JP2008168243A - Discharge inspection apparatus and droplet discharge apparatus, and method of manufacturing electro-optical device, electro-optical device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a discharge inspection apparatus and the like capable of precisely and efficiently inspecting the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle. <P>SOLUTION: The discharge inspection apparatus 55 for inspecting the discharge performance of a number of discharge nozzle 52 by introducing and setting a head unit 1 formed by installing a functional liquid droplet discharge head 4 on a subcarriage 284 is provided with an X-axis table 71 for moving the head unit 1 in the X-axial direction, a Y-axis table 70 having an alignment mask 106 and an inspection sheet S set together in the Y-axial direction and for moving them in the Y-axial direction, a landing position recognition means 75 for recognizing a landing reference mark of the alignment mask 106 and the landing position of the functional droplet and a discharge performance evaluation means for evaluating the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle by comparing the mask position and the actual landing position to each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge inspection device and a droplet discharge device for inspecting the discharge performance of a large number of discharge nozzles in an ink jet type functional droplet discharge head, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus. .

A head unit assembling apparatus in which a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are incorporated in a sub-carriage as a pre-process of ejection inspection has been conventionally known. This assembling apparatus includes a position of a sub-carriage and a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads. An alignment mask whose positions are marked is used, and a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are accurately incorporated in the sub-carriage (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
This assembling apparatus has a unit moving device provided with a set table for exchanging and setting the head unit and the alignment mask, and faces the set head unit, and physically positions the liquid droplet ejection heads via the head holding members. And a temporary fixing device that faces the corrected functional liquid droplet ejection head and bonds each functional liquid droplet ejection head to the sub-carriage (adhesive injection) via each head holding member. ing.
In this assembling apparatus, first, an alignment mask is introduced into the unit moving device, and the target position (mark) of the sub-carriage and the positions (marks) of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are image-recognized. Next, the head unit in a state where a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are temporarily placed on the sub-carriage is introduced into the unit moving device via the head holding member. Here, after correcting the position of the sub-carriage based on the image recognition result, the head liquid correction device positions each functional liquid droplet ejection head with respect to the sub-carriage. Finally, the adhesive is dropped by the temporary fixing device on each functional liquid droplet ejection head (head holding member) in the positioned state, and a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are temporarily fixed on the sub-carriage.
JP 2003-127392 A

By the way, if a head unit assembled by such an assembling apparatus is incorporated into a drawing apparatus as it is, if one ejection nozzle of one functional liquid droplet ejection head has a problem in ejection performance such as ejection failure as a whole, the entire head may be damaged. It will be necessary to replace the unit. Therefore, it is preferable to select the head unit by performing a discharge inspection of each functional liquid droplet discharge head in units of head units before being introduced into the drawing apparatus. In such a case, the ejection inspection apparatus is required to have the same basic structure as the drawing apparatus, and also requires an alignment mask, an inspection sheet that receives the landing of functional droplets, and an image recognition apparatus.
However, if the alignment mask and the inspection sheet are exchanged and set on the moving table as in the assembly apparatus described above, the work becomes complicated and the inspection takes time. On the other hand, it may be possible to omit the inspection sheet and directly inspect and discharge the alignment mask. However, in this case, it is assumed that the cleaning of the alignment mask is complicated and the handling is complicated depending on the solvent of the functional liquid. The

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a discharge inspection device and a droplet discharge device that can accurately and efficiently inspect the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus. It is said.

  The discharge inspection apparatus of the present invention is a discharge inspection apparatus for inspecting the discharge performance of a large number of discharge nozzles in a functional droplet discharge head by introducing and setting a head unit in which an ink jet type functional droplet discharge head is mounted on a sub-carriage. An X-axis table that moves the head unit in the X-axis direction while setting the head unit, an alignment mask that marks the designed landing position by droplet ejection of the functional droplet ejection head, and the functional droplet ejection head A test sheet for inspecting and discharging functional droplets from the Y-axis direction is set in parallel with the Y-axis direction, and the Y-axis table for moving the alignment mask and the test sheet in the Y-axis direction, and the landing reference mark marked on the alignment mask And the functional droplets landed by inspection discharge on the inspection sheet. Ejection performance evaluation that evaluates the ejection performance of each ejection nozzle in the functional liquid droplet ejection head by comparing the landing position recognition means that recognizes the mark position of the landing reference mark by the impact position recognition means and the actual landing position of the functional liquid droplet Means.

  Another discharge inspection apparatus of the present invention introduces and sets a head unit in which a plurality of inkjet liquid droplet discharge heads are mounted on a single sub-carriage, and discharge performance of a large number of discharge nozzles in each functional droplet discharge head A discharge inspection apparatus for inspecting the X-axis table for moving the head unit in the X-axis direction and the designed landing position by droplet discharge of a plurality of functional droplet discharge heads. The marked alignment mask and the inspection sheet that receives and ejects the functional liquid droplets from the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads are set side by side in the Y-axis direction, and the alignment mask and the inspection sheet are moved in the Y-axis direction. Recognize the position of the landing reference mark marked on the table and alignment mask, and inspect the inspection sheet The landing position recognizing means for recognizing the position of the functional liquid droplets that have landed and the position of the landing reference mark by the landing position recognizing means and the actual landing position of the functional liquid droplets are compared. And a discharge performance evaluating means for evaluating the discharge performance of the discharge nozzle.

  According to these configurations, the position of the landing reference mark of the alignment mask is recognized, the position of the landing result by the functional liquid droplet discharge head is recognized, and the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle is determined by the amount of deviation of the actual landing position from the mark position. Be evaluated. In this case, the landing position recognition means is fixedly fixed in the Y-axis direction by moving the alignment mask and the inspection sheet in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis table in which the alignment mask and the inspection sheet are set in the Y-axis direction. Even if it is provided, the position recognition of the landing reference mark of the alignment mask and the position recognition of the landed functional liquid droplet can be performed quickly. At that time, if the landing position recognition means is provided in the vicinity of the head unit, the inspection discharge by the functional liquid droplet discharge head and the position recognition of the discharge result (the landing functional liquid droplet) can be performed continuously. . In addition, because the original alignment mask is used to evaluate the landing result of the functional droplet ejection head that is a duplicate, the ejection performance of each ejection nozzle in the functional droplet ejection head is evaluated with extremely high accuracy. can do. That is, the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle can be inspected accurately and efficiently. The inspection ejection may be performed while the head unit is stopped, or may be performed while moving (relative movement) assuming actual drawing.

  In this case, it is preferable that the alignment mask is formed by marking the design positions of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads with respect to the sub-carriage, and the landing reference mark represents the design ejection nozzle position. .

  According to this configuration, the alignment mask can also be used for the head unit assembly process, which is a pre-process of the inspection process of the present invention, and the alignment mask can be used for both assembly and inspection. In actual drawing, droplets are ejected while moving the functional droplet ejection head (scanning), but the work gap is extremely narrow (about 0.3 mm), so the alignment mask is used for both assembly and inspection. There is no problem.

  In this case, it is preferable that the landing position recognition means is mounted on the X-axis table and moved separately from the head unit.

  According to this configuration, after the inspection liquid is ejected onto the inspection sheet by the functional liquid droplet ejection head, the landing position recognition means is made to face the inspection sheet by the X-axis table, so that the actual landing position can be quickly recognized. Can do. In addition, due to the cooperation between the X-axis table and the Y-axis table, the position of the actual landing position can be efficiently recognized even when the landing position recognition means having a narrow recognition field of view is used.

  In these cases, the landing position recognizing unit further recognizes the image of the diameter of the landed functional droplet, and the discharge performance evaluating unit determines whether or not the droplet discharge amount of each discharge nozzle is appropriate based on the diameter of the functional droplet. Further evaluation is preferable.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to roughly evaluate the droplet discharge amount of each discharge nozzle, and it is possible to detect no discharge (discharge failure). The diameter of the functional droplet is preferably an average value obtained by measuring a major axis and a minor axis by image processing.

  In these cases, it is preferable to further include suction means for capping each functional liquid droplet ejection head and performing functional liquid suction from all the ejection nozzles of each functional liquid droplet ejection head.

  According to this configuration, the discharge nozzles of the respective functional liquid droplet ejection heads can be kept in a good state prior to the inspection ejection, and each functional liquid droplet ejection head can be filled with the functional liquid or stopped at the time of ejection suspension. It is possible to smoothly prevent the discharge nozzle from drying. In other words, the head unit can be appropriately maintained in the same manner as the drawing apparatus or the like.

  In these cases, it is preferable to further include wiping means for wiping the nozzle surface of each functional liquid droplet ejection head.

  According to this configuration, each ejection nozzle of each functional liquid droplet ejection head can be kept in a good state prior to inspection ejection, and an evaluation error based on a simple maintenance failure can be prevented.

  In these cases, it is preferable that the head unit is further provided with a feeding means for feeding the head unit to the X-axis table.

  According to this configuration, the head unit can be smoothly loaded on the X-axis table, and the discharge inspection can be efficiently performed as a whole.

  In this case, the apparatus further includes a sub moving table on which the suction unit, the wiping unit, and the feeding unit are mounted. The sub moving table selectively displays the suction unit, the wiping unit, and the feeding unit on the track of the X-axis table. It is preferable not to.

  According to this configuration, the suction unit, the wiping unit, and the material supply unit can efficiently face the head unit on the X-axis table by the sub moving table. In addition, the suction unit, the wiping unit, and the material supply unit can be arranged in a space efficient manner.

  In these cases, carriage recognition means for recognizing the position of a pair of alignment reference marks provided on the sub-carriage and a pair of carriage reference marks of the alignment mask provided corresponding to the pair of reference marks, carriage recognition means It is preferable to further include unit correcting means for correcting the position of the head unit in the horizontal plane based on the recognition result.

  According to this configuration, each functional liquid droplet ejection head can be aligned with respect to the sub-carriage, and when the head unit is mounted on a drawing device or the like, each functional liquid droplet is positioned by positioning the sub-carriage on the drawing device. The ejection head can be positioned on the drawing apparatus.

  In these cases, it is preferable to further include weight measuring means for measuring an average droplet discharge amount discharged from each discharge head of each functional droplet discharge head in units of nozzle rows.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to inspect whether or not the drive voltage applied to each functional liquid droplet ejection head in units of nozzle rows is appropriate, and the inspection result is reflected in the drive voltage when mounted on a drawing apparatus or the like. be able to.

  In this case, it is preferable to further include flushing means that is provided so as to surround the weight measuring means in a horizontal plane and that receives and discharges the functional liquid droplets from the respective functional liquid droplet ejection heads.

  According to this configuration, while the weight of one functional liquid droplet ejection head is being measured, the other functional liquid droplet ejection heads can be flushed (discarded ejection). The performance can be maintained in a good state.

  In these cases, a head height measuring unit that measures the height level of any one functional liquid droplet ejection head, and a work gap between a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads with respect to the inspection sheet based on the detection result of the head height measurement unit It is preferable to further comprise a work gap adjusting means for adjusting

  In this case, the head height measuring means measures the height level of the sub-carriage to obtain the height level of each functional liquid droplet ejection head, and the work gap adjusting means adjusts the work gap by moving the head unit up and down. It is preferable.

  According to this configuration, by appropriately adjusting the work gap, it is possible to cause each functional liquid droplet discharge head to perform inspection discharge under the same conditions as drawing discharge when mounted on a drawing apparatus or the like, with high accuracy. Discharge inspection becomes possible. Further, it is possible to prevent the head unit from interfering with a component device such as a Y-axis table due to a defective assembly of the head unit to the X-axis table.

  In these cases, it is preferable to further include functional liquid supply means that is mounted on the X-axis table and supplies the functional liquid to each of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads.

  In this case, the functional liquid supply means supplies an R-color functional liquid, a G-color functional liquid, and a B-color functional liquid, and a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing the R-color functional liquid into the head unit, G It is preferable that one or more functional liquid droplet ejection heads for introducing the color functional liquid and one or more functional liquid droplet ejection heads for introducing the B color functional liquid are mounted.

  According to this configuration, for example, the head unit can be inspected and discharged under the same conditions as when mounted on a drawing apparatus or the like that draws R, G, and B color functional liquids and draws on the workpiece. This makes it possible to perform a discharge inspection with high accuracy.

  On the other hand, among the X-axis table, the Y-axis table, the landing position recognition unit, and the discharge performance evaluation unit, a chamber apparatus that houses at least the X-axis table, the Y-axis table, and the landing position recognition unit and that controls the temperature of the internal atmosphere It is preferable to further provide.

  According to this configuration, the discharge inspection can be performed in a state where the temperature of the component device is controlled, and the influence of the temperature in the discharge inspection can be eliminated. In addition, the drawing apparatus or the like housed in the chamber apparatus can be inspected and discharged under the same temperature condition, and a highly accurate discharge inspection can be performed.

  The liquid droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention is configured to eject functional liquid droplets from a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads while moving the head unit relative to the head unit, which is a non-defective product by the above-described ejection inspection apparatus, and the workpiece. And drawing means for drawing by discharging.

  According to this configuration, a head unit with guaranteed ejection performance can be supplied to the drawing means, and the replacement of the head unit is minimized as much as possible due to the ejection performance failure of the functional liquid droplet ejection head (discharge nozzle) in the head unit. can do.

  A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the present invention is characterized in that a film-forming unit made of functional droplets is formed on a workpiece using the above-described droplet discharge device.

  An electro-optical device according to the present invention is characterized in that a film forming unit using functional droplets is formed on a workpiece using the above-described droplet discharge device.

