JP2010240544A - Droplet ejection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet ejection apparatus in which a nozzle surface is excellently cleaned without being damaged. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet ejection apparatus IJ includes a droplet ejection head 5 which has the nozzle surface provided with a plurality of nozzles and ejects the droplets of functional liquid from each of the nozzles of the nozzle surface, a functional liquid collection means 5A which collects the functional liquid stuck to the nozzle surface to one end of the nozzle surface after the sucking operation of a droplet ejection head 5, and a functional liquid recovery means 51 which recovers the functional liquid collected at one end of the nozzle surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device.

  In recent years, a film forming technique using a droplet discharge method has attracted attention. According to the droplet discharge method, it is possible to arrange minute ink droplets containing a film forming material at a desired position. The droplet discharge device includes a droplet discharge head. The droplet discharge head includes a liquid storage unit, a nozzle plate on which nozzles communicating with the storage unit are formed, a piezoelectric element that pressurizes the liquid and pushes liquid droplets out of the nozzle. In such a droplet discharge head, regular cleaning is performed as means for maintaining or restoring the ejection characteristics. As such regular cleaning, there is a wiping operation for removing the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface by pressing a sheet member against the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-270423 A

  However, conventionally, when the sheet member is pressed against the nozzle surface, the water-repellent film near the nozzle may be scraped off by the dispersoid (for example, metal) of the functional liquid absorbed in the sheet member. Then, the functional liquid wets and spreads from the inside of the nozzle to the nozzle surface, and there is a possibility that the discharge characteristics such as flight bends are deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device that can be cleaned satisfactorily without damaging the nozzle surface.

  A droplet discharge device of the present invention has a nozzle surface provided with a plurality of nozzles, a droplet discharge head that discharges a droplet of a functional liquid from each nozzle on the nozzle surface, and the droplet discharge head Functional liquid collecting means for collecting the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface after suction operation at one end of the nozzle surface; and functional liquid collecting means for collecting the functional liquid collected at one end of the nozzle surface. It is characterized by.

  According to the droplet discharge device of the present invention, since most of the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface by the suction operation is collected at one end and collected, the dispersoid of the functional liquid is pressed against the nozzle surface as in the conventional wiping operation. This can prevent the nozzle surface from being damaged. Therefore, the droplet discharge head can be cleaned without damaging the nozzle surface.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the functional liquid collecting unit is a rotation mechanism that rotates the droplet discharge head.
According to this configuration, the nozzle surface is inclined by the rotation of the droplet discharge head, and the functional liquid can be easily and reliably collected at one end of the nozzle surface by the action of gravity. Further, the functional liquid can be collected at a desired position on the nozzle surface by controlling the rotation direction of the droplet discharge head.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the rotation mechanism rotates the droplet discharge head about an axis along the arrangement direction of the plurality of nozzles as a rotation axis.
According to this configuration, since the moving direction of the functional liquid and the extending direction of the nozzle row do not coincide with each other, the influence of the functional liquid flowing on the nozzle surface on the meniscus of other nozzles can be suppressed.

In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus, the functional liquid collecting means collects the functional liquid in a state where the functional liquid is collected at one end of the nozzle surface and the liquid droplet ejection head is held substantially horizontally. Is preferred.
According to this configuration, since the nozzle surface is in a substantially horizontal state, the functional liquid is collected in a state in which there is no water head difference between the nozzles, so that there is no problem with the meniscus of each nozzle.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the functional liquid recovery unit is a wiping mechanism that wipes the nozzle surface with a wipe member.
According to this configuration, the functional liquid can be easily and reliably collected by wiping the nozzle surface with the wipe member.
More preferably, the wipe member is made of cloth.
If it does in this way, the functional fluid which has gathered on the nozzle surface can be reliably collected because the functional fluid adhering to the nozzle surface is absorbed by the cloth.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the wipe member wipes the nozzle surface from the other end side opposite to the one end side of the nozzle surface where the functional liquid is gathered toward the one end side. .
According to this configuration, the functional liquid residue on the nozzle surface can be reliably removed by the wipe member from the other end side toward the one end side. In addition, since the functional liquid in which the wipe member is gathered on the other end side is not pushed into the nozzle, it is possible to prevent the meniscus from being destroyed by the wiping operation.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the functional liquid collecting unit includes a blower mechanism that blows air to the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head.
According to this configuration, the functional liquid can be favorably collected at one end of the nozzle surface by blowing air to the nozzle surface.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram of a droplet discharge head. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a cleaning unit. It is a figure which shows the nozzle surface to which the functional liquid after suction operation adhered. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a cleaning unit. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the cleaning unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the cleaning unit which concerns on this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, although one embodiment of the present invention is described, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. In the following description, various structures are illustrated using the drawings. However, in order to make the characteristic portions of the structure easy to see, the dimensions and scale of the structure are illustrated as appropriately different from the actual structure.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a droplet discharge device according to the present embodiment. In this droplet discharge device, a liquid material is disposed on a substrate to be processed by a droplet discharge method. The liquid body to be disposed contains a solid content such as a film material, and the solid content remains when dried. That is, the liquid material here is a dispersion (solution) in which a solid content is dispersed (dissolved) in a dispersion medium (solvent). Specific examples of the liquid include color filter materials containing pigments and dyes, colloidal solutions containing metal particles that are conductive film pattern forming materials such as UV ink and metal wiring.

