JP2010243802A - Droplet discharge apparatus, method of manufacturing the same and method of manufacturing color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet discharge apparatus capable of efficiently utilizing a droplet discharge head, by adjusting the variations in the ink discharge amount of a nozzle. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet discharge apparatus includes a discharge head for which a plurality of nozzle columns provided with a plurality of nozzles for discharging the droplets of functional liquid are disposed. In order to uniformize the discharge amount distribution of the plurality of nozzle columns, at least one of the plurality of nozzle columns has a second discharge amount distribution compensating the discharge amount distribution of the other nozzle columns. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device, a manufacturing method thereof, and a color filter manufacturing method.

In the film forming technique using the droplet discharge method, there is a slight difference (variation) in the discharge characteristic (discharge amount) of the liquid material between the nozzles, and this causes a difference in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. Variation (non-uniformity) may occur in the amount (application amount) of the liquid material. Then, when scanning with variations in the amount of liquid material, the variation becomes linear. Therefore, this type of droplet discharge method is used to apply the liquid material to the substrate and use a color filter or the like. When a display device is manufactured, streaky shading unevenness may occur.
Such streaky shading is easily visible and causes a reduction in the image quality of the image displayed through the color filter.

  Therefore, in order to prevent color filter unevenness due to variations in the amount of ink discharged from the nozzles, ink is not ejected by the discharge regulating means at the nozzles at both ends of the nozzle row where the variation in the amount of ink discharged is large. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-159787 A

However, the following problems exist in the conventional technology as described above.
Even when ink is ejected using nozzles other than both ends, it is difficult to suppress streaky shading due to subtle variations in the ejection amount. Therefore, it is conceivable to control the drive waveform of the piezoelectric element corresponding to each nozzle in order to make the discharge amount from each nozzle uniform. However, there is usually an upper limit on the number of drive waveforms used, and each nozzle has a plurality of drive waveforms. It is extremely difficult to make fine adjustments.
In addition, since the nozzles corresponding to both ends of the nozzle row are not used as described above, it is difficult to say that the droplet discharge head is effectively used. Therefore, it is desired to provide a new technology that can adjust the variation in the ink discharge amount at each nozzle and can efficiently use the droplet discharge head.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a droplet discharge device that can efficiently use a droplet discharge head by adjusting variations in the ink discharge amount of nozzles, a manufacturing method thereof, and a An object is to provide a method for producing a color filter.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
The droplet discharge device of the present invention is a droplet discharge device including a discharge head in which a plurality of nozzle rows each having a plurality of nozzles for discharging functional liquid droplets are arranged, and the discharge of the plurality of nozzle rows At least one of the plurality of nozzle rows has a second discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distributions of the other nozzle rows so that the amount distribution is uniform. .
Accordingly, in the droplet discharge device of the present invention, functional liquid droplets are discharged from at least one nozzle row having the second discharge amount distribution with a discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distribution of the other nozzle rows. Therefore, when a plurality of droplets are discharged to a plurality of predetermined regions, the droplets are discharged at a discharge amount in which the distribution is canceled out by the discharge amount distribution and the second discharge amount distribution in each predetermined region. Due to the error dispersion effect, variations in the discharge amount are suppressed. Therefore, in the present invention, the droplet discharge head can be used efficiently by eliminating unused nozzles in the droplet discharge head.

Further, in the droplet discharge device of the present invention, the discharge head is provided for each of the plurality of nozzles, and a plurality of channels for guiding the functional liquid to the nozzles, and a supply port is provided for each of the plurality of channels. The second discharge amount distribution is set by a cross-sectional area of the supply port adjusted for each of the plurality of nozzles. Can be adopted.
Thus, in the present invention, the ejection amount for each nozzle can be easily adjusted in hardware without controlling the drive waveform or the like of the piezoelectric element.

The second discharge amount distribution preferably compensates for an average of discharge amount distributions of the plurality of discharge heads.
Accordingly, in the present invention, it is possible to set the second discharge amount distribution with representative numerical values corresponding to the plurality of discharge heads without setting the second discharge amount distribution for each of the plurality of discharge heads. The manufacturing efficiency of the head can be improved.

And the manufacturing method of the color filter of this invention forms the color filter by arrange | positioning the said functional liquid to the predetermined area | region provided on the base material from the said nozzle using the droplet discharge apparatus as described above. It has the process, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
Therefore, according to the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality color filter without unevenness by adjusting the droplet discharge amount of the functional liquid without variation.

