KR20220005992A - Droplet ejection apparatus and position adjusting method - Google Patents

Abstract

According to a droplet discharge device, a position of a head unit is adjusted. According to the present disclosure, the droplet discharge device comprises a discharge unit, a transfer unit, and an adjustment unit. The discharge unit comprises: a carriage having a plurality of openings; a plurality of head units installed in the carriage to cover the opening to discharge a droplet of functional fluid; and a plurality of fixing units fixating the head unit to the carriage and releasing the head unit from the carriage. The transfer unit is disposed on a lower side of the discharge unit and transfers the substrate in a horizontal direction. The adjustment unit accesses from a lower side of the discharge unit to adjust the position of the head unit.

Description

DROPLET EJECTION APPARATUS AND POSITION ADJUSTING METHOD

The present disclosure relates to a droplet ejection apparatus and a position adjustment method.

BACKGROUND ART A droplet discharging apparatus for applying droplets of a coating liquid to a conveyed substrate by an inkjet method is known.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an assembling apparatus for assembling a long inkjet head by precisely arranging a plurality of head portions on one carriage as an inkjet head manufacturing technique. In the droplet ejection apparatus, for example, an inkjet head assembled by the assembling apparatus is mounted.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-162892

The present disclosure provides a technique capable of performing position adjustment of a head portion in a droplet discharging apparatus.

A droplet discharging apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a discharging unit, a conveying unit, and an adjustment unit. The discharge unit has a carriage having a plurality of openings formed therein, a plurality of head portions installed on the carriage to cover the openings to discharge droplets of a functional liquid, and a plurality of fixing portions capable of fixing and releasing the head portion with respect to the carriage. The conveying unit is disposed below the discharge unit, and conveys the substrate along the horizontal direction. The adjustment unit adjusts the position of the head by accessing it from below the discharge unit.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to perform position adjustment of the head portion in the droplet discharging device.

1 is a plan view of a droplet discharging apparatus according to an embodiment.
2 is a side view of a droplet discharging apparatus according to an embodiment.
3 is a plan view of a carriage according to an embodiment;
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3 .
It is the perspective view which looked at the head part which concerns on embodiment from diagonally downward.
6 is a side view of an adjustment unit according to an embodiment;
7 is a flowchart showing the sequence of processing executed by the droplet ejection apparatus according to the embodiment.
It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a 1st adjustment process.
9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the second adjustment process.
10 is a flowchart showing another example of a sequence of processing executed by the droplet discharging apparatus according to the embodiment.
11 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a droplet discharging apparatus according to a modification.
12 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a discharge unit according to a modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A form (hereinafter, referred to as an "embodiment") for implementing the droplet ejection apparatus and the position adjustment method according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this indication is not limited by this embodiment. Moreover, each embodiment can be combined suitably in the range which does not contradict the processing content. In addition, in each following embodiment, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same site|part, and overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

In addition, in the embodiment shown below, although the expression "constant", "orthogonal", "vertical" or "parallel" may be used, these expressions are strictly "constant", "orthogonal", "vertical" or It does not require that it be "parallel". That is, it is assumed that each of the above expressions allows differences in manufacturing precision, installation precision, and the like, for example.

In addition, in each drawing referenced below, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction orthogonal to each other are defined, and the Cartesian coordinate system in which the positive Z-axis direction is the vertically upward direction is sometimes indicated. . In addition, the rotation direction which makes a vertical axis|shaft as a rotation center is called the θ direction in some cases.

<Structure of Droplet Discharge Device>

First, the configuration of the droplet discharging apparatus according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . 1 is a plan view of a droplet discharging apparatus according to an embodiment. 2 is a side view of a droplet discharging apparatus according to an embodiment.

The droplet discharging apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 transfers the substrate W in a horizontal direction (hereinafter referred to as "main conveyance direction") while transferring droplets of the functional liquid onto the substrate W by an inkjet method. Drawing is performed on the board|substrate W by discharge. The board|substrate W is a board|substrate used for a flat panel display, for example. The flat panel display is, for example, a display using an organic light emitting diode or a display using quantum dots.

The droplet ejection device 1 is accommodated in the chamber room 100 . An inert gas (eg, nitrogen gas) is supplied to the chamber room 100 . The droplet ejection device 1 performs writing on the substrate W in an inert gas atmosphere. Also, the droplet discharging device 1 does not necessarily need to be accommodated in the chamber room 100 .

The functional liquid includes a liquid for forming a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), or the like, in addition to the ink.

In the chamber room 100, an electrical chamber 101 in which the control device 50 and the like are accommodated, and an exchange chamber 102 for exchanging a functional liquid tank (not shown) in which a functional liquid is stored are provided in parallel.

The droplet discharging device 1 includes a mount 2 , a pair of first rails 3 and 3 , and a pair of second rails 4 and 4 .

The mount 2 extends along the main conveying direction (in this specification, the Y-axis direction). The upper surface of the mount 2 is a horizontal surface. The pair of first rails 3 and 3 are rails extending along the main conveying direction, and are disposed on the upper surface of the mount 2 .

The pair of second rails 4 and 4 are rails extending along a horizontal direction (X-axis direction, hereinafter referred to as "sub-conveyance direction") orthogonal to the main conveying direction, and the pair of first rails 3 , 3) is placed above. Each of the second rails 4 is mounted on the upper surface of the support body 4a formed in a door shape, for example. Moreover, the pair of 2nd rails 4 and 4 extend to the upper side of the maintenance unit 8 mentioned later which is arrange|positioned at the side of the mount 2 .

