JPH1144811A - Color filter producing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily positionally adjust an ink-jet head by a simple means by attaching the ink-jet head to a pedestal through a multiaxis fine adjustment mechanism. SOLUTION: This device is constituted by attaching the ink-jet head 1 to the pedestal 2 through the multiaxis fine adjustment mechanism 3. The mechanism 3 consists of an x-axis fine adjustment mechanism 4A, a y-axis fine adjustment mechanism 4B, a z-axis fine adjustment mechanism 4C and a θ-axis fine adjustment mechanism 4D. The mechanism 3 can be finely moved at least in terms of two or more axes out of four axes of (x) to (θ). Especially, it is desirable that the mechanism 3 can be finely moved in terms of two axes on a plane in parallel with a substrate. Thus, positional adjustment on the plane is nearly performed. In the case of attaching the ink-jet head 1 in an inclined state or attaching plural ink-jet heads 1 to the pedestal 2, it is preferable to add the θ-axis fine movement mechanism. Thus, plural ink-jet heads are easily arranged in parallel with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by an ink jet method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a color filter manufacturing method for manufacturing a color filter, a pigment dispersion method using a photolithography process or an electrodeposition method has been used. However, since these manufacturing methods use a photolithography process, a color filter manufacturing method that can be manufactured with low productivity and high productivity and at low cost is desired, and a color filter manufacturing method by an inkjet method is starting to attract attention. .

In this method of manufacturing a color filter by an ink jet method, an ink jet head is moved relatively to a substrate, and a colored ink is discharged to form a colored layer. In this color filter, a colored layer must be accurately formed at a pitch of about 50 to 300 μm, and strict alignment between the inkjet head and the substrate was required during manufacturing.

[0004]

It is difficult to precisely perform such positioning when the ink jet head is mounted on the pedestal. Strictly, it is necessary to actually discharge the colored ink, measure the discharge position, and adjust the position. Such a position adjustment has to be performed after the mounting has been performed once, and the operation is troublesome.

[0005] In particular, in the production of color filters, 500 ×
It is necessary to accurately form a colored layer on the pixel as described above on the entire surface of a substrate such as 600 mm. If an attempt is made to adjust the position of such a large substrate on the order of 1 μm by the adjusting mechanism of the apparatus itself, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated.

For this reason, there has been a demand for a color filter manufacturing apparatus capable of easily fine-adjusting once the ink jet head is mounted on the base.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is based on an ink-jet method having an ink-jet head and scanning means for relatively moving the ink-jet head and the substrate. In a color filter manufacturing apparatus, there is provided a color filter manufacturing apparatus characterized in that an ink jet head is attached to a base via a multi-axis fine movement mechanism.

The multi-axis fine movement mechanism has a fine movement mechanism in at least three axes of fine movement in two directions in a plane parallel to the substrate and rotation in a plane parallel to the substrate. Provided are a device and a color filter manufacturing apparatus in which the multi-axis fine movement mechanism is a fine movement mechanism using a piezoelectric body.

In addition, a plurality of ink jet heads are mounted on one of the pedestals, and the position of the ink jet heads is adjusted by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, and a color ink is ejected from the ink jet head. Provided is a color filter manufacturing apparatus in which a discharge position is measured and the positions of a plurality of inkjet heads are adjusted by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, when a color filter is manufactured using an ink jet head, the ink jet head is mounted on a pedestal via a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, so that the position of the ink jet head can be finely adjusted. Can be performed by simple means.

In particular, by mounting a plurality of ink jet heads on one pedestal and adjusting the positions of the ink jet heads with each other by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, coloring and discharging can be simultaneously performed from a large number of nozzles, thereby greatly improving productivity. improves.

In the present invention, the fine movement is a maximum value of 5 in parallel movement.
About 50 μm, and about 1/50 to 1/500 radians when rotated. The maximum value of the fine movement may be made larger or smaller, but may be appropriately determined according to the position adjustment function of the color filter manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a basic example around the ink jet head of the color filter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an inkjet head, 2 denotes a pedestal, 3 denotes a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, and 4A to 4D denote four fine movement mechanisms in the multi-axis fine movement mechanism 3. Fine movement mechanism 4A-4
D includes an x-axis fine movement mechanism 4A, a y-axis fine movement mechanism 4B, a z-axis fine movement mechanism 4C, and a θ-axis fine movement mechanism 4D.