  According to these configurations, the film forming section can be formed efficiently, and a high-quality electro-optical device can be manufactured. In addition, as a functional material, the light emitting material (Electro-Luminescence light emitting layer / hole injection layer) of the organic EL device, the filter material (filter element) of the color filter used for the liquid crystal display device, the electron emission device (Field Emission) Display, FED) fluorescent material (phosphor), fluorescent material (phosphor) of PDP (plasma display panel) device, electrophoretic material (electrophore) of electrophoretic display device, etc. A liquid material that can be discharged by an inkjet head). Examples of the electro-optical device (Flat Panel Display, FPD) include an organic EL device, a liquid crystal display device, an electron emission device, a PDP device, and an electrophoretic display device.

  An electronic apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes the electro-optical device manufactured by the above-described method for manufacturing the electro-optical device or the above-described electro-optical device.

  In this case, examples of the electronic device include a mobile phone and a personal computer equipped with a so-called flat panel display, and various electric products.

  Hereinafter, a discharge inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This discharge inspection apparatus inspects the discharge performance of a head unit in which twelve functional liquid droplet discharge heads (inkjet heads) are incorporated in a single sub-carriage. First, prior to the description of the discharge inspection apparatus, the head unit to be inspected will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head unit 1 includes a sub-carriage 2 and twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 mounted on the sub-carriage 2 via a head holding member 3. The twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 are divided into six left and right halves. Each of the six functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 ejects three types of functional liquid droplets (ink droplets) of R color, G color, and B color. One set is combined and two sets are combined and arranged in parallel to the sub-scanning direction, and are shifted in a staircase pattern from each other. At this time, of the six functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4, the two functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 that eject functional liquid droplets of the same color are arranged so as to be continuous in the sub-scanning direction, and are also divided into left and right halves. The two functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 ejecting functional liquid droplets of the same color in each functional liquid droplet ejection head group are arranged with a gap corresponding to two functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 in the sub-scanning direction. (See FIG. 2 (a)).

  The sub-carriage 2 is formed in a rectangular shape and has a substantially rectangular main body plate 10 to which twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 are attached; a pair of left and right reference pins 11 projecting from the lower surface of the main body plate 10; A pair of left and right plate support members 12 attached to both short sides of the main body plate 10 and a head mounting plate that is spanned between the upper ends of the pair of plate support members 12 and attached to a main carriage 72 of a discharge inspection apparatus 55 described later. 9. A pair of left and right pipe connection assemblies 13 connected to these functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 are provided on the main body plate 10 on both sides of the 12 functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4. The assembly 13 is connected by piping to the ink supply system of the ejection inspection device 55. Although not shown in the drawing, the sub-carriage is provided with a wiring connection assembly connected to the functional liquid droplet ejection head, and each wiring connection assembly is connected to the control system of the ejection inspection apparatus 55 by wiring.

  The main body plate 10 is made of a thick plate such as stainless steel, and has twelve mounting openings 20 for mounting twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4. Further, four set holes 22 for positioning and seating on a suction device 60 and a material supply device 62 of a discharge inspection device 55 described later are formed at four corners of the main body plate 10. Passes through the body plate 10 and extends to the inside of each plate support member 12.

  The pair of left and right reference pins 11 serve as a reference for positioning the head unit 1 with respect to an alignment mask 106 of the discharge inspection apparatus 55 described later, and are attached so as to protrude from the back surface of the main body plate 10. (See FIG. 2 (b)). Although not shown in the drawings, the reference pin 11 is formed in a columnar shape, the tip surface thereof is mirror-finished, and a reference mark formed in a concave shape is provided at the center.

  A pair of pipe connection assemblies 13 are arranged on both sides of each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, and each pipe connection assembly 13 is two fixed plates attached horizontally to each plate support member 12 inward. 25, three valve mounting plates 26 erected on each fixed plate 25, six sets of self-sealing valves 27 mounted on a total of six valve mounting plates 26, and piping at one end of each self-sealing valve 27 6 tank-side connection couplers 28 connected to each other. One of six sets of self-sealing valves 27 is connected to the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 via a two-branch joint 29 and two piping tubes, and the other is ejected later via a tank-side connection coupler 28. It is connected to the tank unit 175 of the inspection device 55 (see FIG. 14).

  Each wiring connection assembly has four head relay substrates, and the four head relay substrates are connected to a head substrate 39 of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 described later via a flexible flat cable.

  Next, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 will be described with reference to FIG. This functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is a so-called two-unit type, a functional liquid introduction part 45 having two series of connecting needles, a two-head head substrate 39 continuous to the side of the functional liquid introduction part 45, and a function. Two pump parts 46 connected to the lower side of the liquid introduction part 45 and a nozzle plate 47 connected to the pump part 46 are provided. The above-described two piping tubes are connected to the functional liquid introducing portion 45, and the above-described flexible flat cable is connected to the head substrate 39. On the other hand, the pump portion 46 and the nozzle plate 47 constitute a rectangular head main body 50 that projects to the back side of the sub-carriage 2.

  Two nozzle rows are arranged in parallel to each other on the nozzle surface 51 of the nozzle plate 47, and each nozzle row is composed of 180 discharge nozzles 52 arranged at an equal pitch. In this case, of the 180 discharge nozzles 52, 10 discharge nozzles 52 located at both outer ends are invalid nozzles (dummy nozzles) and are not used for actual drawing.

  The functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 configured as described above has its head main body 50 projected from the mounting opening 20 formed in the main body plate 10 to the back side of the main body plate 10 and applied to the edge of the mounting opening 20. The head holding member 3 is fixed with screws, and the head holding member 3 is bonded and fixed to the main body plate 10. That is, the head unit 1 is assembled as a pre-inspection process of the present embodiment, and at that time, the sub-carriage 2 and the twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 are assembled in an aligned state.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a discharge inspection device 55 for inspecting the discharge performance of the head unit 1 will be described. The discharge inspection device 55 includes a machine base 56, a stone surface plate 57 provided on the machine surface 56, a drawing inspection device 58 mounted on the entire surface of the stone surface plate 57 and mounted with the head unit 1, and a suction device. A maintenance device 59 having a device 60 and a wiping device 61; a feed device 62 for supplying the head unit 1 to the drawing inspection device 58; and a common platform 63 for supporting the maintenance device 59 and the feed device 62. The discharge inspection device 55 is accommodated in the chamber device 64. The discharge inspection device 55 mounts (sets) the head unit 1 supplied by the material supply device 62 on the drawing inspection device 58 and discharges functional droplets by the maintenance device 59 in order to inspect the mounted head unit 1. While maintaining and recovering the function of the head 4, the drawing inspection device 58 discharges functional droplets onto the inspection sheet S and inspects the landing positions of the discharged functional droplets. The chamber device 64 controls the temperature of the internal atmosphere and constitutes a clean room. In addition, the discharge inspection apparatus 55 incorporates a control computer 65 that performs overall control of the entire apparatus, and is disposed outside the chamber apparatus 64.

  The drawing inspection device 58 is placed on the stone surface plate 57 and moves in the main scanning direction, and is placed across the Y axis table 70 and moves in the sub scanning direction. The main carriage 72 slidably moves on the X-axis table 71 in the sub-scanning direction and the head unit 1 is detachably mounted, and is mounted on the upper side of the main carriage 72 to supply the functional liquid to the head unit 1. Functional liquid supply unit 73, a flushing unit 74 placed on the stone surface plate 57 and disposed adjacent to the Y-axis table 70, and slidable in the sub-scanning direction separately from the main carriage 72 on the X-axis table 71. A moving camera unit (landing position recognition means) 75. In the drawing inspection apparatus 58, a region where the X-axis table 71 and the Y-axis table 70 intersect is a processing area. The processing area is a discharge area where functional droplets are discharged by the head unit 1 and a camera unit 75. It also serves as an imaging area for imaging the landed functional droplet.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the Y-axis table 70 has a second Y-axis table 80 and a first Y-axis table 81 disposed on the second Y-axis table 80, and these slide in two stages. It is configured to move.

  The second Y-axis table 80 is provided on the pair of left and right table bases 85 supported directly on the stone surface plate 57 so as to extend in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction), and the pair of table bases 85. A pair of first guide rails 86 extending in the direction, a Y-axis linear motor (rod motor) 87 provided on one table base 85, a cable carrier 88 provided on the other table base 85, and Y The first slider 89 is slidably moved on the first guide rail 86 by the shaft linear motor 87, and the second Y-axis table 80 can perform fine movement adjustment. In addition, on the stone surface plate 57 between the pair of table bases 85, two underscores are located in the center and separated in the Y-axis direction (a distance corresponding to the pair of reference pins 11). A camera 91 is provided, and the two under cameras 91 are used when aligning the head unit 1 and an alignment mask 106 described later. Therefore, a camera hole 92 is formed in the first slider 89 at a position where each under camera 91 faces.

  Further, a head height measuring device 95 for measuring the height level of the head unit 1 is installed on one table base 85, and an alignment table 105 and a head unit 1 which will be described later are based on the measurement of the head height. And the work gap between the suction table 107 and the head unit 1 are adjusted by a Z-axis table 166 of the main carriage 72 described later. Accordingly, by appropriately adjusting the work gap, each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 can perform inspection and ejection under the same conditions as drawing ejection when mounted on a drawing apparatus or the like, and highly accurate ejection inspection. Is possible. In addition, it is possible to prevent the head unit 1 from interfering with components such as the Y-axis table 70 due to defective assembly of the head unit 1 to the X-axis table 71 or the like.

  On the other hand, the first Y-axis table 81 is provided on the first slider 89, and a pair of second guide rails 100 extending in the Y-axis direction, and a Y-axis rodless cylinder provided outside the pair of second guide rails 100. 101 and a plate-like second slider 102 that is slidably moved on the second guide rail 100 by a Y-axis rodless cylinder 101. On the second slider 102, an alignment table 105 that holds an alignment mask 106 serving as an inspection reference position at the landing position of the functional liquid droplets ejected from the head unit 1, and the landing target of the functional liquid droplets to be ejected The suction table 107 for sucking the inspection sheet S is disposed adjacent to the Y-axis direction, and the surface of the alignment mask 106 and the surface of the inspection sheet S are adjusted to be flush with each other. For this reason, on the second slider 102, fixing portions for positioning and fixing the suction table 107 and the alignment table 105 are provided.

  Here, the inspection sheet S on the suction table 107 and the alignment mask 106 of the alignment table 105 are imaging targets of the camera unit 75 mounted on the main carriage 72, and the first Y-axis table 81 has an imaging area. Is used to interchange the imaging positions of the alignment table 105 and the suction table 107 facing each other. In addition, the second slider 102 has an opening portion where the alignment mask 106 is disposed so that the alignment mask 106 can be recognized by the two under cameras 91 facing downward.

  When the position of the Y-axis table 70 is switched from the alignment table 105 facing the imaging area to the suction table 107 or from the suction table 107 to the alignment table 105, the first Y-axis table 81 is used to change the position of each other, The second Y-axis table 80 finely adjusts the position in the Y-axis direction. Thereby, since the movement of the 2nd Y axis table 80 can be suppressed as much as possible, the absolute positioning accuracy of the 2nd Y axis table 80 can be maintained. The second Y-axis table 80 moves the suction table 107 as appropriate between the sheet setting area for setting the inspection sheet S and the processing area.

  Next, the suction table 107 will be described with reference to FIGS. The suction table 107 includes a suction table main body 111 having a pair of left and right air chambers 110 inside, and a pair of left and right suction plates that are arranged immediately above each air chamber 110 and are divided into two on the upper surface of the suction table main body 111. Part 112 and air suction means 113 for sucking air inside each air chamber 110, and suction table 107 sucks two inspection sheets S placed on a pair of suction plate parts 112. Fix it.

  The suction table main body 111 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a pair of upper and lower cutouts 115 are formed in the middle part of both long sides thereof. Below the pair of cutouts 115, the above 2 The under-camera 91 is configured to face, and positioning pieces 116 are stretched over the notches 115 in the long side direction. The pair of positioning pieces 116 are formed in a rectangular shape, and a positioning mark 117 for positioning the suction table 107 with respect to the Y-axis table 70 is formed in the center portion thereof. When the suction table 107 is fixed to the second slider 102, the two positioning marks 117 are positioned and fixed while imaging with the two under cameras 91. In addition, the pair of air chambers 110 described above are formed inside the suction table body 111, and each air chamber 110 communicates with three suction openings 118 formed on each side surface of the suction table body 111, respectively. The inside of each air chamber 110 can be decompressed uniformly.

  Two sets of left and right sheet positioning pins 120 for positioning each inspection sheet S are provided on the upper surface of the suction table main body 111, and each of the four sheet positioning pins 120 is provided on each suction plate portion 112. Two on one long side and two on one short side are provided upright on both ends along each side. Thereby, each inspection sheet S can be positioned and placed on the suction plate portion 112. In addition, four first height adjustment screws 121 for adjusting the height of the suction table 107 placed on the second slider 102 are provided at the upper four corners of the suction table main body 111.

  The suction plate portion 112 has a number of suction holes 125 arranged in a matrix on the upper surface thereof, and each suction hole 125 communicates with the lower air chamber 110. The large number of suction holes 125 are formed so as to be out of the landing positions of the functional liquid droplets ejected from the head unit 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the air suction means 113 for sucking air inside the air chamber 110 is configured to be switchable between low pressure suction and high pressure suction, and the low pressure suction is performed on each suction plate portion 112. On the other hand, the inspection sheet S set in (1) is sucked to such an extent that it can move, while the high-pressure suction sucks the inspection sheet S so that it cannot move (adsorption fixing). That is, the suction means is configured to temporarily fix the inspection sheet S on the suction plate portion 112 and to fix the inspection sheet S permanently.

