JP2008126193A - Detector, wiping device, drawing device, detection method, wiping method, and drawing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a detector which can easily detect, before flushing processing, whether an ink is adequately fed from an ink head, and also propose a wiping device, a drawing device, a detection method, a wiping method and a drawing method. <P>SOLUTION: The detector which detects whether a wiping part 90 operates well, the wiping part wiping up droplets by making a wiping sheet 92 contact a droplet feeding head 34 while relatively moving it, is provided with; an image pickup part 98 which picks up the images of the marks RL, GL and BL of droplets which are wiped up by the wiping sheet 92; and a droplet mark area computation part 144 which computes the areas of the droplet marks RL, GL and BL whose images are picked up. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a detection device, a wiping device, a drawing device, a detection method, a wiping method, and a drawing method.

  In order to manufacture electro-optical devices such as color filters and organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) devices, droplet discharge devices are used. The droplet discharge device discharges and lands droplets from an inkjet nozzle to form a thin film. The thin film becomes a light emitting layer or an electrode forming a pixel.

When manufacturing a color filter, an organic EL device, or the like, it is necessary to prepare the inkjet head periodically or as needed to accurately eject a predetermined amount of droplets from the inkjet head to a predetermined position.
Specifically, the droplet ejection device includes a capping unit, a wipe unit (cleaning unit), a flushing unit, etc., and capping the inkjet head, suctioning the nozzle, wiping the ink ejection surface, and confirming the droplet ejection status Flushing is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-248926

As described above, when ink is ejected onto the glass substrate, a flushing process is performed immediately before ejection onto the glass substrate, and whether or not ink is appropriately ejected from all ink head nozzles (nozzle Check for clogging).
However, a droplet discharge device for manufacturing a color filter for a large television has more than several thousand ink head nozzles, and the number of nozzles tends to increase as the substrate becomes larger. There is a problem that it takes time to reduce the production efficiency of the color filter.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. A detection apparatus, a wiping apparatus, and the like that can easily inspect whether ink is appropriately ejected from an ink head prior to a flushing process. An object is to propose a drawing apparatus, a detection method, a wiping method, and a drawing method.

In the detection apparatus, wiping apparatus and drawing apparatus, and the detection method, wiping method and drawing method according to the present invention, the following means are employed in order to solve the above problems.
A first aspect of the invention is an inspection apparatus for detecting whether or not a wiping unit is operating properly by wiping a droplet by moving the wiping sheet relative to the droplet discharge head, and detecting a droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet. An image pickup unit that picks up an image and a droplet trace area calculation unit that calculates an area of the picked up droplet trace are provided.

  A second invention is a wiping device for wiping a droplet by moving the wiping sheet relative to the droplet discharge head while contacting the droplet discharge head, the inspection device according to the first invention, and a droplet detected by the inspection device And a wiping processor that stops the wiping process by the wiping sheet when the trace area is smaller than a preset threshold value.

The threshold is set for each type of droplet.
The threshold is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing apparatus that discharges droplets from a droplet discharge head and draws in a predetermined area to be drawn, and includes the wiping device according to the second aspect of the present invention.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing apparatus for discharging a droplet from a droplet discharge head and drawing it in a predetermined region to be drawn, wherein the droplet discharge head is moved relative to the droplet discharge head while contacting the wiping sheet. Wiping unit for wiping off, inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, a flushing unit for detecting a nozzle clogging by discharging a droplet from the droplet discharge head, and a droplet trace area detected by the inspection device are preset. A control unit for avoiding flushing by the flushing unit when the threshold value is smaller than the threshold value.

The threshold is set for each type of droplet.
The threshold is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace.

  A fifth aspect of the invention is an inspection method for detecting whether the wiping unit operates in a relatively wiping manner by wiping a droplet while wiping the wiping sheet in contact with the droplet discharge head, and the droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet is detected. The area of the droplet trace is obtained by imaging.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wiping method for wiping a droplet by moving the wiping sheet relative to the droplet discharge head while wiping the droplet, and imaging a droplet trace wiped off the wiping sheet. And a detection step for obtaining an area, and a step of stopping the wiping process by the wiping sheet when the detected droplet trace area is smaller than a preset threshold value.

The threshold is set for each type of droplet.
The threshold is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace.

  A seventh invention is a drawing method for discharging a droplet from a droplet discharge head and drawing it in a predetermined region to be drawn, wherein the wiping method according to the sixth invention is used as a maintenance process of the droplet discharge head. It is characterized by carrying out.

  An eighth aspect of the present invention is a drawing method in which droplets are ejected from a droplet ejection head and drawn in a predetermined region to be drawn, and a first method for sucking a droplet by bringing a suction cap into contact with the droplet ejection head. A capping step, a wiping step in which the wiping sheet is moved relative to the droplet discharge head while wiping the droplet, and a droplet is wiped off. The droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet is imaged, and the area of the droplet trace is determined. And a second capping step of performing capping again on the droplet discharge head when the detected droplet trace area is smaller than a preset threshold value.