The x-axis and the y-axis mean two orthogonal axes in a plane parallel to the substrate, and the x-axis fine movement mechanism 4A and the y-axis fine movement mechanism 4B can be finely moved in the axial direction. The z-axis means an axis perpendicular to a plane parallel to the substrate, and the z-axis fine movement mechanism 4C is finely movable in the axial direction. The θ-axis means an axis for rotation in a plane parallel to the substrate, and the θ-axis fine movement mechanism 4D can be slightly rotated about the axis in a plane parallel to the substrate.

The x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis do not necessarily need to be orthogonal to each other, but are preferably orthogonal to each other because they are easy to adjust. The axis direction of the θ axis may be usually the same as the z axis.

In this example, the four fine movement mechanisms are arranged in the order of the x-axis fine movement mechanism 4A, the y-axis fine movement mechanism 4B, the z-axis fine movement mechanism 4C, and the θ-axis fine movement mechanism 4D from the ink jet head 1 side. The order is not limited,
It is not necessary to have all four.

The multi-axis fine movement mechanism of the present invention can be finely moved on at least two of the four axes. In particular, it is preferable to be able to finely move two axes in a plane parallel to the substrate. Thereby, the position can be adjusted substantially on a plane. When mounting the inkjet head at an angle or mounting multiple inkjet heads on the base,
Further, it is preferable to add a θ-axis fine movement mechanism. This makes it easier to arrange a plurality of inkjet heads in parallel with each other. If a z-axis fine movement mechanism in the z-axis direction is further added, the adjustment becomes easier.

FIG. 2 shows three inkjet heads 1
It is a perspective view of the example attached to two pedestals. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 11A to 11C denote inkjet heads, 12 denotes a pedestal, and 13A to 13C denote multi-axis fine movement mechanisms. When a plurality of ink jet heads are attached in this manner, adjustment between the ink jet heads tends to be insufficient even if the ink jet heads are attached after performing individual alignment.

In each of the ink jet heads, a shift of about several μm easily occurs even in two axes in a plane parallel to the substrate. When a plurality of ink jet heads are involved, the shift is further increased as a whole. Further, there are several tens of inkjet nozzles in one inkjet head, and it is also difficult to attach lines connecting these nozzles completely in parallel between a plurality of inkjet heads. If this line is attached at an angle between a plurality of inkjet heads, the spacing usually shifts, which tends to adversely affect coloring.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where the ink jet head is tilted. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes an ink jet head, 25A and 25B denote nozzles for discharging colored ink, and W denotes a nozzle 25A and a nozzle 25A.
B, the angle at which the inkjet head is inclined from a line perpendicular to the scanning direction of the inkjet head,
P indicates the ejection distance (pixel pitch) of the colored ink in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the inkjet head.

In the case of manufacturing a color filter by an ink-jet method, an ink-jet head in which the interval between nozzles is adjusted according to the pixel size of each color filter can be used as the ink-jet head. But,
For this purpose, it is necessary to prepare a specific inkjet head each time a color filter having a different pixel size is manufactured.

For this reason, it is possible to change the apparent pitch by mounting the inkjet head at an angle.
Referring to the example of FIG. 2, the nozzle interval is constant at W, but a line perpendicular to the scanning direction of the inkjet head (FIG. 2).
In this case, the inkjet head can be inclined by a certain angle Φ from the horizontal line). In this case, the ejection distance P of the colored ink in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the inkjet head (this is the pixel pitch) is P = W · co.
It is represented by sΦ.

Therefore, by adjusting the angle Φ arbitrarily, it becomes possible to discharge the colored ink with a width smaller than W. First, when the inkjet head is mounted on the pedestal, the positioning is naturally performed, and a certain degree of mounting accuracy can be obtained. In the present invention, the fine adjustment after the attachment is performed by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism. The fine movement adjustment of the angle Φ can be performed by the θ axis fine movement mechanism.

In particular, when two or more ink jet heads are mounted on one pedestal, if the angle Φ is adjusted, the lines connecting the nozzles of the individual ink jet heads may be slightly different for each ink jet head. .
This discrepancy is a discrepancy of the angle Φ, and of course P also discrepancies. Therefore, when drawing the number of pixels such as 800 lines or more, even a discrepancy of only 0.1 μm per nozzle results in a discrepancy of 80 μm. It turns out that.