  The air suction means 113 is provided at the upstream side of a suction source 126 for sucking air by a suction facility in the factory, and branched into two suction flow paths from the suction source 126, and sucks the suction from the suction source 126. A low-pressure control valve 127 for low-pressure suction and a high-pressure control valve 128 that is provided on the other upstream side and that uses suction from the suction source 126 as high-pressure suction, and that is provided on the upstream side of the control valves 127 and 128 and low-pressure suction. And a pressure switching valve 129 for switching high-pressure suction, and a suction opening / closing valve 130 provided on the upstream side of the pressure switching valve 129 for opening / closing suction. The upstream side of the suction opening / closing valve 130 is 6 The six suction channels are provided in a total of six suction openings 118 on both side surfaces of the suction table body 111. It is connected to six of the joints 131. Each section is connected by piping with a suction tube.

  When the inspection sheet S is set on the suction table 107, first, the inspection sheet S is applied to the sheet positioning pin 120 in a state where the air suction means 113 is stopped, and this is disposed on the suction plate portion 112. Thereafter, the pressure switching valve 129 is switched to low pressure suction, and the suction opening / closing valve 130 is opened to turn suction on. Then, the inspection sheet S is movably adsorbed. In this state, when wrinkles or the like are generated on the inspection sheet S, the wrinkles or the like are removed by pulling the inspection sheet S or the like. After the positioning (temporary fixing) of the inspection sheet S is completed, when the discharge inspection device 55 starts the discharge inspection operation, the pressure switching valve 236 is switched to high-pressure suction by the control computer along with the start of the discharge inspection device 55. In this state, the ejection of the functional liquid droplets is inspected by the ejection inspection device 55.

  Next, the alignment table 105 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The alignment table 105 includes an alignment mask 106 and a mask holding stage 135 that holds the alignment mask 106. The mask holding stage 135 holds the alignment mask 106 and is a fixed portion provided on the second slider 102. Is positioned and attached.

  The alignment mask 106 is made of quartz glass in a plate shape, and various marks are marked on the surface thereof, and the upper peripheral edge of the upper surface is formed on an inclined surface 136a having a downward slope outward. As shown in FIG. 10, the various marks are a pair of upper and lower head reference marks (carriage reference marks) 140 for correcting the position of the head unit 1 and functional droplets ejected from the head unit 1. Landing reference marks 141 serving as reference landing positions are included, and each of these reference marks is set as one set, and a total of five sets are marked on the alignment mask 106 in a state of being displaced from each other in the Y-axis direction. As a result, the alignment mask 106 can also be used for the assembly process of the head unit 1 which is a pre-process of the inspection process, and the alignment mask 106 can be used for both assembly and inspection.

  Each of the various marks has three calibration mark groups 142 for correcting two imaging cameras 282 of two under cameras 91 and a camera unit 75 described later. Three calibration mark groups 142 The one formed on the lower side of the alignment mask 106 in the drawing corrects the position of each under camera 91, and the two formed on the left and right sides of the center of the alignment mask 106 in the drawing are two imaging cameras. The position of 282 is corrected.

  The mask holding stage 135 includes a mask plate 145 on which the alignment mask 106 is placed, a mask positioning unit 146 that is provided on the mask plate 145 and positions the placed alignment mask 106, and the aligned alignment mask 106. There are eight mask pressing members 147 to be pressed onto the mask plate 145 and four second height adjusting screws 148 for adjusting the height of the alignment table 105 placed on the second slider 102.

  The mask plate 145 is formed slightly larger than the alignment mask 106, and the alignment mask 106 is placed in the center thereof. The mask plate 145 is formed with a pair of camera holes 143 at corresponding positions so as to allow the head reference mark 140 and the calibration mark group 142 to be imaged by the two under cameras 91 facing downward. Further, the four second height adjusting screws 148 described above are provided at the four corners of the upper surface of the mask plate 145, and the height of the second slider 102 is adjusted by rotating these screws. .

  The mask positioning means 146 is provided at the four peripheral edges of the mask plate 145 on which the alignment mask 106 is placed, and has a cylindrical mask positioning pin 150 protruding from the lower center of the mask plate 145, and the mask plate. 145 includes two vertical offset adjusting screws 151 disposed at both upper ends of the 145, and a pair of lateral offset adjusting screws 152 disposed at the center of both the left and right sides of the mask plate 145.

  When positioning the alignment mask 106 on the mask plate 145, first, the alignment mask 106 is placed in the approximate center of the mask plate 145. Thereafter, the lower side of the alignment mask 106 is abutted against the mask positioning pin 150, and in this state, the vertical contact adjusting screw 151 is turned so that the tip abuts on the upper side of the alignment mask 106 to perform positioning in the Y-axis direction. I do. Then, the pair of lateral offset adjusting screws 152 are rotated so that the tips thereof are brought into contact with the left and right sides of the alignment mask 106 to perform positioning in the X-axis direction.

  Eight mask pressing members 147 are arranged on each side of the four peripheral edges of the mask plate 145, and each mask pressing member 147 is a plate-like shape that comes into contact with the inclined surfaces 136a of the four peripheral edges of the alignment mask 106. And a fixing screw 156 for moving and fixing the pressing portion 155 in the pressing direction for pressing the alignment mask 106. Similarly, each pressing portion 155 is formed on the inclined surface 136b so that the surface in contact with the alignment mask 106 has a shape complementary to the inclined surface 136a of the alignment mask 106.

  The alignment mask 106 positioned on the mask plate 145 is pressed down by the eight mask pressing members 147 so as to ride on the inclined surfaces 136a of the alignment mask 106 from the side. At this time, the upper surface of each pressing portion 155 is configured not to protrude from the surface of the alignment mask 106.

  Next, the X-axis table 71 will be described with reference to FIG. The X-axis table 71 has an X-axis linear motor (rod motor) 160 that scans a pair of travel rails, and the main carriage 72 and the camera unit 75 are mounted on the X-axis linear motor 160 so as to be individually movable. . The X-axis table 71 is supported by four columns 161 erected on the stone surface plate 57, and extends to a position facing the maintenance device 59 across the Y-axis table 70. The X-axis table 71 is configured such that the head unit 1 mounted on the main carriage 72 includes a maintenance area positioned directly above the maintenance device 59, a flushing area positioned directly above the flushing unit 74, and the above processing area. Move appropriately between. In addition, the X-axis table 71 moves the camera unit 75 appropriately between the processing area and the standby area.

  Here, the main carriage 72 that moves on the X-axis table 71 will be described with reference to FIG. The main carriage 72 is mounted on a carriage frame 165 spanned between a pair of travel rails, a Z-axis table 166 that is attached to the carriage frame 165 and moves the head unit 1 up and down, and is suspended from the Z-axis table 166. A θ table 167 that rotates the head unit 1 in the θ direction, and a head unit holder 168 that is suspended from the θ table 167 and detachably holds the head unit 1 are provided. The main carriage 72 is mounted with a drive box 169 containing a drive driver for driving the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 (see FIG. 5).

  The carriage frame 165 is configured by a bottom plate 171 and a pair of side plates 172 to have a U-shaped cross section. Inside the carriage frame 165, an upper end portion of a Z-axis table 166 is fixed. The functional liquid supply unit 73 is attached to the side plate. The Z-axis table 166 adjusts the work gap by moving the head unit 1 up and down based on the measurement result of the head height measuring device 95 provided on the second Y-axis table 80, and removes the head unit 1 described later. In the processing operation in the material supply, the head unit 1 is appropriately moved up and down between the standby position and the material removal position. The θ table 167 is used when positioning the head unit 1 with reference to the alignment mask 106.

  Although not shown in the drawings, a plurality of hole holes for holding the head unit 1 are formed on the lower end surface of the head unit holder 168, and the above-described plurality of hole holes are also formed on the upper end surface of the head unit 1. A plurality of fool holes 173 are formed at corresponding positions (see FIG. 1), and the head unit 1 is detachably attached to the main carriage 72 by superimposing them and bolting them together.

  Next, the functional liquid supply unit 73 will be described with reference to FIGS. The functional liquid supply unit 73 supplies the functional liquid to the head unit 1, and attaches and detaches three tank units 175 and three tank units 175 for storing functional liquids having different R, G, and B colors, respectively. A tank holder 176 that is freely mounted and attached to the carriage frame 165, and a coupler mounting portion 177 that is provided on the tank holder 176 and fixes each head side connection coupler 208 connected to each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. It is equipped with. As a result, the head unit 1 can be inspected and discharged under the same conditions as when the head unit 1 is mounted on a drawing apparatus or the like that draws R, G, and B color functional liquids and draws on the workpiece. Accurate discharge inspection is possible.

  The tank holder 176 is suspended from the back plate 180 screwed to the side surface of the carriage frame 165, the “L” -shaped upper holder frame 181 attached to the back plate 180, and the upper holder frame 181. A lower holder frame 182 having a “L” shape in a side view, and a drain pan 183 is placed on the upper holder frame 181 and three tank sets for setting three tank units 175 therein. A portion 184 is provided.

  The drain pan 183 is formed in a thin box shape having an open upper surface, and a first tube holder 187 for holding a piping tube extending from one of the head side connection couplers 208 is provided on the front surface of the drain pan 183 in the drawing. . Each tank set portion 184 has a receiving plate 188 that is disposed inside the drain pan 183 and on which each tank unit 175 is placed.

  Each receiving plate 188 is provided with four tank positioning members 190 formed in an “L” shape in plan view at four corners of the upper surface, and a type determination pin 191 is projected at the center of the upper surface. The four tank positioning members 190 are arranged on the receiving plate 188 along the four corners of the lower surface of each tank unit 175. Further, the three type determining pins 191 protruding from the three receiving plates 188 are provided at different positions with respect to the receiving plates 188, and the type determining pins formed on the lower surface of the tank unit 175 described later. It is configured to be fitted with the hole 230.

  The above-described coupler mounting portion 177 is provided on the front surface of the lower holder frame 182 shown in the drawing. The coupler mounting portion 177 provides a head-side connection coupler 208 when supplying functional liquid to the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 side. Attached. The coupler mounting portion 177 is provided so as to extend over the direction in which the three tank units 175 are aligned, and is mounted in the mounting rail 196 having an opening groove 195 having a “T” -shaped cross section, and the opening groove 195, in the alignment direction. And a plurality of rectangular back plate nuts 197 that are slidably movable. When each head side connection coupler 208 is screwed to the back plate nut 197 via a connection plate 209 described later, the connection plate 209 is attached to the coupler mounting portion 177 in an inclined state, and accordingly, each head side connection coupler 208 is attached. The connection port faces diagonally upward. A second tube holder 198 is provided on the lower surface of the lower holder frame 182 to hold a functional liquid supply tube extending from the tank side connection coupler 28 of the head unit 1 connected to the head side connection coupler 208.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the back plate 180 of the tank holder 176 has three liquid level detection sensors 199 for detecting the liquid level of the functional liquid of each tank unit 175, and each tank unit 175 to be placed. Three type detection sensors 200 that detect presence and absence and type are provided. The liquid level detection sensor 199 and the type detection sensor 200 are configured by photo sensors.

  Each tank unit 175 includes a functional liquid tank 204 that stores functional liquid, a tank base 205 that supports the functional liquid tank 204, and a tank pipe connection assembly that is housed inside the tank base 205 and has one end connected to the functional liquid tank 204. 206, and a coupler means 207 comprising four head side connection couplers 208 connected to the other end of the tank pipe connection assembly 206 and a connecting plate 209 for holding the four head side connection couplers 208 together. Each head-side connection coupler 208 is a one-touch type part that connects to the tank-side connection coupler 28, and the tank-side connection coupler 28 incorporates a closing mechanism that automatically closes the flow path when detached. The connecting plate 209 is formed in a square shape, and holds the base end portion of each head side connecting coupler 208 so that the head side connecting couplers 208 are arranged in the long side direction of the connecting plate 209. That is, the four head side connection couplers 208 are held in an orthogonal state with respect to the connecting plate 209.

  The functional liquid tank 204 includes a box-shaped tank main body 213 having an open upper surface, a tank lid body 214 that covers the upper surface of the tank main body 213, and a pipe connection in the tank main body 213. It has a valve 215, an air filter 216 connected to the atmosphere release valve 215, and an injection coupler 217 connected to the tank body 213 for injecting a functional liquid. When the functional liquid is injected into the tank body 213 via the injection coupler 217, the air in the tank body 213 is exhausted outside the functional liquid tank 204 via the atmosphere release valve 215 and the air filter 216. When the functional liquid in the tank body 213 is consumed, air is taken into the tank body 213 through the air filter 216 and the atmosphere release valve 215. At this time, since the air filter 216 is interposed, dust or the like outside the functional liquid tank 204 is not mixed into the tank body 213.

  The tank body 213 is provided with a liquid level detection unit 220 for detecting the liquid level by the liquid level detection sensor 199 on the back side thereof, and the liquid level detection unit 220 communicates from the upper part to the lower part of the tank main body 213. The liquid level detection unit 220 is transparent so that the liquid level detection sensor 199 performs light detection. Further, the tank body 213 has four functional liquid supply ports 221 for supplying functional liquid to the tank pipe connection assembly 206 at the lower part, and four for supplying air to the tank pipe connection assembly 206 at the upper part. An air opening 222 is formed (see FIG. 14).

  A handle portion 223 for handling the tank unit 175 is formed on the upper surface of the tank lid 214, and an operator holds the handle portion 223 to attach and detach the tank unit 175. Carry it around.

  The tank mount 205 includes a rectangular upper plate 225 on which the functional liquid tank 204 is fixed with screws, a rectangular lower plate 226 placed on the receiving plate 188, an upper plate 225, and a lower plate 226. And four support members 227 interposed therebetween, and the upper plate 225 has two support members 227 erected on the front surface and two support members. And a coupler set portion 228 fixed to the upper end portion of 227. The coupler set unit 228 attaches the coupler means 207 when removing the tank unit 175 or carrying the tank unit 175.