The threshold is set for each type of droplet.
The threshold is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a detection device, a wiping device, a drawing device, a detection method, a wiping method, and a drawing method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

[Color filter manufacturing equipment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, which is an apparatus for manufacturing a color filter having three colored layers of R, G, and B.
The color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 is arranged in the order of the ink receiving layer forming apparatus 2, the colored layer forming apparatus 4, and the main baking apparatus 6 (heating apparatus) from the upstream side.
The color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 is supplied with a transparent substrate (substrate) made of glass, plastic or the like on which partition walls (also referred to as banks) for partitioning the R, G, and B colored layer patterns are formed.
The ink receiving layer forming apparatus 2 is an apparatus for forming an ink receiving layer made of a resin composition as a base layer in a region partitioned by partition walls. The colored layer forming apparatus 4 is an apparatus for applying a liquid material composed of R, G, and B inks that will later become colored layers. The main baking apparatus 6 is an apparatus for heating and baking a liquid material composed of R, G, and B inks after coating.

In the colored layer forming apparatus 4, from the upstream side to the downstream side (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 1), the material supply unit 61, the surface modification unit 62, the drawing unit 63, the inspection unit 64, the temporary firing unit 65, A material portion 66 is provided.
As a rough flow of processing, a lyophilic process and a liquid repellent process are performed in the surface modification unit 62 on the undrawn substrate supplied from the material supply unit 61, and a predetermined partition partitioned by a partition in the drawing unit 63. R, G, and B inks are ejected and drawn in this area. Next, the drawing state is inspected by the inspection unit 64, the ink is temporarily baked by the temporary baking unit 65, and then the substrate after drawing is discharged by the material removal unit 66.
In the present apparatus, these units are arranged linearly along the flow direction of the substrate.

[Droplet discharge device]
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration perspective view showing only the vicinity of the drawing unit 63. FIG. 3 is a left side view of FIG.
In the drawing unit 63, a droplet discharge device 72 that performs drawing on the substrate S is installed. The droplet discharge device 72 includes a drawing device (droplet discharge device main body) B that performs drawing by discharging droplets (liquid material) onto the substrate S, and a maintenance unit 80 connected to the + Y side of the drawing device. And a drive unit 172 that drives (drives) a later-described droplet discharge head 34 between the drawing apparatus B and the maintenance unit 80.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drawing apparatus B includes a base 150 that can move in the X direction that is the transport direction, a table 70 that is placed on the base 150 and holds the substrate S to be drawn, and a lower surface side. A head unit that includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads and extends in the Y direction (a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate S) to discharge ink droplets (droplets) from the nozzles of each droplet discharge head to the lower substrate S. 71.
On the base 150, a θ driving device 151 that drives the table 70 in the θZ direction (direction around the Z axis), and a flushing unit that is located on the + X side of the table 70 and that performs preliminary discharge (flushing) from the droplet discharge head. 152 is provided. These drawing apparatuses B are installed in an integrated state on the base 170.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the head unit 71.
The head unit 71 includes a plurality of (for example, seven) carriages 153 arranged in the Y direction that move independently of each other. Each carriage 153 includes a rectangular plate 74 extending in the X direction, a head carriage (sub-carriage) 73 that holds (supports) a plurality of (predetermined number; here, 12) droplet discharge heads 34, and a head carriage. The head carriage 153 includes a θ driving device 154 (see FIG. 3) that drives the head 73 in the θZ direction with respect to the plate 74, and a lifting device 155 (see FIG. 3) that lifts and lowers the head carriage 73 in the Z direction. Is detachably attached to the plate 74 via a θ drive device 154 and an elevating device 155.

In each droplet discharge head 34, a plurality of droplet discharge nozzles (hereinafter referred to as nozzles) are formed in an array (for example, 120 in two rows). Each head 34 is fixed to the head carriage 73 so that the arrangement direction of the nozzle rows is aligned with the Y direction. Further, each head 34 is arranged in a staircase shape in a state of being sequentially shifted in the Y direction. Thereby, the nozzles are arranged at an equal pitch over the entire width of the head unit 71. The heads 34 fixed to the head carriage 73 are arranged in the order of a head 34R that ejects R ink, a head 34G that ejects G ink, and a head 34B that ejects B ink.
With this configuration, the head unit 71 can eject R, G, and B ink droplets at a predetermined pitch over, for example, several meters in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate S. Then, by ejecting ink droplets while transporting the substrate S in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the heads 34, R, G, and B inks can be drawn in a desired pattern shape over the entire surface of the substrate S.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the drive unit 172 includes guide rails 157 provided on a frame 156 arranged in parallel so as to extend in the Y direction on both sides in the X direction across the maintenance unit 80, and each plate 74 (that is, The carriage 153) is mainly composed of a shaft type linear motor 158 that drives the guide rail 157 along the guide rail 157. On each frame 156, an ink cable connected to the droplet discharge head 34 and a linear motor 158 A case 171 for accommodating a power supply line or the like connected to the mover is installed along the Y direction.

