JP2012253136A - Liquid droplet discharging device, material removing method, and material feeding/removing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that it is hard to improve drawing quality to a work piece by a conventional material removing method.SOLUTION: A liquid droplet discharging device includes: a table plate 71 having a mounting face 25a used for mounting a work piece W; a discharge head for discharging liquid body toward the work piece W mounted on the table plate 71; and a lifting device for mounting the work piece W on the mounting face 25a by lowering the work piece W and separating the work piece W from the mounting face 25a by raising the work piece W mounted on the mounting face 25a. When mounting the work piece W on the mounting face 25a, the lifting device lowers the work piece W in a state that the work piece W is bent in a direction being convex toward the mounting face 25a, and when separating the work piece W from the mounting face 25a, the work piece W is raised in a state that the bending of the work piece W is relaxed than when the work piece W is mounted on the mounting face 25a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device, a material removal method, a material supply / discharge material method, and the like.

2. Related Art There is a droplet discharge device that can draw various patterns with a liquid material on a workpiece by discharging the liquid material as droplets toward a workpiece such as a substrate. Some of such droplet discharge devices have a table on which a work is placed.
In such a droplet discharge device, conventionally, the workpiece is supplied (supplied) to the table in a state in which the workpiece is curved in a convex direction toward the table, and the workpiece is curved in a convex direction toward the table. There is known a material supply / discharge material method for removing material from a table in a state (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-66490 A

According to the feeding / discharging material method described in Patent Document 1 above, since air between the workpiece and the table can be easily released when feeding the workpiece to the table, the workpiece slides on the table. It can be made easy to suppress this. Thereby, it is possible to easily suppress the displacement of the workpiece.
Moreover, according to the feeding / discharging material method described in Patent Document 1, when the workpiece is removed from the table, the contact area of the workpiece with the table can be easily suppressed. Thereby, it is possible to easily reduce the charge amount (electric amount) of the workpiece due to peeling charging.

However, in the method of removing the material from the table in a state in which the workpiece is curved in a direction that protrudes toward the table, the present inventors are liable to shift the liquid material applied to a specific position of the work from the specific position. I found the knowledge. If the liquid applied to a specific position of the work is deviated from the specific position, the drawing quality of the work tends to be impaired.
The phenomenon that the liquid applied to a specific position of the workpiece is displaced from the specific position is considered to be caused by the fact that the charge amount varies depending on the part of the workpiece.
When the table side of the workpiece is charged by the peeling charge, it is considered that a charge is generated on the side opposite to the table side of the workpiece (hereinafter referred to as the counter table side) to cancel the charging on the table side. That is, it is considered that a charge having a polarity opposite to the charged polarity on the table side is generated on the opposite side of the workpiece. At this time, if a liquid is applied to the workpiece, an electric charge having a polarity opposite to that on the table side of the workpiece is generated in the liquid.

In the workpiece, the portion of the workpiece that was in contact with the table until the end and the portion that was separated from the table earlier than the portion of the workpiece that was in contact with the table until the end were charged. Is expected to increase. That is, in the method of removing the material from the table in a state in which the workpiece is curved in a convex direction toward the table side, the charge amount is considered to be different between the center portion and the edge portion of the workpiece. Along with this, the charge amount is different between the center portion and the edge portion of the workpiece even on the non-table side of the workpiece. In the work to which the liquid material is applied, the charge amount is different between the liquid material located at the center of the work and the liquid material located at the edge of the work. If there is a difference in charge amount between the liquid materials arranged at different positions, it is considered that attractive force or repulsive force acts between these liquid materials.
This is considered to be one of the causes that the liquid is easily displaced.
Thus, the conventional material removal method has a problem that it is difficult to improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 A table having a mounting surface on which a work is placed, a discharge head that discharges a liquid material toward the work placed on the table, and lowering the work An elevating device that places the work on the table and lifts the work placed on the table to move the work away from the table. When the work is placed on the table, the work is lowered in a state where the work is curved in a convex direction toward the placement surface, and the work is moved away from the table. A droplet discharge device, wherein the workpiece is raised in a state where the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed as compared with the case where the workpiece is placed on the table.