  The lower plate 226 is formed with a type determining hole 230 into which the type determining pin 191 protruding from the receiving plate 188 is fitted, and the position formed for each tank unit 175 is different. That is, only the corresponding tank unit 175 can be placed on each receiving plate 188 described above. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the tank unit 175 storing the R, G, and B color functional liquids from being placed on the erroneous receiving plate 188. Further, the lower plate 226 is fixed to the receiving plate 188 with two screws 233 at the front surface thereof.

  The coupler set portion 228 is formed in a “U” shape in plan view, and its two corner portions are fixed to the upper end portions of the two support members 227, and a stepped groove portion 234 is formed inside thereof. Has been. The stepped groove 234 is formed so that the connecting plate 209 is fitted, and the connecting plate 209 set in the stepped groove 234 faces the connection port of the held head side connection coupler 208 upward. The screw is fixed with a urea screw 235. By using the urea screw 235, the attachment work of the connecting plate 209 to the coupler set portion 228 and the attachment work of the tank unit 175 to the receiving plate 188 can be performed without tools.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the tank pipe connection assembly 206 is accommodated in the tank mount 205, and one of the tank pipe connection assemblies 206 is connected to the four functional liquid supply ports 221 and the four atmosphere release ports 222 described above. There are four switching valves 236 that connect the other to the four head-side connection couplers 208, and four functional liquid filters 237 interposed between the switching valves 236 and the head-side connection couplers 208. . Each functional fluid filter 237 is provided to remove foreign matters mixed in the functional fluid. Each switching valve 236 is composed of a three-way solenoid valve, and includes a functional liquid supply channel between the functional liquid supply port 221 and the switching valve 236, and an atmospheric release channel between the atmospheric opening 222 and the switching valve 236. Can be switched to each other. In other words, in the operation state of the ejection inspection device 55, the switching valve 236 switches to the functional liquid supply flow path to supply the functional liquid to the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, while the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 and this are reached. When the functional liquid in the pipeline is discharged, the switching valve 236 is switched to the atmosphere open flow path.

  Here, a series of operations for attaching and detaching the tank unit 175 to and from the tank holder 176 will be described. First, the operator holds the handle 223 of the tank unit 175, sets the lower surface of the tank unit 175 in accordance with the four tank positioning members 190 and the type determination pins 191, and then receives the lower plate of the tank unit 175. The plate 188 is fixed with screws using urea screws 233. Next, the connecting plate 209 attached to the coupler set portion 228 is removed and attached to the coupler attachment portion 177. The tank side connection coupler 28 is connected to the head side connection coupler 208.

  On the other hand, when removing the tank unit 175, the reverse procedure is performed. That is, after the tank side connection coupler 28 is pulled out from the head side connection coupler 208, the connecting plate 209 attached to the coupler attachment portion 177 is removed and attached to the coupler set portion 228. Then, the lower plate 226 fixed with screws to the receiving plate 188 is released, the handle 223 is gripped, and the tank unit 175 is removed. Since the head side connection coupler 208 is automatically closed, liquid does not drip when the tank side connection coupler 28 is pulled out.

  Next, the flushing unit 74 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18. The flushing unit 74 receives functional liquid droplets discharged from each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, and the head unit 1 periodically performs flushing to stabilize the functional liquid droplet ejection state, In this state, the discharge inspection of the head unit 1 is performed. Further, the flushing unit 74 has a weight measuring function for measuring the weight of the functional liquid ejected from the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 for each nozzle row.

  The flushing unit 74 is a weight measuring unit (weight measuring means) 242 including a container 240 that receives the functional liquid droplets ejected from one functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 and an electronic balance 241 that measures the weight of the functional liquid in the container 240. And a flushing box 243 that is disposed around the container 240 and receives the functional liquid droplets discharged from the other functional liquid droplet discharge heads 4 when discharging to the container 240, and receives so-called periodic flushing, and It has a support frame 244 to support, a lift table 245 on which the support frame 244 can be moved up and down, and a moving table 246 that moves the lift table 245 in the Y-axis direction. The flushing unit 74 has functional liquid suction means 247 for sucking the functional liquid discharged into the flushing box 243. The sucked functional liquid is flushed waste liquid tank 248 provided in the maintenance device 59 described later. To be discharged.

  The moving table 246 is disposed on the stone surface plate 57 between the Y-axis table 70 and the maintenance device 59, and moves the weight measuring unit 242 and the flushing box 243 in the Y-axis direction. That is, the container 240 faces the arbitrary nozzle row in each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 of the head unit 1 by the cooperation of the moving table 246 and the X-axis table 71. In the case of regular flushing, each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 comes off the container 240 and faces the flushing box 243. The lifting table 245 adjusts the height of the weight measuring unit 242 and the flushing box 243 according to the height of the head unit 1 set by the head height measuring device 95.

  The support frame 244 is fixed to the lower support plate 250 fixed on the lifting table 245, the four support members 252 erected from the four corners of the lower support plate 250, and the upper ends of the four support members 252. The upper support plate 251 is formed in a rectangular shape. The electronic balance 241 is disposed on the lower support plate 250, while the flushing box 243 is disposed on the upper support plate 251.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the upper support plate 251 includes an upper plate body 254 formed in a substantially parallelogram shape corresponding to the layout of 12 functional liquid droplet ejection heads, and an upper plate body 254. A pair of first container receiving holes 255 for receiving the container 240 and protruding on both the upper and lower sides of the upper plate body 254 in the figure and positioning the flushing box 243 with respect to the upper support plate 251. A box positioning pin 256 and a large number of plate-side suction holes 257 formed through the surface of the upper plate body 254 are provided. In addition, a plurality of suction joints 258 connected to the respective plate-side suction holes 257 are provided on the back surface of the upper plate body 254, and a hole absorbing material 259 that absorbs functional liquid is provided on the surface of the upper plate body 254. While being arranged so as to cover each plate-side suction hole 257, the peripheral edge portion of the hole absorbent material 259 is pressed by the hole pressing plate 260. Further, a sealing O-ring 261 is disposed on the surface of the upper plate body 254 so as to surround each plate-side suction hole 257.

  The flushing box 243 includes a flushing tray 264 placed on the upper support plate 251, eight absorbent members 265 arranged in a staggered manner on the flushing tray 264, and eight pieces that hold the peripheral edge of each absorbent member 265. And an absorbent material presser 266.

  In the flushing tray 264, eight air chambers 267 for sucking the functional liquid absorbed in the absorbent material 265 are formed at positions corresponding to the eight absorbent materials 265 arranged in a staggered manner. A tray-side suction hole 268 is formed in the bottom of the air chamber 267 so as to communicate with the plate-side suction hole 257 via the O-ring 261. The flushing tray 264 is formed with a pair of box positioning holes 269 that fit into the pair of box positioning pins 256 of the upper support plate 251, and is formed through the center of the flushing tray 264 to accommodate the container 240. A second container receiving hole 270 is formed.

  Each absorbent material 265 is formed in a size corresponding to each of the six functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4, and each absorbent material presser 266 is formed in a quadrilateral frame shape and presses the peripheral portion of each absorbent material 265. On the other hand, the flushing tray 264 is detachably fixed with screws.

  The functional liquid suction means 247 includes an ejector 275 (not shown) connected to the flushing waste liquid tank 248. The suction joint 258 is connected by piping via a manifold 277 (see FIG. 17).

  The container 240 is disposed on the electronic balance 241 so as to face the first container accommodation hole 255 and the second container accommodation hole 270 described above. The container 240 is formed with three functional liquid receivers 278 that receive R, G, and B functional liquids, respectively. The functional liquid receivers 278 are formed on the nozzle surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. Functional droplets are ejected in units of nozzle rows from the functional droplet ejection head 4 having a size corresponding to 51 and facing directly above.

  The electronic balance 241 measures the weight of the functional liquid droplets discharged to the container 240 and is installed on the vibration isolation pad so as not to be affected by vibration.

  Hereinafter, a series of operations for measuring the weight of the functional droplet will be described with reference to FIG. With the moving table 246 and the X-axis table 71, one nozzle row of the desired functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is made to face the functional liquid receiving portion 278 of the container 240 corresponding to the liquid color. 18A to 18D are top views in which four functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 at the corners of the 12 functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 face the container 240, respectively. Thereafter, functional droplets are ejected from the functional droplet ejection head 4 in units of nozzle rows, and the weight of the functional droplets is measured by the electronic balance 241. At this time, a so-called fine vibration waveform is applied to adjacent nozzle rows in one functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 to maintain the meniscus. Further, functional droplets are also ejected from other functional droplet ejection heads 4 that have not been measured, and flushing is performed. Next, the other nozzle row faces the functional liquid receiving portion 278 of the container 240 corresponding to the liquid color, and the weight of the functional liquid droplet is measured by the electronic balance 241 in the same manner as described above. Then, when measuring the weight of the functional liquid droplets of the other functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4, the desired functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is made to face the container by the moving table 246 and the X-axis table 71. In addition, when performing only flushing, as shown in FIG.18 (e), a functional droplet is discharged to a pair of absorber 265 which pinches | interposes the 2nd container accommodation hole 270. FIG. At that time, the moving table 246 faces the home position.

  Next, the camera unit 75 that moves on the X-axis table 71 will be described with reference to FIG. The camera unit 75 is attached to the camera carriage frame 165 suspended over a pair of travel rails, the camera support frame 244 suspended from the camera carriage frame 165, and the camera support frame 244, and is adjacent to the X-axis direction. The two imaging cameras 282 image the alignment mask 106 and the two inspection sheets S. In this case, in consideration of the weight balance, the two imaging cameras 282 are mounted with a fine adjustment mechanism or the like in the opposite direction in the X-axis direction. Each imaging camera 282 can be finely adjusted in the X, Y, and Z axis directions by a fine adjustment mechanism such as a microhead in consideration of calibration.

  As shown in FIG. 20, when the camera unit 75 images the alignment mask 106 and the inspection sheet S, first, the landing position corresponding to the upper nozzle row of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 located on the lower side in the figure is viewed from the left side in the figure. The image is moved to the right side of the figure and picked up (actually, several landing dots). After moving to the right side in the figure, the image is moved to the lower side in the figure, and the landing position corresponding to the lower nozzle row is moved from the right side to the left side in the figure to image. When the imaging of one functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is completed, the landing position of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 positioned above the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is imaged, and this is repeated 6 times, whereby two imaging cameras 282 are used. All the landing reference marks 141 on the alignment mask 106 are imaged. The camera unit 75 images the actual landing positions of all the functional liquid droplets that have landed on the inspection sheet S in exactly the same procedure. That is, the imaging procedure of the alignment mask 106 and the imaging procedure of the inspection sheet S are made completely the same, and consideration is given so as not to cause an error based on the difference in procedure. These movements are relative and are performed by the X-axis table 71 and the second Y-axis table 80. Further, in the actual operation, the procedure of imaging the alignment mask 106, inspection ejection by the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, and imaging of the inspection sheet S is performed. The inspection discharge is performed in a state where the head unit 1 is stopped. That is, the placement pattern of the landing reference marks 141 on the alignment mask 106 and the placement pattern of the actual landing positions are the same.

  Next, the maintenance device 59 will be described with reference to FIG. The maintenance device 59 includes a wiping device 61, a suction device 60, and a sub table (sub movement table) 284 that moves these in the Y axis direction. The sub table 284 moves these in the Y axis direction, One device corresponding to the process is brought to the maintenance area. Thus, by providing the suction device 60, it is possible to keep each discharge nozzle 52 of each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 in a good state prior to inspection and ejection, and to the function to each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. It is possible to smoothly prevent each of the discharge nozzles 52 from being filled with the liquid or stopping the discharge. Further, by providing the wiping device 61, it is possible to keep each discharge nozzle 52 of each functional liquid droplet discharge head 4 in a good state prior to inspection discharge, and to prevent evaluation errors based on simple maintenance failures. Can do. The sub table 284 allows the suction device 60, the wiping device 61, and the material supply device 62 described later to efficiently face the head unit 1 on the X-axis table 71. Further, the suction device 60, the wiping device 61, and the material supply device 62 can be arranged with high space efficiency. Further, although partially omitted in the drawing, on the sub-table 284, the flushing waste liquid tank 248, the suction waste liquid tank 314, three cleaning liquid tanks 300 described later, and three types of functional liquid main tanks 312, Is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the wiping device 61 includes a base frame 285 serving as a base, a feeding reel 286 wound around the wiping sheet 287 in a roll shape, and a winding that winds up the wiping sheet 287 fed out from the feeding reel 286. A reel 288 and a wiping sheet 287 spanned between the reels 286 and 288 are moved up and down by an air cylinder (not shown) and pressed against a plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4, and the press roller 289 is fed out. The wiping sheet 287 spanned between the reel 286 and the wiping sheet 287 spanned between the pressure roller 289 and the take-up reel 288 are faced to the spray unit 290 that sprays the cleaning liquid. A feed amount detection unit 291 for detecting a feed amount; And has, overall these are covered by a cover box 292.

  The cover box 292 is formed in a box shape, and a wipe opening 295 is formed on the upper surface thereof. For this reason, the wiping sheet 287 is configured to be able to protrude and retract upward from the wipe opening 295 by the pressing roller 289.

  The supply reel 286 is configured to appropriately supply a wiping sheet 287 wound in a roll shape, and a tension applying mechanism for applying a back tension to the wiping sheet 287 being fed is incorporated in the shaft portion. ing. For this reason, the wiping sheet 287 is fed out from the feeding reel 286 without causing slack. The take-up reel 288 is configured to be rotatable by a drive motor via a reduction gear train or the like, and takes up the wiping sheet 287 while controlling the feed amount based on the detection result of the feed amount detection unit 291. Go.