  In the present embodiment, as a droplet discharge device that uses a liquid as described above as a film material, color filter material (functional liquid) droplets are discharged onto a predetermined region of a color filter substrate (discharge target) to produce a color. An apparatus for forming a filter layer will be described. In the following description, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system shown in FIG. 1 is set, and each member will be described with reference to this XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. The XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in FIG. 1 is set so that the X axis and the Y axis are parallel to the work stage 2, and the Z axis is set in a direction orthogonal to the work stage 2. In the XYZ coordinate system in FIG. 1, the XY plane is actually set to a plane parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z axis is set to the vertically upward direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge device IJ includes an apparatus base 1, a work stage 2, a stage moving device 3, a carriage 4, a droplet discharge head 5, a carriage moving device 6, a tube 7, a first tank 8, A second tank 9, a third tank 10, a control device 11, and a cleaning unit 12 are provided.

  The device mount 1 is a support for the work stage 2 and the stage moving device 3. The work stage 2 is installed on the apparatus base 1 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by the stage moving device 3, and is a color filter substrate P (hereinafter referred to as a substrate P) that is transported from an upstream transport device (not shown). Is held on the XY plane by a vacuum suction mechanism. The stage moving device 3 includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide, and moves the work stage 2 in the X-axis direction based on a stage position control signal indicating the X coordinate of the work stage 2 input from the control device 11. Let

  The carriage 4 holds the droplet discharge head 5 and is provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction by the carriage moving device 6. Specifically, the droplet discharge head 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 via a rotation drive mechanism 5A. The rotation drive mechanism 5A holds the droplet discharge head 5 in a rotatable manner. The rotational drive mechanism 5A is electrically connected to the control device 11. Thereby, the droplet discharge head 5 can tilt a nozzle surface (lower surface) described later with respect to the XY plane.

  As will be described later, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles, and discharges droplets of a color filter material based on drawing data and drive control signals input from the control device 11. A tube 7 is connected to the droplet discharge head 5. In the droplet discharge head 5, the color filter material for R (red) is supplied from the first tank 8 to the nozzle corresponding to R (red) via the tube 7, and the tube 7 is connected to the nozzle corresponding to G (green). The color filter material for G (green) is supplied from the second tank 9 via the tube, and the color filter material for B (blue) is supplied from the third tank 10 to the nozzle corresponding to B (blue) via the tube 7. It comes to be supplied.

  The carriage moving device 6 has, for example, a bridge structure straddling the device mount 1 and includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and is input from the control device 11. The carriage 4 is moved in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction based on the carriage position control signal indicating the Y coordinate and the Z coordinate.

  The control device 11 outputs a stage position control signal to the stage moving device 3, outputs a carriage position control signal to the carriage moving device 6, and outputs drawing data and a drive control signal to the drive circuit board 30 of the droplet discharge head 5. By outputting and performing synchronous control of the droplet discharge operation by the droplet discharge head 5, the positioning operation of the substrate P by the movement of the work stage 2, and the positioning operation of the droplet discharge head 5 by the movement of the carriage 4, A droplet of the color filter material is discharged to a predetermined position above. Further, the controller 11 changes the holding posture of the droplet discharge head 5 by driving a rotation drive mechanism (functional liquid collecting means) 5A during maintenance of the droplet discharge head 5 described later. Thereby, the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head 5 can be collected at one end of the nozzle surface.

  The cleaning unit 12 is for performing a process of removing functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface by a suction operation described later as maintenance for the droplet discharge head 5 held on the carriage 4.

  The cleaning unit 12 is disposed at the home position in the droplet discharge head 5. This home position is an area where the carriage 4 is disposed when the droplet discharge device IJ is in a discharge operation pause state, such as during non-discharge operation or during storage. Here, the position of the carriage 4 when ejecting droplets from the droplet ejection head 5 onto the substrate P is referred to as an ejection position. The cleaning unit 12 is driven by a control signal from the control device 11.