The droplet discharge device of this application example includes a table, a discharge head, and a lifting device.
The table has a placement surface that is a surface on which the workpiece is placed.
The discharge head discharges the liquid material toward the work placed on the table.
The lifting device places the workpiece on the table by lowering the workpiece, and raises the workpiece placed on the table to separate the workpiece from the table.
In this droplet discharge device, when the workpiece is placed on the table, the lifting device lowers the workpiece in a state in which the workpiece is curved in a convex direction toward the placement surface. Accordingly, when the work is placed on the table, the air between the work and the table can be easily released, so that it is possible to easily suppress the displacement of the work.
In this droplet discharge device, when the workpiece is separated from the table, the lifting device raises the workpiece in a state in which the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed compared to when the workpiece is placed on the table. Thereby, since the workpiece is separated from the table in a state where the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed, the timing of separating the workpiece over the surface in contact with the workpiece mounting surface is easily aligned. For this reason, it is possible to easily align the charge amount due to the peeling electrification over the surface in contact with the work placement surface. As a result, it is possible to easily prevent the liquid applied to the workpiece from shifting. Therefore, in this droplet discharge device, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

  Application Example 2 In the above-described droplet discharge device, the lifting device supports the workpiece in a state of protruding from the mounting surface, thereby separating the workpiece from the table, and placing the workpiece in the table. A plurality of lift pins for placing the workpiece on the placement surface in a retracted state, and a plurality of the lift pins projecting from the placement surface and projecting from the placement surface at least the plurality of lift pins. An advancing / retreating device that retracts to a surface, and a distribution changing device that changes a distribution of a difference between a height from the placement surface to the tip of one lift pin and a height from the placement surface to the tip of each of the remaining lift pins And the distribution changing device changes the distribution between when the work is placed on the table and when the work is separated from the table. Droplet discharge device according to claim.

In this application example, the lifting device includes a plurality of lift pins, an advance / retreat device, and a distribution change device.
The plurality of lift pins separate the work from the table by supporting the work in a state of protruding from the placement surface. The plurality of lift pins place the workpiece on the placement surface in a state of being retracted in the table.
The advance / retreat apparatus projects a plurality of lift pins from the placement surface and retracts the plurality of lift pins protruding from the placement surface to at least the placement surface.
The distribution changing device changes the distribution of the difference between the height from the placement surface to the tip of one lift pin and the height from the placement surface to the tip of each remaining lift pin.
In this droplet discharge device, the distribution changing device changes the distribution between when the work is placed on the table and when the work is separated from the table. As a result, when the work is placed on the table, the work is lowered in a state where the work is curved toward the placement surface, and when the work is moved away from the table, the work is placed on the table. The workpiece can be raised in a state in which the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed than when the workpiece is bent.

  Application Example 3 In the above-described droplet discharge device, the distribution change device changes the distribution by changing an inclination of the lift pin with respect to the placement surface. apparatus.

  In this application example, the distribution can be changed by changing the inclination of the lift pin with respect to the placement surface.

  Application Example 4 In the above-described droplet discharge device, the lifting device has a substantially uniform timing over a surface in contact with the placement surface of the workpiece when the workpiece is separated from the table. A droplet discharge device characterized by being separated.

  In this application example, when the workpiece is separated from the table, the workpiece can be separated at a substantially uniform timing over the surface in contact with the workpiece placement surface. It is possible to make it easy to align over the surface in contact with the. As a result, it is possible to easily prevent the liquid applied to the workpiece from shifting. Therefore, in this droplet discharge device, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

  Application Example 5 When removing the workpiece from the table on which the workpiece coated with the liquid material is placed, the workpiece is moved to the table at a substantially uniform timing over the surface of the workpiece in contact with the table. The material removal method characterized by making it leave | separate from.

  In the material removal method of this application example, when removing the workpiece from the table on which the workpiece coated with the liquid material is placed, the workpiece is removed from the table at a substantially uniform timing over the surface contacting the workpiece table. Since they are separated from each other, it is possible to easily align the charge amount due to the peeling electrification over the surface in contact with the work placement surface. As a result, it is possible to easily prevent the liquid applied to the workpiece from shifting. Therefore, in this droplet discharge device, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

  Application Example 6 When supplying a work to which a liquid material is applied while being placed on a table to the table, the work is bent in a direction that protrudes toward the table. By lowering the workpiece, the workpiece is fed to the table, and when the workpiece coated with the liquid material is removed from the table, the workpiece is bent more than the workpiece is fed to the table. The work material is separated from the table in a relaxed state.

In this feeding / dispensing material method, when a workpiece to which a liquid material is applied while being placed on a table is fed to the table, the workpiece is bent in a direction that protrudes toward the table. The work is fed to the table by lowering Thereby, when supplying a workpiece | work to a table, since it can make it easy to escape the air between a workpiece | work and a table, it can make it easy to suppress the position shift of a workpiece | work.
Further, in this feeding / dispensing material method, when the workpiece coated with the liquid material is removed from the table, the workpiece is separated from the table in a state in which the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed compared to when the workpiece is fed to the table. Thereby, since the workpiece is separated from the table in a state where the curvature of the workpiece is relaxed, the timing of separating the workpiece over the surface in contact with the workpiece mounting surface is easily aligned. For this reason, it is possible to easily align the charge amount due to the peeling electrification over the surface in contact with the work placement surface. As a result, it is possible to easily prevent the liquid applied to the workpiece from shifting. Therefore, with this feeding / dispensing material method, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

  [Application Example 7] In the feeding / discharging material method described above, when the workpiece is separated from the table, the workpiece is separated at a substantially uniform timing over a surface of the workpiece in contact with the table. How to supply and remove materials.