On the other hand, the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device including a discharge head in which a plurality of nozzle rows each having a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets of a functional liquid are arranged. A second discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distributions of the other nozzle rows is set in at least one of the plurality of nozzle rows so that the discharge amount distributions of the plurality of nozzle rows are uniform. It has the process to perform.
Therefore, in the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge device of the present invention, the functional liquid droplets are discharged from at least one nozzle row having the second discharge amount distribution with a discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distribution of the other nozzle rows. Therefore, when a plurality of droplets are discharged to a plurality of predetermined regions, the droplets are discharged at a discharge amount in which the distribution is offset by the above-described discharge amount distribution and the second discharge amount distribution in each predetermined region. For this reason, variation in the discharge amount is suppressed by the error dispersion effect. Therefore, in the present invention, the droplet discharge head can be used efficiently by eliminating unused nozzles in the droplet discharge head.

The discharge head is provided for each of a plurality of nozzles, a plurality of flow paths for guiding the functional liquid to the nozzles, and a liquid that is connected to each of the plurality of flow paths via a supply port and stores the functional liquid In the configuration having the reservoir, in the step of setting the second discharge amount distribution, it is preferable to adjust the cross-sectional area of the supply port for each of the plurality of nozzles.
Thus, in the present invention, the ejection amount for each nozzle can be easily adjusted in hardware without controlling the drive waveform or the like of the piezoelectric element.

In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device of the present invention, it is preferable that the second discharge amount distribution compensates for an average of discharge amount distributions of the plurality of discharge heads.
Accordingly, in the present invention, it is possible to set the second discharge amount distribution with representative numerical values corresponding to the plurality of discharge heads without setting the second discharge amount distribution for each of the plurality of discharge heads. The manufacturing efficiency of the head can be improved.

It is an external appearance perspective view of a droplet discharge device. It is a top view of a droplet discharge device. It is a side view of a droplet discharge device. It is explanatory drawing of a some carriage unit. It is an external appearance perspective view of a functional droplet discharge head. It is explanatory drawing of a droplet discharge head. It is a figure which shows the discharge amount distribution of a nozzle row. It is the block diagram explaining the control system of the droplet discharge apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the color filter area | region in a board | substrate. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of a color filter. It is side surface sectional drawing of a passive matrix type liquid crystal device. It is the perspective view which showed an example of the liquid crystal television.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a droplet discharge device, a manufacturing method thereof, and a color filter manufacturing method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
Here, a case where two nozzle rows are formed as a plurality of nozzle rows in the ejection head will be described.
In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

First, the droplet discharge device will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the droplet discharge device 1 includes a large common frame 21 installed on the floor, a drawing device 22 widely placed on the entire area of the common frame 21, and the drawing device 22. Maintenance means 23 provided, the maintenance means 23 performs function maintenance / recovery of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 (ejection head; see FIGS. 4 to 6), and the drawing device 22 applies functional liquid onto the workpiece W. A drawing process for discharging the ink is performed. Further, the droplet discharge device 1 incorporates a controller 24 (control unit 132, see FIG. 8) connected to the host computer 3 and controlling each means of the droplet discharge device 1.

  Moreover, the workpiece | work W (refer FIG. 1) introduce | transduced into the droplet discharge apparatus 1 is a transparent substrate comprised, for example with quartz glass, a polyimide resin, etc.

  First, the drawing device 22 in the droplet discharge device 1 and the drawing processing by this will be described. The drawing device 22 is installed on the common platform 21 and a plurality of (for example, seven) carriage units 31 including a plurality of (for example, twelve) functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72 and a carriage 73 on which the drawing is performed. The X-axis table 32 for moving the workpiece W in the X-axis direction, and the seven carriage units 31 are individually connected to the Y-axis. A functional liquid supply means 34 including a Y-axis table 33 that is moved in the direction, and seven functional liquid supply units 101 that respectively supply the functional liquid to the functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72 mounted on the seven carriage units 31; Image recognition means 35 (see FIG. 8) for recognizing the workpiece W, the carriage unit 31 and the like is provided.

  A region where the movement trajectory of the workpiece W by the X-axis table 32 and the movement trajectory of the carriage unit 31 by the Y-axis table 33 intersect is a drawing area 41 for performing drawing processing. An area outside the X-axis table 32 on the movement locus of the carriage unit 31 is a maintenance area (drawing standby area) 42, and the maintenance means 23 is installed in the maintenance area 42. On the other hand, the area on the near side of the X-axis table 32 is a work carry-in / out area 43 where the work W is carried into and out of the droplet discharge device 1.