The droplet discharging apparatus 1 includes a conveying unit 5 , a plurality of discharging units 6 , an inspection unit 7 , a maintenance unit 8 , and an adjustment unit 10 .

The conveying unit 5 conveys the substrate W along the main conveying direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , the conveying unit 5 includes a slider 51 and a stage 52 .

The slider 51 is mounted on the pair of first rails 3 and 3, and is driven by a drive unit (not shown) provided on at least one of the pair of first rails 3 and 3, for example, a linear motor. It moves along the pair of first rails 3 , 3 . The stage 52 is fixed to the slider 51 and moves together with the slider 51 . The stage 52 is, for example, a vacuum adsorption stage, and can hold the board|substrate W by adsorb|sucking the board|substrate W mounted on the upper surface.

The transfer unit 5 is configured as described above, and by moving the slider 51 along the pair of first rails 3 and 3, the substrate W held by the stage 52 is moved in the main transfer direction. can be returned accordingly.

In addition, the conveyance unit 5 may be a floating conveyance mechanism. In this case, the transfer unit 5 supports, for example, the end of the substrate W from below, blows compressed air from below toward the substrate W, and holds the substrate W horizontally while holding the substrate ( W) is returned.

Moreover, the conveyance unit 5 may be equipped with the stage rotation part which rotates the stage 52 around a vertical axis. In this case, an alignment mark of the substrate W is imaged using an alignment camera (not shown) provided above the stage 52, and based on the captured image, the stage 52 is rotated using a stage rotating unit. The orientation of the substrate W may be corrected.

The plurality of discharge units 6 are arranged in a row along the sub conveying direction above the mount 2 . In the example shown in FIG. 1 , three discharge units 6 are arranged along the sub conveying direction, but the number of discharge units 6 is not limited to three.

Each discharge unit 6 includes a slider 61 , a carriage rotating part 62 , a support body 63 , a carriage 64 , and a plurality of head parts 65 .

The slider 61 is mounted on a pair of second rails 4 and 4, and is mounted on a driving unit (not shown) provided on at least one of the pair of second rails 4 and 4, for example, a linear motor. It is movable along the pair of second rails (4, 4).

The carriage rotation part 62 is attached to the center of the slider 61, and rotates the carriage 64 about a vertical axis via the support body 63 mentioned later. In addition, the mounting position of the carriage rotating part 62 is not limited to the center of the slider 61. As shown in FIG. For example, the attachment position of the carriage rotating part 62 may shift|deviate from the center of the slider 61 in a Y-axis negative direction or a Y-axis positive direction. The support body 63 is connected to the lower end of the carriage rotation part 62, and is supported by the carriage rotation part 62 from upper direction.

The carriage 64 is connected to the lower end of the support body 63 , and is supported from above by the support body 63 .

A plurality of head portions 65 are provided on the carriage 64 . The head portion 65 is connected to a functional liquid tank (not shown) through a supply tube (not shown), and discharges the functional liquid supplied from the functional liquid tank through the supply tube from a nozzle (not shown in this specification) in the form of droplets. do. The head portion 65 has a plurality of nozzles, and a plurality of types of functional liquids can be discharged from the plurality of nozzles. The configuration of the carriage 64 and the head portion 65 will be described later.

The inspection unit 7 receives the droplet of the functional liquid discharged from the head portion 65 by the inspection film 71 , and images the discharge state of the droplet by the imaging unit 72 . The inspection film 71 moves along the first rails 3 and 3 together with the slider 73 .

The maintenance unit 8 includes a suction unit 81 , a wiping unit 82 , and a weight measurement unit 83 .

The suction unit 81 sucks the droplets of the functional liquid from the head unit 65 during maintenance of the head unit 65 . The suction part 81 brings a cap (not shown) into close contact with the lower surface of the head part 65, for example, and sucks the functional fluid by an ejector (not shown) through a suction tube (not shown). The suction part 81 prevents clogging of the functional fluid.

The wiping unit 82 presses a wipe sheet (not shown) on the lower surface of the head unit 65 after the functional fluid is sucked by the suction unit 81 to blot the lower surface of the head unit 65 .

The weight measuring unit 83 receives the droplets of the functional liquid discharged from the head unit 65, for example, in a saucer, and measures the weight of the droplets with an electronic balance.

<Configuration of carriage>

Next, the configuration of the carriage 64 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 . 3 is a plan view of a carriage 64 according to an embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3 .

3 and 4, the carriage 64 is a plate-shaped member. The carriage 64 has a plurality of openings 641 . For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, in the carriage 64, a total of 12 opening parts 641 are provided in matrix shape along a main conveyance direction and a sub conveyance direction. In addition, although the example in the case where 12 opening parts 641 are provided in the carriage 64 was shown in this specification, the number of the opening parts 641 may be more than 12, and may be at least.

Each of the plurality of openings 641 is provided with one head portion 65 . The head portion 65 is installed on the carriage 64 so as to cover the opening 641 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the head portion 65 includes a head body 602 and a flange portion 603 protruded laterally from the head body 602 . The head portion 65 is fitted into the opening 641 from above the carriage 64 , for example. Thereby, the head body 602 of the head part 65 is arrange|positioned in the opening part 641. Further, of the head portion 65 , a flange portion 603 abuts against the upper surface of the carriage 64 . The head portion 65 is locked to the carriage 64 .