  Linear guides 75, 75 are provided on both sides of the plate 74 in the X direction, and are movable in the Y direction along the guide rails 157. The linear motor 158 is arranged along the Y direction across the cylindrical movable element 159 provided on both sides of each plate 74, the drawing apparatus B, and the maintenance unit 80, and the movable element 159 of each plate 74 is respectively connected to the linear motor 158. And a stator 160 to be inserted. In the present embodiment, a moving coil type linear motor 158 in which the mover 159 is formed of a coil body and the stator 160 is formed of a magnet generator is used, and the current supplied to each mover 159 is adjusted. The position of each carriage 153 can be controlled independently.

In order to perform drawing in the drawing apparatus B, it is first necessary to adjust the alignment of the drawing unit.
In order to adjust the alignment, first, pre-drawing flushing (preliminary droplet discharge) is performed from each nozzle of each head. This pre-drawing flushing is performed on the droplet discharge region on the substrate S before the table 70 on which the substrate S is placed is moved.
Next, the droplet discharged onto the substrate S is photographed by the CCD 78, and the discharge position and the discharge diameter are calculated. Based on the calculation result of the ejection position, the alignment of the drawing unit is adjusted. The alignment in the X direction is performed by adjusting the droplet discharge timing of each nozzle. The alignment in the Y direction is performed by adjusting the position of each plate 74 by the linear guide 75.
Here, in the head unit 71 of the present embodiment, since a plurality of heads are mounted on different head carriages 73 for each group, the alignment adjustment of the drawing unit can be easily performed. Note that pre-drawing flushing and drawing flushing other than alignment are performed on the flushing unit 152.

[Droplet ejection head]
FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the droplet discharge head, and FIG. 5B is a front sectional view.
The head 34 compresses the liquid chamber with, for example, a piezo element and discharges the liquid with the pressure wave. As described above, the head 34 includes the plurality of nozzles 18 arranged in one or a plurality of rows.
An example of the structure of the head 34 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the head 34 includes a nozzle plate 12 and a diaphragm 13 made of, for example, stainless steel. Are joined together. A plurality of spaces 15 and a liquid reservoir 16 are formed between the nozzle plate 12 and the diaphragm 13 by the partition member 14. Each space 15 and the liquid reservoir 16 are filled with ink, and each space 15 and the liquid reservoir 16 communicate with each other via a supply port 17. The nozzle plate 12 has nozzles 18 for ejecting ink from the space 15. On the other hand, a hole 19 for supplying ink to the liquid reservoir 16 is formed in the vibration plate 13.

Further, a piezoelectric element (piezo element) 20 is joined to the surface of the diaphragm 13 opposite to the surface facing the space 15 as shown in FIG. The piezoelectric element 20 is configured such that a piezoelectric material is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 21, and the piezoelectric material contracts when the pair of electrodes 21 are energized.
The diaphragm 13 to which the piezoelectric element 20 is bonded in such a configuration is bent integrally with the piezoelectric element 20 at the same time so that the volume of the space 15 is increased. It is going to increase. Therefore, ink corresponding to the increased volume in the space 15 flows from the liquid reservoir 16 through the supply port 17.
Further, when energization to the piezoelectric element 20 is released from such a state, both the piezoelectric element 20 and the diaphragm 13 return to their original shapes. Accordingly, since the space 15 also returns to the original volume, the pressure of the ink inside the space 15 rises, and the ink droplet L is ejected from the nozzle 18 toward the substrate.

  The ink jet system of the head 34 may be a system other than the piezo jet type using the piezoelectric element 20, for example, a system using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element.

[Maintenance unit]
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the maintenance unit 80. FIG. 7 is a front sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.
The maintenance unit 80 is provided on an extension line in the arrangement direction (Y direction) of the plates 74 in the head unit 71 (see FIG. 2). In the maintenance unit 80, a cap unit 81 that covers the ink discharge surface of each head and a wipe unit 90 that wipes the ink discharge surface of each head are formed adjacent to each other.

