JP5061513B2 - Inkjet spacer arrangement device and inkjet spacer arrangement method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet spacer arranging device and an inkjet spacer arranging method.

  The liquid crystal display device displays an image by adjusting the light transmittance of the liquid crystal using an electric field. In such a liquid crystal display device, the liquid crystal is driven by an electric field formed between a pixel electrode and a common electrode arranged to face the upper and lower substrates.

  The liquid crystal display device includes a thin film transistor array substrate (lower plate) and a color filter array substrate (upper plate) bonded to each other and a spacer for maintaining a constant cell gap between the two substrates. (Hereinafter sometimes referred to as spacer particles) and a liquid crystal filled in the cell gap.

  The thin film transistor array substrate includes a large number of signal lines and thin film transistors, and an alignment film recorded thereon for liquid crystal alignment. The color filter array substrate includes a color filter for realizing color, a black matrix for preventing light leakage, and an alignment film recorded thereon for liquid crystal alignment.

  Conventionally, this spacer is sprayed on a substrate by a spray method or the like using a spacer spraying device.

  However, when such spraying is performed, the spacers tend to be unevenly distributed. In particular, if there is agglomeration of spacers in the display pixel, this is recognized and the display quality deteriorates. In addition, when a substrate provided with active elements such as TFTs is used, there is a problem that if there is a spacer in the protruding TFT portion, the TFT is easily damaged when a force is applied to the substrate.

  For this reason, it is desired to designate a place where the spacer is arranged to avoid the TFT portion or to arrange it in the light shielding film portion. In order to solve this, it has been proposed to supply spacers to specific positions using a method of arranging spacers by printing or an inkjet recording apparatus (see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  Among these, the supply by the ink jet recording apparatus can arrange the spacers one by one at almost accurate positions. If an ink jet head having a large number of nozzles is used, a large number of spacers can be simultaneously placed at the designated positions. Since it can arrange | position, it has the advantage that productivity is good.

  In this ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting spacers, unlike ordinary colored inks, spacers are ejected using ink in which particles of spacers having a large diameter of several μm are dispersed in a solvent.

  In Patent Document 1, when the spacer is arranged on the substrate by the ink jet method, the nozzle diameter needs to be increased to some extent with respect to the spacer diameter. However, if the discharge liquid amount becomes too large, the position accuracy deteriorates. It is disclosed that small droplet discharge is required.

  Patent Document 2 discloses that when a liquid crystal layer has at least two regions having different thicknesses, a spacer having a different diameter is selected according to the region. It is described that it can be arbitrarily set.

Patent Document 3 discloses that an average of 0.2 to 3 spacers are present per drop.
JP 2005-37721 A JP 2003-270640 A JP 2004-109856 A

Since it is difficult to stably eject a spacer with a large diameter with a head with a small nozzle diameter,
Usually, a head having a large nozzle diameter is used. However, there is a problem that the amount of discharged liquid is increased and the spacer is displaced. There is also a problem that the same head cannot be used together for discharging a spacer having a large diameter and for discharging a spacer having a small diameter. If a head with a large nozzle diameter is used, the same head can be used in combination, but the problem that the amount of liquid becomes large and the spacer is displaced is not solved.

  Regarding such a problem, that is, specific means such as a discharge method for stably discharging a spacer having a large diameter with a head having a small nozzle diameter is not disclosed in any of the above-mentioned patent documents.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet spacer arrangement apparatus and an inkjet spacer arrangement method capable of stably discharging a spacer having a large diameter with a head having a small nozzle diameter. .

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
1.
A head having a nozzle for discharging the ink in which spacers are dispersed onto the substrate;
Gradation so that the number of gradations when ejecting ink with dispersed spacers with relatively large diameters is greater than the number of gradations with ejecting ink with dispersed spacers with relatively small diameters Gradation number changing means for changing the number;
An ink jet spacer arrangement apparatus comprising:
2.
2. The ink jet spacer arrangement device according to 1 above, wherein the spacer volume concentration of the ink in which the spacer having a relatively large diameter is dispersed is thinner than the spacer volume concentration of the ink in which the spacer having a relatively small diameter is dispersed. .
3.
3. The inkjet spacer arrangement apparatus according to 1 or 2, wherein the head includes a piezoelectric element that changes a volume of a pressure chamber by applying a driving pulse.
4).
4. The inkjet spacer arranging device according to 3 above, wherein the piezoelectric element is made of a piezoelectric material that forms a partition between adjacent pressure chambers and deforms in a shear mode when a voltage is applied.
5.
5. The ink jet spacer arrangement device according to 3 or 4, wherein the driving pulse is a pulse composed of a rectangular wave.
6).
The drive pulse includes a first pulse composed of a rectangular wave that expands the volume of the pressure chamber and returns the original volume after a predetermined time, and a rectangular wave that contracts the volume of the pressure chamber and returns the original volume after a predetermined time. 6. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to 5, wherein the first pulse voltage Von and the second pulse voltage Voff are equal to each other .
7).
The gradation number changing means changes the gradation number so as to increase when the diameter of the spacer exceeds a predetermined threshold. Inkjet spacer placement device.
8).
A plurality of different threshold values, and a storage means in which a table in which the number of gradations is determined corresponding to each threshold value are stored in advance, and the gradation number changing means is stored in the storage means. 8. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to 7, wherein the number of gradations is changed based on a table.
9.
9. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to any one of 1 to 8, further comprising an input unit that inputs the diameter of the spacer from the outside.
10.
10. The inkjet spacer arranging device according to any one of 1 to 9, further comprising selection means for selecting whether or not to change the gradation number by the gradation number changing means.
11.
11. The ink jet spacer arrangement device according to any one of 1 to 10 above, further comprising a single head that discharges a plurality of inks each having a spacer having a different diameter dispersed therein.
12
11. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to any one of 1 to 10 above, further comprising a plurality of heads provided corresponding to a plurality of inks in which spacers having different diameters are dispersed.
13.
An ink jet spacer arrangement method of an ink jet spacer arrangement apparatus provided with a head having a nozzle for discharging ink on which a spacer is dispersed onto a substrate,
An acquisition step of acquiring information relating to a diameter of the spacer of the ink;
A gradation number changing step of changing the gradation number so that the gradation number when the value acquired in the acquisition step is relatively large is larger than the gradation number when the value is relatively small;
A recording step of ejecting ink with spacers dispersed from the nozzles on the substrate with the number of gradations determined in the gradation number changing step;
An ink jet spacer arrangement method comprising the steps of:

  According to the present invention, the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers having a relatively large diameter are dispersed is larger than the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers having a relatively small diameter are dispersed. By providing gradation number changing means for changing the gradation number so as to increase, for example, 1 drop / dot (when the spacer diameter is small) and 2 drop / dot (spacer diameter is small) according to the spacer diameter. By switching (when large), a spacer having a large diameter can be ejected by a head having a small nozzle diameter, and the liquid amount does not increase more than necessary, so that the positional accuracy is improved. Further, it is possible to discharge spacers having different diameters with the same head having a small nozzle diameter.

  In addition, when the spacer diameter is relatively large, multi-tone discharge (2 drops / dots, etc.) with a reduced liquid concentration enables stable discharge even when the nozzle diameter is small and the spacer diameter is large. And a desired number of spacers can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The description in this column does not limit the technical scope of the claims or the meaning of terms. Further, the assertive description in the following embodiments of the present invention shows the best mode, and does not limit the meaning or technical scope of the terms of the present invention.
<First Embodiment>
<Inkjet spacer placement device>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus used as an ink jet spacer arranging apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a head used in the ink jet recording apparatus. It explains using. Note that. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the head, and electrodes and the like are omitted.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 100, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, which is coupled to a part of the timing belt 2, driven by forward / reverse rotation of the carriage motor 3, guided by the guide member 4, as indicated by an arrow X in the figure. In addition, it is configured to be able to reciprocate in parallel along the XYθ stage 5.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a head for ejecting ink in which spacer particles are dispersed, and has a number of nozzles 13 for ejecting ink formed in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the thin film transistor array substrate 6 and is configured integrally with the carriage 1. Has been.

  The head 7 is alternately formed with a plurality of cylindrical pressure chambers 80 and a plurality of air chambers 80A partitioned by partition walls made of piezoelectric elements. The pressure chambers 80 communicate with the common liquid chamber 8 at one end, respectively, and receive ink. It comes to flow. The other end of each pressure chamber 80 communicates with a plurality of nozzles 13 formed on the nozzle surface 17, and ink pressurized by the piezoelectric element in each pressure chamber 80 is ejected from each nozzle 13. It is like that. Each of the air chambers 80A does not communicate with the common liquid chamber 8 at one end so that ink does not flow. The plurality of nozzles 13 on the nozzle surface 17 are not formed at the other end of each air chamber 80A.

  Here, the flow path may be alternately arranged such that functions as a pressure chamber to which ink is supplied, and functions as an air chamber to which ink is not supplied, as in the present embodiment. It may be configured to function as a pressure chamber without providing an air chamber. In the former case, even if the partition wall of the pressure chamber is shear-deformed, it does not affect other adjacent pressure chambers, and the partition wall can be driven easily.

  In this embodiment, since a multi-drop recording operation is performed in which the number of ink droplets (number of gradations) to be ejected per dot on the thin film transistor array substrate 6 is changed, a high-speed response is required. A head driven by a piezoelectric element is preferable, and a head using a shear mode type piezoelectric element is more preferable.

  The present embodiment includes a partition wall that is at least partially made of a piezoelectric member and polarized in a predetermined direction, a plurality of pressure chambers separated by the partition wall, and a drive electrode provided on the partition wall. By selectively applying a predetermined drive pulse voltage to the drive electrode, an electric field is applied to the partition wall to cause shear deformation in the partition wall, and the number of ink droplets ejected from the pressure chamber is determined according to the number of pulses of the drive pulse voltage. It is configured to control.

  A supply port is formed above the common liquid chamber 8, and the supply port is configured to communicate with the ink connection port 9.

  A number of nozzles 13 from which ink is ejected are arranged to face the XYθ stage 5 and perform recording on the thin film transistor array substrate 6 on the XYθ stage 5.

  The thin film transistor array substrate 6 is transported together with the XYθ stage 5 by the transport motor 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in the figure.

  A capping unit 14 covers the nozzle surface 17 of the head 7 and is provided outside the region where the thin film transistor array substrate is conveyed. The capping unit 14 has a function as an ink collecting unit that collects the ink ejected from the head 7.

  A cleaning unit 15 abuts on the nozzle surface 17 of the head 7 to perform cleaning when the carriage 1 reciprocates. The cleaning means 15 is provided outside the area where the thin film transistor array substrate is transported in the same manner as the capping means 14 and is closer to the area where the thin film transistor array substrate is transported than the capping means 14. It is arranged.

  A control unit 18 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a work memory, and the like. A series of operations of the inkjet recording apparatus 100, for example, driving of the conveyance motor, movement of the head 7, ejection of liquid droplets, and capping unit 14 are performed. The capping operation, the spacer density adjustment unit 600, the drive signal generation unit 500, and the like are controlled. Further, the control means 18 has a gradation number when ejecting ink in which spacers having a relatively large diameter according to the present invention are dispersed. It is also configured to include a gradation number changing means for changing the number of gradations so as to be larger than the number of gradations. Further, the control means 18 is connected to the head 7 via a drive signal generator 500 (see FIG. 5) provided with a circuit for generating an ejection pulse described later.

  Reference numeral 19 denotes a cable that achieves electrical connection between the connector 12 of the head 7 and the control means 18.

  Reference numeral 21 denotes a waste liquid tank for storing ink preliminarily ejected from the head 7 and collected by the capping means 14.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a home position sensor composed of a photoelectric sensor or the like, which senses the side surface of the carriage 1 and detects a standby position of the carriage 1, that is, a position where the nozzle surface 17 of the head 7 is covered by the capping means 14.