  The wiping sheet 287 wound around the supply reel 286 is formed in a cloth shape using chemical fibers such as polyester and polypropylene, and can wipe off six (one row) functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 at a time. It is formed with a wide width.

  The feed amount detection unit 291 includes a feed amount detection roller 297 on which a slit disk 296 is attached, a guide roller 298 that sandwiches the wiping sheet 287 together with the feed amount detection roller 297, and a slit disk 296 of the feed amount detection roller 297. And a photo interrupter 299 that faces it. The amount of movement of the wiping sheet 287 is detected by the photo interrupter 299 via the rotating slit disk 296 and output to the control computer.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the spray unit 290 includes three cleaning liquid tanks 300 not shown in the figure, and three spray nozzles 301 that are connected to the cleaning liquid tank 300 via a supply tube and spray the cleaning liquid onto the wiping sheet 287. Each spray nozzle 301 sprays the cleaning liquid on the wiping sheet 287 in an elliptical shape that is long in the vertical direction. In this case, each spray nozzle 301 has a structure that can be scanned in the lateral direction by a rod dress cylinder or a lead screw motor, and can spray the cleaning liquid selectively over the entire width of the wiping sheet 287. It has become a structure. The cleaning liquid is preferably volatile, and is sprayed immediately before the wiping sheet 287 is fed into the pressing roller 289.

  Next, the suction device 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. The suction device 60 is disposed on the sub-table 284, and includes a suction device main body 307 including a cap unit main body 305 and a suction unit main body 306, a suction accessory unit 308 attached to and detached from the suction unit main body 306, and a cap unit main body 305. And a cap unit 309 that is detachably mounted. The suction device 60 sucks the functional liquid of the head unit 1 and is used as a material removal device. The suction part main body 306 is formed in a thin box shape having an open upper surface, and a cylindrical lid holder 310 for placing a sealing lid of the suction waste liquid tank 314 is erected on the left side of the drawing.

  The suction accessory unit 308 includes an accessory support frame 244, the above-described suction waste liquid tank 314, three color-specific valves 315, twelve individual valves 316, and a suction tube 317 that pipe-connects each section. In the incidental support frame 244, three color-specific valves 315 and twelve individual valves 316 are accommodated (see FIG. 17).

  The auxiliary support frame 244 includes a rectangular auxiliary base plate 320, an auxiliary intermediate plate 321 located above the auxiliary base plate 320, an auxiliary upper plate 322 positioned above the auxiliary intermediate plate 321, and a plurality of supports that support these. A suction waste liquid tank 314 is disposed on the left side of the accompanying base plate 320 in the figure. The auxiliary upper plate 322 is provided with a pair of left and right auxiliary handle portions 325. The auxiliary handle portion 325 is gripped and the suction auxiliary unit 308 is detachably mounted. Further, the accessory base plate 320 is provided with a urea screw 326 for fixing the suction accessory unit 308 to the suction portion main body 306 with screws. The twelve individual valves 316 and the three color-specific valves 315 are fixed to the incidental intermediate plate 321, and the three color-specific valves 315 are connected to the suction waste liquid tank 314 via the suction tube 317. Yes. The suction waste liquid tank 314 is connected to the same ejector 275 as the flushing unit 74 described above, and suction is performed by the ejector 275 via the suction waste liquid tank 314 (see FIG. 17).

  The cap unit body 305 absorbs the impact that the head unit 1 receives when the head unit 1 faces the suction unit, the cap lifting unit that moves the cap unit 309 up and down, the head unit support unit that supports the head unit 1 that faces the suction device, and the suction unit. A main body unit 327 having a shock absorbing means to be mounted, and a cap mounting plate 328 mounted on the main body unit 327.

  As shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the main unit 327 includes a cap base portion 330, a cap frame 331 having an inverted “T” -shaped cross section standing on the center side of the cap base portion 330 in the figure, and a cap frame 331. And a geared motor 333 for raising and lowering the cap slide portion 332, which constitute cap raising and lowering means. ing. The main body unit 327 includes a pair of air cylinders 335 disposed on the left and right sides of the cap base portion 330 in the figure, a frame-like column support plate 336 provided on the pair of air cylinders 335, and a column support plate. 336, four pillars 337 erected at the four corners, three ribs 338 attached to the back side of the cap frame 331, and a frame fixed to the upper end surfaces of the three ribs 338 and supported in a cantilever manner A column-shaped column guide plate 339 and four column guide portions 340 provided vertically at the four corners of the column guide plate 339, which constitute a head unit support unit and an impact absorption unit.

  The cap frame 331 has a motor support plate 341 that protrudes in the horizontal direction from the center of its upper end, and the geared motor 333 is suspended from the motor support plate 341 with the push-up bar 342 protruding upward. It is installed. The geared motor 333 moves the cap unit 309 between the capping position and the standby position via the cap slide part 332 so as to be movable up and down, and the steady position of the cap unit 309 is the capping position. That is, when the functional liquid of the head unit 1 is sucked, the cap unit 309 is lowered to the standby position while the cap unit 309 is maintained at the capping position while the head unit 1 is removed.

  The cap slide portion 332 is integrally formed in a reverse “L” shape in cross section by a slide frame 345 formed in a frame shape in front view and a mounting plate 346 on which the cap mounting plate 328 is mounted. A pair of left and right linear sliders 347 are provided between the left and right side portions of 345 and the upper end portion of the cap frame 331. On the mounting plate 346, plate positioning pins 348 protrude from the four corners thereof, and the geared motor 333 faces directly below the center front portion of the mounting plate 346.

  The pair of air cylinders 335 are so-called shock absorbers, and absorb the impact of the head unit 1 when placed on the four columns 337. At the upper part of each air cylinder 335, a connection fitting 350 for connecting to the above-mentioned support column support plate 336 is provided, and each air cylinder 335 and the support column support plate 336 are connected via the connection bracket 350. The That is, the column support plate 336 moves up and down to absorb the impact.

  Each column 337 is formed in a columnar shape, and the lower end portion thereof is fixed to the column support plate 336 with screws. Two head positioning pins 351 for positioning the head unit 1 to be set are provided on the upper end surfaces of the two columns 337 on the diagonal line among the four columns 337.

  As described above, the column guide plate 339 is supported by the upper end surfaces of the three rib portions 338 in a cantilever state. In other words, the column guide plate 339 is configured to remain in the position with respect to the column support plate 336 that moves up and down. Each column guide part 340 provided on the column guide plate 339 is a so-called linear bush, and is provided at a cylindrical guide body 353 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the column, and an upper end portion of the guide body. And a guide fixing portion 354 fixed to the column guide plate 339, and guides each column 337 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. A proximity sensor 355 that detects the presence / absence of the head unit 1 to be placed is provided on the side surface of the column guide plate 339.

  As shown in FIG. 26, the cap mounting plate 328 includes a mounting base plate 358 mounted on the mounting plate 346, a pair of left and right air cylinders 359 suspended from the mounting base plate 358, and a pair of left and right air. An attachment intermediate plate 360 that abuts the upper portion of the cylinder 359, four compression springs 361 interposed between the attachment intermediate plate 360 and the attachment base plate 358, a drain pan 364 placed on the attachment intermediate plate 360, The four shafts 362 having lower ends fixed to the mounting base plate 358 via the mounting intermediate plate 360 and the drain pan 364, and the left and right fixed to the upper ends of the two shafts 362 provided on the left and right sides of the four shafts 362. A pair of cap fixing plates 363.

  The mounting base plate 358 has four plate fitting holes 365 for fitting with four plate positioning pins 348 projecting from the mounting plate 346 and four base insertion holes 366 for inserting the four columns 337. The four columns 337 are inserted and positioned, and fixed on the mounting plate 346 with screws.

  The attachment intermediate plate 360 is in contact with the plungers of the air cylinders 359 and the compression springs 361 at both ends thereof, and moves the drain pan 364 attached to the attachment intermediate plate 360 via the air cylinder 359 downward. The drain pan 364 moved downward is returned to the original position again by the compression spring 361. Similarly to the attachment base plate 358, four intermediate insertion holes 367 for inserting the four support columns 337 are formed in the attachment intermediate plate 360. The mounting intermediate plate 360 is provided with four shaft guide portions (linear bushes) 368 that guide the four shafts 362 described above.

  The drain pan 364 is formed in a thin box shape having an open upper surface, and a pair of left and right mounting plates 370 protruding in the vertical direction in the figure is formed on the bottom plate. Further, the drain pan 364 is formed with a drain pan insertion hole 371 through which the four shafts 362 and the four columns 337 are inserted, and a peripheral wall 372 is formed so as to surround the drain pan insertion hole 371. Further, on the drain pan 364, an air release plate 376 having six claw pieces 375 for opening the air release valve 396 provided in the cap unit 309 is stretched over a pair of left and right mounting plates 370 in the vertical direction. Are set side by side.

  Each air release plate 376 includes a rectangular open plate body 380, six claw pieces 375 provided on the open plate body 380, a pair of left and right elongated holes 381 formed on both sides of the open plate body 380, A urea screw 382 for slidably attaching the open plate main body 380 to the attachment plate 370 through the hole 381 and an operation pin 383 for operating the open plate main body 380 in the sliding direction are provided. The air release plate 376 attached to the pair of right and left attachment plates 370 is loosened with the urea screw 382 and slid outward by the operation pin 383, thereby engaging with the air release valve 396 provided in the cap unit 309 described later. Combine. The air release valve 396 of the cap unit 309 is opened by lowering the drain pan 364, and the air release valve 396 is closed by returning the drain pan 364 to its original position.

  Each cap fixing plate 363 is provided with a cap positioning pin 385 for positioning the cap unit 309 on the upper surface thereof, and a cap positioning hole 391 of the cap unit 309 described later is fitted to the cap positioning pin 385 so that the cap is fixed. The unit 309 is positioned.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the cap unit 309 includes twelve head caps 387 for capping each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 mounted on the head unit 1, and a holder plate 388 for holding the twelve head caps 387. Both ends of the cap unit 309 are attached to the pair of cap fixing plates 363 described above.

  The holder plate 388 is formed in a cross shape, and twelve head caps 387 are arranged so as to correspond to the respective functional liquid droplet ejection heads 4 in the vertical direction in the figure. A pair of left and right operation openings 389 are formed on both the left and right sides of the holder plate 388 so that the urea screw 382 of the air release plate 376 and the operation pins 383 face each other, and the four struts 337 are inserted in the vicinity of each operation opening 389. Two holder insertion holes 390 are formed respectively. A cap positioning hole 391 into which the cap positioning pin 385 is fitted is formed between the two holder insertion holes 390.

  As shown in FIG. 28, each head cap 387 caps each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 and a functional liquid suction channel 395 is formed to suck the functional liquid from the capped functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. The suction tube of the suction accessory unit 308 is connected to the functional liquid suction channel 395 by piping. The head cap 387 is provided with an air release valve 396 for appropriately flowing the sucked functional liquid into the functional liquid suction channel 395. The air release valve 396 is a claw piece of the air release plate 376 described above. It is pulled down by 375 and opened to the atmosphere. A plurality of types of cap units 309 are prepared according to the model of the head unit 1 and can be easily replaced with the cap unit main body 305.

  When the main carriage 72 is lowered from the position directly above the suction device 60 to the capping position and the four set holes 22 formed in the head unit 1 are set in correspondence with the four columns 337 of the suction device 60, the impact is While being absorbed by the air cylinder 335 via the four support columns 337, the head unit 1 is positioned and supported by the head positioning pins 351 provided on the four support columns 337. Each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is capped on each head cap 387 of the cap unit 309. A cushion spring is provided inside each head cap 387 to absorb the impact of each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. Then, the ejector 275 sucks the functional liquid in the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 from the head cap 387 and discharges the sucked functional liquid to the suction waste liquid tank 314. On the other hand, when removing the material from the head unit 1, the cap unit 309 is moved to the standby position, and the head unit 1 is removed from the main carriage 72. That is, the capping position is a material removal position.

  Next, the material supply device 62 will be described with reference to FIGS. 29 and 30. The material supply device 62 is disposed on the sub-table 284, and includes a columnar base portion 401, an air cylinder 402 disposed above the columnar base portion 401, a drain pan 400 disposed above the air cylinder 402, A head unit holding portion 403 that is disposed on the drain pan 400 and on which the head unit 1 is set. By using this material supply device 62, the head unit 1 can be smoothly mounted on the X-axis table 71, and the discharge inspection can be efficiently performed as a whole. The air cylinder 402 absorbs the impact of the head unit 1 to be set.

  The head unit holding unit 403 includes a holding base 404 having a “U” cross section, a holding plate 405 having an “H” shape in plan view fixed on the holding base 404, and the above-described mounting unit 405 attached to the holding plate 405. The cap unit 309, four holding columns 406 erected on the holding plate 405, two large and small guide plates 407 attached to the lower surface of the holding plate 405, and two large and small guide plates 407 And three loading guides 408. The holding plate 405 is provided with a proximity sensor that detects the presence or absence of the head unit 1.

  Of the four holding columns 406, head positioning pins 351 for positioning the head unit 1 project from the upper end surfaces of two diagonal holding columns 406, and the upper end of each holding column 406 includes A head mounting guide portion 410 is formed for corresponding the mounting direction of the head unit 1 to the head unit holding portion 403. That is, when the four setting holes 22 of the head unit 1 are set to the four holding columns 406 of the head unit holding portion 403 in different mounting directions (for example, opposite to the left and right), the set holes 22 and the holding columns Since 406 does not fit, the operator can recognize that it is in the wrong mounting direction.