Further, the head portion 65 may be fitted into the opening 641 from below the carriage 64 . In this case, for example, a through hole through which the flange portion 603 passes may be provided around the opening 641 . In this way, by setting the head portion 65 to the opening 641 from below the carriage 64 , replacement of the head portion 65 can be facilitated, for example.

In addition, the shape of the flange portion 603 or the arrangement of the fixing portion 642 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3 , and the head portion 65 is inserted into the opening 641 from the lower side of the carriage 64 . It may be suitably changed to an appropriate shape and arrangement|positioning. For example, the flange portion 603 may have a shape provided only in a portion corresponding to the fixing portion 642 instead of the shape provided on the entire circumference of the head portion 65 .

The carriage 64 has a plurality of fixing portions 642 . The fixing parts 642 are provided in each of the positions covered by the flange part 603 of the head part 65 specifically, around each opening part 641, for example. In FIG. 3, only the four fixing parts 642 corresponding to the opening 641 on the left side of the paper are shown, and illustration is abbreviate|omitted about the fixing part 642 corresponding to the other opening part 641. In addition, the number and arrangement of the fixing parts 642 provided to correspond to one opening 641 are not limited to the illustrated example.

The fixing part 642 sucks the flange part 603 to the upper surface of the carriage 64 by sucking the lower surface of the flange part 603 by vacuum suction. Thereby, the fixing part 642 can fix the head part 65 to the carriage 64 . In addition, the fixing part 642 can cancel the fixation of the head part 65 by stopping suction by vacuum suction.

In addition, the fixing method of the head part 65 by the fixing part 642 is not limited to fixing by suction. For example, the fixing part 642 may press and fix the head part 65 to the upper surface of the carriage 64 by pressing the head part 65 from above the head part 65. As shown in FIG. As a pressing method in this case, a spring can be used, for example. In addition, the fixing part 642 may be a screw hole. In this case, the fixing portion 642 is provided at a position corresponding to the screw hole formed in the flange portion 603 , and the head portion 65 can be fixed to the carriage 64 by screw fixing. Alternatively, the fixing portion 642 may be an electromagnet or the like for fixing the head portion 65 by magnetic force.

<Configuration of head part>

Next, the structure of the head part 65 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 5 : is the perspective view which looked at the head part 65 which concerns on embodiment from diagonally downward.

The head portion 65 is, for example, a piezo-type nozzle head. A plurality of discharge holes 616 are formed in the lower surface 615 of the head body 602 . The plurality of discharge holes 616 are formed, for example, in two rows along the main conveying direction (Y-axis direction). Further, in each row, a plurality of discharge holes 616 are arranged at equal intervals along the sub conveying direction (X-axis direction).

The head body 602 has a pump part, not shown. The pump unit includes a cavity for collecting functional liquid, a piezoelectric element or a diaphragm for changing the volume of the cavity, and by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element to vibrate the diaphragm, the volume of the cavity is changed and functions from each discharge hole Discharge liquid droplets. In addition, the head part 65 is provided with a functional liquid introduction part connected to the functional liquid tank via a supply tube, a head board connected to the control device 50 (refer to FIG. 1 ) via a flexible flat cable, and the like.

The flange portion 603 is provided over the entire periphery of the head portion 602 in the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the head portion 602 , and protrudes outward in the horizontal direction from the outer peripheral surface of the head portion 602 . The lower surface 631 of the flange portion 603 is, for example, a horizontal surface, and corresponds to a surface to be fixed (surface to be adsorbed) by the fixing portion 642 . In addition, on the lower surface 631 of the flange part 603, the to-be-fixed part according to the fixing method by the fixing part 642 may be provided.

<Configuration of adjustment unit>

return to FIG. 1 . The droplet discharging device 1 further includes a pair of third rails 9 and 9 . The pair of third rails 9 and 9 are rails extending along the sub conveying direction, and are provided on the side surface of the stage 52 . Specifically, the pair of third rails 9 and 9 have a plurality of (four in this specification) side surfaces of the stage 52. When writing is performed on the substrate W, the substrate W It is provided on the side surface 52a located at the rear end of the moving direction (positive Y-axis direction).

An adjustment unit (10) is provided on the pair of third rails (9, 9). The adjustment unit 10 accesses the head portion 65 from below the discharge unit 6 to adjust the position of the head portion 65 with respect to the opening portion 641 .

In this specification, the structure of the adjustment unit 10 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 6 is a side view of the adjustment unit 10 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the adjustment unit 10 includes a slider 11 , a pedestal 12 , a robot 13 , a distance measuring unit 14 , an imaging unit 15 , and a temperature adjusting unit ( 16) is provided.

The slider 11 is mounted on a pair of third rails 9 and 9, and is mounted on a driving unit (not shown) provided on at least one of the pair of third rails 9 and 9, for example, a linear motor. It is movable along the pair of third rails (9, 9). The pedestal 12 is fixed to the slider 11 . The upper surface of the pedestal 12 is a horizontal surface.

The robot 13 is installed on the upper surface of the pedestal 12 . This robot 13 is movable along the sub conveying direction by the slider 11 . As described above, the slider 11 is mounted on the stage 52 via a pair of third rails 9 and 9 . For this reason, the robot 13 can also move along the main conveyance direction by the slider 51 (refer FIG. 2).