  In this application example, when the workpiece is separated from the table, the workpiece can be separated at a substantially uniform timing over the surface in contact with the workpiece table, so that the charge amount due to the peeling charge is in contact with the workpiece table. It can be easily aligned across the surface. As a result, it is possible to easily prevent the liquid applied to the workpiece from shifting. Therefore, with this feeding / dispensing material method, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality with respect to the workpiece.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a droplet discharge device according to the present embodiment. The front view when the carriage in this embodiment is seen in the A viewing direction in FIG. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the ejection head in the present embodiment. Sectional drawing in the BB line in FIG. The top view of the work table in this embodiment. Sectional drawing in the CC line | wire in FIG. The top view of the lift pin apparatus in this embodiment. The figure explaining the example of operation | movement of the raising / lowering apparatus in this embodiment. The figure explaining the example of operation | movement of the lift pin apparatus in this embodiment. The enlarged view of the D section in Fig.9 (a). The top view of the several lift pin apparatus in this embodiment. The figure explaining the process at the time of material removal in the state which curved the workpiece | work. The figure explaining the material removal method in this embodiment.

  Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a droplet discharge device as an example. In addition, in each drawing, in order to make each structure the size which can be recognized, the structure and the scale of a member may differ.

As shown in FIG. 1, which is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration, a droplet discharge device 1 in the present embodiment includes a work transfer device 3, a carriage 7, and a carriage transfer device 11.
A head unit 18 is provided on the carriage 7.
In the droplet discharge device 1, the liquid material is discharged from the head unit 18 as droplets while changing the relative position of the head unit 18 and the workpiece W such as a substrate in a plan view. A desired pattern can be drawn (recorded). That is, the droplet discharge device 1 is one of processing devices that perform drawing (recording) processing on the workpiece W. In the figure, the Y direction indicates the moving direction of the workpiece W, and the X direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the Y direction in plan view. A direction orthogonal to the XY plane defined by the X direction and the Y direction is defined as the Z direction.

Such a droplet discharge device 1 can be applied to drawing (recording) processing on various workpieces W.
The droplet discharge device 1 can be applied to, for example, the manufacture of color filters used for liquid crystal display panels and the like, and the manufacture of organic EL (Electro Luminescence) devices.
In the case of a color filter having three color filter elements of red, green, and blue, the droplet discharge device 1 can be suitably used, for example, in a process of forming red, green, and blue colored layers on a substrate. In this case, each liquid corresponding to each colored layer is ejected as droplets from the head unit 18 to the work W, whereby the patterns of the red, green and blue filter elements are drawn on the work W.
Further, in the manufacture of an organic EL device, for example, it can be suitably used in a step of forming a functional layer (organic layer) corresponding to each color for each of red, green and blue pixels. In this case, the liquids corresponding to the functional layers of the respective colors are ejected as droplets from the head unit 18 to the work W, whereby the patterns of the red, green, and blue functional layers are drawn on the work W. .

Here, the details of each component of the droplet discharge device 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the work transfer device 3 includes a base portion 21, a guide rail 23, a guide rail 24, and a work table 25.
The base portion 21 is made of a material having a small change with time, such as stone, and is placed so as to extend along the Y direction.
Each of the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 is made of a material having a small change with time, such as a stone, and is disposed on the upper surface 22 of the base portion 21. Each of the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 extends along the Y direction. The guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 are lined up with a gap in the X direction.

The work table 25 is provided so as to face the upper surface 22 of the base portion 21 with the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 interposed therebetween. The work table 25 is placed on the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 in a state of floating from the base portion 21.
The work table 25 has a placement surface 25a that is a surface on which the workpiece W is placed.
The mounting surface 25a is directed to the side (upper side) opposite to the base part 21 side. The work table 25 is guided along the Y direction by the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24, and is configured to be able to reciprocate on the base portion 21 along the Y direction.

The work table 25 is configured to reciprocate in the Y direction by a moving mechanism and a power source (not shown). As the moving mechanism, for example, a mechanism in which a ball screw and a ball nut are combined, a linear motor mechanism, or the like can be adopted. In the present embodiment, a work transfer motor is employed as a power source for moving the work table 25 along the Y direction. As the work transfer motor, various motors such as a stepping motor, a servo motor, and a linear motor can be adopted.
The power from the work transport motor is transmitted to the work table 25 through the moving mechanism. Thereby, the work table 25 can reciprocate along the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24, that is, along the Y direction. That is, the workpiece transfer device 3 can reciprocate the workpiece W placed on the placement surface 25a of the workpiece table 25 along the Y direction.

