JP2010026181A - Droplet applying device and droplet applying method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet applying device capable of preventing the reduction of precision in applying position and precision in amount of application. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet applying device 1 includes an applying head 5 for discharging droplets toward each section for application on an applying face Ka of an object K to be applied, mobile mechanisms 3, 4 for moving the object K to be applied and the applying head 5 relatively in the direction along the applying face Ka, an imaging part 7 for imaging the section for application on which the droplet dropped, a storing part 8a for storing the information about applying position and the information about amount of application, a means for controlling the applying head 5 and the mobile mechanisms 3, 4 to move the object K to be applied and the applying head 5 relatively and discharge droplets sequentially for application based on the information about applying position and the information about amount of application, a means for controlling the imaging part 7 to image the sections for application on which the droplet dropped sequentially during application, and a means for obtaining deviation of applying position and deviation of amount of application by using the images of the sections for application imaged sequentially to correct the information about applying position and the information about amount of application. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet applying apparatus and a droplet applying method for applying droplets by applying droplets to an object to be applied.

  When manufacturing a display device or a semiconductor device such as a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, an electron emission display device, or a plasma display device, for example, when forming a color filter (for example, This method is used when a functional thin film such as an alignment film or a resist is formed on a substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer.

  This droplet coating apparatus includes a coating head that ejects (jets) a coating liquid such as ink as droplets from a plurality of ejection holes (nozzles) toward a coating target such as a substrate. The droplet coating apparatus causes a plurality of droplets to land sequentially on the coating surface of the coating object with the coating head while relatively moving the coating head and the coating object, thereby forming a predetermined coating pattern.

  When a color filter is manufactured using the above-described droplet applying apparatus, droplets are applied to a substrate for manufacturing a color filter. In other words, red, green and blue colored inks are applied as droplets in the recesses separated by the grid-like protrusions (black matrix) provided on the surface of the substrate for producing the color filter, and applied in the recesses. A colored layer as a film is formed. The recess has a rectangular shape in plan view, and this recess corresponds to one pixel (sub-pixel) in the liquid crystal display panel.

As a substrate for manufacturing a color filter, a multi-sided substrate in which a plurality of display areas are arranged in a matrix is employed in order to increase manufacturing efficiency. Usually, alignment marks are attached to the four corners of the outer edge of the substrate. These alignment marks are used when the droplet coating apparatus performs a coating operation, and the droplet coating position is offset from the deviation obtained from the alignment mark, and then the droplets are coated. During the coating operation, the substrate and the coating head are relatively moved in one direction.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-230129

  However, when using the alignment mark located on the outer edge of the substrate as described above, the position correction accuracy increases because the position error of the alignment mark itself and the variation of the mark position from substrate to substrate increase as the substrate size increases. The coating position accuracy decreases. In addition, with the recent increase in the resolution of displays, the required application position accuracy has also increased, and it has become increasingly difficult to perform application with high position accuracy.

  On the other hand, in order to increase the productivity of large-sized substrates, a multi-nozzle coating head is required to complete coating in as short a time as possible. Since it becomes difficult to make the discharge amount of the droplets uniform, the coating amount accuracy is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet coating apparatus and a droplet coating method capable of suppressing a decrease in coating position accuracy and coating amount accuracy.

  A first feature according to an embodiment of the present invention is that in the droplet coating apparatus, a coating head that discharges droplets toward a coating section of a coating target having a coating surface on which a plurality of coating sections are formed; A moving mechanism that relatively moves the application object and the application head in the direction along the application surface, an imaging unit that images the application area where the liquid droplets landed, application position information regarding the application position of the liquid droplets, and the amount of liquid droplets to be applied And a coating operation for sequentially ejecting droplets by relatively moving the coating target and the coating head based on the storage unit storing the coating amount information and the application position information and the coating amount information stored in the storage unit. Using the means for controlling the coating head and the moving mechanism, the means for controlling the imaging unit so as to sequentially capture the coating section on which the droplets landed during the execution of the coating operation, and the image of the coating section captured sequentially. Misalignment and application position A means for correcting the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit using the obtained application position deviation and application amount deviation, and the corrected application position information and application amount information. And a means for controlling the coating head and the moving mechanism so as to perform the coating operation based on the above.