  When the head unit 1 is set on the material supply device 62, an operator holds the head unit 1 while abutting against the three loading guides 408, and using these as guides, the four holding columns 406 are placed on the head. The unit 1 is inserted into the set hole 22. At this time, the impact received by the head unit 1 is absorbed by the air cylinder 402, and each functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 of the head unit 1 is capped by the head cap 387 of the cap unit 309.

  Here, a series of operations of the discharge inspection apparatus in the discharge inspection of the mounted head unit 1 will be described. First, the material supply device 62 and the main carriage 72 on which the head unit 1 is set face the maintenance area, and then the operator attaches the head unit 1 to the main carriage 72. Next, the main carriage 72 is moved to the place where the head height measuring device 95 is installed, and the height of the head unit 1 is measured by the head height measuring device 95, and the main carriage 72 is measured based on the measured height. The height of the head unit 1 is adjusted by the Z-axis table. Thereafter, the main carriage 72 is again brought into the maintenance area, and the suction device 60 is also brought into the maintenance area. Then, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is capped by the suction device 60 to perform suction, and the head unit 1 is filled with the functional liquid. At this time, when the functional liquid is filled in the head unit 1, first, strong suction is performed to fill the flow path in the head with the functional liquid, and then weak suction is performed to generate the flow in the head flow path. Configured to eliminate air bubbles. After filling with the functional liquid, this time, the wiping device 61 is exposed to the maintenance area, and the nozzle surface of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is wiped off.

  Next, the head unit 1 is made to face the flushing area, the weight of the functional liquid droplets discharged for each nozzle row is measured, and after the measurement, the head unit 1 is made to face the maintenance area again. Thereafter, the camera unit 75 and the alignment mask 106 are exposed to the processing area, and the landing reference mark 141 of the alignment mask 106 is captured by the two imaging cameras 282 by the camera unit 75.

  Next, the camera unit 75 is retracted, the head unit 1 is exposed to the processing area, and the alignment mask 106 is exposed to the processing area by the Y-axis table 70. Based on the imaging results of the two under cameras 91, the reference mark of the head unit 1 and the head reference mark 140 of the alignment mask 106 are cooperated by the θ table 167, the X axis table 71, and the Y axis table 70. Perform alignment. That is, the θ table 167, the X-axis table 71, and the Y-axis table 70 are unit correction means. When the alignment is completed, the head unit 1 is once exposed to the flushing area to perform flushing, and then the head unit 1 is exposed to the processing area, and two inspection sheets S are used instead of the alignment mask 106 in the processing area. Then, functional droplets are ejected onto the inspection sheet S.

  After ejection, the head unit 1 faces the maintenance area and is capped by the suction device 60. After that, the landing position of the functional droplet landed on the inspection sheet S is imaged by the camera unit 75, and the arrangement pattern of the landing reference mark 141 and the actual landing of the functional liquid droplet are actually detected by the control computer (discharge performance evaluation means). The placement pattern of the landing positions is compared to inspect whether there is a landing deviation, and at the same time, the diameter of the landed functional liquid droplet is recognized, and the liquid droplet discharge amount of the discharge nozzle 52 is determined from the diameter of the functional liquid droplet. Check for appropriateness. Thereby, it is possible to roughly evaluate the droplet discharge amount of each discharge nozzle 52, and it is also possible to detect no discharge (discharge failure).

  After completion of the inspection, if the operator determines that it is necessary to inspect the head unit 1 again, the same inspection is repeated, and if it is determined that it is not necessary, the cap unit 309 is placed in the standby position. The head unit 1 is removed from the main carriage 72 by removing the material. The timing for setting the head unit 1 in the material supply device 62 is preferably immediately after the head unit 1 is attached to the main carriage 72.

  According to the above configuration, the position of the landing reference mark 141 on the alignment mask 106 is recognized, the position of the landing result by the functional liquid droplet discharge head 4 is recognized, and each discharge nozzle 52 is determined based on the deviation amount of the actual landing position with respect to the mark position. The discharge performance is evaluated. In this case, the camera unit 70 is moved in the Y-axis direction by moving the alignment mask 106 and the inspection sheet S in the Y-axis direction by using the Y-axis table 70 in which the alignment mask 106 and the inspection sheet S are set in the Y-axis direction. Even if it is fixedly provided, the position of the landing reference mark 141 on the alignment mask 106 and the position of the landed functional liquid droplet can be recognized quickly. At this time, if the camera unit 70 is provided in the vicinity of the head unit 1, the inspection discharge by the functional liquid droplet discharge head 4 and the position recognition of the discharge result (the functional liquid droplet that has landed) can be continuously performed. it can. In addition, since the landing result of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 that is a replica is evaluated using the alignment mask 106 that is the original plate, each ejection nozzle 52 of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is extremely accurately accurate. The discharge performance can be evaluated. That is, the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle 52 can be inspected accurately and efficiently. In the present embodiment, the inspection discharge is performed in a state where the head unit 1 is stopped, but may be performed while moving (relative movement) assuming actual drawing.

  Next, as an electro-optical device (flat panel display) manufactured in a droplet discharge device incorporating a head unit 1 that is a good product using the discharge inspection device 55 of the present embodiment, a color filter, a liquid crystal display device, an organic An EL device, a plasma display (PDP device), an electron emission device (FED device, SED device), an active matrix substrate formed in these display devices, and the like will be described as an example, and the structure and manufacturing method thereof will be described. Note that an active matrix substrate refers to a substrate on which a thin film transistor, a source line electrically connected to the thin film transistor, and a data line are formed.

First, a method for manufacturing a color filter incorporated in a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL device or the like will be described. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the manufacturing process of the color filter, and FIG. 32 is a schematic sectional view of the color filter 500 (filter base body 500A) of the present embodiment shown in the order of the manufacturing process.
First, in the black matrix forming step (S101), a black matrix 502 is formed on a substrate (W) 501 as shown in FIG. The black matrix 502 is formed of metal chromium, a laminate of metal chromium and chromium oxide, resin black, or the like. A sputtering method, a vapor deposition method, or the like can be used to form the black matrix 502 made of a metal thin film. Further, when forming the black matrix 502 made of a resin thin film, a gravure printing method, a photoresist method, a thermal transfer method, or the like can be used.

Subsequently, in the bank formation step (S102), a bank 503 is formed in a state of being superimposed on the black matrix 502. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 32B, a resist layer 504 made of a negative transparent photosensitive resin is formed so as to cover the substrate 501 and the black matrix 502. Then, an exposure process is performed with the upper surface covered with a mask film 505 formed in a matrix pattern shape.
Further, as shown in FIG. 32C, the resist layer 504 is patterned by etching an unexposed portion of the resist layer 504 to form a bank 503. When the black matrix is formed from resin black, it is possible to use both the black matrix and the bank.
The bank 503 and the black matrix 502 below the partition wall 507b partitioning each pixel region 507a, and in the subsequent colored layer forming process, the colored liquid layers (film forming portions) 508R, 508G, When forming 508B, the landing area of the functional droplet is defined.

The filter substrate 500A is obtained through the above black matrix forming step and bank forming step.
In the present embodiment, as the material for the bank 503, a resin material whose surface is lyophobic (hydrophobic) is used. Since the surface of the substrate (glass substrate) 501 is lyophilic (hydrophilic), the droplets into each pixel region 507a surrounded by the bank 503 (partition wall portion 507b) in the colored layer forming step described later. Variations in landing position can be automatically corrected.

  Next, in the colored layer forming step (S103), as shown in FIG. 32 (d), functional droplets are ejected by the functional droplet ejection head 4, and each pixel region 507a is surrounded by the partition wall portion 507b. Let it land. In this case, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 is used to introduce functional liquids (filter materials) of three colors of R, G, and B to eject functional liquid droplets. Note that the three-color arrangement pattern of R, G, and B includes a stripe arrangement, a mosaic arrangement, and a delta arrangement.

Thereafter, the functional liquid is fixed through a drying process (a process such as heating), and three colored layers 508R, 508G, and 508B are formed. Once the colored layers 508R, 508G, and 508B are formed, the process proceeds to the protective film forming step (S104), and as shown in FIG. 32 (e), the substrate 501, the partition wall portion 507b, and the colored layers 508R, 508G, and 508B are moved. A protective film 509 is formed so as to cover the upper surface.
That is, after the protective film coating liquid is discharged over the entire surface of the substrate 501 where the colored layers 508R, 508G, and 508B are formed, the protective film 509 is formed through a drying process.
Then, after forming the protective film 509, the color filter 500 moves to a film forming process such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) which becomes a transparent electrode in the next process.

  FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a schematic configuration of a passive matrix liquid crystal device (liquid crystal device) as an example of a liquid crystal display device using the color filter 500 described above. By attaching auxiliary elements such as a liquid crystal driving IC, a backlight, and a support to the liquid crystal device 520, a transmissive liquid crystal display device as a final product can be obtained. Since the color filter 500 is the same as that shown in FIG. 32, the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

The liquid crystal device 520 is roughly configured by a color filter 500, a counter substrate 521 made of a glass substrate, and a liquid crystal layer 522 made of an STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal composition sandwiched between them, The filter 500 is arranged on the upper side (observer side) in the figure.
Although not shown, polarizing plates are provided on the outer surfaces of the counter substrate 521 and the color filter 500 (surfaces opposite to the liquid crystal layer 522 side), and the polarizing plates located on the counter substrate 521 side are also provided. A backlight is disposed outside.

On the protective film 509 (liquid crystal layer side) of the color filter 500, a plurality of strip-shaped first electrodes 523 elongated in the left-right direction in FIG. 33 are formed at a predetermined interval, and the color of the first electrode 523 is A first alignment film 524 is formed so as to cover the surface opposite to the filter 500 side.
On the other hand, a plurality of strip-shaped second electrodes 526 elongated in a direction orthogonal to the first electrode 523 of the color filter 500 are formed on the surface of the counter substrate 521 facing the color filter 500 at a predetermined interval. A second alignment film 527 is formed so as to cover the surface of the two electrodes 526 on the liquid crystal layer 522 side. The first electrode 523 and the second electrode 526 are made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO.

The spacer 528 provided in the liquid crystal layer 522 is a member for keeping the thickness (cell gap) of the liquid crystal layer 522 constant. The sealing material 529 is a member for preventing the liquid crystal composition in the liquid crystal layer 522 from leaking to the outside. Note that one end of the first electrode 523 extends to the outside of the sealing material 529 as a lead-out wiring 523a.
A portion where the first electrode 523 and the second electrode 526 intersect with each other is a pixel, and the color layers 508R, 508G, and 508B of the color filter 500 are located in the portion that becomes the pixel.

  In a normal manufacturing process, patterning of the first electrode 523 and application of the first alignment film 524 are performed on the color filter 500 to create a portion on the color filter 500 side. Patterning of the electrode 526 and application of the second alignment film 527 are performed to create a portion on the counter substrate 521 side. Thereafter, a spacer 528 and a sealing material 529 are formed in the portion on the counter substrate 521 side, and the portion on the color filter 500 side is bonded in this state. Next, liquid crystal constituting the liquid crystal layer 522 is injected from the inlet of the sealing material 529, and the inlet is closed. Thereafter, both polarizing plates and the backlight are laminated.

  In the droplet discharge device of the embodiment, for example, the spacer material (functional liquid) constituting the cell gap is applied, and before the portion on the color filter 500 side is bonded to the portion on the counter substrate 521 side, the sealing material 529 is applied. The liquid crystal (functional liquid) can be uniformly applied to the region surrounded by. Further, the printing of the sealing material 529 can be performed by the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. Furthermore, the first and second alignment films 524 and 527 can be applied by the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part showing a schematic configuration of a second example of a liquid crystal device using the color filter 500 manufactured in the present embodiment.
The liquid crystal device 530 is significantly different from the liquid crystal device 520 in that the color filter 500 is arranged on the lower side (the side opposite to the observer side) in the figure.
The liquid crystal device 530 is generally configured by sandwiching a liquid crystal layer 532 made of STN liquid crystal between a color filter 500 and a counter substrate 531 made of a glass substrate or the like. Although not shown, polarizing plates and the like are provided on the outer surfaces of the counter substrate 531 and the color filter 500, respectively.

On the protective film 509 of the color filter 500 (on the liquid crystal layer 532 side), a plurality of strip-shaped first electrodes 533 elongated in the depth direction in the figure are formed at predetermined intervals, and the liquid crystal of the first electrodes 533 is formed. A first alignment film 534 is formed so as to cover the surface on the layer 532 side.
A plurality of strip-shaped second electrodes 536 extending in a direction orthogonal to the first electrode 533 on the color filter 500 side are formed on the surface of the counter substrate 531 facing the color filter 500 at a predetermined interval. A second alignment film 537 is formed so as to cover the surface of the second electrode 536 on the liquid crystal layer 532 side.

The liquid crystal layer 532 is provided with a spacer 538 for keeping the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 532 constant and a sealing material 539 for preventing the liquid crystal composition in the liquid crystal layer 532 from leaking to the outside. Yes.
Similarly to the liquid crystal device 520 described above, a portion where the first electrode 533 and the second electrode 536 intersect with each other is a pixel, and the colored layers 508R, 508G, and 508B of the color filter 500 are located at the portion that becomes the pixel. Is configured to do.

FIG. 35 shows a third example in which a liquid crystal device is configured using a color filter 500 to which the present invention is applied, and is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a transmissive TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type liquid crystal device. It is.
In the liquid crystal device 550, the color filter 500 is arranged on the upper side (observer side) in the figure.