The head unit 18 includes a head plate 31 and an ejection head 33 as shown in FIG. 2 which is a front view when the carriage 7 is viewed in the A viewing direction in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3 which is a bottom view, the discharge head 33 has a nozzle surface 35. A plurality of nozzles 37 are formed on the nozzle surface 35. In FIG. 3, the nozzles 37 are exaggerated and the number of the nozzles 37 is reduced in order to easily show the nozzles 37.
In the ejection head 33, the plurality of nozzles 37 constitute a nozzle row 39 arranged along the Y direction. In the nozzle row 39, the plurality of nozzles 37 are formed at a predetermined nozzle interval P along the Y direction.

The ejection head 33 includes a nozzle plate 46, a cavity plate 47, a diaphragm 48, and a plurality of drive elements 49, as shown in FIG. 4 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. is doing. In the present embodiment, a longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element is employed as the drive element 49.
The nozzle plate 46 has a nozzle surface 35. The plurality of nozzles 37 are provided on the nozzle plate 46.
The cavity plate 47 is provided on the surface opposite to the nozzle surface 35 of the nozzle plate 46. A plurality of cavities 51 are formed in the cavity plate 47. Each cavity 51 is provided corresponding to each nozzle 37 and communicates with each corresponding nozzle 37. A functional liquid (liquid material) 53 is supplied to each cavity 51 from a tank (not shown).

The diaphragm 48 is provided on the surface of the cavity plate 47 opposite to the nozzle plate 46 side. The vibration plate 48 vibrates in the Z direction (longitudinal vibration), thereby enlarging or reducing the volume in the cavity 51.
The plurality of drive elements 49 are respectively provided on the surface of the diaphragm 48 opposite to the cavity plate 47 side. Each drive element 49 is provided corresponding to each cavity 51 and faces each cavity 51 with the diaphragm 48 interposed therebetween. Each drive element 49 expands based on the drive signal. Thereby, the diaphragm 48 reduces the volume in the cavity 51. At this time, pressure is applied to the functional liquid 53 in the cavity 51. As a result, the functional liquid 53 is discharged as droplets 55 from the nozzle 37. The method of discharging the droplet 55 by the discharge head 33 is one of ink jet methods. The ink jet method is one of coating methods.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ejection head 33 having the above configuration is supported by the head plate 31 with the nozzle surface 35 protruding from the head plate 31.
The carriage 7 supports a head unit 18 as shown in FIG. Here, the head unit 18 is supported by the carriage 7 with the nozzle surface 35 facing downward in the Z direction.
As described above, the functional liquid 53 can be applied to the workpiece W from the ejection head 33.
In this embodiment, a longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element is used as the drive element 49, but the drive element 49 for applying pressure to the functional liquid 53 is not limited to this, and for example, the lower electrode Also, a bending deformation type piezoelectric element in which a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode are laminated may be employed. As the drive element 49, a so-called electrostatic actuator that generates static electricity between the diaphragm and the electrode, deforms the diaphragm by electrostatic force, and discharges droplets from the nozzle can be employed. Furthermore, the structure which generate | occur | produces a bubble in a nozzle using a heat generating body, and gives a pressure to a functional liquid with the bubble may be employ | adopted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage transport device 11 includes a gantry 61 and a guide rail 63.
The gantry 61 extends in the X direction and straddles the work transfer device 3 in the X direction. The gantry 61 is opposite to the base portion 21 side of the work table 25 and faces the work transfer device 3. The gantry 61 is supported by a pair of support columns 67. The pair of struts 67 are provided at positions facing each other in the X direction across the base portion 21.
In the following, when identifying each of the pair of columns 67, the notations of columns 67a and columns 67b are used. Each of the support columns 67a and the support columns 67b protrudes above the work table 25 in the Z direction. Thereby, a gap is maintained between the gantry 61 and the work table 25.

The guide rail 63 is provided on the base portion 21 side of the gantry 61. The guide rail 63 extends along the X direction, and is provided across the width of the gantry 61 in the X direction.
The carriage 7 described above is supported by the guide rail 63. In a state where the carriage 7 is supported by the guide rail 63, the nozzle surface 35 of the discharge head 33 faces the work table 25 side in the Z direction. The carriage 7 is guided along the X direction by the guide rail 63, and is supported by the guide rail 63 so as to be able to reciprocate in the X direction. In a plan view, in a state where the carriage 7 overlaps the work table 25, the nozzle surface 35 and the placement surface 25a face each other with a gap therebetween.