  A second feature of the embodiment of the present invention is that in the droplet coating method, a plurality of coating sections are formed based on the coating position information regarding the droplet coating position and the coating amount information regarding the droplet coating amount. Performing a coating operation in which a coating object having a coated surface and a coating head for discharging droplets toward the coating section are relatively moved in a direction along the coating surface to sequentially discharge the droplets onto the coating head; During the execution of the operation, the step of sequentially imaging the coating section where the droplets landed, and the deviation of the application position and the amount of application using the sequentially imaged image of the application section are obtained, and the deviation and application of the determined application position are determined. And a step of correcting the application position information and the application amount information using the amount deviation, and a step of performing an application operation based on the corrected application position information and the application amount information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a droplet coating apparatus and a droplet coating method capable of suppressing a drop in coating position accuracy and coating amount accuracy and performing droplet coating on a coating target with high quality.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the droplet applying apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a substrate K as an application target is placed in a horizontal state (a state along the XY plane in FIG. 1). The moving table 2, the X-axis moving mechanism 3 that holds the moving table 2 and moves it in the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis moving mechanism that moves the moving table 2 in the Y-axis direction via the X-axis moving mechanism 3 4, a coating head 5 that discharges a coating liquid such as ink as droplets toward the substrate K on the moving table 2, a rotating mechanism 6 that rotates the coating head 5 in a horizontal plane, and a substrate on the moving table 2. A plurality of imaging units 7 that perform an imaging operation toward K and a control unit 8 that controls each unit are provided.

  The moving table 2 is stacked on the X-axis moving mechanism 3 and is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction. The moving table 2 is moved in the X-axis direction by the X-axis moving mechanism 3. The substrate K is placed on the moving table 2 by its own weight. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in order to hold the substrate K, a holding mechanism such as an electrostatic chuck or an adsorption chuck is provided. May be.

  The X-axis movement mechanism 3 is a movement mechanism that guides and moves the movement table 2 in the X-axis direction. The X-axis moving mechanism 3 is electrically connected to the control unit 8, and its driving is controlled by the control unit 8. As the X-axis moving mechanism 3, for example, a linear motor moving mechanism using a linear motor as a driving source or a feed screw moving mechanism using a motor as a driving source is used.

  The Y-axis moving mechanism 4 is a moving mechanism that guides and moves the X-axis moving mechanism 3 in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis moving mechanism 4 is electrically connected to the control unit 8 and its driving is controlled by the control unit 8. As the Y-axis moving mechanism 4, for example, a linear motor moving mechanism using a linear motor as a driving source or a feed screw moving mechanism using a motor as a driving source is used.

  These X-axis moving mechanism 3 and Y-axis moving mechanism 4 function as a moving mechanism that relatively moves the substrate K placed on the moving table 2 and the coating head 5 in the direction along the coating surface Ka of the substrate K.

  The coating head 5 is an ink jet head that ejects a coating liquid such as ink from a plurality of ejection holes (nozzles) N as droplets. The coating head 5 includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements (not shown) corresponding to the ejection holes N, respectively. The respective ejection holes N are formed on the ejection surface of the coating head 5 in a straight line at a predetermined pitch (interval). For example, the number of discharge holes N is about several tens to several hundreds, the diameter of the discharge holes N is about several μm to several tens μm, and the pitch of the discharge holes N is several tens μm to several hundreds μm. Degree.

  The coating head 5 is electrically connected to the control unit 8, and its driving is controlled by the control unit 8. The coating head 5 ejects the coating liquid as droplets from each ejection hole N in response to application of a driving voltage to each piezoelectric element. The coating liquid is supplied from a liquid tank (not shown) that stores the coating liquid. This coating solution is a solution composed of a solute that remains as a residue on the coating surface Ka of the substrate K and a solvent that dissolves (disperses) the solute. As the coating liquid, for example, red, green and blue inks are used.

  The rotation mechanism 6 supports the coating head 5 so as to be rotatable in the θ direction (rotation direction along the XY plane in FIG. 1) in a plane parallel to the coating surface Ka of the substrate K, and the relative movement of the substrate K is relatively slow. Tilt by a predetermined tilt angle with respect to the relative movement direction. Here, when coating is performed on the substrate K that relatively moves in the Y-axis direction, the coating pitch of the droplets in the X-axis direction can be adjusted by changing the tilt angle of the coating head 5. In addition, the application pitch in the Y-axis direction can be adjusted by changing the droplet discharge frequency (discharge timing).