The cap unit 81 includes a plurality of cap carriages 83 arranged in the Y direction corresponding to the head carriage. Each cap carriage 83 is movable in the Z direction (up and down direction).
In each cap carriage 83, a plurality of caps 82 are arranged stepwise corresponding to the head. The cap 82 functions as a moisturizing cap that prevents the ink in the nozzles of the head from being dried by covering the ink ejection surface of the head.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the cap 82 is used with its upper surface in contact with the ink ejection surface 12 a of the head 34. Therefore, a recess 84 is formed on the upper surface of the cap 82. The concave portion 84 is formed to have a size capable of including all the nozzles 18 formed in the head 34. As a result, contact between the nozzles 18 of the head 34 and the upper surface of the cap 82 is avoided, and the ink meniscus formed at the opening of each nozzle 18 is maintained. Further, the upper surface of the cap 82 surrounding the recess 84 is formed with high surface accuracy. Accordingly, each nozzle 18 formed on the ink discharge surface 12a of the head 34 can be hermetically sealed.

  The cap disposed on the cap carriage 83a near the wipe unit 90 functions as a suction cap 82a capable of sucking ink in the nozzles of the head 34. In the suction cap 82 a, a pipe 88 is formed from the recess 84 to the external pump 86. By operating the pump 86, the air in the recess 84 is sucked so that the ink in each nozzle 18 can be sucked.

The wipe unit 90 removes the ink 54a attached to the ink discharge surface 12a by wiping the ink discharge surface 12a of the head 34 with the wiping sheet 92. In the wipe unit 90, a wiping sheet 92 made of, for example, a polyester woven fabric or the like is disposed. The wiping sheet 92 is formed to have a width equal to or greater than that of the head group mounted on the head carriage 73 (see FIG. 4).
As shown in FIG. 7, the wiping unit 90 is provided with a feeding roller 93 and a winding roller 96 for the wiping sheet 92. The feeding roller 93 is driven to rotate by a driving means 146 such as a motor, and the take-up roller 96 is driven to rotate by a driving means 148 so that the wiping sheet 92 is fed at a constant speed (for example, about 10 cm / s). Yes.

A guide roller 94 and a tension roller 95 that prevents the wiping sheet 92 from being loosened are disposed between the feeding roller 93 and the take-up roller 96. The rotation axes of the rollers 93, 94, 95, 96 are arranged in parallel, and the wiping sheet 92 is wound around the take-up roller 96 from the feed roller 93 via the guide roller 94 and the tension roller 95.
Further, the wipe unit 90 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction, whereby the wiping sheet 92 on the guide roller 94 can be brought into contact with or separated from the ink discharge surface 12a of the head 34. It has become.

Further, a CCD camera 98 is provided between the guide roller 94 and the tension roller 95 to image the ink that has been wiped off and adhered by the wiping sheet 92 (hereinafter referred to as ink marks RL, GL, and BL). . The CCD camera 98 is configured to be able to image the ink traces RL, GL, and BL over the entire width of the wiping sheet 92.
An image captured by the CCD camera 98 is sent to the calculation unit 144. The calculation unit 144 obtains areas of the ink traces RL, GL, and BL that have been imaged. Further, when the areas of the obtained ink marks RL, GL, and BL are smaller than a preset threshold value, a stop command is output to the driving units 146 and 148 or the droplet discharge device 72 (drawing). Error information (information indicating that the area of ink marks RL, GL, BL is smaller than a threshold value) is output to a control unit (not shown) that controls various processes of the apparatus B and the maintenance unit 80). It has become.

Note that a plurality of area sensor (surface sensor) type CCD cameras 98 may be provided in accordance with the arrangement of the heads 34 in the head carriage 73.
Alternatively, a line sensor (linear sensor) type may be arranged along the width direction of the wiping sheet 92. In this case, the ink traces RL, GL, and BL are imaged while the wiping sheet 92 is moved by the feeding roller 93 and the take-up roller 96.

[Drawer maintenance method]
Next, a method for maintaining the head unit 71 in the above-described maintenance unit 80 will be described.
When drawing is performed on the substrate S by the droplet discharge device 72 of the drawing unit 63, prior to the drawing processing (droplet discharge processing), each droplet discharge head 34 of the drawing device B (head unit 71) is used. It is necessary to detect whether or not there are clogs (nozzle clogging) in a plurality of nozzles. This is because when any one of the droplet discharge heads 34 is clogged with nozzles, accurate drawing cannot be formed on the substrate S.

Accordingly, capping and wiping are performed on each droplet discharge head 34 to remove nozzle clogging. Thereafter, flushing is performed to detect whether nozzle clogging has been properly removed, that is, whether nozzle clogging remains. In the flushing before drawing, since the discharge diameter is calculated in addition to the droplet discharge position, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of nozzle clogging in each head.
In addition, nozzle clogging may be detected in periodic flushing or the like. Also in this case, flushing is performed again after capping and wiping.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the clogged nozzle is detected or the head 34 in which the clogged nozzle is detected is moved to above the suction cap 82a. As described above, each head carriage 73 can be independently moved in the Y direction. At this time, if there is another head (carriage 153) closer to the maintenance unit 80 than the head 34 to be sucked, these carriages 153 are also moved together.
Next, the cap carriage 83 on which the suction cap 82 a is mounted is raised, and the upper surface of the suction cap 82 a is brought into contact with the ink ejection surface 12 a of the head 34. At that time, both nozzles 18 of the head 34 are positioned in advance so that all the nozzles 18 are included in the recesses 84 of the suction cap 82a. Thereby, all the nozzles 18 of the head 34 are hermetically sealed by the suction cap 82a.