The carriage 7 is configured to reciprocate in the X direction by a moving mechanism and a power source (not shown). As the moving mechanism, for example, a mechanism in which a ball screw and a ball nut are combined, a linear motor mechanism, or the like can be adopted. In the present embodiment, a carriage transport motor (not shown) is employed as a power source for moving the carriage 7 along the X direction. As the carriage conveyance motor, various motors such as a stepping motor, a servo motor, and a linear motor can be employed.
The power from the carriage transport motor is transmitted to the carriage 7 through the moving mechanism. Thus, the carriage 7 can reciprocate along the guide rail 63, that is, along the X direction. That is, the carriage transport device 11 can reciprocate the head unit 18 supported by the carriage 7 along the X direction.
In the droplet discharge device 1 having the above-described configuration, the droplet 55 is discharged from the discharge head 33 while the discharge head 33 is reciprocated in the X direction with the workpiece W and the discharge head 33 facing each other. Then, a pattern is drawn on the workpiece W.

Here, the configuration of the work table 25 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 5 which is a plan view, the work table 25 has a table plate 71. A placement surface 25a (FIG. 1) on which the workpiece W is placed is provided on the table plate 71 as shown in FIG.
Here, in the present embodiment, the work table 25 can be divided into a plurality of regions 72 in plan view. In FIG. 5, different types of hatching are applied to each region 72 in order to easily show each region 72.
In the present embodiment, the work table 25 can be divided into four regions 72 by a line 73a extending in the X direction and a line 73b extending in the Y direction. The line 73a and the line 73b intersect each other. In the following, when identifying each of the four regions 72, the four regions 72 are denoted as a region 72a, a region 72b, a region 72c, and a region 72d, respectively.

The table plate 71 is provided with a plurality of through holes 74 for each region 72. That is, a plurality of through holes 74 are provided in the region 72a, a plurality of through holes 74 are provided in the region 72b, and a plurality of through holes 74 are provided in the region 72c and the region 72d, respectively. Yes.
Further, the work table 25 includes a base 75 and an elevating device 76 as shown in FIG. 6 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG.
5 and 6, the through holes 74 are exaggerated and the number of the through holes 74 is reduced for easy understanding of the configuration.

The base 75 straddles the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24 in the X direction, and is placed on the guide rail 23 and the guide rail 24. The table plate 71 is provided on the side of the base 75 opposite to the base portion 21 side.
The lifting device 76 includes a lifting mechanism 77, a lifting plate 78, and a plurality of lift pin devices 79. The lifting device 76 is provided between the base 75 and the table plate 71 in the Z direction. In other words, the lifting device 76 is provided on the base portion 21 side of the table plate 71.
The lifting mechanism 77 is provided on the base 75 in the Z direction, that is, on the table plate 71 side of the base 75. The elevating plate 78 is provided on the table plate 71 side of the elevating mechanism 77. The elevating plate 78 is configured to be movable up and down in the Z direction by an elevating mechanism 77 and a power source (not shown).

As the elevating mechanism 77, for example, various mechanisms such as a mechanism combining a ball screw and a ball nut, a linear guide mechanism, a cam mechanism, a lever mechanism, etc., and a mechanism combining them can be adopted. In the present embodiment, a lifting motor (not shown) is employed as a power source for lifting the lifting plate 78 along the Z direction. As the lifting motor, various motors such as a stepping motor, a servo motor, and a linear motor can be adopted.
Power from the lifting motor is transmitted to the lifting plate 78 via the lifting mechanism 77. Thereby, the raising / lowering board 78 can be raised / lowered along a Z direction.

The plurality of lift pin devices 79 are provided on the lifting plate 78 in the Z direction, that is, on the table plate 71 side of the lifting plate 78. Each lift pin device 79 includes a pivot support portion 82, a support plate 83, a plurality of cylinders 84, and a plurality of lift pins 85.
Here, in this embodiment, a lift pin device 79 is provided for each region 72 shown in FIG. That is, in this embodiment divided into four regions 72, four lift pin devices 79 are provided. In the following, when identifying each of the four lift pin devices 79, the four lift pin devices 79 will be referred to as a lift pin device 79a, a lift pin device 79b, a lift pin device 79c, and a lift pin device 79d, respectively. In these four lift pin devices 79, the lift pin device 79a corresponds to the region 72a, the lift pin device 79b corresponds to the region 72b, the lift pin device 79c corresponds to the region 72c, and the lift pin device 79d corresponds to the region 72d. .

As shown in FIG. 6, the pivot support portion 82 is provided on the lifting plate 78 in the Z direction, that is, on the table plate 71 side of the lifting plate 78.
The support plate 83 is provided on the pivot support portion 82 in the Z direction, that is, on the table plate 71 side of the pivot support portion 82. The support plate 83 is supported by a pivot support portion 82.
The pivot support portion 82 supports the support plate 83 such that the inclination of the support plate 83 with respect to the lift plate 78 is freely within a predetermined range.
The plurality of cylinders 84 are provided on the lifting plate 78 in the Z direction, that is, on the table plate 71 side of the lifting plate 78. Each cylinder 84 has a drive shaft 86 that advances and retreats in the Z direction. The drive shaft 86 is connected to the base portion 21 side of the support plate 83.