  When the recording is started, the head 7 at the capping position is moved to the start position of the recording area by the carriage motor 3 based on a control signal indicating the start of recording from the control means 18, and the position is fixed. When an electrical signal based on the ejection data from the control means 18 is applied to the piezoelectric element of the head 7 via the drive signal generation circuit 500, the ink in which the spacer particles are dispersed is ejected from an appropriate nozzle, and the XYθ stage 5 is ejected. On the thin film transistor array substrate. The thin film transistor array substrate is sent out in the direction of the arrow Y in accordance with the ejection of ink from the head 7, and the above-described recording operation is recommended until the processing associated with the predetermined ejection data is completed.

Specifically, the spacer 82 can be disposed in the predetermined region by spraying a dispersion liquid of the spacer 82 in a predetermined region (see FIG. 3) described later and volatilizing the solvent.
<Ink with dispersed spacers>
The spacer 82 used in the present embodiment can be any spacer having a diameter that can be discharged from the nozzle of the head 7. The diameter of the spacer varies depending on the purpose of use, but in the case of a liquid crystal display element, it is set according to the thickness (cell thickness) of the liquid crystal layer sealed in the liquid crystal device, and is usually about 1 to 10 μm. The diameter is defined by the volume average particle diameter. It is much larger than the pigment particle diameter (φ0.1 μm) of a general pigment dispersion ink. Further, the diameter of the nozzle 13 of the head 7 is preferably φ20 to 40 (μm), and in this embodiment, a nozzle of φ30 (μm) is used. The diameter of the nozzle means the diameter in the cross section at the tip position on the ink ejection side of the nozzle portion. In the case of a circular cross section, the diameter is the diameter. The diameter when replaced.

  Moreover, these spacers 82 can be comprised by the spherical member which consists of resin, such as silicon dioxide and a polystyrene, for example.

  The solvent in which the spacer is dispersed may be any solvent that can be ejected from the head 7, and usually a volatile organic solvent, a diluting solvent, or a mixed solvent thereof is used. The ratio between the spacer and the solvent may be set as appropriate as long as it can be discharged from the nozzle of the head 7.

  Although it is preferable that the concentration of the spacer is low, it is preferable to include one or more particles in one droplet, the spacer is preferably 0.5% by volume or more, and more preferably 20% by volume or less. For example, the volume ratio of 15 pl droplets to φ4 μm spherical spacer particles is 434: 1, and 1 volume% includes an average of 4 spherical spacer particles per droplet.

In the present embodiment, a spacer dispersion solution in which a spacer 82 is uniformly dispersed at a predetermined concentration by ultrasonic waves or the like in a single solvent selected from a diluent, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, or the like or two or more mixed solvents. prepare.
<Spacer arrangement on the substrate>
3A is a plan view showing the thin film transistor array substrate 6 according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3B shows the thin film transistor array substrate 6 taken along line III-III ′ of FIG. 3A. It is sectional drawing.

  Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the thin film transistor array substrate includes a gate line 52 formed on the lower substrate 51 so as to have a different width, and a gate insulating film on the gate line 52. 62, the data line 154 formed so as to intersect with each other, the thin film transistor 81 formed at each intersection, the pixel electrode 72 formed in the pixel region 84 prepared in the intersection structure, and the pixel electrode 72 And a storage capacitor 78 formed on the overlapping portion of the gate line 52 and a spacer 82 formed so as to overlap the gate line 52.

  The gate line 52 supplies a gate signal to the gate electrode 56 of the thin film transistor 81. Such a gate line 52 includes a line portion 52a that defines the pixel region 84 and a protruding portion 52b that protrudes from the line portion 52a. The line portion 52a is formed to have a width d1, and prevents a reduction in the aperture ratio of the pixel electrode 72 due to the protruding portion 52b. The protruding portion 52b is formed in a width d2 that is relatively wider than the line portion 52a in a region where the spacer 82 is formed by being ejected by the inkjet recording apparatus 100. For example, the protrusion 52 b is formed to have a width parallel to the data line 154 of about 30 to 50 μm and a width perpendicular to the data line 154 of about 30 to 50 μm. Such a protrusion 52b is formed in a circular shape wider than the width of the circular spacer 82.

  The spacer 82 maintains a cell gap between the thin film transistor array substrate and the color filter array substrate. Such a spacer 82 is formed by using the inkjet recording apparatus 100 in the protruding portion region of the gate line 52 that overlaps the black matrix (not shown) of the color filter array substrate. That is, the spacer 82 is formed so as to overlap the storage capacitor 78.

As described above, it is preferable not to place a spacer on the transparent liquid crystal electrode but to place it on the opaque gate line 52 without deteriorating the image quality. The ink jet method is an ideal means because the spacer particles can be arranged in such a specific place.
<Ink supply system>
Next, an embodiment of an ink supply system including the spacer density adjusting unit 600 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of an ink supply system applied to an ink jet recording apparatus used as an ink jet spacer arrangement apparatus according to the present invention. The ink channel 23 is a channel blocked from the atmosphere, and the ink used is an ink in which spacer particles are dispersed. FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram showing details of the spacer concentration adjusting unit 600.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes a sub-tank having an air communication hole, in which ink in which spacer particles adjusted to a predetermined concentration by a spacer concentration adjusting unit are stored is stored and supplied to the head 7 through the ink flow path 23. The

The ink tank 20 stores ink in which high-concentration spacer particles are dispersed. In the present embodiment, the ink in which 10 (volume%) spacer particles are dispersed is stored in the diluent tank 403. The diluent for diluting the ink in which the high concentration spacer particles are dispersed is stored. ing. It is preferable to use the same or similar compound as the solvent constituting the ink in which the spacer particles are dispersed as the diluent.