The liquid crystal device 550 includes a color filter 500, a counter substrate 551 disposed so as to face the color filter 500, a liquid crystal layer (not shown) sandwiched therebetween, and an upper surface side (observer side) of the color filter 500. The polarizing plate 555 and the polarizing plate (not shown) arranged on the lower surface side of the counter substrate 551 are roughly configured.
A liquid crystal driving electrode 556 is formed on the surface of the protective film 509 of the color filter 500 (the surface on the counter substrate 551 side). The electrode 556 is made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, and is a full surface electrode that covers the entire region where a pixel electrode 560 described later is formed. An alignment film 557 is provided so as to cover the surface of the electrode 556 opposite to the pixel electrode 560.

  An insulating layer 558 is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 551 facing the color filter 500, and the scanning lines 561 and the signal lines 562 are formed on the insulating layer 558 in a state of being orthogonal to each other. A pixel electrode 560 is formed in a region surrounded by the scanning lines 561 and the signal lines 562. In an actual liquid crystal device, an alignment film is provided on the pixel electrode 560, but the illustration is omitted.

  In addition, a thin film transistor 563 including a source electrode, a drain electrode, a semiconductor, and a gate electrode is incorporated in a portion surrounded by the cutout portion of the pixel electrode 560 and the scanning line 561 and the signal line 562. . The thin film transistor 563 is turned on / off by application of signals to the scanning line 561 and the signal line 562 so that energization control to the pixel electrode 560 can be performed.

  Note that the liquid crystal devices 520, 530, and 550 in the above examples are transmissive, but a reflective liquid crystal device or a transflective liquid crystal device is provided by providing a reflective layer or a transflective layer. You can also

  Next, FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a display region (hereinafter simply referred to as a display device 600) of the organic EL device.

The display device 600 is schematically configured with a circuit element portion 602, a light emitting element portion 603, and a cathode 604 laminated on a substrate (W) 601.
In the display device 600, light emitted from the light emitting element portion 603 to the substrate 601 side is transmitted through the circuit element portion 602 and the substrate 601 and emitted to the observer side, and the light emitting element portion 603 is opposite to the substrate 601. After the light emitted to the side is reflected by the cathode 604, the light passes through the circuit element portion 602 and the substrate 601 and is emitted to the observer side.

  A base protective film 606 made of a silicon oxide film is formed between the circuit element portion 602 and the substrate 601, and an island-shaped semiconductor film 607 made of polycrystalline silicon is formed on the base protective film 606 (on the light emitting element portion 603 side). Is formed. In the left and right regions of the semiconductor film 607, a source region 607a and a drain region 607b are formed by high concentration cation implantation, respectively. A central portion where no positive ions are implanted is a channel region 607c.

  In the circuit element portion 602, a transparent gate insulating film 608 covering the base protective film 606 and the semiconductor film 607 is formed, and a position corresponding to the channel region 607c of the semiconductor film 607 on the gate insulating film 608 is formed. For example, a gate electrode 609 made of Al, Mo, Ta, Ti, W or the like is formed. On the gate electrode 609 and the gate insulating film 608, a transparent first interlayer insulating film 611a and a second interlayer insulating film 611b are formed. Further, contact holes 612a and 612b are formed through the first and second interlayer insulating films 611a and 611b and communicating with the source region 607a and the drain region 607b of the semiconductor film 607, respectively.

A transparent pixel electrode 613 made of ITO or the like is patterned and formed in a predetermined shape on the second interlayer insulating film 611b, and the pixel electrode 613 is connected to the source region 607a through the contact hole 612a. .
A power supply line 614 is disposed on the first interlayer insulating film 611a, and the power supply line 614 is connected to the drain region 607b through the contact hole 612b.

  Thus, the driving thin film transistors 615 connected to the pixel electrodes 613 are formed in the circuit element portion 602, respectively.

The light emitting element portion 603 includes a functional layer 617 stacked on each of the plurality of pixel electrodes 613, and a bank portion 618 provided between each pixel electrode 613 and the functional layer 617 to partition each functional layer 617. It is roughly structured.
The pixel electrode 613, the functional layer 617, and the cathode 604 provided on the functional layer 617 constitute a light emitting element. Note that the pixel electrode 613 is formed by patterning in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a bank portion 618 is formed between the pixel electrodes 613.

The bank unit 618 is laminated on the inorganic bank layer 618a (first bank layer) 618a (first bank layer) formed of an inorganic material such as SiO, SiO ₂ or TiO ₂ , and is made of an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, or the like. It is composed of an organic bank layer 618b (second bank layer) having a trapezoidal cross section formed of a resist having excellent heat resistance and solvent resistance. A part of the bank portion 618 is formed in a state of riding on the peripheral edge portion of the pixel electrode 613.
An opening 619 that gradually expands upward with respect to the pixel electrode 613 is formed between the bank portions 618.

The functional layer 617 includes a hole injection / transport layer 617a formed in a stacked state on the pixel electrode 613 in the opening 619, and a light emitting layer 617b formed on the hole injection / transport layer 617a. Has been. Note that another functional layer having other functions may be further formed adjacent to the light emitting layer 617b. For example, it is possible to form an electron transport layer.
The hole injection / transport layer 617a has a function of transporting holes from the pixel electrode 613 side and injecting them into the light emitting layer 617b. The hole injection / transport layer 617a is formed by discharging a first composition (functional liquid) containing a hole injection / transport layer forming material. A known material is used as the hole injection / transport layer forming material.

  The light emitting layer 617b emits light in red (R), green (G), or blue (B), and discharges a second composition (functional liquid) containing a light emitting layer forming material (light emitting material). Is formed. As the solvent (nonpolar solvent) of the second composition, a known material that is insoluble in the hole injection / transport layer 617a is preferably used, and such a nonpolar solvent is used as the second composition of the light emitting layer 617b. By using the light emitting layer 617b, the light emitting layer 617b can be formed without re-dissolving the hole injection / transport layer 617a.

  The light emitting layer 617b is configured such that the holes injected from the hole injection / transport layer 617a and the electrons injected from the cathode 604 are recombined in the light emitting layer to emit light.

  The cathode 604 is formed so as to cover the entire surface of the light emitting element portion 603, and plays a role of flowing current to the functional layer 617 in a pair with the pixel electrode 613. Note that a sealing member (not shown) is disposed on the cathode 604.

Next, a manufacturing process of the display device 600 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 37, the display device 600 includes a bank part forming step (S111), a surface treatment step (S112), a hole injection / transport layer forming step (S113), a light emitting layer forming step (S114), and an opposing surface. It is manufactured through an electrode formation step (S115). In addition, a manufacturing process is not restricted to what is illustrated, and when other processes are removed as needed, it may be added.

First, in the bank part forming step (S111), as shown in FIG. 38, an inorganic bank layer 618a is formed on the second interlayer insulating film 611b. The inorganic bank layer 618a is formed by forming an inorganic film at a formation position and then patterning the inorganic film by a photolithography technique or the like. At this time, a part of the inorganic bank layer 618 a is formed so as to overlap with the peripheral edge of the pixel electrode 613.
When the inorganic bank layer 618a is formed, an organic bank layer 618b is formed on the inorganic bank layer 618a as shown in FIG. The organic bank layer 618b is also formed by patterning using a photolithography technique or the like in the same manner as the inorganic bank layer 618a.
In this way, the bank portion 618 is formed. Accordingly, an opening 619 opening upward with respect to the pixel electrode 613 is formed between the bank portions 618. The opening 619 defines a pixel region.

In the surface treatment step (S112), a lyophilic process and a lyophobic process are performed. The region to be subjected to the lyophilic treatment is the first laminated portion 618aa of the inorganic bank layer 618a and the electrode surface 613a of the pixel electrode 613. These regions are made lyophilic by plasma treatment using, for example, oxygen as a treatment gas. Is done. This plasma treatment also serves to clean the ITO that is the pixel electrode 613.
In addition, the lyophobic treatment is performed on the wall surface 618s of the organic bank layer 618b and the upper surface 618t of the organic bank layer 618b, and the surface is fluorinated (treated to be liquid repellent) by plasma treatment using tetrafluoromethane as a processing gas, for example. )
By performing this surface treatment process, when the functional layer 617 is formed using the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, the functional liquid droplets can be landed more reliably on the pixel area, and can be landed on the pixel area. It is possible to prevent the functional droplets from overflowing from the opening 619.

  Then, the display device base 600A is obtained through the above steps. The display device base 600A is placed on a set table of a droplet discharge device, and the following hole injection / transport layer forming step (S113) and light emitting layer forming step (S114) are performed.

  As shown in FIG. 40, in the hole injection / transport layer forming step (S113), the first composition containing the hole injection / transport layer forming material is transferred from the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 to each opening 619 that is a pixel region. Discharge inside. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 41, a drying treatment and a heat treatment are performed to evaporate the polar solvent contained in the first composition, thereby forming a hole injection / transport layer 617a on the pixel electrode (electrode surface 613a) 613.

Next, the light emitting layer forming step (S114) will be described. In this light emitting layer forming step, as described above, in order to prevent re-dissolution of the hole injection / transport layer 617a, the hole injection / transport layer 617a is used as a solvent for the second composition used in forming the light emitting layer. A non-polar solvent insoluble in.
However, since the hole injection / transport layer 617a has a low affinity for the nonpolar solvent, the hole injection / transport layer 617a has a low affinity even if the second composition containing the nonpolar solvent is discharged onto the hole injection / transport layer 617a. There is a possibility that the injection / transport layer 617a and the light emitting layer 617b cannot be adhered to each other, or the light emitting layer 617b cannot be applied uniformly.
Therefore, in order to increase the surface affinity of the hole injection / transport layer 617a with respect to the nonpolar solvent and the light emitting layer forming material, it is preferable to perform surface treatment (surface modification treatment) before forming the light emitting layer. In this surface treatment, a surface modifying material which is the same solvent as the non-polar solvent of the second composition used in the formation of the light emitting layer or a similar solvent is applied on the hole injection / transport layer 617a, and this is applied. This is done by drying.
By performing such treatment, the surface of the hole injection / transport layer 617a is easily adapted to the nonpolar solvent. In the subsequent step, the second composition containing the light emitting layer forming material is added to the hole injection / transport layer. It can be uniformly applied to 617a.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 42, the pixel composition (second liquid composition containing a light emitting layer forming material corresponding to one of the colors (blue (B) in the example of FIG. 42)) is used as a functional droplet. A predetermined amount is driven into the opening 619). The second composition driven into the pixel region spreads on the hole injection / transport layer 617a and fills the opening 619. Even if the second composition deviates from the pixel region and lands on the upper surface 618t of the bank portion 618, the upper composition 618t is subjected to the liquid repellent treatment as described above. Things are easy to roll into the opening 619.

  Thereafter, by performing a drying process or the like, the discharged second composition is dried, and the nonpolar solvent contained in the second composition is evaporated. As shown in FIG. 43, the hole injection / transport layer 617a is dried. A light emitting layer 617b is formed thereon. In the case of this figure, a light emitting layer 617b corresponding to blue (B) is formed.

  Similarly, using the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4, as shown in FIG. 44, the same steps as in the case of the light emitting layer 617b corresponding to the blue (B) described above are sequentially performed, and other colors (red (R) and red (R) and A light emitting layer 617b corresponding to green (G) is formed. Note that the order in which the light-emitting layers 617b are formed is not limited to the illustrated order, and may be formed in any order. For example, the order of formation can be determined according to the light emitting layer forming material. In addition, the arrangement pattern of the three colors R, G, and B includes a stripe arrangement, a mosaic arrangement, a delta arrangement, and the like.

  As described above, the functional layer 617, that is, the hole injection / transport layer 617a and the light emitting layer 617b are formed on the pixel electrode 613. And it transfers to a counter electrode formation process (S115).

In the counter electrode forming step (S115), as shown in FIG. 45, a cathode 604 (counter electrode) is formed on the entire surface of the light emitting layer 617b and the organic bank layer 618b by, for example, vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD, or the like. In the present embodiment, the cathode 604 is configured by, for example, laminating a calcium layer and an aluminum layer.
On top of the cathode 604, an Al film, an Ag film as an electrode, and a protective layer such as SiO ₂ or SiN for preventing oxidation thereof are appropriately provided.

  After forming the cathode 604 in this way, the display device 600 is obtained by performing other processes such as a sealing process for sealing the upper part of the cathode 604 with a sealing member and a wiring process.

Next, FIG. 46 is an exploded perspective view of an essential part of a plasma display device (PDP device: hereinafter simply referred to as a display device 700). In the figure, the display device 700 is shown with a part thereof cut away.
The display device 700 is schematically configured to include a first substrate 701, a second substrate 702, and a discharge display portion 703 formed between them, which are disposed to face each other. The discharge display unit 703 includes a plurality of discharge chambers 705. Among the plurality of discharge chambers 705, the three discharge chambers 705 of the red discharge chamber 705R, the green discharge chamber 705G, and the blue discharge chamber 705B are arranged to form one pixel.

Address electrodes 706 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals on the upper surface of the first substrate 701, and a dielectric layer 707 is formed so as to cover the address electrodes 706 and the upper surface of the first substrate 701. On the dielectric layer 707, partition walls 708 are provided so as to be positioned between the address electrodes 706 and along the address electrodes 706. The partition 708 includes one extending on both sides in the width direction of the address electrode 706 as shown, and one not shown extending in the direction orthogonal to the address electrode 706.
A region partitioned by the partition 708 is a discharge chamber 705.

  A phosphor 709 is disposed in the discharge chamber 705. The phosphor 709 emits red (R), green (G), or blue (B) fluorescence, and the red phosphor 709R is disposed at the bottom of the red discharge chamber 705R, and the green discharge chamber 705G. A green phosphor 709G and a blue phosphor 709B are arranged at the bottom and the blue discharge chamber 705B, respectively.