In the present embodiment, as the cylinder 84, in addition to the state in which the drive shaft 86 protrudes most (hereinafter referred to as the most protruded state) and the state in which the drive shaft 86 retracts most (hereinafter referred to as the most retracted state), A model that can maintain an intermediate state between the most protruding state and the most retracted state is adopted. That is, in the present embodiment, the drive shaft 86 of the cylinder 84 has the maximum protrusion amount that is the protrusion amount in the most protruding state, the minimum protrusion amount that is the protrusion amount in the most retracted state, and the intermediate protrusion that is the protrusion amount in the intermediate state. And the amount of protrusion of either of them. In the protrusion amount of the drive shaft 86, the minimum protrusion amount is the smallest and the maximum protrusion amount is the largest among the maximum protrusion amount, the intermediate protrusion amount, and the minimum protrusion amount. The intermediate protrusion amount is smaller than the maximum protrusion amount and larger than the minimum protrusion amount.
In FIG. 6, an intermediate state of the cylinder 84 is shown. When shifting from the intermediate state to the most protruding state, the drive shaft 86 protrudes upward in the Z direction, that is, from the base portion 21 side to the table plate 71 side. On the other hand, when the intermediate state is shifted to the most retracted state, the drive shaft 86 is retracted downward in the Z direction, that is, from the table plate 71 side to the base portion 21 side.

In each lift pin device 79, a plurality of lift pins 85 are provided on the support plate 83. Each of the plurality of lift pins 85 stands on the support plate 83 and extends from the support plate 83 side toward the table plate 71 side.
In the present embodiment, each lift pin 85 is provided corresponding to the through hole 74. That is, a lift pin 85 is provided for each through hole 74. And each lift pin 85 is provided in the position which overlaps with the through-hole 74 by planar view. In addition, the size of each through-hole 74 is larger than the thickness of each lift pin 85 in plan view. Thus, each lift pin 85 can protrude from the placement surface 25a through each through hole 74.

In the present embodiment, in each lift pin device 79, as shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of lift pins 85 are arranged in a matrix having an array in the X direction and an array in the Y direction. That is, in each lift pin device 79, the plurality of lift pins 85 constitute a matrix array 87.
The pivot support portion 82 described above is located at the approximate center of the matrix array 87.
In the present embodiment, each lift pin device 79 is provided with four cylinders 84. In the following, when the four cylinders 84 of each lift pin device 79 are distinguished from each other, the four cylinders 84 are denoted as a cylinder 84a, a cylinder 84b, a cylinder 84c, and a cylinder 84d, respectively.
The cylinder 84a is positioned in the first quadrant when the support plate 83 is divided by a line 88a and a line 88b that overlap the pivot support portion 82 and intersect each other. Similarly, the cylinder 84b is located in the second quadrant, the cylinder 84c is located in the third quadrant, and the cylinder 84d is located in the fourth quadrant.

In the work table 25 having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the elevating plate 78 is raised in the Z direction by driving the elevating mechanism 77, the plurality of lift pins 85 form the through holes 74. Projecting from the mounting surface 25a. In this state, the workpiece W can be supported on the plurality of lift pins 85.
When the lifting plate 78 is lowered in the Z direction by driving the lifting mechanism 77 in a state where the workpiece W is supported on the plurality of lift pins 85, the workpiece W is placed on the mounting surface as shown in FIG. 25a. Thereby, the work W can be supplied to the work table 25.
And if the raising / lowering board 78 is raised to a Z direction by driving the raising / lowering mechanism 77, as shown to Fig.8 (a), the workpiece | work W can be spaced apart from the mounting surface 25a. Thereby, the workpiece W can be removed from the work table 25.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9A, the inclination of the support plate 83 with respect to the lifting plate 78 can be changed. This can be realized by controlling the state of the plurality of cylinders 84 for each support plate 83.
By tilting the support plate 83 with respect to the lift plate 78, the height h from the placement surface 25 a to the tip of the lift pin 85 can be made different among the plurality of lift pins 85 for each support plate 83.
Here, as shown in FIG. 10 which is an enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 9A, the height h of one of the plurality of lift pins 85 corresponding to each support plate 83 is set as a reference height h1. Then, the difference Δh between the height h of the other lift pin 85 and the reference height h1 can be calculated. In the present embodiment, the distribution of the difference Δh can be changed by changing the inclination of the support plate 83 with respect to the lifting plate 78.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 9A, the workpiece W is bent in a direction that protrudes downward in the Z direction, that is, the workpiece W is bent in a direction that protrudes toward the placement surface 25a. Thus, the workpiece W can be supported on the plurality of lift pins 85.
When the lifting plate 78 is lowered in the Z direction by driving the lifting mechanism 77 in a state where the workpiece W supported on the plurality of lift pins 85 is curved in a concave shape, as shown in FIG. The workpiece W can be placed on the placement surface 25a. Thereby, the work W can be supplied to the work table 25. For this reason, when supplying the workpiece W to the table plate 71, air between the workpiece W and the table plate 71 can be easily released, so that it is easy to suppress the workpiece W from sliding on the table plate 71. can do. Thereby, the position shift of the workpiece | work W can be made easy to be suppressed.
Then, when the elevating plate 78 is raised in the Z direction by driving the elevating mechanism 77, the work W is placed on the placement surface 25a in a state where the work W is curved in a concave shape as shown in FIG. Can be separated from Thereby, the workpiece W can be removed from the work table 25.