In this way, the robot 13 is movable in the main conveying direction and the sub conveying direction using the sliders 11 and 51 . Thereby, the robot 13 can move below the head part 65 (the following may describe as "target head part 65") used as the target of position adjustment. Then, the robot 13 adjusts the position of the target head 65 with respect to the opening 641 by supporting and moving the target head 65 from below.

The robot 13 includes a support member 131 and a moving unit 132 . The support member 131 has, for example, a plurality of pins 131a. The support member 131 is moved by a moving part 132 to be described later, so that the plurality of pins 131a are brought into contact with the nozzle face 615 of the head part 65 to support the head part 65 from below. do.

The moving part 132 moves the support member 131 . The moving part 132 includes, for example, a parallel link mechanism. Specifically, the moving part 132 includes a base part 132a fixed to the upper surface (horizontal plane) of the pedestal 12 , a moving table 132b disposed above the base part 132a , and the base part 132a . ) and a plurality of link mechanisms 132c for connecting the moving table 132b in parallel. The upper surface of the moving table 132b is a flat surface, and on this flat surface, in addition to the support member 131 described above, a distance measuring unit 14 and an imaging unit 15 are provided.

In this way, the robot 13 is a so-called parallel link robot, and can move the support member 131 , the distance measuring unit 14 , and the imaging unit 15 provided on the moving table 132b in any direction. A parallel link mechanism can operate more precisely than a serial link mechanism. For this reason, the robot 13 with a parallel link mechanism can perform position adjustment of the head part 65 with high precision. In addition, the robot 13 does not necessarily require a parallel link mechanism. In addition, it is not required that the upper surface of the pedestal 12 is necessarily a horizontal surface, and it is sufficient if the robot 13 can realize horizontality by changing the posture.

The distance measuring unit 14 is provided on the upper surface of the moving table 132b of the robot 13 . The distance measuring unit 14 is, for example, a laser lengthening device, irradiating laser light in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the movable table 132b, and measuring the distance to the reflecting surface by receiving the reflected light. can do. The adjustment unit 10 measures the distance to the nozzle face 615 of the head part 65 using this distance measuring part 14 . In addition, the adjustment unit 10 may be provided with the some distance measuring part 14. As shown in FIG.

The imaging unit 15 includes, for example, an imaging device such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and is fixed to the movable table 132b in a state in which the optical axis is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the movable table 132b. . The adjustment unit 10 images the nozzle surface 615 of the head part 65 using this imaging part 15 .

The temperature adjusting unit 16 is provided in the robot 13 and adjusts the temperature of the robot 13 . For example, the temperature adjusting part 16 may be attached to the lower surface of the moving table 132b. Thus, by providing the temperature adjusting part 16 in the robot 13, the influence of thermal expansion of the moving table 132b etc. by heat_generation|fever of the robot 13, etc. can be excluded.

In addition, the adjustment unit 10 may be configured to be detachable from the droplet discharging device 1 . Specifically, for example, the slider 11 may be comprised so that attachment and detachment is possible with respect to a pair of 3rd rail 9,9. Moreover, with respect to the pedestal 12, the robot 13 may be comprised so that attachment or detachment is possible. In this way, by configuring the adjustment unit 10 to be detachable, for example, it is possible to facilitate the operation of replacing and mounting the robot 13 in accordance with the required precision of position adjustment.

<Specific operation of droplet discharging device>

return to FIG. 1 . The droplet discharging device 1 includes a control device 50 . The control device 50 is, for example, a computer, and includes a control unit (not shown) and a storage unit (not shown). The storage unit is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

The control unit includes a microcomputer or various circuits including a central processing unit (CPU), read only memory (ROM), RAM, input/output ports, and the like. The CPU of the microcomputer realizes the control of the droplet discharging device 1 by reading and executing the program stored in the ROM.

Further, the program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium and installed in the storage unit of the control device 50 from the storage medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnet optical disk (MO), and a memory card.

In this specification, a specific operation of the droplet discharging device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 . 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing executed by the droplet discharging apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a 1st adjustment process. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the second adjustment process. Each process shown in FIGS. 7-9 is performed according to the control of the control part with which the control device 50 is equipped.

As shown in FIG. 7 , in the droplet ejection apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, first, a first adjustment process is executed (step S01), and then, a second adjustment process is executed (step S02). ). The first adjustment processing is performed by imaging the head portion 65 using the imaging unit 15 of the adjustment unit 10, and based on the amount of positional deviation of the head portion 65 obtained from the captured image. position adjustment. In the second adjustment process, droplets of the functional liquid are discharged from the head unit 65 , and the position of the head unit 65 is adjusted based on the amount of deviation of the discharge positions of the droplets.

First, the procedure of the 1st adjustment process is demonstrated. In FIG. 8, the procedure of the adjustment process with respect to one head part 65 is shown. In addition, before the start of the 1st adjustment process, the some head part 65 is arrange|positioned in the some opening part 641 of the carriage 64 by a human hand, for example.

As shown in Fig. 8, in the droplet discharging apparatus 1, a process for temporarily fixing the target head portion 65 is executed (step S101). Specifically, the control unit controls the plurality of fixing portions 642 to fix the target head portion 65 to the carriage 64 . In addition, when the first adjustment processing is continuously performed with respect to the plurality of head portions 65 , the control unit selects the plurality of head portions 65 in the first adjustment processing for the first target head portion 65 . You may temporarily fix it to the carriage 64 all at once.