  Next, the pump 86 connected to the suction cap 82a is operated. The pump 86 sucks the air in the recess 84 in each cap 82 and sucks the nozzle 18 of the head 34. Thereby, the ink in the head 34 is introduced into each nozzle 18, and the nozzle clogging is eliminated. Note that when the nozzles 18 of the head 34 are sucked, some ink leaks from the nozzles 18 into the recesses 84. The leaked ink is collected in a waste liquid tank (not shown) by the pump 86 and reused. At this time, other heads that are not suction targets are hermetically sealed with a moisture retention cap 82 to prevent evaporation of the ink solvent and avoid a thickened state.

  When the nozzles 18 of the head 34 are sucked, the ink leaking from the nozzles 18 may adhere to the ink ejection surface 12a of the head 34. If ink is ejected from the head 34 with the ink 54a adhering to the vicinity of the opening of the nozzle 18 on the ink ejection surface 12a, there is a risk that the flight of the ejected ink will be bent. Therefore, after the nozzle 18 of the head 34 is sucked, the ink ejection surface 12a is wiped in order to remove the ink 54a attached to the ink ejection surface 12a.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the sucked head 34 is moved to above the wipe unit 90.
Next, the feeding roller 93 and the take-up roller 96 are rotated, and the wiping sheet 92 is moved along each roller. Further, the wipe unit 90 is raised, and the wiping sheet 92 on the guide roller 94 is pressed against the ink discharge surface 12a.
Then, R, G, B ink adhering to the ink ejection surface 12 a is absorbed by the wiping sheet 92. Further, since the wiping sheet 92 is moved while being in contact with the ink discharge surface 12a, the ink discharge surface 12a is wiped by the fresh wiping sheet 92.
Note that the head carriage 73 may be moved in the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the wiping sheet 92.
Thus, the ink 54a attached to the ink discharge surface 12a is removed.

  When the wiping is completed, the wipe unit 90 is lowered. The R, G, and B inks wiped by the wiping sheet 92 are absorbed by the wiping sheet 92 to form ink marks RL, GL, and BL. The wipe unit 90 further rotates the feeding roller 93 and the take-up roller 96 to move the ink marks RL, GL, BL to the front of the CCD camera 98, and the ink marks RL, GL, BL are moved by the CCD camera 98. Image.

FIG. 8 is a development view of the wiping sheet. The feeding direction of the wiping sheet 92 is the downward direction in FIG.
In the used portion of the wiping sheet 92, ink marks RL, GL, and BL are formed in a region in contact with the head. The ink marks RL, GL, and BL are distributed stepwise corresponding to the arrangement of the heads 34 in the head carriage 73. The ink marks RL, GL, and BL are attracted and diffused by the wiping sheet 92 and have a larger area than the head 34.

As described above, the ink marks RL, GL, and BL are imaged by the CCD camera 98. Then, the areas of the ink marks RL, GL, and BL are processed.
For example, when clogging remains in the head 34, the areas of the ink traces RL ′, GL ′, and BL ′ corresponding to the head 34 are smaller than the areas of the other ink traces RL, GL, and BL. Become. Therefore, by detecting the size of the area using the CCD camera 98 or the like, it is possible to easily and indirectly detect clogging in the head 34 (the quality of the state of the head 34). Further, the head 34 in which the clogging remains is easily identified by the position of the ink mark RX of the wiping sheet 92 (the number from the end).
Note that the area of the ink marks RL, GL, and BL may be reduced even when the wiping sheet 92 is not properly in contact with the head 34 during wiping. In this case, since wiping has not been performed properly, there is no problem even if it is determined that the state of the head 34 is defective as in the case where clogging remains in the head 34.

By the way, the shapes and areas of the ink marks RL, GL, and BL formed on the wiping sheet 92 are not always constant (variation is large). This is because it is influenced by the state of the wiping sheet 92, the type of ink, the amount of ink to be ejected, the state of the ink ejection surface 12a of the head 34, and the like.
Therefore, a threshold value is set in advance as a reference for determining that the state of the head 34 is defective. For example, an average value of ink marks RL, GL, and BL formed on the wiping sheet 92 in the previous drawing process is obtained, and 50% of the average value is set as a threshold value. When the area is about half of the average ink mark area, it is highly likely that some abnormality (nozzle clogging or the like) has occurred in some of the plurality of nozzles of the head 34. This is because the possibility of erroneous determination is reduced.