  Examples of the bending mode for bending the workpiece W in a concave shape include a mode for bending the workpiece W in a bowl shape, a mode for bending the workpiece W in a cylindrical shape, and the like. In the present embodiment, any of an aspect in which the workpiece W is bent in a bowl shape and an aspect in which the workpiece W is bent in a cylindrical shape may be employed. In both the aspect in which the workpiece W is bent in a bowl shape and the aspect in which the workpiece W is bent in a cylindrical shape, it is possible to easily suppress the displacement of the workpiece W when the workpiece W is supplied to the table plate 71. .

In this embodiment, the aspect which curves the workpiece | work W in bowl shape can be achieved by controlling the four cylinders 84 of each lift pin apparatus 79 to the state shown, for example in following Table 1, respectively.
Moreover, in this embodiment, the aspect which curves the workpiece | work W to cylindrical shape can be achieved by controlling each of the four cylinders 84 of each lift pin apparatus 79 to the state shown in the following Table 2, for example.
In Tables 1 and 2, the notation “most protruding” indicates the most protruding state. Similarly, the notation “intermediate” indicates an intermediate state, and the notation “most retracted” indicates the most retracted state. Further, as described above, in the present embodiment, the four lift pin devices 79 correspond to the region 72a, the region 72b, the region 72c, and the region 72d, respectively, as shown in FIG. The combination of states shown in Table 1 and the combination of states shown in Table 2 are examples. The combination of states for achieving each aspect of bending is not limited to these, and various combinations can be adopted.

By the way, when the workpiece W is separated from the placement surface 25a in a state where the workpiece W is curved in a concave shape, the workpiece W is gradually separated inward from the edge of the workpiece W as shown in FIG. Go. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12B, the vicinity of the center of the workpiece W is in contact with the placement surface 25a to the end.
As described above, when the workpiece W is separated from the placement surface 25a in a state where the workpiece W is curved in a concave shape, even when the workpiece W is the same, the timing of separation from the placement surface 25a varies greatly depending on the part.

When the workpiece W is separated from the placement surface 25a, static electricity may be generated in the workpiece W due to peeling charging. Even in the same work W, when the timing of separation from the placement surface 25a differs depending on the part, the charge amount due to the peeling charging may differ depending on the part of the work W. In the present embodiment, it has been confirmed that, in the workpiece W, the amount of charge in the central portion that is finally separated tends to be larger than that in other portions.
That is, it has been confirmed that when the workpiece W is separated from the placement surface 25a with the workpiece W curved in a concave shape, the amount of charge varies depending on the portion of the workpiece W even for the same workpiece W. Then, it was confirmed that the functional liquid 53 applied to a specific position of the work W is easily displaced from the specific position in a state where the charge amount varies depending on the part of the work W. This is considered to be caused by the variation in the charge amount depending on the part of the workpiece W described above.
As described above, when the functional liquid 53 applied to a specific position of the workpiece W deviates from the specific position, the drawing quality is impaired. That is, if the work W is separated from the placement surface 25a in a state where the work W is curved in a concave shape, it is difficult to improve the drawing quality.

For this reason, in this embodiment, when separating the workpiece W from the placement surface 25a, the workpiece W is lifted in a state in which the curvature of the workpiece W is more relaxed than when the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface 25a. Is used.
That is, in this embodiment, when feeding the workpiece W, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, the workpiece W is bent in a direction that protrudes toward the placement surface 25a. It is supported on a plurality of lift pins 85.
Next, by lowering the elevating plate 78 in the Z direction, the work W is placed on the placement surface 25a as shown in FIG. 9B.
When removing the workpiece W, first, as shown in FIG. 13A, the inclination of each support plate 83 relative to the lift plate 78 is relaxed by controlling the state of each cylinder 84 to an intermediate state.
Next, by raising the elevating plate 78 in the Z direction, the workpiece W is separated from the placement surface 25a as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the functional liquid 53 corresponds to a liquid material, the elevating mechanism 77 corresponds to an advance / retreat apparatus, and the lift pin device 79 corresponds to a distribution change apparatus.
In the present embodiment, when removing the workpiece W, a method is adopted in which the workpiece W is raised in a state where the curvature of the workpiece W is relaxed compared to when the workpiece W is fed. Thereby, the position shift of the functional liquid 53 applied to a specific position of the workpiece W can be suppressed low. This is considered to be due to the fact that the variation in the charge amount due to the part of the workpiece W can be reduced. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to easily improve the drawing quality.