  At the home position, in addition to the cleaning unit 12, a capping unit (see FIG. 3) that discharges ink from the nozzles by contacting the droplet discharge head 5, and ink from the nozzles of the droplet discharge head 5 A flushing section (not shown) for performing a flushing operation for spraying is provided. The capping unit is used at the time of a suction operation for forcibly discharging the functional liquid from the nozzle by contacting the nozzle surface. The flushing section is for collecting the waste liquid discharged from the nozzles in order to adjust the meniscus.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the droplet discharge head 5. 2A is a plan view of the droplet discharge head 5 as viewed from the work stage 2 side, FIG. 2B is a partial perspective view corresponding to one nozzle row of the droplet discharge head 5, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of one nozzle of the droplet discharge head 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the droplet discharge head 5 includes nozzle rows NA, NB, and NC including a plurality of (for example, 180) nozzles N arranged in the Y-axis direction. The nozzles N in the nozzle array NA are nozzles to which the R color filter material supplied from the first tank 8 is discharged. Further, the nozzle N in the nozzle row NB is a nozzle from which the G color filter material supplied from the second tank 9 is discharged. The nozzle N in the nozzle array NC is a nozzle from which the B color filter material supplied from the third tank 10 is discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a vibration plate 20 provided with a material supply hole 20 a connected to the tube 7, a nozzle plate 21 provided with a nozzle N, and a vibration plate 20. And the nozzle plate 21 are provided with a reservoir (liquid reservoir) 22, a plurality of partition walls 23, and a plurality of cavities (liquid chambers) 24. The surface of the nozzle plate 21 constitutes a nozzle surface 21a on which a plurality of nozzles N are formed. The nozzle plate 21 is made of, for example, SUS, and a water repellent film is formed on the nozzle surface 21a. On the vibration plate 20, piezoelectric elements (drive elements) PZ are arranged corresponding to the respective nozzles N. The piezoelectric element PZ is, for example, a piezo element.

  The reservoir 22 is filled with a liquid color filter material (liquid material) supplied through the material supply hole 20a. The cavities 24 are formed so as to be surrounded by the diaphragm 20, the nozzle plate 21, and the pair of partition walls 23, and are provided for each nozzle N in a one-to-one correspondence. Further, the color filter material is introduced into each cavity 24 from the reservoir 22 via a supply port 24 a provided between the pair of partition walls 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, the piezoelectric element PZ is configured such that the piezoelectric material 25 is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 26, and the piezoelectric material 25 contracts when a drive signal is applied to the pair of electrodes 26. Is. The diaphragm 20 on which such a piezoelectric element PZ is arranged is bent integrally with the piezoelectric element PZ and simultaneously bends outward (opposite the cavity 24). The volume of 24 is increased. Therefore, the color filter material corresponding to the increased volume in the cavity 24 flows from the liquid reservoir 22 through the supply port 24a. Further, when the application of the drive signal to the piezoelectric element PZ is stopped from such a state, the piezoelectric element PZ and the diaphragm 20 both return to the original shape, and the cavity 24 also returns to the original volume. The pressure of the color filter material inside increases, and droplets L of the color filter material are ejected from the nozzle N toward the substrate P.

Next, the configuration of the cleaning unit 12 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the cleaning unit 12.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 12 includes a capping unit 50 that performs a suction operation on the droplet discharge head 5, and a functional liquid recovery that collects the functional liquid attached to the nozzle surface 21 a by the suction operation by the capping unit 50. A wiping unit (wiping mechanism) 51 as a means.

  The capping unit 50 includes a frame-shaped cap member 52 that abuts the nozzle surface 21 a so as to surround all the nozzles N, a seal member 53 that seals between the cap member 52 and the nozzle surface 21 a, and a cap member 52. And an absorbent material 54 provided. A through hole 52a is provided on the lower surface of the cap member 52, and a suction pump P is connected to the through hole 52a through a tube T. Accordingly, the capping unit 50 can perform a suction operation for forcibly discharging the functional liquid from the nozzle N by reducing the atmosphere in the nozzle surface 21 a and the cap member 52 sealed by the seal member 53.

  The absorbent material 54 is formed of a sponge-like member that can hold (absorb) a functional liquid, a porous member, or the like. In the present embodiment, the absorbent material 54 is made of a nonwoven fabric such as felt.

  The wiping unit 51 includes a roller member 55 and a wipe member 56 made of a cloth such as a nonwoven fabric provided on the outer peripheral surface 55a of the roller member 55. Thus, a necessary and sufficient length of the wiping member 56 is ensured without increasing the size of the wiping portion 51. In addition, as a nonwoven fabric, it is preferable to use the thing which does not produce a crack and dust by contact with the nozzle surface 21a.