The threshold is preferably set for each ink type, that is, for each of R, G, and B. As a result, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether the state of the head 34 is defective.
In the case where a color filter 55 described later is manufactured by ejecting (drawing) R, G, and B inks onto the substrate S, it is not possible to change the ink amount at the time of manufacturing (during the drawing process). Since there is almost no threshold, it is considered that the state of the head 34 can be sufficiently determined by setting a threshold value for each of R, G, and B.

For example, when it is determined that nozzle clogging has occurred in any of the heads 34 of the third head carriage 73 from the left in FIG. 4, one of the following processes is performed.
First, wiping to the fourth head carriage 73 (head 34) from the left is stopped. In this case, a maintenance inspection process such as removing the third head carriage 73 in which nozzle clogging has occurred may be performed.
Secondly, the third head carriage 73 is capped again (second capping step) without flushing the head 34 (third head carriage 73) in which nozzle clogging has occurred. As a result, nozzle clogging that has occurred in the head 34 of the third head carriage 73 can be eliminated. In this case, after continuing the wiping with respect to the fourth and subsequent head carriages 73, the capping with respect to the third head carriage 73 (second capping step) may be performed.
After performing capping (second capping step) on the third head carriage 73, wiping on the third and fourth and subsequent head carriages 73 may be resumed.

That is, when it is determined that nozzle clogging has occurred in any of the heads 34 of the third head carriage 73, flushing of the third head carriage 73 is avoided.
As described above, in flushing, a droplet is ejected, and the ejection position and the ejection diameter of the droplet are calculated. Therefore, the processing time increases in proportion to the number of nozzles. Accordingly, the third head carriage 73 having the head 34 that is determined to have nozzle clogging is flushed with respect to the third head carriage 73 immediately without spending time for detecting nozzle clogging. Processing for eliminating the clogging can be performed.

  As described in detail above, according to the detection device, the wiping device, the drawing device, the detection method, the wiping method, and the drawing method of the present embodiment, drawing is performed on the substrate S by the droplet discharge device 72 of the drawing unit 63. Prior to this, immediately after wiping each droplet discharge head 34 of the drawing apparatus B (each head carriage 73), nozzle clogging is detected simply and indirectly to perform flushing to detect nozzle clogging. Processing for eliminating nozzle clogging can be performed immediately without spending time. Therefore, efficient repair processing and drawing processing can be performed.

[Color filter manufacturing method]
Next, an example of the manufacturing method of the color filter 55 using the color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the color filter region 51 in the substrate S.
The color filter manufacturing method using the color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 can be applied when a plurality of color filter regions 51 are formed in a matrix on the rectangular substrate S from the viewpoint of improving productivity. These color filter regions 51 can be used as individual color filters 55 suitable for the liquid crystal display device by cutting the substrate S later.
In each color filter region 51, as shown in FIG. 9, the R ink, the G ink, and the B ink are respectively formed in a predetermined pattern, in this example, a conventionally known stripe type. . In addition to the stripe type, the formation pattern may be a mosaic type, a delta type, or a square type.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a method for manufacturing the color filter 55.
In order to form the color filter region 51, first, a black matrix 52 is formed on one surface of the transparent substrate S as shown in FIG. When the black matrix 52 is formed, a non-light-transmitting resin (preferably a black resin) is applied to a predetermined thickness (for example, about 2 μm) by a method such as spin coating, and photolithography technology is used. Pattern. For the minimum display element surrounded by the grid of the black matrix 52, that is, the filter element 53, for example, the width in the X-axis direction is set to 30 μm and the length in the Y-axis direction is set to about 100 μm. This black matrix has a sufficient height and functions as a partition wall during ink ejection.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, ink droplets 54 containing a resin composition that becomes an ink receiving layer are ejected from the droplet ejection head of the ink receiving layer forming apparatus in the color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. Then, this is landed on the substrate S. The amount of ink droplets 54 to be ejected is a sufficient amount in consideration of a decrease in ink volume in the heating process. Next, the ink droplets are fired in the firing part of the ink receiving layer forming apparatus to form an ink receiving layer 60 as shown in FIG.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), R ink droplets 54 R, 54 G, and 54 B are ejected from the droplet ejection head 34 of the colored layer forming apparatus, and land on the substrate S. The amount of ink droplets 54 to be ejected is a sufficient amount in consideration of a decrease in ink volume in the heating process. Then, as shown in FIG. 10E, an R colored layer 55R, a G colored layer 55G, and a B colored layer 55B are formed. After forming the R colored layer 55R, the G colored layer 55G, and the B colored layer 55B, the colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B are collectively fired in the firing apparatus.

  Next, in order to planarize the substrate S and protect the colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B, an overcoat film (protective film) that covers the colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B and the black matrix 52 as shown in FIG. ) 56 is formed. In forming the overcoat film 56, a spin coating method, a roll coating method, a ripping method, or the like can be employed. However, a droplet discharge device is used as in the case of the colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B. You can also.