  The X-axis table 32 sets the introduced work W, an X-axis air slider 52 that supports the set table 51 slidably in the X-axis direction, and extends in the X-axis direction. A pair of left and right X-axis linear motors 53, 53 that move the workpiece W in the X-axis direction via the X-axis, and a pair of X-axis guide rails that are arranged in parallel to the X-axis linear motor 53 and guide the movement of the X-axis air slider 52 54, and an X-axis linear scale (not shown) for grasping the position of the set table 51. When the pair of X-axis linear motors 53 and 53 are driven, the X-axis air slider 52 is moved in the X-axis direction while using the pair of X-axis guide rails 54 and 54 as a guide, and the workpiece set on the set table 51 W moves in the X-axis direction.

  The set table 51 is disposed on the X-axis air slider 52 connected to the suction table 56 for directly sucking and setting the workpiece W, the rotating unit 58 connected to the lower part of the suction table 56, and the lower part of the rotating unit 58. It has a fixed portion 59 and has a workpiece θ axis table 57 that finely adjusts (θ correction) the θ position of the workpiece W via the suction table 56.

  The suction table 56 is formed in a substantially square shape in plan view, and the length of one side thereof is set according to the length of the long side of the workpiece W having the maximum size, and the workpiece W is placed vertically (the long side of the workpiece W). Can be set in any direction, either in parallel with the X-axis direction) or horizontally (with the long side of the workpiece W parallel to the Y-axis direction). In addition, the workpieces W of any size are set center-aligned.

  On the fixed portion 59 of the work θ-axis table 57, a regular flushing box 116 of the maintenance means 23 is installed adjacent to the drawing area 41 side (right side in FIG. 3) of the suction table 56. The regular flushing box 116 is arranged at a position facing the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 by the movement of the set table 51 in a standby state where the liquid droplet ejection operation (drawing operation) by the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 is not performed. The

  On the other hand, the Y-axis table 33 is supported on a pair of front and rear support stands 66, 66 extending in the Y-axis direction, spans between the drawing area 41 and the maintenance area 42, and draws seven carriage units 31. It is moved individually between the area 41 and the maintenance area 42. The Y-axis table 33 includes seven bridge plates 61 that respectively suspend the seven carriage units 31 and seven sets that support the seven bridge plates 61 with both ends so that the seven bridge plates 61 are aligned in the Y-axis direction. A Y-axis slide table 62, a pair of front and rear Y-axis linear motors 63, 63 extending in the Y-axis direction and moving each bridge plate 61 in the Y-axis direction via each set of Y-axis slide tables 62; Two Y-axis guide rails 64 that extend in the axial direction and guide the movement of the seven bridge plates 61 (four in total) and a Y-axis linear scale that detects the movement position of each carriage unit 31 ( (Not shown).

When the pair of Y-axis linear motors 63, 63 are driven, the seven sets of Y-axis slide tables 62 can be moved independently, and the seven carriage units 31 can be individually moved in the Y-axis direction. According to this, each movement with respect to the seven carriage units 31 can be performed with a simple structure and high accuracy. Of course, it is also possible to move the seven carriage units 31 together in the Y-axis direction by simultaneously moving the seven sets of Y-axis slide tables 62 in the Y-axis direction.
In this embodiment, seven carriage units 31 are mounted side by side on a single Y-axis table 33. However, a plurality of Y-axis tables 33 are provided, and the seven carriage units 31 are divided and mounted. May be.

Furthermore, on the bridge plate 61 supported by each pair of Y-axis slide tables 62, a head electrical unit 97 for driving the 12 functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72 mounted on the corresponding carriage units 31 is provided. The seven head electrical units 97 are arranged in a staggered manner so as not to interfere with each other (noise prevention). In addition, brackets 67 are fixed outwardly on the front and rear side surfaces of the pair of front and rear support stands 66 and 66, and a Y-axis accommodation box 68 is supported on each bracket 67. The two Y-axis housing boxes 68 have four Y-axis cable carriers 69 (cable bear: registered trademark) corresponding to the staggered arrangement of the seven head electrical units 97, four and three. Each Y-axis cable carrier 69 is configured such that a flexible flat cable connected to the head electrical unit 97 can follow the movement of each carriage unit 31.
Further, the tank units (not shown) of the seven functional liquid supply units 101 are arranged in a staggered manner so as to face each of the head electrical units 66.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the seven carriage units 31 are suspended from the seven bridge plates 61 of the Y-axis table 33 and are arranged in the Y-axis direction. The head unit (head group) 71 includes individual functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72, and a carriage 73 on which the head unit 71 and a valve unit 104 (described later) of the functional liquid supply unit 101 are mounted. The seven carriage units 31 are arranged in order from the drawing area 41 side to the maintenance area 42 side (from the left side to the right side in FIG. 4) in order, the first carriage unit 31a, the second carriage unit 31b,. The seventh carriage unit 31g is assumed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each carriage 73 includes a support plate 76 having a substantially parallelogram in plan view for positioning and fixing the head unit 71 and the valve unit 104, a carriage body 77 for holding the support plate 76, a carriage A main body 77 is suspended and connected to an upper portion of the carriage main body 77, and a head θ-axis table 78 for finely adjusting (θ-axis correction) the θ position of the head unit 71 via the carriage main body 77, and the head θ-axis table 78. And a head Z-axis table 79 that finely adjusts the Z position of the head unit 71 (Z-axis correction) via a head θ-axis table 78 and a carriage body 77. Although not shown, each support plate 76 serves as a reference for positioning (position recognition) each carriage unit 31 (head unit 71) in the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis directions on the premise of image recognition. A pair of reference pins is provided.