  Subsequently, the operation of the droplet discharge device IJ according to this embodiment will be described while explaining the operation of the droplet discharge device IJ. Hereinafter, the operation of the cleaning unit 12 which is a characteristic configuration of the droplet discharge apparatus IJ according to the present embodiment will be mainly described.

  The droplet discharge device IJ performs a maintenance operation in order to maintain the discharge characteristics of the nozzle. First, the droplet discharge device IJ moves the carriage 4 to above the cleaning unit 12 arranged at the home position. Then, the cap member 52 of the capping unit 50 and the nozzle surface 21a are brought into close contact with each other through the seal member 53, and the suction pump P is driven. Thereby, the nozzle vicinity can be made into a negative pressure state, and a functional liquid can be forcedly discharged in the cap member 52 from a nozzle. After completion of the suction process, the cap member 52 is separated from the nozzle surface 21a.

  After completion of the suction process, the functional liquid discharged from the nozzle N is attached to the nozzle surface 21a as shown in FIG. Subsequently, the control device 11 drives the rotation driving mechanism 5 </ b> A to rotate the droplet discharge head 5. Specifically, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the droplet discharge head 5 is parallel to the axis along the arrangement direction of the nozzle arrays NA, NB, NC, that is, the Y axis in FIG. The axis rotates as the axis of rotation. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 21a is collected at one end 60A of the long side of the nozzle surface 21a by the action of gravity, and a liquid pool 61 is generated at one end 60A. In the present embodiment, the droplet discharge head 5 is rotated by 90 ° around the Y axis, but the rotation angle of the droplet discharge head 5 is 90 ° if the functional liquid can be collected at one end of the nozzle surface 21a. It may be the following.

  Since the droplet discharge head 5 is rotated with the Y axis as the rotation axis in this way, the moving direction of the functional liquid and the extending direction of the nozzle row do not coincide with each other, so that the functional liquid flowing through the nozzle surface 21a can pass through the meniscus of other nozzles. Can be reduced. Further, since the functional liquid moves along the short side direction of the nozzle surface 21a, the time can be shortened as compared with the case where the functional liquid is moved along the long side direction of the nozzle surface 21a. Further, the functional liquid can be collected at a desired position on the nozzle surface 21a by appropriately changing the rotation direction of the droplet discharge head 5 by the rotation driving mechanism 5A.

  After collecting the functional liquid at one end of the nozzle surface 21a, the control device 11 drives the rotation driving mechanism 5A and rotates the droplet discharge head 5 in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. Return to. Thus, the nozzle surface 21a is made horizontal by setting the droplet discharge head 5 to be substantially horizontal. Therefore, there is no water head difference in the functional liquid in each nozzle N.

  Subsequently, the control device 11 rotationally drives the roller member 55 in a state where the wipe member 56 and the nozzle surface 21a are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. At this time, the roller member 55 is moved along one direction and the droplet discharge head 5 is moved in the other direction (the direction opposite to the moving direction of the roller member 55).

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5D, the wipe member 56 wipes the nozzle surface 21a from the other end 60B side opposite to the one end 60A side of the nozzle surface 21a toward the one end 60A side. . Accordingly, the functional liquid residue on the nozzle surface 21a can be reliably removed by the wipe member 56 from the other end 60B side toward the one end 60A side. Further, since the wipe member 56 is directed from the other end 60B side to the one end 60A side, the wipe member 56 that has absorbed the liquid reservoir 61 adhering to the one end 60A does not pass through the nozzle. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that the meniscus is destroyed by being pushed into the nozzle. In addition, since the nozzle surface 21a of the droplet discharge head 5 is in a horizontal state as described above, the wiping operation can be performed in a state where no water head difference occurs in each nozzle N, and the meniscus of each nozzle N is defective. Is not given.

  According to the present embodiment, most of the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 21 a by the suction operation is collected at one end 60 </ b> A of the nozzle surface 21 a by rotating the droplet discharge head 5, and then the functional liquid is collected by the wipe member 56. Since the residue is collected from the other end 60B side of the nozzle surface 21a, there is a problem in that the dispersoid (pigment) of the functional liquid contained in the wipe member 56 is pressed against the nozzle surface 21a to damage the nozzle surface. Can be prevented. Therefore, the droplet discharge head 5 can be cleaned without damaging the nozzle surface 21a. That is, it is possible to prevent damage to the water repellent film formed on the nozzle surface 21a, particularly the vicinity of the nozzle opening end. Therefore, the nozzle surface 21a can be cleaned satisfactorily while preventing the functional liquid from getting wet and spreading on the nozzle surface 21a due to scratches on the water-repellent treatment film, and causing ejection failures such as flight bending. Further, the durability of the water repellent film on the nozzle surface 21a is improved, and as a result, the life of the droplet discharge head 5 can be extended.