  The flow path 24 is a flow path that connects the ink tank 20, the diluent tank 403, and the sub tank 40, and includes a spacer concentration adjustment unit 600.

  In the present embodiment, a spacer concentration adjusting unit that mixes a high concentration spacer dispersed ink and a diluting liquid at a predetermined ratio is provided. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the diluent supplied from the diluent tank 403 and the high-concentration spacer-dispersed ink supplied from the ink tank 20 are used at a certain ratio using the respective pumps MP12 and MP11. Then, the diluted solution and the high-concentration ink are transported, mixed, and supplied to the sub tank 40.

  Specifically, the diluent liquid in the diluent tank 403 and the high-concentration spacer dispersed ink in the ink tank 20 were mixed and mixed using the diluent transport pump MP12 and the ink transport pump MP11, respectively. The ink is supplied to the sub tank 40 as ink having a constant spacer concentration.

  Here, a description will be given of mixing and diluting the high-concentration ink and the diluent in the present embodiment. FIG. 4B shows, as an example, a state in which the diluent transport pump MP12 and the ink transport pump MP11 are alternately driven to alternately feed the high-concentration ink and the diluent into the mixing channel L13. The high-concentration ink and the diluted liquid that are fed in are diffused and mixed with each other while proceeding through the mixing flow path L13 to form a diluted ink mixed liquid, which is supplied to the sub tank 40. Although omitted in FIG. 4B, each of the pumps MP11 and MP12 is connected to the control means 18 via a drive circuit, and the drive of the pump is controlled by the control means 18.

  The mixing ratio of the high-concentration ink and the diluting liquid is set at the ratio of the driving times T1 (period for diluting liquid transporting) and T2 (the period for transporting ink) for driving the diluting liquid transporting pump MP12 and the ink transporting pump MP11 I can decide.

  The pump MP in the present embodiment is a micro pump driven by a piezoelectric element.

  In this embodiment, a density sensor 402 for obtaining the ink spacer density in the sub tank 40 and a density sensor 202 for obtaining the ink spacer density in the ink tank 20 are provided, and an ink mixed liquid having a desired density is provided. The head 7 can be supplied stably.

  Further, a suction pump 28 is provided in the middle of the flow path from the capping unit 14 to the waste liquid tank 21, and the ink in the capping unit 14 or the nozzle 13 of the head 7 is sucked and sent to the waste liquid tank 21. it can.

  The suction pump 28 has a flow path made of a flexible material, and a type of ink flowed by sequentially crushing a part of the tube in the longitudinal direction of the tube with a pressing member such as a plurality of rollers, In addition, various known types are used.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 100, when replacing the ink by changing the spacer concentration in the ink, the nozzle valve surface of the head 7 is connected while the communication valve 54 is connected and the diluent transport pump MP12 and the ink transport pump MP11 are driven alternately. 17 is sealed by the capping means 14, and a negative pressure is generated in the cap by the suction pump 28 connected to the cap, thereby causing the ink liquid in which spacer particles of a new concentration are dispersed to flow into the head 7. Then, the ink in which the spacer particles having a concentration before replacement are dispersed and the ink in which the spacer particles having a new concentration are dispersed are completely replaced. The waste liquid generated at this time is held in the waste liquid tank 21.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 201 denotes a stirring screw provided in the ink tank 20, and 401 denotes a stirring screw provided in the sub tank 40.

As described above, the stirring screw 401 is installed in the ink in the sub tank 40, and the stirring screw 201 is installed in the ink in the ink tank 20, and each is rotated at high speed by the motor. The stirring screw 201 and the stirring screw 401 are always rotated regardless of the ink ejection from the head 7. The rotation of the stirring screw gives a shearing force to the ink stored in the sub tank 40 and the ink tank 20 to prevent aggregation of spacer particles contained in the ink, and the stirring screw 401 is sent. Mix the ink mixture uniformly.
<Head driving method>
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the head 7 shown in FIG. 2, and is a view showing an operation during ink ejection. In the figure, 13 is a nozzle, 124 is a cover plate, 26 is a substrate, and 27 is a partition. The pressure chamber 80 and the air chamber 80A are formed by the partition wall 27, the cover plate 124, and the substrate 26.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the head 7 includes a pressure chamber 80, which is separated between a cover plate 124 and a substrate 26 by a plurality of partition walls 27A, 27B, and 27C made of a piezoelectric material such as PZT that is a piezoelectric element. A shear mode (shear mode) type head 7 in which a large number of air chambers 80A are alternately arranged is shown. FIG. 5 shows three pressure chambers 80 and three air chambers 80A. One end of the pressure chamber 80 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a nozzle end) is connected to the nozzle 13 formed on the nozzle forming member, and the other end (hereinafter also referred to as a manifold end) is connected to the common ink chamber 8. It is connected. Electrodes 29A, 29B, and 29C connected from above the partition walls 27 to the bottom surface of the substrate 26 are formed in close contact with the surfaces of the partition walls 27 in the pressure chambers 80 and the air chambers 80A. The electrodes 29A, 29B, and 29C are The drive signal generator 500 is connected. The drive signal generator 500 outputs an ejection pulse.

  In addition, an insulating protective film is formed on the surface of each electrode in contact with the ink. As the protective film, polyparaxylylene is suitable.

  Here, each partition wall 27 is constituted by two piezoelectric materials 27a and 27b having different polarization directions as indicated by arrows in FIG. 5, but the piezoelectric material may be only the portion indicated by reference numeral 27a. 27 may be present in at least a part of 27.

  When ejection pulses are applied to the electrodes 29A, 29B, and 29C formed in close contact with the surfaces of the partition walls 27 under the control of the drive signal generator 500, the ink in which the spacer particles in the pressure chamber 80 are dispersed by the operation exemplified below. Are discharged from the nozzle 13 as droplets.