  The support plate 76 is made of a thick plate having a substantially parallelogram shape in a plan view made of stainless steel or the like. The support plate 76 positions twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72 and each functional liquid droplet by a head holding member (not shown). Twelve mounting openings (not shown) for fixing the ejection head 72 from the back side are formed. The support plate 76 is detachably supported by the carriage body 77, and the head unit 71 is mounted on the carriage 73 via the support plate 76 together with the valve unit 104.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 has a so-called double structure, a functional liquid introduction part 81 having two connection needles 82, and a dual head substrate that is continuous with the functional liquid introduction part 81. 83, and a head main body 84 which is connected to the lower side (upper side in the figure) of the functional liquid introduction portion 81 and in which an in-head flow path filled with the functional liquid is formed. The connection needle 82 is connected to a functional liquid tank (not shown) via a pressure adjustment valve 105 (see FIG. 4) described later, and supplies the functional liquid to the flow path in the head of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72. The head body 84 has a nozzle plate 93 having a nozzle surface 93 in which two cavities 91 (94A, 94B) each having a plurality of nozzles 95 are formed in parallel with each other. 92.

  Each nozzle row 94A, 94B has a length of, for example, 1 inch (approximately 25.4 mm), and each nozzle row 94 is configured by 180 nozzles 95 arranged at an equal pitch (approximately 140 μm).

Next, the nozzle plate 92 and the cavity 91 in the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 will be described.
FIG. 6A is a structural explanatory view of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72, and FIG. 6B is a front sectional view. In FIG. 6, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 is shown upside down with respect to FIG.

The functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 compresses the liquid chamber with, for example, a piezo element and ejects the liquid with the pressure wave, and has a plurality of nozzles 95 arranged in a plurality of rows as described above. An example of the structure of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6A, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 includes, for example, a stainless steel nozzle plate 92 and a vibration plate 123. It is joined via a partition member (reservoir plate) 124. A plurality of spaces 125 and a liquid reservoir 126 are formed by the partition member 124 between the nozzle plate 92 and the diaphragm 123 as a flow path forming unit. Each space 125 and the liquid reservoir 126 are filled with ink (liquid material), and each space 125 and the liquid reservoir 126 are in communication (connected) via the supply port 127. . That is, the space 125 and the supply port 127 form a flow path 128 for guiding the ink filled in the liquid reservoir 126 to the nozzle 95.
The nozzle plate 92 is formed with nozzles (nozzle openings) 95 for ejecting ink from the space 125. On the other hand, a hole 129 for supplying ink to the liquid reservoir 126 is formed in the vibration plate 123.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a second discharge amount distribution that compensates (corrects) the discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94A is set for the nozzle row 94B among the two nozzle rows 94A and 94B. Specifically, for each of the plurality of functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72, first, the ejection amount for each nozzle 95 is measured, and the average ejection amount for each nozzle 95 is obtained, as shown in FIG. A discharge amount distribution in the functional droplet discharge head 72 is obtained.

Subsequently, for the nozzle row 94B, as shown in FIG. 7B, a second discharge amount distribution that has a tendency opposite to the above-described discharge amount distribution and compensates for the discharge amount distribution is set. Then, the cross-sectional area (flow channel area) at the supply port 127 is adjusted so as to correspond to the set second discharge amount distribution. Here, the height (depth) of the supply port 127 is constant, and the width H is set to a value corresponding to the second discharge amount distribution as shown in FIG. As a method of adjusting the width H, the partition member (reservoir plate) 124 may be processed by machining, laser processing, etching, or the like. When the partition member 124 is molded using a mold, the mold width H The dimension corresponding to the above may be a value corresponding to the second discharge amount distribution.
In this manner, by adjusting the cross-sectional area at the supply port 127, functional liquid droplets are ejected from the nozzle row 94B in an amount corresponding to the second ejection amount distribution.