Subsequently, in the droplet discharging apparatus 1, a process for measuring the inclination of the nozzle face 615 of the head portion 65 is executed (step S102). Specifically, the control unit controls the slider 51 (see FIG. 2 ) and the slider 11 (see FIG. 6 ) to place the robot 13 directly under the target head 65 . Subsequently, the control unit controls the slider 11 to move the robot 13 along the sub-conveying direction, while using the distance measuring unit 14 the distance to the nozzle face 615 of each head unit 65 . measure And the control part acquires the inclination with respect to the horizontal plane of the nozzle surface 615 of each head part 65 based on the measurement result by the distance measuring part 14. As shown in FIG.

Then, the control part controls the robot 13, and makes the moving table 132b incline according to the inclination of the nozzle surface 615 acquired in step S102 (step S103). Specifically, the control unit inclines the moving table 132b so that the nozzle face 615 and the upper surface of the moving table 132b become parallel.

Subsequently, based on the image captured by the imaging unit 15, the control unit determines a predetermined discharge hole 616 (hereinafter, The position of the "reference hole 616") is acquired (step S104). For example, among the plurality of discharge holes 616 formed in two rows, the discharge hole 616 located at the head of the first row and the discharge hole 616 located at the rearmost end of the second row are the reference points. It is predetermined as hole 616 .

Then, the control unit calculates the difference between the position of the reference hole 616 acquired in step S104 and the predetermined target position of the present reference hole 616 as the required movement amount of the target head portion 65 (step ( S105)). The required movement amount includes the distance between the target position and the position of the reference hole 616 and the direction of the reference hole 616 with respect to the target position.

The target position is expressed by coordinates in a coordinate system based on the upper surface of the movement table 132b. On the other hand, the position of the reference hole 616 obtained in step S104 is expressed by coordinates in a coordinate system based on the imaging plane (plane orthogonal to the optical axis) of the imaging unit 15 . According to the droplet discharging apparatus 1, the inclination of the said two coordinate systems can be made to match by inclining the moving table 132b in accordance with the inclination of the nozzle surface 615 in step S103. Thereby, the required movement amount can be calculated accurately.

Then, the control unit controls the plurality of fixing parts 642 holding the target head part 65 to release the fixing of the target head part 65 (step S106).

When the temporary fixation of the target head 65 is released, there is a possibility that the position of the target head 65 is shifted. Then, the control part acquires again the position of the reference hole 616 by the procedure similar to step S104 (step S107). Then, the control unit determines whether or not the position of the reference hole 616 acquired in step S107 has deviated from the position of the reference hole 616 acquired in step S104 (step S108). For example, when the difference between the position of the reference hole 616 in step S107 and the position of the reference hole 616 in step S104 exceeds a threshold value, the control part controls the reference hole 616 It is determined that the position of

When it is determined in step S108 that the position of the reference hole 616 has shifted, the control unit calculates the required movement amount again based on the position of the reference hole 616 in step S107 (step S109). )).

When the processing in step S109 is finished or when the position of the reference hole 616 is not shifted in step S108 (step S108, NO), in the droplet discharging device 1, the target head 65 ) is executed (step S110). Specifically, by controlling the robot 13, the control unit moves the target head 65 by the required movement amount calculated in step S105 or S109.

Subsequently, the control unit controls the plurality of fixing portions 642 to fix the target head portion 65 to the carriage 64 (step S111).

Then, the control part acquires the position of the reference hole 616 again by the procedure similar to step S104 (step S112). Then, the control unit determines whether or not the difference between the position of the reference hole 616 and the target position obtained in step S112 is within a threshold (step S113). In the present process, if the difference from the target position exceeds the threshold (step S113, NO), the control unit returns the process to step S105 and repeats the processes in steps S105 to S113. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S113 that the difference from the target position is within the threshold (step S1130, YES), the control unit ends the first adjustment processing for one target head 65 .

For example, at the start of the droplet discharging device 1 , the above-described first adjustment processing is executed for all the head units 65 . In this case, the 1st adjustment process is continuously performed with respect to the some head part 65 as a target.

In addition, the 1st adjustment process may be performed targeting only the head part 65 after replacement, when, for example, when replacing the head part 65 in which the problem occurred with the other head part 65. As shown in FIG. Further, according to the droplet discharging device 1, since fixing and releasing of the plurality of head portions 65 can be performed individually, even if a problem occurs in the head portion 65, the problematic head portion 65 ) only needs to be replaced, and there is no need to replace the carriage 64 unit. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the effort and cost associated with the maintenance of the droplet discharging device 1 .

When the first adjustment processing is finished, the second adjustment processing is started. As shown in FIG. 9 , in the droplet discharging apparatus 1, first, a process for discharging a droplet from the target head portion 65 is executed (step S201). Specifically, the control unit controls the slider 73 (see FIG. 1 ) to move the inspection film 71 below the target head 65 . Then, the control unit controls the ejection unit 6 to eject the droplets from the target head portion 65 to the inspection film 71 .

In addition, although it was assumed that a droplet is discharged with respect to the test|inspection film 71 from the object head part 65 in this specification, the control part may discharge a droplet with respect to the board|substrate W. In this case, the control unit may control the slider 51 (refer to FIG. 2 ) to place the substrate W under the target head 65 .

Subsequently, in the droplet ejection apparatus 1, a process for acquiring the ejection position of the droplet on the inspection film 71 is executed (step S202). Specifically, the control unit images the droplet discharged to the inspection film 71 using the imaging unit 72 (refer to FIG. 2 ), and acquires the discharge position of the droplet based on the captured image.