  First, when no discharge pulse is applied to any of the electrodes 29A, 29B, and 29C, none of the partition walls 27A, 27B, and 27C is deformed, but the electrodes 29A and 29C are grounded in the state shown in FIG. In addition, when an ejection pulse is applied to the electrode 29B, an electric field in a direction perpendicular to the polarization direction of the piezoelectric material constituting the partition walls 27B and 27C is generated, and both the partition walls 27B and 27C are deformed in the joint surfaces of the partition walls 27a and 27b. As shown in FIG. 5B, the partition walls 27B and 27C are deformed toward the outside, and the volume of the pressure chamber 80 is expanded to generate a negative pressure in the pressure chamber 80, so that ink flows (Draw). .

  When the potential is returned to 0 from this state, the partition walls 27B and 27C return from the expanded position shown in FIG. 5B to the neutral position shown in FIG. 5A, and high pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 80. (Release). Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the ejection pulse is applied so as to deform the partition walls 27 </ b> B and 27 </ b> C in the opposite directions to reduce the volume of the pressure chamber 80, a positive pressure is generated in the pressure chamber 80. It occurs (Reinforce). As a result, the ink meniscus in the nozzle due to a part of the ink filling the pressure chamber 80 changes in the direction pushed out from the nozzle. When this positive pressure becomes so great that the droplet is ejected from the nozzle, the droplet is ejected from the nozzle. The other pressure chambers operate in the same manner as described above by applying the ejection pulse. Such an ejection method is called a DRR driving method, and is a typical driving method for a share mode type head.

  In the shear mode type head 7, the deformation of the partition wall is caused by a voltage difference applied to the electrodes provided on both sides of the wall. Therefore, instead of applying a negative voltage to the electrode of the pressure chamber for discharging ink, the pressure chamber for discharging ink is used. The same operation can be achieved by grounding the electrode and applying a positive voltage to the electrodes of the air chambers on both sides thereof. This latter method is preferable because it can be driven only by a positive voltage.

  The discharge operation that is driven only by the positive voltage in this way will be further described with reference to FIG. In the present invention, a multi-drop type recording operation is performed in which recording is performed with the number of ink droplets (number of gradations) to be ejected per dot on the substrate 6 being variable. Also in this method, discharge control of ink droplets from the pressure chamber is performed by controlling the voltage applied to each drive electrode as described above.

  FIG. 6 is a pulse waveform showing the application timing of each drive pulse voltage in this multi-drop method, and generates three pulse waveforms for applying the drive pulse voltage per unit time (one pixel period). A case is shown in which the number of ink droplets forming one dot is set by controlling each pulse waveform. Thus, in the air chamber 80A, the second pulse is continuously applied at a constant period (see FIG. 6B). On the other hand, in the pressure chamber 80, by applying the first pulse for a predetermined period, ink droplets are continuously ejected by the number of ejection pulses composed of the first pulse and the second pulse, One dot on the substrate 6 is formed by these ink droplets. FIG. 6C shows the potential difference between the electrodes at this time. In the pulse waveform shown in FIG. 6, two ink droplets are ejected in succession by setting the two front waveforms of the three pulse waveforms of the pressure chamber 80 as ejection pulse waveforms. In addition, one waveform on the rear side is the same as the second pulse waveform. For this reason, during the period when the pulse voltage of the second pulse waveform on the rear side is applied, no potential difference is generated between the electrodes of the pressure chamber and the air chamber, and the shear deformation does not occur, so that no ink droplet is ejected. . Thus, by controlling the number of pulses of the ejection pulse waveform, dots can be formed with the number of ink droplets of four gradations (number of pulses 0 to 3).

  Thereafter, after a predetermined pause time (1AL time in this example) has elapsed, the same operation as described above is repeated at the discharge cycle T.

  These discharge pulses shown in FIG. 6 used in the present embodiment include a first pulse composed of a rectangular wave that expands the volume of the pressure chamber 80 and returns to the original volume after a predetermined time, as shown in FIG. And a second pulse composed of a rectangular wave that contracts the volume of the chamber 80 and returns to the original volume after a predetermined time, and comprises a drive pulse in which the voltage Von of the first pulse and the voltage Voff of the second pulse are equal. ing. Thus, by setting the voltage Von equal to the voltage Voff, the speed relationship of the plurality of ink droplets ejected by the plurality of ejection pulses becomes appropriate, and stable multidrop formation becomes possible. In addition, sharing of the power source is attempted.

  In addition, the pulse width of the first pulse is set to 1AL, the pressure fluctuation can be increased most effectively, the ejection efficiency can be improved, and the ink droplet ejection speed can be increased. it can. Moreover, the pulse width of the second pulse is set to 2AL, and the remaining pressure wave can be canceled efficiently.

  Note that AL (Acoustic Length) is ½ of the acoustic resonance period of the pressure chamber. This AL is obtained when a rectangular wave voltage pulse is applied to the partition wall 27, which is a piezoelectric element, to measure the speed of a droplet to be discharged, and the rectangular wave voltage value is kept constant and the pulse width of the rectangular wave is changed. The pulse width at which the droplet flying speed is maximized is obtained. A pulse is a rectangular wave having a constant voltage peak value. When 0V is 0% and a peak voltage is 100%, the pulse width is 10% of the voltage from 0V and the peak voltage. It is defined as the time between 10% of the falling edge. Furthermore, the rectangular wave here refers to a waveform in which both the rise time and fall time between 10% and 90% of the voltage are within 1/2, preferably within 1/4 of AL.

  Next, a driving pulse selection method in each pixel will be described with reference to FIG.

  The drive signal generation unit 500 generates a drive signal generation circuit that generates a series of drive signals including a plurality of drive pulses for each pixel period, and a drive signal supplied from the drive signal generation circuit for each pressure chamber. It comprises a drive pulse selection circuit that selects a drive pulse according to the data of each pixel and the number of gradations and supplies it to each pressure chamber, and drives the partition wall 27 as a piezoelectric element according to the data of each pixel and the number of gradations. A drive pulse for supplying the power is supplied. This drive pulse includes a first pulse (ON waveform) and a second pulse (OFF waveform).