(Second Embodiment)
Subsequently, a droplet discharge device according to a second embodiment will be described. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the cleaning unit. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure and member which are common in 1st Embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the cleaning unit 120 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning unit 120 includes a rotation mechanism 5 </ b> A as a functional liquid collecting unit that collects functional liquid on the nozzle surface 21 a of the droplet discharge head 5 and a blower mechanism 70 that blows air to the nozzle surface 21 a. . The blowing mechanism 70 blows air against the nozzle surface 21a.

  Next, the operation of the droplet discharge device according to this embodiment will be described. Note that the suction operation by the capping unit 50 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  After the suction process is completed, the control device 11 drives the rotation drive mechanism 5A to rotate the droplet discharge head 5. Specifically, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the droplet discharge head 5 rotates on an axis along the arrangement direction of the nozzle arrays NA, NB, NC, that is, an axis parallel to the Y axis in FIG. Rotates as an axis. At this time, air is blown toward the one end 60A side of the nozzle surface 21a from the ejection hole 70a of the blower mechanism 70 disposed on the other end 60B side of the nozzle surface 21a in the droplet discharge head 5. Accordingly, the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 21a can be favorably collected at the one end 60A of the long side of the nozzle surface 21a by the force of gravity and air, and the liquid reservoir 61 can be favorably generated at the one end 60A. it can.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the air blowing mechanism 70 as the functional liquid collecting means, even when the rotation angle of the droplet discharge head 5 is smaller than that in the first embodiment, the one end 60A of the nozzle surface 21a is provided on the one end 60A. Functional fluid can be collected. Therefore, the rotation angle of the droplet discharge head 5 can be suppressed, and the droplet discharge head 5 can be returned to a substantially horizontal state in a shorter time than in the first embodiment during the wiping operation. Further, as in the first embodiment, the water-repellent treatment film is damaged, so that the functional liquid wets and spreads on the nozzle surface 21a to prevent discharge defects such as flight bending, and the nozzle surface 21a is cleaned well. Can be done.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention, it can change suitably. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which only one droplet discharge head 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 has been described. However, the present invention is also applied to a case where a plurality of droplet discharge heads 5 are mounted on the carriage 4. Is possible. In this case, the nozzle surfaces 21a of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 5 may be inclined by rotating the carriage 4 itself.

  Moreover, in 2nd Embodiment, although the case where the ventilation mechanism 70 was used as assistance of the rotational drive mechanism 5A was demonstrated, the air pressure which can collect the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface 21a at one end is obtained. Only the air blowing mechanism 70 may be provided as the functional liquid collecting means.

N ... Nozzle, 60A ... One end, 60B ... Other end, 5 ... Droplet ejection head, 5A ... Rotation drive mechanism (functional liquid collecting means), 12, 120 ... Cleaning unit, 21a ... Nozzle surface, 51 ... Wiping section (wiping) Mechanism), 56 ... wipe member, 70 ... air blowing mechanism

Claims (8)

A liquid droplet ejection head having a nozzle surface provided with a plurality of nozzles, and ejecting functional liquid droplets from the nozzles on the nozzle surface;
Functional liquid collecting means for collecting the functional liquid adhering to the nozzle surface after the suction operation of the droplet discharge head at one end of the nozzle surface;
Functional liquid recovery means for recovering the functional liquid collected at one end of the nozzle surface;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising:   The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the functional liquid collecting unit is a rotation mechanism that rotates the droplet discharge head.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation mechanism rotates the droplet discharge head about an axis along an arrangement direction of the plurality of nozzles as a rotation axis.   4. The functional liquid collecting unit collects the functional liquid in a state in which the functional liquid is collected at one end of the nozzle surface and the droplet discharge head is held substantially horizontally. The droplet discharge device according to 1.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the functional liquid recovery unit is a wiping mechanism that wipes the nozzle surface with a wipe member.   6. The droplet discharge device according to claim 5, wherein the wipe member is made of cloth.   The said wiping member wipes off the said nozzle surface toward the said one end side from the other end side opposite to the one end side of the said nozzle surface where the said functional liquid is gathering, The Claim 5 or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Droplet discharge device.   The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the functional liquid collecting unit includes a blower mechanism that blows air to the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head.

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