  By the way, the color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a drawing unit 63 in the middle of a linear substrate transport line that connects the material supply unit 61 and the material removal unit 66, and includes the transport direction of the substrate S. A pattern having a desired shape is formed by ejecting ink from droplet ejection heads arranged in intersecting directions. That is, since the substrate S before drawing is supplied from one end of the drawing unit 63 and the substrate S after drawing is discharged from the other end of the drawing unit 63, the substrate S is continuously flowed into the drawing unit 63. It is possible to perform drawing at once using a plurality of droplet discharge heads 34 during conveyance in only one direction. Therefore, the tact time required for processing one substrate can be shortened, and an apparatus with excellent productivity can be realized. In addition, since the material supply unit 61, the drawing unit 63, and the material removal unit 66 are arranged in a straight line, the space occupied by the apparatus can be reduced. Furthermore, since a transport device having a function of changing the transport direction of the substrate is not necessary, the device configuration can be simplified.

[Liquid Crystal Device]
Next, an embodiment of the liquid crystal device 30 including the color filter 55 will be described.
FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the passive matrix type liquid crystal device 30.
The liquid crystal device 30 is of a transmission type, and a liquid crystal layer 33 made of STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal or the like is sandwiched between a pair of glass substrates 31 and 32.

One glass substrate 31 has the color filter 55 formed on the inner surface thereof. The color filter 55 is configured by regularly arranging colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B composed of R, G, and B colors. A black matrix 52 is formed between the colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B.
An overcoat film (protective film) 56 is formed on the color filter 55 and the black matrix 52 in order to eliminate the step formed by the color filter 55 and the black matrix 52 and to flatten the same. . A plurality of electrodes 37 are formed in a stripe shape on the overcoat film 56, and an alignment film 38 is further formed thereon.

On the other glass substrate 32, a plurality of electrodes 39 are formed in stripes on the inner surface so as to be orthogonal to the electrodes 37 on the color filter 55 side. On these electrodes 39, an alignment film 40 is formed. Is formed. The colored layers 55R, 55G, and 55B of the color filter 55 are disposed at positions where the electrodes 39 and 37 on the glass substrates 32 intersect.
The electrodes 37 and 39 are made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). Further, polarizing plates (not shown) are provided on the outer surface sides of the glass substrate 32 and the color filter 55, respectively, and the space (cell gap) between the substrates 31, 32 is kept constant between the glass substrates 31, 32. For this purpose, a spacer 41 is provided. Further, a sealing material 42 for enclosing the liquid crystal 33 is provided between the glass substrates 31 and 32.

  In the liquid crystal device 30 of the present embodiment, the color filter 55 manufactured by using the color filter manufacturing device 1 is applied, so that a low-cost and high-quality color liquid crystal display device can be realized.

[Electronics]
Next, a specific example of an electronic apparatus provided with display means including the liquid crystal device 30 will be described.
12A to 12D show examples of electronic devices including the liquid crystal device 30 described above.
FIG. 12A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 12A, a mobile phone 1000 includes a display unit 1001 using the liquid crystal device 30 described above.
FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch type electronic device. In FIG. 12B, a timepiece 1100 includes a display unit 1101 using the liquid crystal device 30 described above.
FIG. 12C is a perspective view illustrating an example of a portable information processing apparatus such as a word processor or a personal computer. In FIG. 12C, the information processing apparatus 1200 includes an input unit 1202 such as a keyboard, a display unit 1206 using the liquid crystal device 30 described above, and an information processing apparatus body (housing) 1204.
FIG. 12D is a perspective view showing an example of a thin large-screen television. 12D, a thin large-screen television 1300 includes a thin large-screen television main body (housing) 1302, an audio output unit 1304 such as a speaker, and a display unit 1306 using the liquid crystal device 30 described above.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, the detailed configuration of the color filter manufacturing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate.

  Although the case where the head unit 71 moves above the maintenance unit 80 (wipe unit 90) has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The maintenance unit 80 (wipe unit 90) may move below the head unit 71. In this case, the camera 98 does not have to move with the wipe unit 90. For example, the camera 98 is provided in the standby position of the wipe unit 90 or between the standby position and the head unit 71 (on the movement path of the head unit 71) so as to image the ink traces RL, GL, BL on the wiping sheet 92. It may be.

In the above embodiment, the case where the head carriage 73 holds (supports) the twelve droplet discharge heads 34 is described as an example. The number of nozzles of each droplet discharge head 34 is also an example.
Further, a case has been described in which the head 34R that ejects the red ink 54R, the head 34G that ejects the green ink 54G, and the head 34B that ejects the blue ink 54B are sequentially arranged on one head carriage 73. Not limited to this. For example, the colored layer forming device 4 is prepared for each color (3 units in total), and the same color ink 54R, 54G, 54B is ejected from the droplet ejection head 34 of a certain head unit 71 (head carriage 73). You may make it do.