  The ON waveform and the OFF waveform in FIG. 7 indicate two types of drive signals generated by the drive signal generation circuit. This drive signal is composed of three ejection pulses (1), (2), and (3) composed of a first pulse and a second pulse. It is an example of the drive signal which can be selected. This figure shows a case where two driving pulses are selected from the head and two drops are ejected. The ON waveform and OFF waveform are supplied to the drive pulse selection circuit for each pressure chamber, and are selected for the electrodes of each pressure chamber by controlling the pulse selection gate signal according to the number of gradations and the print data for each pressure chamber. Supplied. The drive pulse selection circuit supplies an ON waveform to the electrode of the pressure chamber when the pulse selection gate signal is High, and supplies an OFF waveform to the electrode of the pressure chamber when the pulse selection gate signal is Low. FIG. 7 shows one cycle of each pressure chamber drive.

A pulse division signal is applied in a period before and after application of each ejection pulse. When the number of gradations and the print data of the pixel are given, the pulse selection gate signal synchronized with the pulse division signal is turned ON accordingly. During the period when the pulse selection gate signal corresponding to the pressure chamber is ON ((1) to (2) in FIG. 7), the ON waveform of the driving waveform is applied to the electrode of the pressure chamber, and the electrode of the air chamber is also applied. Since an OFF waveform is always applied, the partition walls on both sides of the pressure chamber are displaced. Further, during the period (3) in FIG. 7, since the pulse selection gate signal of the pressure chamber is OFF, the OFF waveform is applied to the electrodes of the pressure chamber and the air chamber, and neither partition is displaced.
<Configuration of control unit>
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit includes an operation input unit 540, a storage unit 560 including a nonvolatile memory, a density adjustment unit 600, a drive signal generation unit 500, a control unit 18, and the like. The operation input means 540 outputs the spacer diameter value input from the user to the control means 18. In the control means 18, the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers having a relatively large diameter are dispersed is larger than the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers having a relatively small diameter are dispersed. The number of gradations is changed so that

  As a means for obtaining the value of the spacer diameter in the present apparatus, it is based on input information from the user (setting operation on the driver setting screen of the personal computer or input operation on the recording apparatus described above), By detecting the sensor diameter, reading the ID, etc., for identifying the spacer diameter provided in advance in the ink tank containing the ink in which the spacer is dispersed, and acquiring the value of the spacer diameter corresponding to the ID, etc. Automatic acquisition methods are listed. Further, by storing the inputted spacer diameter value in the storage means 560, if there is no change (input) of the spacer diameter, the spacer diameter value may be read from the storage means 560.

  The storage unit 560 stores a table for changing the number of gradations according to the diameter of the spacer dispersed in the ink. For example, a table for changing the number of gradations as shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the storage unit 560 in advance, and the number of gradations is changed according to the input spacer diameter value, and the spacers are changed. A table for changing the volume density of the dispersed ink in accordance with the number of gradations is stored.

  The table shown in FIG. 9A corresponds to the case where a spacer having a spacer diameter of 0 to 8 (μm) is used, and a plurality of different threshold values, and the optimum number of gradations corresponding to each threshold value. And spacer concentration are defined. When the spacer diameter is 0 to 3 (μm) (exceeding 0 to 3 or less), the ink spacer density is adjusted to 5 (volume%), and the number of gradations during ink ejection is set to 1. When the spacer diameter is 3 to 6 (μm) (more than 3 and less than or equal to 6), the spacer density of the ink is adjusted to 2 (volume%), and the number of gradations during ink ejection is set to 2. Furthermore, when the spacer diameter is 6 to 8 (μm) (exceeding 6 to 8 or less), the spacer density of the ink is adjusted to 1 (volume%), and the number of gradations during ink ejection is set to 3.

  The table shown in FIG. 9B corresponds to the case where three types of spacers with spacer diameters of 2, 5, and 8 (μm) are used, and the optimum spacer density and gradation corresponding to the spacer diameter. A number is defined.

  The control unit 18 reads the table stored in the storage unit 560, determines the number of gradations based on the spacer diameter value input from the operation input unit and the read table, and determines the determined number of gradations, that is, driving. The drive signal generator 500 is controlled to drive the head with the number of pulses. Further, the control unit 18 controls the density adjusting unit 600 as necessary to control the spacer density in the ejected ink so that the spacer density according to the number of gradations to be used is obtained. Yes. Specifically, density adjustment is performed when there is a difference between the optimum density and the output of the density sensor 402.

  These tables are configured to be rewritable. When the first spacer density ink is used, the optimum value cannot be determined. Therefore, the optimum spacer density and gradation number are obtained in the following steps. Also, the optimum value may differ depending on the ink prescription. Therefore, the optimum value is adjusted as follows.

That is, when an adjustment mode is provided in the inkjet recording apparatus 100 and the adjustment mode is set, the spacer diameter of the set ink is stored in the storage unit 560, and the optimum spacer density and gradation number are obtained. Specifically, the spacer density and the number of gradations are changed little by little, the pattern is emitted onto the substrate, the position accuracy and the like are evaluated, and the optimum spacer density and the number of gradations are determined. Thereafter, the optimum spacer density and gradation number are stored in the storage means in association with the spacer diameter. Thereafter, when printing an image with the same spacer diameter ink, the optimum spacer density and gradation number are stored, so that the optimum spacer density and gradation number can be obtained by selecting the spacer diameter. So that it is automatically controlled.
<Operation flow>
Next, the flow of processing performed by the control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described using the table shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step 10, the spacer diameter information is acquired. That is, the spacer diameter is determined based on the spacer diameter value input from the operation input means to the control means 18.

  Next, in step 12, the table stored in the storage unit 560 is read by the control unit 18, and the process proceeds to step 14.

  In step 14, the control means 18 determines whether or not the spacer diameter input from the operation input means is 3 (μm) or less. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 16, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 18.

  In step 16, the control means 18 determines whether or not the spacer diameter input from the operation input means is 6 (μm) or less. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 26, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 22.