Subsequently, the control unit determines whether or not the difference between the discharge position acquired in step S202 and the target position of the predetermined main discharge position is within a threshold (step S203). In this process, if the difference from the target position exceeds the threshold (step S203, NO), the control unit sets the difference from the target position as the required movement amount of the target head 65, and sets the robot 13 to control to move the target head 65 (step S204).

When the process of step S204 is finished, or when it is determined in step S203 that the difference from the target position is within the threshold (step S203, NO), the control unit ends the second adjustment process.

Further, in the second adjustment process, for example, the control unit may simultaneously execute steps S201 and S202 for the plurality of target head units 65 . That is, by discharging droplets from the plurality of head portions 65 , the discharge positions corresponding to the plurality of head portions 65 may be acquired at once. Then, in the determination processing of step S203, the control unit executes the processing of step S204 with respect to the target head portion 65 which has been determined that the difference from the target position exceeds the threshold.

(variant example)

10 is a flowchart showing another example of a sequence of processing executed by the droplet discharging apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10 , the droplet ejection device 1 may execute the first adjustment processing (step S12) after executing the second adjustment processing (step S11).

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the example in the case of adjusting the position of the head part 65 in unit of the head part 65 using the adjustment unit 10 with which the droplet discharge apparatus 1 is equipped was demonstrated. It is not limited to this, and the adjustment unit 10 may adjust the position of the head part 65 in the carriage 64 unit. Hereinafter, an example in the case of performing position adjustment of the carriage 64 using the adjustment unit 10 is demonstrated.

11 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a droplet discharging apparatus according to a modification. As shown in Fig. 11, in the modified example, the position adjustment of the head portion 65 with respect to the carriage 64A is the second provided by the head mounting device 200 disposed outside the droplet discharging device 1A. It is executed by the adjustment unit 10B. The second adjustment unit 10B has, for example, a configuration similar to that of the adjustment unit 10 according to the above-described embodiment, and performs position adjustment of the head portion 65 in the same procedure as that of the adjustment unit 10 . do.

In addition, the 2nd adjustment unit 10B does not require the thing completely identical to the adjustment unit 10, and should just include the structure similar to the adjustment unit 10 at least. By this second adjustment unit 10B, the position adjustment of the head portion 65 with respect to the opening 641 of the carriage 64A is performed.

The droplet ejection apparatus 1A according to the modification includes the first adjustment unit 10 having the same configuration as the adjustment unit 10 according to the above-described embodiment. In the droplet discharging apparatus 1A according to the modified example, the head portion 65 receives the carriage 64A of the finished mounting from the head mounting apparatus 200, and uses the received carriage 64A with the first adjustment unit 10A. and attached to the droplet discharging device 1A.

Further, the droplet discharging device 1A may separate the carriage 64A from the droplet discharging device 1A using the first adjustment unit 10A, and the carriage 64A mounted on the droplet discharging device 1A Position adjustment may be performed using the first adjustment unit 10A. Also, in the droplet discharging device 1A, similarly to the droplet discharging device 1 according to the embodiment, the position of the head 65 is adjusted in units of the head 65 using the first adjusting unit 10A. It is possible.

12 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a discharge unit according to a modification. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate|omitted in FIG. 12, while the some head part 65 is attached to the carriage 64A, it is in the state in which the positioning with respect to the opening part 641 was made|formed.

As shown in Fig. 12, in the discharge unit 6A according to the modified example, the carriage 64A is configured to be detachable with respect to the support body 63A. The support body 63A is connected to the carriage rotating part 62 (refer FIG. 2) via a support|pillar (not shown), for example.

The carriage 64A is provided with a connecting portion 645 for connecting the carriage 64A to the support body 63A. The connecting portion 645 is provided on a plurality of (in this specification, two) post portions 645a extending upward from the upper surface of the carriage 64A, and the plurality of post portions 645a, and is provided in the horizontal direction. An extended ceiling portion 645b is provided. Further, the carriage portion 64A includes a plurality of (two in this specification) fixing portions 645c provided on the lower surface of the ceiling portion 645b. The fixing part 645c sucks the upper surface 635 of the support body 63A by vacuum suction.

The carriage 64A is fixed to the support body 63A via this connecting portion 645 . Specifically, the connection part 645 fixes the carriage 64A with respect to the support body 63A by sucking the upper surface 635 of the support body 63A using the fixing part 645c.

In addition, the fixing method of the carriage 64A by the fixing part 645c is not limited to fixing by suction, For example, fixing by pressing force using a spring etc. may be sufficient, and fixing by screwing may be sufficient, It may be fixed by magnetic force using an electromagnet or the like.

The 1st adjustment unit 10A supports the lower surface center part of the carriage 64A from below using the robot 13, for example. A through hole 647 is formed in the carriage 64A, and the first adjustment unit 10A uses the imaging unit 15 to image the upper side of the carriage 64A through this through hole 647 . can A mark for positioning the carriage 64A is provided on the lower surface of the support body 63A positioned above the carriage 64A.

In the droplet discharging apparatus 1A according to the modified example, the first adjustment unit 10A supporting the carriage 64A is moved to the support body 63A using the slider 51 or the slider 11 . At this time, the carriage 64A is supported by the first adjustment unit 10A so that the position of the fixing portion 645c is higher than the upper surface 635 of the support body 63A.