FIG. 13B shows an example in which the material is removed in a state where the bending of the workpiece W is eliminated, that is, in a state where the workpiece W is kept horizontal. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 13B, when the workpiece W is removed, the workpiece W is separated at a substantially uniform timing over the surface in contact with the mounting surface 25a. Thereby, it is possible to make the charge amount uniform over one surface of the workpiece W.
However, the state of the workpiece W at the time of material removal is not limited to this, and the workpiece W can be placed if the curvature of the workpiece W is less than that at the time of feeding and the displacement of the functional liquid 53 can be suppressed to a low level. It may be in a state of being curved in a direction that is convex toward the surface 25a.

Further, in the present embodiment, a configuration or a method is adopted in which the distribution of the difference Δh is changed by changing the inclination of the plurality of lift pins 85 with respect to the placement surface 25a. However, the configuration and method for changing the distribution of the difference Δh are not limited to this.
As a configuration or method for changing the distribution of the difference Δh, for example, a configuration or a method for individually lifting and lowering each of the plurality of lift pins 85 may be employed.
Further, as a configuration or method for changing the distribution of the difference Δh, for example, a configuration or method for distributing and transmitting the rotational power from a drive source that generates rotational power to each of the plurality of lift pins 85 by belt transmission or gear transmission. Can also be employed. In this case, the distribution of the difference Δh can be changed by changing the reduction ratio for each distribution destination. In this configuration, since the driving source can be shared by the plurality of lift pins 85, the number of driving sources can be easily reduced.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, 25 ... Work table, 25a ... Mounting surface, 33 ... Discharge head, 53 ... Functional liquid, 55 ... Droplet, 71 ... Table board, 72 ... Area | region, 72a, 72b, 72c, 72d ... Region 74, through-hole, 75 base, 76, lifting device, 77 lifting mechanism, 78 lifting plate, 79 lift pin device, 79a, 79b, 79c, 79d lift pin device, 82 pivot support, 83 Support plate, 84 ... cylinder, 84a, 84b, 84c, 84d ... cylinder, 85 ... lift pin, 86 ... drive shaft, 87 ... matrix arrangement, W ... work.

Claims (7)

A table having a mounting surface on which a workpiece is mounted;
An ejection head for ejecting a liquid material toward the workpiece placed on the table;
An elevating device that lowers the work to place the work on the table, and raises the work placed on the table to move the work away from the table; ,
The lifting device is
When the work is placed on the table, the work is lowered in a state in which the work is curved in a convex direction toward the placement surface, and the work is separated from the table. Elevating the workpiece in a state in which the bending of the workpiece is relaxed compared to when placing it on the table,
A droplet discharge apparatus characterized by the above. The lifting device is
A plurality of lift pins for separating the work from the table by supporting the work in a state protruding from the placement surface, and placing the work on the placement surface in a state of being retracted in the table;
An advancing / retreating device for projecting the plurality of lift pins from the mounting surface and retracting the plurality of lift pins protruding from the mounting surface to at least the mounting surface;
A distribution changing device that changes a distribution of a difference between a height from the placement surface to the tip of one of the lift pins and a height from the placement surface to the tip of each of the remaining lift pins;
The distribution changing device is:
Changing the distribution between placing the workpiece on the table and separating the workpiece from the table;
The droplet discharge device according to claim 1. The distribution changing device is:
Changing the distribution by changing the inclination of the lift pin relative to the placement surface;
The droplet discharge device according to claim 2. The lifting device is
When the workpiece is separated from the table, the workpiece is separated at a substantially uniform timing over a surface in contact with the placement surface of the workpiece.
The droplet discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein   Separating the workpiece from the table at a substantially uniform timing across the surface of the workpiece contacting the table when removing the workpiece from the table on which the workpiece coated with the liquid material is placed. A material removal method characterized by the above. When feeding a work to which a liquid material is applied in a state of being placed on a table to the table, by lowering the work in a state where the work is bent in a convex direction toward the table, Feeding the work to the table;
When removing the workpiece from which the liquid material has been applied from the table, the workpiece is separated from the table in a state in which the curvature of the workpiece is less than when the workpiece is fed to the table,
The feed / control material method characterized by the above-mentioned. Separating the workpiece from the table at a substantially uniform timing across the surface of the workpiece contacting the table;
The feed / control material method according to claim 6.