  Also, a piezoelectric element (piezo element) 120 is bonded to the surface of the diaphragm 123 opposite to the surface facing the space 125, as shown in FIG. 6B. The piezoelectric element 120 has a piezoelectric material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 130. For example, as shown in FIG. 6C, the piezoelectric material contracts when an applied voltage Vh is applied to the pair of electrodes 130. This is provided for each nozzle 95. The diaphragm 123 to which the piezoelectric element 120 is bonded in such a configuration is bent together with the piezoelectric element 120 at the same time so that the volume of the space 125 is increased. It is going to increase. Therefore, ink corresponding to the increased volume in the space 125 flows from the liquid reservoir 126 through the supply port 127. Further, when the energization to the piezoelectric element 120 is released from such a state, both the piezoelectric element 120 and the diaphragm 123 return to their original shapes. Therefore, since the space 125 also returns to the original volume, the pressure of the ink inside the space 125 rises, and the ink droplet L is ejected from the nozzle 95 toward the substrate.

  That is, the head substrate 83 described above is provided with two connectors 96, 96, and each connector 96 is connected to the above-described head electrical unit 97 (head driver 141, see FIG. 8) via a flexible flat cable. It is connected to the. When a driving waveform is applied from the controller 24 to the cavity 91 (electrode 130) via the head electrical unit 97, functional droplets are ejected from each nozzle 95 by the pumping action of the cavity 91 due to the bending of the diaphragm 123. Is done. Therefore, by controlling the magnitude of the drive waveform applied to the cavity 91 (the magnitude of the applied voltage value Vh) and the period, the droplet ejection amount and ejection timing are independently controlled for each nozzle 95.

  In the present embodiment, the functional liquid droplets in the drawing area 41 are moved relative to the workpiece W while the working unit group 36 including at least one carriage unit 31 out of the seven carriage units 31 is moved in the X-axis direction. The drawing is performed by discharging the functional liquid from the discharge head 72 onto the workpiece W.

  The droplet discharge method of the functional droplet discharge head 72 may be a method other than the piezo jet type using the piezoelectric element 120. For example, a method using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element is adopted. May be.

  Each of the functional liquid supply units 101 of the functional liquid supply means 34 includes a tank unit including 12 functional liquid tanks that store the functional liquid, and 12 units that adjust the hydraulic head pressure between the functional liquid tank and the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72. Valve unit 104 composed of the pressure adjusting valve 105, twelve tank-side liquid supply tubes (not shown) for connecting twelve functional liquid tanks and twelve pressure adjusting valves 105, and twelve pressure adjustments. The valve 105 and twelve functional liquid droplet ejection heads 72 (each of the two connecting needles 82) have 24 head side liquid supply tubes (not shown) respectively connected via branch joints (not shown). is doing.

  The two image recognition means 35 are disposed so as to face both the front and rear sides of the workpiece carry-in / out area 43, and two units recognize each of two workpiece alignment marks (not shown) formed on both long side portions of the workpiece W, respectively. The head recognition camera 107 (see FIG. 8) connected to the X-axis air slider 52 of the X-axis table 32 and the image recognition of the two reference pins of each carriage 73 (support plate 76). And a functional liquid droplet (dot) that is mounted on the Y-axis table 33 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction by a camera moving mechanism (not shown) attached to the Y-axis table 33 and discharged onto the workpiece W or the like from above. It has two dot recognition cameras 108 (see FIG. 8) that capture and recognize images. Based on the image recognition results of these various cameras, the above-described position correction of the workpiece W and the head unit 71 is performed.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 3, the discharge operation | movement to the workpiece | work W by the drawing apparatus 22, ie, drawing operation, is demonstrated easily. First, as a preparation before discharging the functional liquid, the workpiece W is set on the suction table 56 by the workpiece loading / unloading device 2, and the position correction of the workpiece W is performed by the workpiece θ-axis table 57 in the θ-axis direction correction. And position data correction of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Before and after, the active unit group 36 that moves to the drawing area 41 and the drawing standby unit group 37 that moves to the maintenance area 42 are sorted (details will be described later). Further, the position correction of each head unit 71 of the working unit group 36 moved to the drawing area 41 includes the position correction in the θ-axis direction by the head θ-axis table 78, the position correction in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis table 33, and the head unit. 71 is performed by correcting the position data in the X-axis direction.

  After the position correction of the workpiece W and the head unit 71 is performed, the drawing apparatus 22 moves the workpiece W in the X-axis direction by the X-axis table 32 while being controlled by the controller 24 (control unit 132). In synchronization with this, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 of the operation unit group 36 is selectively driven to eject the functional liquid onto the workpiece W. Subsequently, the functional liquid is discharged again to the workpiece W while moving the workpiece W backward. In this way, drawing on the workpiece W is performed by repeating the reciprocating movement of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction and the driving of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 a plurality of times. That is, the functional liquid is discharged onto the work W from the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 of the operating unit group 36 while moving the operating unit group 36 relative to the work W facing the drawing area 41 in the X-axis direction. Drawing processing is performed.