  On the other hand, in step 18, the spacer density of the ink is set to 5 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 20, the number of gradations at the time of ink ejection is set to 1 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  On the other hand, in step 22, the spacer density of the ink is set to 2 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 24, the number of gradations at the time of ink ejection is set to 2 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  On the other hand, in step 26, the spacer density of the ink is set to 1 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 28, the gradation number at the time of ink ejection is set to 3 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  In step 30, the spacer density is adjusted by the density adjusting unit so that the spacer density of the ink corresponds to the setting, and recording is performed with the set number of gradations (number of ink droplets).

  Next, a modified example of the ink jet recording apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 18 reads the table stored in the storage unit 560 and determines the number of gradations and the spacer density according to the spacer diameter. However, in the modification, the storage unit 560 stores the table. Whether or not to use the stored table can be selected, and the configuration of the apparatus itself is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted. The selection of whether or not the table can be used can be set by operating the operation unit of the operation input means.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a modification of processing performed by the control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same processes as those in the above embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  First, in step 10, the spacer diameter information is acquired. That is, the spacer diameter is determined based on the spacer diameter value input from the operation input means to the control means 18.

  Next, in step 11, it is determined by the control means 18 whether or not the table is used. The determination is made by determining whether or not the use of the table stored in the storage unit 560 is set in advance by operating the operation unit of the operation input unit, and when the determination is affirmed Shifts to step 12.

  Next, in step 12, the table stored in the storage unit 560 is read by the control unit 18, and the process proceeds to step 14.

  In step 14, the control means 18 determines whether or not the spacer diameter input from the operation input means is 3 (μm) or less. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 16, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 18.

  In step 16, the control means 18 determines whether or not the spacer diameter input from the operation input means is 6 (μm) or less. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 26, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 22.

  On the other hand, in step 18, the spacer density of the ink is set to 5 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 20, the number of gradations at the time of ink ejection is set to 1 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  On the other hand, in step 22, the spacer density of the ink is set to 2 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 24, the number of gradations at the time of ink ejection is set to 2 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  On the other hand, in step 26, the spacer density of the ink is set to 1 (volume%), the process proceeds to step 28, the gradation number at the time of ink ejection is set to 3 by the control means 18, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 11 is negative, that is, if the table use setting is not made, the process proceeds to step 29.

    In step 29, the user inputs and sets the ink spacer density and the number of gradations during ink ejection from the operation input means to desired values, and the process proceeds to step 30.

  In step 30, the spacer density is adjusted by the density adjusting unit so that the spacer density of the ink corresponds to the setting, and recording is performed with the set number of gradations (number of ink droplets).

  As described above, in the modification, the user can select whether or not to use the table stored in the storage unit 560 in the above embodiment. That is, in the above embodiment, the ink spacer density and the number of gradations at the time of ink ejection can be set to desired values, so that it can be used for adjusting the spacer density and the number of gradations, creating a table, etc. Can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers with relatively large diameters are dispersed is greater than the number of gradations when ejecting ink in which spacers with relatively small diameters are dispersed. By providing gradation number changing means for changing the number of gradations so as to increase, for example, 1 drop / dot (when the spacer diameter is small) and 2 drop / dot (spacer diameter depending on the spacer diameter) Is switched), a spacer having a large diameter can be ejected by a head having a small nozzle diameter, and the liquid amount does not need to be increased more than necessary, so that the positional accuracy is improved. Further, it is possible to discharge spacers having different diameters with the same head having a small nozzle diameter.

In addition, when the spacer diameter is relatively large, multi-tone discharge (2 drops / dots, etc.) with a reduced liquid concentration enables stable discharge even when the nozzle diameter is small and the spacer diameter is large. And a desired number of spacers can be provided.
<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, various inks having different spacer diameters and densities are ejected from the single head 7, but in the second embodiment, a plurality of heads (four in this example) are mounted. However, the head used for recording is selected. Except for this point, the configuration and operation flow of the apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a main part of a second embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus used as a spacer arrangement device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  Reference numerals 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, and 7-4 denote four heads that are provided corresponding to four inks in which spacers each having a different diameter are dispersed. The nozzle diameter of all the heads is 30 (μm).

  As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus 100 according to the present invention is characterized by using two or more types of inks that basically include spacers having different diameters.

  For example, in the above-described first embodiment, when ink including a small diameter spacer and ink including a large diameter spacer are ejected on different substrates, it is necessary to perform recording while replacing the ink. In the embodiment, it is not necessary to replace ink, and work efficiency can be promoted.

For example, in the above-described first embodiment, when ink containing a small diameter spacer and ink containing a large diameter spacer are ejected on the same substrate, recording is performed once (two times in total) while replacing the ink. ) The situation is realized by doing, but in the second embodiment,
Since it is not necessary to replace the ink and only one recording is required, the number of repeated recordings can be reduced.

  In the operation flow, a head to be used for ejection may be selected and a spacer diameter may be input for each selected head.

  Furthermore, a table may be provided for each head or each ink by using different nozzle diameters for each head or using inks having different prescriptions.

  The ink droplet position accuracy σx and σy when the recording operation is performed while changing the nozzle diameter of the head 7, the spacer diameter and density of the ink to be used, and the number of gradations using the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. It was measured. The flying speed of the ink droplet was set to 5 m / s. Specifically, σx and σy indicate standard deviations when the amount of landing position deviation of 100 ink droplets ejected from the same nozzle on the substrate 6 is measured, and σx is a component in the nozzle row direction, σy Indicates a component perpendicular to the nozzle array. The smaller σx and σy, the better the position accuracy. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1 below. Further, the landing position deviation amount σ in Table 1 indicates a standard deviation when the positional deviation of the spacer after the ink has landed on the substrate and then dried (after landing) is measured. The landing position deviation amount σ is “◯” when there is no quality problem, and “X” when there is a quality problem.

