valve. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the droplet discharge head mounted in a head unit. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the functional liquid supply mechanism with which the droplet discharge apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the functional liquid supply mechanism with which the droplet discharge apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention is provided. FIG. 2A is a partially enlarged view of a color filter of a liquid crystal display device, FIG. 1A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE ′ of FIG. 1A. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing process of a color filter.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Droplet discharge device 10 Droplet discharge head 12 Functional liquid introduction part 13 Head substrate 14 Head main body 15 Nozzle surface 15a Discharge nozzle 20 Head unit 21 Head plate 26 Piping connection assembly 27 Wiring connection assembly 30 Carriage unit 36 Piping adapter 38 Piping connection Member 40 Movement mechanism 41 X-axis table 42 Set table 43 X-axis air slider 44 X-axis guide rail 45 Suction table 46 θ table 50 Pressure control valve 51 Y-axis table 53 Bridge plate 54 Suspension member 55 Rotation support mechanism 56 Head unit mounting Table 57 Y-axis support base 60 Maintenance mechanism 61 Flushing unit 62a Cap 62 Suction unit 63 Wiping unit 65 Pre-drawing flushing unit 66 Regular flushing unit 73 Inflow 74 Outlet port 75 Primary chamber 76 Secondary chamber 77 Communication flow path 78 Valve housing 79 Diaphragm 80 Functional liquid supply mechanism 80-2 Functional liquid supply mechanism 81 Functional liquid tank 81a Cleaning liquid tank 82 Individual piping 82a Cleaning liquid piping 83 Common piping 83 Selector 84 Common piping 84-2 Common piping 85 Choke valve (open / close valve)
86 Valve 90 90 Piping system 90a Cleaning liquid piping system 91 Suction mechanism 100 Color filter

Claims (10)

In a liquid droplet ejection apparatus equipped with a liquid droplet ejection head that ejects functional liquid droplets onto a workpiece,
A functional liquid supply mechanism for supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head;
The functional liquid supply mechanism includes a plurality of different piping systems for each type of the functional liquid supplied to the droplet discharge head, and supplies the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head from the plurality of piping systems. A droplet discharge device comprising a piping system selection means for selecting and switching a piping system to be switched. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1,
At least one of the plurality of piping systems is a cleaning liquid piping system for supplying a cleaning liquid to the droplet discharging head. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The piping system includes a liquid storage tank that stores the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid, and an individual pipe connected to the liquid storage tank.
The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the piping system selection means includes a selector for selecting and switching an individual piping to be communicated with the droplet discharge head from the individual piping. In the droplet discharge device according to claim 3,
A droplet discharge apparatus, wherein an opening / closing valve for opening and closing a flow path of the individual pipe is installed in the individual pipe. In the droplet discharge device according to claim 3 or 4,
A common pipe for connecting the selector and the droplet discharge head;
The common pipe connecting the selector and the droplet discharge head is configured such that the pipe length is shorter than the individual pipe connecting the liquid storage tank and the selector. Droplet discharge device. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The liquid droplet ejection apparatus includes a plurality of liquid droplet ejection heads, and is configured such that functional liquid is supplied from the one functional liquid supply mechanism to the plurality of liquid droplet ejection heads. . The droplet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Provided with a plurality of droplet discharge units equipped with the droplet discharge head,
A droplet discharge apparatus characterized in that a functional liquid is supplied to the plurality of droplet discharge units from one functional liquid supply mechanism. In the functional liquid supply method of supplying the functional liquid to a liquid droplet ejection head provided in a liquid droplet ejection apparatus that ejects functional liquid droplets onto a workpiece
Supplying the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head by selecting and switching a piping system that supplies the functional liquid to the droplet discharge head from a plurality of piping systems prepared for each type of the functional liquid The functional liquid supply method characterized by the above-mentioned. The functional liquid supply method according to claim 8,
A functional liquid supply method for switching the piping system to a cleaning liquid piping system for supplying a cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid to the droplet discharge head when the piping system is switched. In the functional liquid supply method according to claim 8 or 9,
The switching of the piping system is performed by selectively switching the communication of the individual piping connected to the plurality of liquid storage tanks in which the functional liquid or the cleaning liquid is stored with the droplet discharge head. Functional liquid supply method.

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