  Moreover, although the example which applies the drawing apparatus of this invention to manufacture of a color filter was given in the said embodiment, it can apply not only to a color filter but to device formation techniques, such as an organic EL element, or various wiring formation techniques. Is possible.

It is a schematic block diagram of the color filter manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a schematic structure perspective view which shows only the vicinity of a drawing part. It is side surface sectional drawing of a drawing part. It is a bottom view of a head unit. It is explanatory drawing of a droplet discharge head. It is a top view of a maintenance unit. It is front sectional drawing of a maintenance unit. It is an expanded view of a wiping sheet. It is explanatory drawing of the color filter area | region in a board | substrate. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of a color filter. It is side surface sectional drawing of a passive matrix type liquid crystal device. It is a figure showing an example of electronic equipment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Color filter manufacturing apparatus, 4 ... Colored layer formation apparatus, 18 ... Nozzle, 30 ... Liquid crystal device, 34 (34R, 34G, 34B) ... Droplet discharge head, 51 ... Color filter area | region, 55 ... Color filter, 55R, 55G, 55B ... colored layer, 72 ... droplet discharge device, 80 ... maintenance unit, 81 ... cap unit, 82a ... suction cap (suction cap), 90 ... wipe unit (wiping unit, wiping device), 92 ... wiping sheet, 98 ... Camera (imaging unit, detection device) 144 ... Calculation unit (droplet trace area calculation unit, wiping processing unit) 152 ... Flushing unit (flushing unit), B ... Drawing device, RL, GL, BL ... Ink trace , L (54): Ink droplet (droplet), S: Substrate (drawing object)

Claims (16)

An inspection device that detects the quality of the operation of the wiping unit that wipes liquid droplets by moving the wiping sheet relative to the liquid droplet ejection head,
An imaging unit that images the droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet;
A droplet trace area calculation unit for determining the area of the imaged droplet trace;
A detection apparatus comprising: A wiping device that wipes droplets by moving the wiping sheet relative to the droplet discharge head while wiping the droplets,
An inspection apparatus according to claim 1;
A wiping processing unit for stopping a wiping process by the wiping sheet when a droplet trace area detected by the inspection apparatus is smaller than a preset threshold;
A wiping device comprising:   The wiping apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the threshold is set for each type of droplet.   The wiping apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the threshold value is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace. A drawing device that draws droplets from a droplet discharge head and draws in a predetermined region to be drawn,
A drawing apparatus comprising the wiping device according to claim 2. A drawing device that draws droplets from a droplet discharge head and draws in a predetermined region to be drawn,
A wiping unit that wipes the liquid droplets by moving the wiping sheet relative to the liquid droplet ejection head,
An inspection apparatus according to claim 1;
A flushing unit for detecting nozzle clogging by discharging droplets from the droplet discharge head;
A control unit for avoiding flushing by the flushing unit when the droplet trace area detected by the inspection apparatus is smaller than a preset threshold;
A drawing apparatus comprising:   The drawing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the threshold is set for each type of droplet.   The drawing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the threshold value is set to 50% or less of an average area of the already measured droplet trace. An inspection method for detecting whether or not the wiping unit is operating properly by wiping the droplet by moving the wiping sheet relative to the droplet discharge head,
A detection method comprising imaging a droplet trace wiped off by a wiping sheet and obtaining an area of the droplet trace. A wiping method for wiping a droplet by moving the wiping sheet relative to a droplet discharge head while wiping the droplet,
A detection step of imaging the droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet to determine the area of the droplet trace;
A step of stopping the wiping process by the wiping sheet when the detected droplet trace area is smaller than a preset threshold;
A wiping method comprising:   The wiping method according to claim 10, wherein the threshold is set for each type of droplet.   The wiping method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the threshold value is set to 50% or less of an average area of a droplet trace that has already been measured. A drawing method for discharging a droplet from a droplet discharge head and drawing in a predetermined region to be drawn,
A drawing method, wherein the wiping method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 is performed as a maintenance step of the droplet discharge head. A drawing method for discharging a droplet from a droplet discharge head and drawing in a predetermined region to be drawn,
A first capping step of sucking a droplet by abutting a suction cap on the droplet discharge head;
A wiping step of wiping a droplet by moving it relatively while contacting a wiping sheet to the droplet discharge head;
A detection step of imaging the droplet trace wiped off by the wiping sheet to determine the area of the droplet trace;
A second capping step of capping the droplet discharge head again when the detected droplet trace area is smaller than a preset threshold;
A drawing method characterized by comprising:   The drawing method according to claim 14, wherein the threshold is set for each type of droplet.   The drawing method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the threshold value is set to 50% or less of the average area of the already measured droplet trace.

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