On the lower surface of the second substrate 702 in the drawing, a plurality of display electrodes 711 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals in a direction orthogonal to the address electrodes 706. A dielectric layer 712 and a protective film 713 made of MgO or the like are formed so as to cover them.
The first substrate 701 and the second substrate 702 are bonded so that the address electrodes 706 and the display electrodes 711 face each other in a state of being orthogonal to each other. The address electrode 706 and the display electrode 711 are connected to an AC power source (not shown).
When the electrodes 706 and 711 are energized, the phosphor 709 emits light in the discharge display portion 703, and color display is possible.

In the present embodiment, the address electrode 706, the display electrode 711, and the phosphor 709 can be formed using a droplet discharge device. Hereinafter, a process of forming the address electrode 706 on the first substrate 701 will be exemplified.
In this case, the following steps are performed with the first substrate 701 placed on the set table of the droplet discharge device.
First, a liquid material (functional liquid) containing a conductive film wiring forming material is landed on the address electrode formation region as a functional liquid droplet by the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4. This liquid material is obtained by dispersing conductive fine particles such as metal in a dispersion medium as a conductive film wiring forming material. As the conductive fine particles, metal fine particles containing gold, silver, copper, palladium, nickel, or the like, a conductive polymer, or the like is used.

  When the replenishment of the liquid material is completed for all the address electrode formation regions to be replenished, the address material 706 is formed by drying the discharged liquid material and evaporating the dispersion medium contained in the liquid material. .

By the way, although the formation of the address electrode 706 has been exemplified in the above, the display electrode 711 and the phosphor 709 can also be formed through the above steps.
In the case of forming the display electrode 711, as in the case of the address electrode 706, a liquid material (functional liquid) containing a conductive film wiring forming material is landed on the display electrode formation region as a functional droplet.
Further, in the case of forming the phosphor 709, a liquid material (functional liquid) containing a fluorescent material corresponding to each color (R, G, B) is ejected as droplets from the functional liquid droplet ejection head 4 to cope with it. Land in the color discharge chamber 705.

Next, FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of an electron emission device (also referred to as an FED device or an SED device: hereinafter simply referred to as a display device 800). In the drawing, a part of the display device 800 is shown as a cross section.
The display device 800 is schematically configured to include a first substrate 801, a second substrate 802, and a field emission display portion 803 formed therebetween, which are disposed to face each other. The field emission display unit 803 includes a plurality of electron emission units 805 arranged in a matrix.

  On the upper surface of the first substrate 801, a first element electrode 806a and a second element electrode 806b constituting the cathode electrode 806 are formed so as to be orthogonal to each other. In addition, a conductive film 807 having a gap 808 is formed in a portion partitioned by the first element electrode 806a and the second element electrode 806b. That is, the first element electrode 806a, the second element electrode 806b, and the conductive film 807 constitute a plurality of electron emission portions 805. The conductive film 807 is made of, for example, palladium oxide (PdO), and the gap 808 is formed by forming after forming the conductive film 807.

  An anode electrode 809 that faces the cathode electrode 806 is formed on the lower surface of the second substrate 802. A lattice-shaped bank portion 811 is formed on the lower surface of the anode electrode 809, and a phosphor 813 is disposed in each downward opening 812 surrounded by the bank portion 811 so as to correspond to the electron emission portion 805. Yes. The phosphor 813 emits fluorescence of any one of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and each opening 812 has a red phosphor 813R, a green phosphor 813G, and a blue color. The phosphors 813B are arranged in the predetermined pattern described above.

  The first substrate 801 and the second substrate 802 configured as described above are bonded together with a minute gap. In this display device 800, electrons that jump out of the first element electrode 806 a or the second element electrode 806 b that are cathodes through the conductive film (gap 808) 807 are formed on the phosphor 813 formed on the anode electrode 809 that is an anode. When excited, it emits light and enables color display.

  Also in this case, as in the other embodiments, the first element electrode 806a, the second element electrode 806b, the conductive film 807, and the anode electrode 809 can be formed using a droplet discharge device, and each color The phosphors 813R, 813G, and 813B can be formed using a droplet discharge device.

  The first element electrode 806a, the second element electrode 806b, and the conductive film 807 have the planar shape shown in FIG. 48A, and when these are formed, as shown in FIG. 48B. In addition, the bank portion BB is formed (photolithographic method), leaving portions where the first element electrode 806a, the second element electrode 806b, and the conductive film 807 are previously formed. Next, after the first element electrode 806a and the second element electrode 806b are formed in the groove portion constituted by the bank portion BB (inkjet method using a droplet discharge device), and the solvent is dried to form a film. Then, a conductive film 807 is formed (an inkjet method using a droplet discharge device). Then, after forming the conductive film 807, the bank portion BB is removed (ashing peeling process), and the process proceeds to the above forming process. As in the case of the organic EL device described above, it is preferable to perform a lyophilic process on the first substrate 801 and the second substrate 802 and a lyophobic process on the bank portions 811 and BB.

  As other electro-optical devices, devices such as metal wiring formation, lens formation, resist formation, and light diffuser formation are conceivable. Various electro-optical devices can be efficiently manufactured by using the above-described droplet discharge device for manufacturing various electro-optical devices (devices).

It is an external appearance perspective view of a head unit. It is the upper side figure and side view of a head unit. It is an external perspective view of a functional liquid droplet ejection head mounted on the head unit. It is an external appearance perspective view of the chamber apparatus which stored the discharge test | inspection apparatus inside. It is an external appearance perspective view of a discharge inspection apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view of a Y-axis table. It is the upper side figure and side view of a suction table. It is a suction system figure of a suction table. It is the upper side figure and side view of an alignment table. It is an upper surface schematic diagram of an alignment mask. It is the front view and side view of a carriage which mount a head unit. It is an external appearance perspective view of a functional liquid supply unit. It is a side view of a functional liquid supply unit. It is a supply system figure of the functional fluid of a tank unit and a head unit. It is the upper side figure and side view of a flushing unit. It is a figure around the flushing tray of a flushing unit. It is a suction | inhalation system diagram of the functional liquid of a flushing apparatus and a suction device. It is explanatory drawing of the weight measurement of a functional droplet, and explanatory drawing of regular flushing. It is an external appearance perspective view of a camera unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the reading order of the alignment mask by a camera unit. It is sectional drawing of a wiping unit. It is a side view of the wiping unit carrying a spray nozzle. It is an external appearance schematic diagram of the suction device which removed the cap unit and the suction accessory unit. It is an external appearance perspective view of a main body unit. It is the front view, top view, and side view of a main body unit. It is the upper side figure and side view of a cap attachment plate. It is an external appearance perspective view of a cap unit. It is sectional drawing of a head cap. It is an external appearance perspective view of a material supply apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view of the material supply apparatus which removed the cap unit. It is a flowchart explaining a color filter manufacturing process. (A)-(e) is a schematic cross section of the color filter shown to the manufacturing process order. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device using the color filter to which this invention is applied. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device of the 2nd example using the color filter to which this invention is applied. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device of the 3rd example using the color filter to which this invention is applied. It is principal part sectional drawing of the display apparatus which is an organic electroluminescent apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the manufacturing process of the display apparatus which is an organic electroluminescent apparatus. It is process drawing explaining formation of an inorganic bank layer. It is process drawing explaining formation of an organic substance bank layer. It is process drawing explaining the process in which a positive hole injection / transport layer is formed. It is process drawing explaining the state in which the positive hole injection / transport layer was formed. It is process drawing explaining the process in which a blue light emitting layer is formed. It is process drawing explaining the state in which the blue light emitting layer was formed. It is process drawing explaining the state in which the light emitting layer of each color was formed. It is process drawing explaining formation of a cathode. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view of the display apparatus which is a plasma type display apparatus (PDP apparatus). It is principal part sectional drawing of the display apparatus which is an electron emission apparatus (FED apparatus). It is the top view (a) around the electron emission part of a display apparatus, and the top view (b) which shows the formation method. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head unit 2 ... Subcarriage 4 ... Functional droplet discharge head 52 ... Discharge nozzle 55 ... Discharge inspection apparatus 60 ... Suction apparatus 61 ... Wiping apparatus 62 ... Feeding apparatus 70 ... Y-axis table 71 ... X-axis table 72 ... Main Carriage 73 ... Functional liquid supply unit 74 ... Flushing unit 75 ... Camera unit 80 ... Second Y-axis table 81 ... First Y-axis table 105 ... Alignment table 106 ... Alignment mask 107 ... Suction table S ... Inspection sheet

Claims (21)

A discharge inspection apparatus for inspecting the discharge performance of a large number of discharge nozzles in the functional droplet discharge head by introducing and setting a head unit in which an ink jet type functional droplet discharge head is mounted on a sub-carriage,
An X-axis table for setting the head unit and moving the head unit in the X-axis direction;
An alignment mask that marks the designed landing position by droplet discharge of the functional droplet discharge head and an inspection sheet that receives the inspection discharge of the functional droplet from the functional droplet discharge head are set side by side in the Y-axis direction. And a Y-axis table for moving the alignment mask and the inspection sheet in the Y-axis direction;
Landing position recognizing means for recognizing the position of the landing reference mark marked on the alignment mask and recognizing the position of the functional liquid droplet landed by the inspection discharge on the inspection sheet;
A discharge performance evaluation unit that compares the mark position of the landing reference mark by the landing position recognition unit and the actual landing position of the functional liquid droplet, and evaluates the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle in the functional liquid droplet discharge head; A discharge inspection apparatus comprising: A discharge inspection apparatus that introduces and sets a head unit in which a plurality of inkjet function droplet ejection heads are mounted on a single sub-carriage and inspects the ejection performance of a number of ejection nozzles in each of the function droplet ejection heads. ,
An X-axis table for setting the head unit and moving the head unit in the X-axis direction;
An alignment mask that marks the design landing positions by droplet ejection of the plurality of functional droplet ejection heads and an inspection sheet that receives inspection ejection of functional droplets from the plurality of functional droplet ejection heads in the Y-axis direction A Y-axis table that is set side by side and moves the alignment mask and the inspection sheet in the Y-axis direction;
Landing position recognition means for recognizing the position of a plurality of landing reference marks marked on the alignment mask, and for recognizing the position of the functional liquid droplets landed by the inspection discharge on the inspection sheet;
A discharge performance evaluation unit that compares the mark position of the landing reference mark by the landing position recognition unit and the actual landing position of the functional liquid droplet and evaluates the discharge performance of each discharge nozzle in the plurality of functional liquid droplet discharge heads And a discharge inspection apparatus. The alignment mask is one in which design positions of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads with respect to the sub-carriage are marked.
The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the landing reference mark represents a position of the discharge nozzle in design.   4. The ejection inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the landing position recognition unit is mounted on the X-axis table and is moved separately from the head unit. 5. The landing position recognition means further recognizes an image of the diameter of the landed functional droplet,
The discharge according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the discharge performance evaluation unit further evaluates whether or not the droplet discharge amount of each discharge nozzle is appropriate from the diameter of the functional droplet. Inspection device.   6. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising suction means for capping each functional liquid droplet ejection head and sucking functional liquid from all the ejection nozzles of each functional liquid droplet ejection head. 2. A discharge inspection apparatus according to 1.   7. The ejection inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising wiping means for wiping the nozzle surface of each of the functional liquid droplet ejection heads.   The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a material supply unit configured to supply the head unit to the X-axis table. A sub-moving table on which the suction means, the wiping means and the material supply means are mounted;
The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sub moving table selectively faces the suction unit, the wiping unit, and the material supply unit on a trajectory of the X-axis table. Carriage recognition means for recognizing positions of a pair of alignment reference marks provided on the sub-carriage and a pair of carriage reference marks of the alignment mask provided corresponding to the pair of reference marks;
10. The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising unit correction means for correcting a position of the head unit in a horizontal plane based on a recognition result of the carriage recognition means. .   11. The weight measuring means for measuring an average droplet discharge amount discharged from each discharge head of each functional droplet discharge head for each nozzle row, further comprising: 2. A discharge inspection apparatus according to 1.   The flushing means, which is provided so as to surround the weight measuring means in a horizontal plane and receives the discarded discharge of the functional liquid droplets from the functional liquid droplet discharge heads, is further provided. Discharge inspection device. A head height measuring means for measuring a height level of the arbitrary one of the functional liquid droplet ejection heads;
13. A work gap adjusting means for adjusting a work gap with respect to the inspection sheet of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads based on a detection result of the head height measuring means. The discharge inspection apparatus according to any one of the above. The head height measuring means measures a height level of the sub-carriage to obtain a height level of the functional liquid droplet ejection head;
The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the work gap adjusting unit adjusts the work gap by moving the head unit up and down.   15. The ejection inspection according to claim 2, further comprising functional liquid supply means mounted on the X-axis table and supplying functional liquid to the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads. apparatus. The functional liquid supply means supplies an R color functional liquid, a G color functional liquid, and a B color functional liquid,
The head unit includes a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing the R color functional liquid, a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing the G color functional liquid, and a functional liquid droplet ejection head for introducing the B color functional liquid. The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at least one of each is mounted.   Among the X-axis table, the Y-axis table, the landing position recognition means, and the discharge performance evaluation means, at least the X-axis table, the Y-axis table, and the landing position recognition means are accommodated, and the internal atmosphere is temperature-controlled. The discharge inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a chamber device for performing the operation. The head unit made good by the discharge inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 17,
A liquid droplet ejection apparatus comprising: a drawing unit that performs drawing by ejecting functional liquid droplets from the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads while moving the head unit relative to a workpiece.   19. A method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the droplet discharge device according to claim 18 is used to form a film forming portion with functional droplets on the workpiece.   An electro-optical device using the droplet discharge device according to claim 18, wherein a film forming portion using functional droplets is formed on the workpiece.   An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device manufactured by the method for manufacturing the electro-optical device according to claim 19 or the electro-optical device according to claim 20.

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