The droplet discharging apparatus 1A determines that the carriage 64A is disposed at an appropriate position when the above indication is imaged via the through hole 647 by the imaging unit 15 of the first adjustment unit 10A and lowering the carriage 64A using the first adjustment unit 10A. Thereby, the fixing part 645c of the carriage 64A comes into contact with the upper surface 635 of the support body 63A. And when the fixing part 645c sucks the upper surface 635 of the support body 63A, the carriage 64A is fixed to the support body 63A.

In this way, the droplet discharging apparatus 1A may perform the position adjustment of the head portion 65 in units of the carriage 64A. Specifically, prior to the fixing of the carriage 64A to the droplet discharging device 1A, a step of releasing the fixing of the head portion 65 by the fixing portion 642 for each carriage 64A, and thereafter , a step of adjusting the position of the head portion 65 with respect to the opening portion 641 using the second adjustment unit 10B having the same configuration as that of the first adjustment unit 10A, and thereafter, the fixing portion 642 ) to fix the head portion 65 to the carriage 64A. Thereafter, a process of adjusting the position of each carriage 64A with respect to the droplet ejection apparatus 1A using the first adjustment unit 10A is executed.

In this way, by adjusting the position of the head portion 65 using a device other than the droplet ejecting device 1A, the time required for position adjustment in the droplet ejecting device 1A can be shortened.

In addition, although the example in the case where the 1st adjustment unit 10A is attached to the stage 52 was shown in this specification, the 1st adjustment unit 10A may be attached to the slider 73, for example, and is dedicated may be mounted on a transport unit of

As described above, the droplet discharge apparatus (as an example, the droplet discharge apparatus 1 ) according to the embodiment includes a discharge unit (as an example, the discharge unit 6 ), and a conveying unit (as an example, the conveying unit 5 ) )) and an adjustment unit (eg, adjustment unit 10 ). The discharge unit includes a carriage (eg, carriage 64) having a plurality of openings (eg, openings 641) formed therein, and a plurality of heads (eg, carriage 64) installed on the carriage to cover the openings to discharge droplets of a functional liquid (eg, as an example) , a head portion 64 ), and a plurality of fixing portions (eg, fixing portions 642 ) capable of fixing and releasing the head portion with respect to the carriage. The conveying unit is disposed below the discharge unit, and conveys the substrate (as an example, the substrate W) along the horizontal direction. The adjustment unit adjusts the position of the head by accessing it from below the discharge unit. Therefore, according to the droplet discharging apparatus according to the embodiment, the position adjustment of the head in the droplet discharging apparatus can be performed in units of the head.

The transfer unit includes a stage (eg, stage 52) on which the substrate is mounted, and a first moving mechanism (eg, slider 51) that moves the stage along a first horizontal direction (eg, main conveying direction) may be provided. In this case, the adjustment unit is provided on the side surface of the stage and includes a second movement mechanism (eg, the slider 11 ) that is movable along a second horizontal direction (eg, a sub-conveying direction) intersecting the first horizontal direction; , You may be provided with the 3rd movement mechanism (for example, the robot 13) which is provided in the 2nd movement mechanism, and which supports and moves a head part from below. Thereby, an arbitrary head part can be accessed.

The adjustment unit may be provided in the 3rd moving mechanism, and may be provided with the imaging part (for example, the imaging part 15) which images the lower surface of a head part. In addition, the droplet discharge device according to the embodiment may include a control unit (eg, a control unit of the control device 50 ). The control unit controls at least one of the first moving mechanism and the second moving mechanism to move the third moving mechanism below the head, and controls the imaging unit to capture an image of the lower surface of the head, and based on the captured image, the head unit A process for calculating the movement amount, a process for controlling the third movement mechanism to move the head portion based on the calculated movement amount, and a process for moving the head portion and then controlling the fixing portion to fix the head portion to the carriage are executed. Thereby, the position of a head part can be adjusted precisely.

After finishing the processing of fixing the head to the carriage, the control unit controls the discharge unit to discharge droplets from the head, and based on the discharge position of the droplets, controls the third moving mechanism to readjust the position of the head may be run. Thereby, the precision of position adjustment of a head part can be raised.

The third moving mechanism has a support member (for example, the support member 131) for supporting the head portion from below, and a movement table on which the support member is provided (for example, the movement table 132b) to move the movable table. You may be provided with the moving part (for example, the moving part 132). Moreover, the adjustment unit may be provided with the moving table, and may be equipped with the distance measuring part (for example, the distance measuring part 14) which measures the distance to the lower surface of a head part. In this case, before the process of calculating the movement amount of the head part, the control part controls the second moving mechanism to perform the measurement by the distance measuring part while moving the distance measuring part along the second horizontal direction, and Based on the measurement result, you may control a moving part, and you may execute the process of adjusting the inclination of a moving table. Thereby, the precision of position adjustment of a head part can be raised.

The moving part may include a parallel link mechanism. Thereby, the position adjustment of a head part can be performed with high precision.

The adjustment unit may be provided with the temperature adjustment part (for example, the temperature adjustment part 16) which adjusts the temperature of a 3rd moving mechanism. Thereby, the influence by the heat_generation|fever of a 3rd moving mechanism can be excluded.

The fixing portion may fix the head portion to the carriage by suction. Thereby, compared with the case where fixing the head part by screwing etc., for example, fixing is easy, and it can suppress the amount of positional deviation at the time of fixing.