Therefore, when a plurality of such ink jet heads are attached to one pedestal for drawing,
It is of great significance that the fine adjustment of the angle Φ is performed by the θ axis fine movement mechanism.

As the multi-axis fine movement mechanism of the present invention, a fine movement mechanism capable of adjusting various fine movements can be used. Among them, a fine movement mechanism using a piezoelectric element is preferable. This is because the fine movement mechanism of the present invention
This is because it is only necessary to be able to finely adjust only at the time of initial alignment, instead of always finely adjusting. This enables a very small and simple fine movement mechanism. The amount of movement of the piezoelectric element can be easily controlled by applying a voltage, and considerably fine adjustment can be easily performed.

In particular, after the ink jet head has been positioned and mounted on the pedestal, it may be adjusted using a fine movement mechanism using a piezoelectric element to maintain that state. That is, the set voltage may be continuously applied. Alternatively, the application of the voltage to the piezoelectric element may be stopped by adjusting the state using a fine movement mechanism using the piezoelectric element and completely fixing the state with an adhesive or a jig to the pedestal.
In this case, application of a voltage to the piezoelectric element becomes unnecessary in principle. When using an adhesive, it is preferable to use a photocurable resin adhesive. Strong bonding in a short time.

In the position adjustment, it is preferable to measure the discharge position by discharging the color ink from the ink jet head. This is because, even if there is a problem in the accuracy of each ink jet head, it can be adjusted accurately by discharging the color ink and measuring the discharge position.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of a typical color filter manufacturing apparatus used in the present invention. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes an ink jet head, 32 denotes a pedestal, 33 denotes a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, 36 denotes a guide rail on which the ink jet head moves, 37 denotes a board, 38 denotes a slide table on which the board is mounted, and 39 a slide table. The base is shown.

In the example shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate 37 which moves in the horizontal direction of the drawing (hereinafter referred to as X direction) along a guide rail 36 to form a color filter.
Is moved in the depth direction of the drawing (hereinafter referred to as the Y direction) by the slide table 38. In this example, it is described that such a movement is performed.
And Y may be moved in both directions. Note that the X direction and Y direction here may be the same as or different from the x axis and y axis described above.

The inkjet head 31 is scanned with respect to the substrate 37 on which the color filters are to be formed, and a desired color filter is formed in a stripe shape, a mosaic shape or the like. At this time, it may be formed for each color, or may be formed simultaneously for a plurality of colors.

This ink-jet head can be applied to a case where colored ink is ejected from one nozzle to form a color filter line by line. However, usually, several tens of nozzles, and in some cases, several hundreds of nozzles are used. It is preferable to form a color filter for a plurality of columns of pixels at the same time.

A single ink jet head having several tens of nozzles can be easily manufactured, but a head having several hundred nozzles is difficult to manufacture. Also, if the number of nozzles is large, even if one of them becomes defective, replacement is necessary. For this reason, it is preferable that one inkjet head has about several tens of nozzles. According to the present invention, a plurality of such ink jet heads having several tens of nozzles can be arranged to simultaneously draw hundreds or hundreds of lines at a time, thereby increasing productivity.

In addition, an optical detection device such as a camera is disposed in such a manufacturing apparatus to determine the dirt of the nozzle and the size of the discharged droplet, and to automatically wipe the nozzle and clean the inside of the head. It is also possible to control or control the driving of the driving piezoelectric element corresponding to each nozzle of the inkjet head.

The color filter of the present invention is an STNLC
D, used as various color filters such as a stripe color filter for a ferroelectric LCD and the like, and a mosaic color filter for a TFT LCD and the like.

In the case of a color filter for an LCD, a transparent resin coat layer for flattening or the like or a coat layer of an inorganic material is formed thereon, and an electrode such as ITO is laminated thereon to form an electrode with a color filter. Used as a substrate. This electrode is patterned as needed.

The electrode substrate with the color filter thus formed and another electrode substrate are opposed to each other, and a liquid crystal is sandwiched therebetween to form an LCD. In the case of an LCD driven by plasma, electrodes may not be formed on the inner surface of the substrate on one side.

[0038]

EXAMPLE A color filter manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 was used. As a whole of the color filter manufacturing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4, the traveling system of the inkjet head 31 (horizontal direction (X direction) in FIG. 4) and the feed system of the glass substrate (the depth direction (Y in FIG.
Direction)).