  In the drawing process, the functional liquid may be discharged only when the workpiece W moves forward. Alternatively, the work W may be fixed and the operating unit group 36 may be moved in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the drawing target width of the work W corresponds to the length of the partial drawing line group of the operating unit group 36, but the drawing target width of the work W corresponds to the operating unit group 36. The length may be longer than the length of the partial drawing line group. In this case, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 is driven while the operation unit group 36 is reciprocated with respect to the workpiece W to perform ejection scanning (main scanning). Then, the working unit group 36 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the length of the partial drawing line group by the Y-axis table 33 (sub-scanning), and the main scanning for the workpiece W is performed again. Then, the main scanning and the sub scanning are repeated several times to discharge the droplets from the end to the end of the workpiece W.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the control system of the entire droplet discharge device 1 will be briefly described. The control system of the droplet discharge apparatus 1 basically includes a host computer 3 and a drive unit 131 having various drivers for driving the functional droplet discharge head 72, the X-axis table 32, the Y-axis table 33, the maintenance means 23, and the like. And a control unit (drive control device) 132 (controller 24) that performs overall control of the entire droplet discharge device 1 including the drive unit 131.

The host computer 3 is configured by connecting a computer 17 connected to a controller 24 to a keyboard 17 and a display 18 for displaying an image of an input result or the like by the keyboard 17.
The drive unit 131 drives and controls the head driver 141 that controls the ejection of the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72, the movement driver 142 that controls the motors of the X-axis table 32 and the Y-axis table 33, and the maintenance unit 23. And a maintenance driver 143 for performing maintenance.

  The control unit 132 includes a CPU 151, a ROM 152, a RAM 153, and a P-CON 154, which are connected to each other via a bus 155. The ROM 152 has a control program area for storing a control program to be processed by the CPU 151, and a control data area for storing control data for performing a drawing operation and image recognition.

  The RAM 153 includes, in addition to various register groups, a drawing data storage unit that stores drawing data for discharging functional liquid to the workpiece W, a position data storage unit that stores position data of the workpiece W and the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72, It has various storage units such as a setting storage unit that stores various settings (such as settings of an operation unit group 36 and a drawing standby unit group 37 described later) input from the keyboard 17 by an operator, and performs various operations for control processing. Used as a region.

  In addition to various drivers of the drive unit 131, various cameras of the image recognition means 35 are connected to the P-CON 154, and a logic circuit is constructed to supplement the functions of the CPU 151 and handle interface signals with peripheral circuits. Built in. For this reason, the P-CON 154 receives various commands and the like from the host computer 3 as they are or processes them and imports them into the bus 155. Or it processes and outputs to the drive part 131. FIG.

  The CPU 151 inputs various detection signals, various commands, various data, etc. via the P-CON 154 according to the control program in the ROM 152, processes various data, etc. in the RAM 153, and then drives via the P-CON 154. The entire droplet discharge device 1 is controlled by outputting various control signals to the unit 131 and the like. For example, the CPU 151 controls the functional droplet discharge head 72, the X-axis table 32, and the Y-axis table 33 to perform drawing on the workpiece W under predetermined droplet discharge conditions and predetermined movement conditions.

Next, a procedure for manufacturing a color filter, which is a display device, using the droplet discharge device 1 will be described.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the color filter region 151 on the substrate S. FIG. The color filter manufacturing method using the droplet discharge device 1 can be applied when forming a plurality of color filter regions 151 in a matrix on the rectangular substrate S from the viewpoint of increasing productivity. . These color filter regions 151 can be used as individual color filters suitable for a liquid crystal display device by cutting the substrate S later. In each color filter region 151, a plurality of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) cells (pixel portions) 6 are arranged.