  Here, the head A has the configuration shown in FIG. 1 and has a nozzle diameter of 30 μm. The amount of one ink droplet ejected by the head A is 12 pl. On the other hand, the head B is different from the head A only in the nozzle diameter, and the diameter is 25 μm. The amount of one ink droplet ejected by the head B is 9 pl. On the other hand, the head C is different from the head A only in the nozzle diameter, and the diameter is 40 μm. The amount of one ink droplet ejected by the head C is 30 pl. On the other hand, the head D is different from the head A only in the nozzle diameter, and the diameter is 80 μm. The amount of one ink droplet ejected by the head D is 100 pl.

  As can be seen from Table 1, as in Comparative Example 3, if the nozzle diameter is sufficiently large relative to the spacer diameter, stable ejection can be achieved, and the landing position accuracy of the ink droplets due to flight bending, flight speed variation, etc. Although σx and σy do not greatly decrease, the ejected ink droplet diameter (ink droplet amount) remains large, so the landing diameter also increases, and the spacer easily moves during the drying process. The positional accuracy σ of the spacer after landing is deteriorated (σ = 34.2 μm). In addition, when the nozzle diameter is reduced in order to reduce the ejected ink droplet diameter (ink droplet amount), particularly when the spacer diameter is large as in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the spacer diameter is relatively equal to the nozzle diameter. On the other hand, it becomes difficult to stably eject ink from the nozzle, and the landing position accuracy σx and σy of the ink droplets are lowered due to flight bending, flight speed variation, and the like. Further, since the landing deviation of the ink droplet is large (σx and σy are large), the spacer positional deviation σ after landing is also large.

  On the other hand, as in Examples 1 to 9, when the spacer diameter is large, when the multi-tone discharge is performed with the spacer concentration being reduced, stable discharge is performed even when the nozzle diameter is small and the spacer diameter is large. The landing position accuracy σx and σy is improved, the spacer positional deviation σ is not problematic, and a desired number of spacers can be disposed.

It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 1st Embodiment of the inkjet recording device used as a spacer arrangement | positioning apparatus . It is a perspective view of the head of an inkjet recording device. (A) is a top view which shows a thin-film transistor array substrate, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the thin-film transistor array substrate cut along line III-III 'of (a). (A) is a conceptual diagram which shows embodiment of the ink supply system applied to the inkjet recording device used as a spacer arrangement | positioning apparatus , (b) is a conceptual diagram which shows the detail of a spacer density | concentration adjustment part. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an embodiment of an ink supply system of an inkjet recording apparatus. (A)-(c) is sectional drawing which shows the action | operation at the time of the ink discharge of a head. 4 is a timing chart of pulse waveforms applied to a pressure chamber and an air chamber when ink is ejected. 6 is a timing chart illustrating an example in which a pulse waveform is selectively applied to a pressure chamber and an air chamber when ink is ejected. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of an inkjet recording device. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the table for changing the gradation number memorize | stored in a memory | storage means, (b) is a figure which shows another example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed in the control part of an inkjet recording device. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of the flow of the process performed in the control part of an inkjet recording device. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 2nd Embodiment of the inkjet recording device used as a spacer arrangement | positioning apparatus .

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 6 Board | substrate 7 Head 8 Common liquid chamber 9 Ink connection port 13 Nozzle 14 Capping means 20 Ink tank 21 Waste liquid tank 40 Sub tank 100 Inkjet recording device

Claims (13)

A head having a nozzle for discharging the ink in which spacers are dispersed onto the substrate;
Gradation so that the number of gradations when ejecting ink with dispersed spacers with relatively large diameters is greater than the number of gradations with ejecting ink with dispersed spacers with relatively small diameters Gradation number changing means for changing the number;
An ink jet spacer arrangement apparatus comprising: The inkjet spacer arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the spacer volume concentration of the ink in which the spacer having a relatively large diameter is dispersed is thinner than the spacer volume concentration of the ink in which the spacer having a relatively small diameter is dispersed. apparatus. 3. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to claim 1, wherein the head includes a piezoelectric element that changes a volume of the pressure chamber by applying a driving pulse. 4. The ink jet spacer arrangement device according to claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric element is made of a piezoelectric material that forms a partition between adjacent pressure chambers and deforms in a shear mode by applying a voltage. The inkjet spacer placement device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the driving pulse is a pulse formed of a rectangular wave. The drive pulse includes a first pulse composed of a rectangular wave that expands the volume of the pressure chamber and returns the original volume after a predetermined time, and a rectangular wave that contracts the volume of the pressure chamber and returns the original volume after a predetermined time. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to claim 5, wherein the first pulse voltage Von and the second pulse voltage Voff are equal to each other . The gradation number changing means changes the gradation number so as to increase when the diameter of the spacer exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The inkjet spacer arrangement apparatus of description. A plurality of different threshold values, and a storage means in which a table in which the number of gradations is determined corresponding to each threshold value are stored in advance, and the gradation number changing means is stored in the storage means. based on the table, the inkjet spacer arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that to change the number of gradations. The inkjet spacer placement device according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit that inputs the diameter of the spacer from the outside. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising selection means for selecting whether or not to change the gradation number by the gradation number changing means. The inkjet spacer placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a single head that ejects a plurality of inks each dispersed with spacers having different diameters. The inkjet spacer arrangement device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a plurality of heads provided corresponding to a plurality of inks in which spacers each having a different diameter are dispersed. An ink jet spacer arrangement method of an ink jet spacer arrangement apparatus provided with a head having a nozzle for discharging ink on which a spacer is dispersed onto a substrate,
An acquisition step of acquiring information relating to a diameter of the spacer of the ink;
A gradation number changing step of changing the gradation number so that the gradation number when the value acquired in the acquisition step is relatively large is larger than the gradation number when the value is relatively small;
A recording step of ejecting ink with spacers dispersed from the nozzles on the substrate with the number of gradations determined in the gradation number changing step;
An ink jet spacer arrangement method comprising the steps of:

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