The ink jet head has a nozzle diameter of 35 μm.
m, a nozzle interval (W) of 210 μm, a number of nozzles of 20, and a reference plane for positioning and accuracy of the nozzle position ± 3 μm were prepared. As a glass substrate on which a color filter is drawn, a 12.1-inch SVGA-sized glass substrate with a resin light-shielding film was used. In this glass substrate, the pitch (P) of the three RGB pixels was 306 μm.

As the multi-axis fine movement mechanism for mounting the ink jet head, a mechanism capable of fine-adjustment in four axes as shown in FIG. 1 using a piezoelectric element was used. An x-axis fine movement mechanism and a y-axis fine movement mechanism for fine movement in a plane parallel to the substrate, a z-axis fine movement mechanism for fine movement in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, and a θ-axis fine movement mechanism that can rotate in a plane parallel to the substrate Have.

The x-axis fine movement mechanism, the y-axis fine movement mechanism, and the z-axis fine movement mechanism were all capable of fine movement adjustment in the axial direction within a range of 30 μm. As the θ-axis fine movement mechanism, a mechanism capable of rotating within a range of 1/100 radian around a z-axis perpendicular to the substrate as a central axis was used.

First, three multi-axis fine movement mechanisms were fixed on a pedestal in a staggered arrangement as shown in FIG. The positional accuracy at this time was ± 10 μm. Next, three inkjet heads were mechanically fixed to these multi-axis fine movement mechanisms. The positional accuracy in this case was ± 5 μm.

In this case, the pedestal is at an angle Φ with respect to the scanning mechanism.
(CosΦ = 306/420).
Therefore, every other nozzle of the inkjet head is used.

Next, an aqueous colored ink using a pigment was discharged onto a glass substrate provided with a light-shielding film, and the landing position was measured.
Based on the results, a voltage was applied to the piezoelectric element of the multi-axis fine movement mechanism of the inkjet head to perform position adjustment. Thereafter, the colored ink was ejected again, and the landing position was measured. As a result, 30 nozzles of three heads could be adjusted with a positional accuracy of 306 μm ± 2 μm.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink jet head is attached at an angle to a line perpendicular to the scanning direction of the ink jet head. For this reason, the ejection timing of the coloring ink from each nozzle is slightly shifted from the ejection from the adjacent nozzle so that the coloring ink is arranged in a horizontal line (parallel to a line perpendicular to the scanning direction of the inkjet head). To discharge.

[0046]

In the color filter manufacturing apparatus according to the ink jet method of the present invention, the fine adjustment of the position of the ink jet head can be easily and simply performed by mounting the ink jet head on the pedestal via the multi-axis fine movement mechanism. it can. Accordingly, accurate positioning can be performed even when an inkjet head having a large number of nozzles is used.

By mounting a plurality of ink jet heads on one pedestal and adjusting the mutual positions of the ink jet heads by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism, accurate positioning can be achieved despite the use of a plurality of ink jet heads. And it is possible to simultaneously perform color discharge from a large number of nozzles, thereby greatly improving productivity. The present invention can be applied to various applications within a range that does not impair the effects of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a basic example around an ink jet head of a color filter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example in which three inkjet heads are mounted on one pedestal.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where the inkjet head is tilted.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of the color filter manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: inkjet head 2: pedestal 3: multi-axis fine movement mechanism 4A: x-axis fine movement mechanism 4B: y-axis fine movement mechanism 4C: z-axis fine movement mechanism 4D: θ-axis fine movement mechanism

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A color filter manufacturing apparatus by an ink jet method having an ink jet head and a scanning means for relatively moving the ink jet head and a substrate, wherein the ink jet head is attached to a base via a multi-axis fine movement mechanism. A color filter manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that: 2. A multi-axis fine movement mechanism, comprising:
2. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fine movement mechanism in at least three axes of fine movement in a direction and rotation in a plane parallel to the substrate. 3. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the multi-axis fine movement mechanism is a fine movement mechanism using a piezoelectric body. 4. A plurality of ink jet heads are mounted on one pedestal, and the positions of the ink jet heads are adjusted by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism.
A color filter manufacturing apparatus as described above. 5. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color ink is discharged from the ink jet head, the discharge position is measured, and the positions of the plurality of ink jet heads are adjusted by a multi-axis fine movement mechanism.