  In each pixel portion 6, R ink, G ink, and B ink are respectively formed in a predetermined pattern, in the present embodiment, formed in a conventionally known stripe type. In addition to the stripe type, the formation pattern may be a mosaic type, a delta type, or a square type.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a method for manufacturing a color filter.
In order to form such a color filter region 151, first, a black matrix 152 is formed on one surface of a transparent substrate S as shown in FIG. When the black matrix 152 is formed, a non-light-transmitting resin (preferably a black resin) is applied to a predetermined thickness (for example, about 2 μm) by a method such as spin coating, and a photolithography technique is used. Pattern. For the minimum display element surrounded by the grid of the black matrix 152, that is, the filter element (recess) 153, for example, the width in the X-axis direction is 30 μm and the length in the Y-axis direction is about 100 μm. This black matrix has a sufficient height and functions as a partition wall during ink ejection.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, ink droplets 154 (liquid material) containing a resin composition serving as an ink receiving layer are ejected from the functional droplet ejection head 72 in the droplet ejection apparatus 1 described above. This is landed on the substrate S. The amount of ink droplets 154 to be ejected is a sufficient amount in consideration of the ink volume reduction in the heating process. Next, the ink droplets are baked to form an ink receiving layer 160 as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), R ink droplets 154 R (liquid material) are ejected from the functional droplet ejection head 72 and landed on the substrate S. The amount of ink droplets 154 to be ejected is a sufficient amount in consideration of the ink volume reduction in the heating process.
At this time, the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 and the substrate S as the work W are relatively moved in the direction in which the nozzle rows 94A and 94B are arranged (X-axis direction), and with respect to each filter element (concave portion) 153, Ink droplets 154 are ejected from nozzles 95 adjacent to or in the vicinity of nozzle row 94A and nozzle row 94B.

  As described above, since the second discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94B is set to a distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94A by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the supply port 127, each nozzle row 94A, When the number of droplets from 94B is the same, the amount of ink droplets 154 ejected to each filter element 153 is substantially the same, and even when the number of droplets is slightly different, the droplets are ejected to each filter element 153 due to the error dispersion effect. Variation in the amount of ink droplets 154 is suppressed.

  Next, the ink is temporarily baked to form an R colored layer 134R as shown in FIG. The above steps are repeated in the G colored layer forming apparatus and the B colored layer forming apparatus, and the G colored layer 134G and the B colored layer 134B are sequentially formed as shown in FIG. After all of the R colored layer 134R, the G colored layer 134G, and the B colored layer 134B are formed, these colored layers 134R, 134G, and 134B are baked together.

Subsequently, in order to planarize the substrate S and protect the colored layer 134R, an overcoat film (protective film) 156 covering each colored layer and the black matrix 152 is formed as shown in FIG. In forming the overcoat film 156, a spin coating method, a roll coating method, a ripping method, or the like can be employed, but the droplet discharge device 1 can also be used as in the case of the colored layer 134R.
In this way, a color filter can be manufactured.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, among the nozzle arrays 94A and 94B provided in the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72, the nozzle array 94B has the second ejection amount distribution that compensates the ejection amount distribution of the nozzle array 94A. Therefore, by discharging ink droplets from the nozzles 95 of both nozzle rows 94A and 94B arranged in the scanning direction, the total discharge amount can be made substantially uniform. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is possible to eject ink droplets 154 in an approximately equal amount to each filter element 153 regardless of which nozzle 95 is used, and manufacturing efficiency such as not using the nozzles 95 located at both ends. Can be avoided, and the occurrence of streaky unevenness due to variations in the discharge amount is not noticeable, and a high-quality color filter can be manufactured. In particular, in the present embodiment, the ink droplets 154 are arranged in a more uniform amount by adjusting the bitmap data and ejecting the ink droplets 154 using the nozzles 95 adjacent to each other in the nozzle rows 94A and 94B in pairs. be able to.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the second discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94B is not controlled by controlling the drive waveform of the piezoelectric element 120 corresponding to each nozzle 95, but by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the supply port 127. Since the number of nozzles that can be adjusted is not limited, fine adjustment for each nozzle 95 can be easily performed for all the nozzles 95.

[Liquid Crystal Device]
Next, an embodiment of a liquid crystal device (electro-optical device) including the color filter will be described. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of a passive matrix liquid crystal device. Reference numeral 130 in FIG. 11 denotes a liquid crystal device. The liquid crystal device 130 is of a transmissive type, and a liquid crystal layer 133 made of STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal or the like is sandwiched between a pair of glass substrates 131 and 132.

  The color filter 155 is formed on the inner surface of one glass substrate 131. The color filter 155 is configured by regularly arranging colored layers 134R, 134G, and 134B composed of R, G, and B colors. A black matrix 152 is formed between the dye layers 134R (134G, 134B). An overcoat film (protective film) 156 is formed on the color filter 155 and the black matrix 152 in order to eliminate the step formed by the color filter 155 and the black matrix 152 and to flatten the same. . A plurality of electrodes 137 are formed in a stripe shape on the overcoat film 156, and an alignment film 138 is further formed thereon.