The adjustment unit may be detachable from the droplet ejection device. For example, it is possible to facilitate the operation of replacing and mounting the adjustment unit in accordance with the required precision of position adjustment.

It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all points, and is not restrictive. Indeed, the above-described embodiment may be embodied in various forms. In addition, said embodiment may abbreviate|omit, substitute, and change in various forms, without deviating from an attached claim and the meaning.

1: Droplet ejection device
2: trestle
3: 1st rail
4: 2nd rail
5: transfer unit
6: discharge unit
7: inspection unit
8: maintenance unit
9: 3rd rail
10: adjustment unit
11: Slider
12: pedestal
13 : Robot
14: distance measuring unit
15: imaging unit
16: temperature control unit
50: control unit
51 : slider
52: stage
61: slider
62: carriage rotating part
63: support
64 : carriage
65: head
71: inspection film
72: imaging unit
73: slider
100 : Chamber Room
131: support member
131a: pin
132: moving part
132a: base part
132b: moving table
132c: link mechanism
133: moving unit
616: discharge hole
641: opening
642: fixed part
W: substrate

Claims (12)

A discharging unit having a carriage having a plurality of openings, a plurality of head portions installed on the carriage to cover the openings to discharge droplets of a functional liquid, and a plurality of fixing portions capable of fixing and releasing the head portion with respect to the carriage class,
a conveying unit disposed below the discharge unit to convey a substrate along a horizontal direction;
and an adjustment unit accessing from below the discharge unit to adjust the position of the head part;
droplet ejection device. The method of claim 1,
and the adjustment unit accesses the head portion from below the discharge unit to adjust the position of the head portion with respect to the opening.
droplet ejection device. 3. The method of claim 2,
The conveying unit is
a stage on which the substrate is mounted;
a first moving mechanism for moving the stage along a first horizontal direction;
The adjustment unit is
a second moving mechanism provided on a side surface of the stage and movable along a second horizontal direction intersecting the first horizontal direction;
provided in the second moving mechanism and provided with a third moving mechanism for supporting and moving the head portion from below;
droplet ejection device. 4. The method of claim 3,
The adjustment unit is provided in the third moving mechanism and includes an image pickup unit configured to image a lower surface of the head portion;
a process of controlling at least one of the first moving mechanism and the second moving mechanism to move the third moving mechanism downward of the head, and controlling the imaging unit to capture an image of the lower surface of the head, processing of calculating the movement amount of the head unit based on the calculated movement amount, controlling the third movement mechanism to move the head unit, and after moving the head unit, controlling the fixing unit to control the head unit and a control unit that executes a process of fixing to the carriage.
droplet ejection device. 5. The method of claim 4,
After finishing the processing of fixing the head portion to the carriage, the control unit controls the discharge unit to discharge the droplet from the head portion, and based on the discharge position of the droplet, the third moving mechanism is configured to: controlling and executing a process of re-adjusting the position of the head part
droplet ejection device. 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
The third movement mechanism,
a support member for supporting the head portion from below;
and a moving table on which the support member is provided, and a moving unit for moving the moving table;
The adjustment unit is
It is provided on the moving table and includes a distance measuring unit for measuring the distance to the lower surface of the head,
The control unit is
a process of performing measurement by the distance measuring unit while controlling the second moving mechanism to move the distance measuring unit in the second horizontal direction prior to the processing of calculating the movement amount of the head; controlling the moving unit based on the measurement result by
droplet ejection device. 7. The method of claim 6,
The moving unit includes a parallel link mechanism
droplet ejection device. 8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
and the adjusting unit includes a temperature adjusting unit for adjusting the temperature of the third moving mechanism.
droplet ejection device. 9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
The fixing part fixes the head part to the carriage by suction.
droplet ejection device. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The adjustment unit is detachable with respect to the droplet discharging device.
droplet ejection device. A dispensing unit having a carriage having a plurality of openings, a plurality of head portions installed on the carriage to cover the openings to discharge droplets of a functional liquid, and a plurality of fixing portions capable of fixing and releasing the head portions with respect to the carriage and a conveying unit disposed below the discharge unit and conveying a substrate along a horizontal direction, and an adjustment unit accessing the head portion from below the discharge unit to adjust the position of the head portion with respect to the opening portion; In the droplet discharging device to
releasing the fixing of the head part by the fixing part;
after the releasing step, adjusting the position of the head portion using the adjusting unit;
after the adjusting step, a step of fixing the head portion to the carriage using the fixing portion;
How to adjust the position. A plurality of carriages having a plurality of openings formed therein, a plurality of head parts installed in the carriage to cover the openings to discharge droplets of a functional liquid, and a plurality of fixing parts capable of fixing and releasing the head part with respect to the carriage; A droplet discharging apparatus comprising: a discharging unit; a conveying unit disposed below the discharging unit and conveying a substrate along a horizontal direction; and a first adjusting unit accessing from below the discharging unit to adjust a position of the head portion; In
Prior to fixing of the carriage to the droplet ejection device, for each carriage,
releasing the fixing of the head part by the fixing part;
after the releasing step, adjusting the position of the head with respect to the opening using a second adjusting unit having the same configuration as that of the first adjusting unit;
After the adjusting step, a step of fixing the head portion to the carriage using the fixing portion is performed,
performing, after the fixing step, a step of adjusting the position of each carriage with respect to the droplet discharging device using the first adjusting unit
How to adjust the position.

Images