  On the other glass substrate 132, a plurality of electrodes 139 are formed in stripes on the inner surface so as to be orthogonal to the electrodes 137 on the color filter 155 side, and an alignment film 140 is formed on these electrodes 139. Is formed. The colored layers 134R, 134G, and 134B of the color filter 155 are disposed at positions where the electrodes 139 and 137 intersect on the glass substrates 132, respectively. The electrodes 137 and 139 are formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). Furthermore, polarizing plates (not shown) are provided on the outer surface sides of the glass substrate 132 and the color filter 155, respectively, and the space (cell gap) between the substrates 131 and 132 is kept constant between the glass substrates 131 and 132. For this purpose, a spacer 141 is provided. Further, a sealing material 142 for sealing the liquid crystal 133 is provided between the glass substrates 131 and 132.

  In the liquid crystal device 130 of the present embodiment, since the color filter 155 manufactured using the droplet discharge device 1 is applied, an inexpensive and high quality color liquid crystal display device can be realized.

[Electronics]
Next, a specific example of an electronic apparatus provided with display means including the liquid crystal device will be described.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a liquid crystal television. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 500 denotes a liquid crystal television main body, and reference numeral 501 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal device of the above embodiment. As described above, since the electronic apparatus shown in FIG. 12 includes the liquid crystal device of the above embodiment, an electronic apparatus having a color liquid crystal display that is inexpensive and excellent in display quality can be realized.

  As described above, the preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the functional liquid droplet ejection head 72 has two nozzle rows is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may have a configuration having three or more nozzle rows. In this case, a discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distribution (the total discharge amount distribution) of the other nozzle rows may be set in at least one of the nozzle rows. For example, if it is difficult to compensate the discharge amount distribution of all the other nozzle rows with one nozzle row, the minimum number of nozzle rows that can be compensated may be used as the nozzle row for correcting the discharge amount. .

In the above-described embodiment, the second discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94B has been described as supplementing the discharge amount distribution of the nozzle row 94A. It is preferable that the average discharge amount distribution in the functional liquid droplet discharge head 72 be canceled out.
In this case, it is possible to set the second discharge amount distribution with representative numerical values corresponding to the plurality of discharge heads without setting the second discharge amount distribution for each of the plurality of discharge heads. Can be improved.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it was set as the structure which adjusts cross-sectional area by adjusting the width H of the supply port 127 as a method of setting 2nd discharge amount distribution, it is not restricted to this, For example, each supply port A microactuator that can freely move in and out is provided in 127, and the cross-sectional area may be adjusted according to the protruding amount of the microactuator.
In this case, the second discharge amount distribution can be easily changed / set in accordance with changes in ink type, temperature, etc., which can contribute to improvement in manufacturing efficiency.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal display device is exemplified as the display device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the amount of functional liquid applied to the pixel portion such as another display device such as an organic EL panel is displayed. Widely applicable to display devices that affect quality.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, 6 ... Pixel part (cell), 72 ... Functional liquid drop discharge head (discharge head), 94A, 94B ... Nozzle row, 95 ... Nozzle, 127 ... Supply port, 153 ... Filter element (recess) , S ... substrate, W ... work (substrate)

Claims (7)

A droplet discharge device including a discharge head in which a plurality of nozzle rows each having a plurality of nozzles for discharging functional liquid droplets are arranged,
At least one of the plurality of nozzle rows has a second discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distributions of the other nozzle rows so that the discharge amount distributions of the plurality of nozzle rows are uniform. A droplet discharge device characterized by the above. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1,
The ejection head is provided for each of a plurality of nozzles, and a plurality of flow paths for guiding the functional liquid to the nozzles;
A liquid reservoir that is connected to each of the plurality of flow paths via a supply port and stores the functional liquid;
The droplet discharge device according to claim 2, wherein the second discharge amount distribution is set by a cross-sectional area of the supply port adjusted for each of the plurality of nozzles. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1 or 2,
The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second discharge amount distribution compensates for an average of discharge amount distributions of the plurality of discharge heads.   A step of forming a color filter by disposing the functional liquid in a predetermined region provided on the base material from the nozzle using the droplet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A method for producing a color filter, comprising: A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge device including a discharge head in which a plurality of nozzle rows each having a plurality of nozzles for discharging a droplet of a functional liquid are arranged,
A second discharge amount distribution that compensates for the discharge amount distributions of the other nozzle rows is set in at least one of the plurality of nozzle rows so that the discharge amount distributions of the plurality of nozzle rows are uniform. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device, comprising a step. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge device according to claim 5,
The ejection head is provided for each of a plurality of nozzles, and a plurality of flow paths for guiding the functional liquid to the nozzles;
A liquid reservoir that is connected to each of the plurality of flow paths via a supply port and stores the functional liquid;
In the step of setting the second discharge amount distribution, a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device, wherein a cross-sectional area of the supply port is adjusted for each of the plurality of nozzles. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge device according to claim 5 or 6,
The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge device, wherein the second discharge amount distribution is to compensate for an average of discharge amount distributions of the plurality of discharge heads.

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