  Each imaging unit 7 is a camera that images the coating surface Ka of the substrate K. These imaging units 7 are arranged in a line in the X-axis direction, and are provided on the downstream side of the coating head 5 in the moving direction of the substrate K on the moving table 2 that moves during the coating operation. For example, in FIG. 1, four imaging units 7 are arranged in a line in the X-axis direction, and sequentially pick up each droplet ejected from each ejection hole N of the coating head 5 and landed on the coating surface Ka of the substrate K. Is possible.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the number of ejection holes N and the number of imaging units 7 are shown to correspond one-to-one, but one imaging unit 7 is provided for one ejection hole N. There is no need to provide it, and imaging is performed so that one imaging unit 7 covers a range corresponding to a plurality of ejection holes N. That is, in the range corresponding to the plurality of ejection holes N, each droplet ejected from each ejection hole N and landed on the coating surface Ka of the substrate K is collectively imaged by one imaging unit 7.

  Each imaging unit 7 can be moved in the XYZ axial directions with respect to the coating head 5 by an imaging unit moving mechanism (not shown), and the relative position with respect to the ejection hole N can be adjusted. These imaging units 7 are electrically connected to the control unit 8, and the driving thereof is controlled by the control unit 8. Note that focusing of the imaging unit 7 is performed by the vertical movement of the imaging unit 7 by an imaging movement mechanism, an autofocus function, or the like. As the imaging unit 7, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or the like is used.

  The control unit 8 includes a microcomputer (not shown) that centrally controls each unit, a storage unit 8a that stores various programs, various types of information, and the like. Various information includes application information regarding application. The application information includes application position information (for example, a predetermined application pattern such as a dot pattern) relating to the application position of the droplet, application amount information (droplet discharge amount information) relating to the application amount of the droplet, and the like. . In accordance with the application position information, for example, the ejection timing, the inclination angle of the application head 5, the moving speed of the substrate K, etc. are determined, and the drive voltage applied to the piezoelectric element of the application head 5 in accordance with the application amount information. Etc. are determined.

  Next, the coating surface Ka of the substrate K will be described. The substrate K according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a substrate K for manufacturing color filters. When using this substrate K for manufacturing color filters, a plurality of coating heads 5 are used according to the number of colors such as red, green and blue.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of display areas (for example, pixel areas) R are formed in a matrix form on the coating surface Ka of the substrate K as a coating area in order to perform a multi-surface drawing taking a plurality of display panels from a single substrate K. Are arranged. In FIG. 2, there are four display areas R. Each display region R is divided into a plurality of regions R1 to R9 divided for coating inspection. In FIG. 2, there are nine regions R1 to R9 for each display region R.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display region R is formed with a black matrix BM as a grid-like convex portion. The black matrix BM is a grid-like black portion that surrounds the red, green, and blue pixels of the color filter. The droplet E1 is applied in a coating section Ra as a concave section divided by a black matrix (lattice-shaped convex section), and a colored layer as a coating film is formed in the coating section Ra. The coating section Ra has a rectangular shape in plan view, and this coating section Ra corresponds to one pixel (subpixel) in the liquid crystal display panel.

  Next, a coating operation (a droplet coating method) performed by the above-described droplet coating apparatus 1 will be described. Note that the control unit 8 of the droplet applying apparatus 1 executes application processing including correction processing based on various programs and various information.

  When the operator presses the application start button or the like to instruct the start of application, the application operation is started. In this coating operation, the control unit 8 controls the X-axis moving mechanism 3 and the Y-axis moving mechanism 4 based on the coating information to move the coating head 5 to a coating start position facing the coating surface Ka of the substrate K. .

  Next, the control unit 8 controls the Y-axis moving mechanism 4 based on the application information, controls the application head 5 while moving the moving table 2 in the Y-axis direction, and applies the substrate K on the moving table 2. An application operation for applying droplets to the surface Ka is performed.

  Thereafter, the control unit 8 controls the X-axis moving mechanism 3 based on the application information, moves the moving table 2 by a predetermined amount in the X-axis direction, switches the scanning position, and then performs the above-described application operation again. Further, the control unit 8 repeats the operation a plurality of times, and applies the droplets to the entire display region R of the application surface Ka of the substrate K. The following correction process is performed during such a coating operation.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the coating head 5 is performing a coating operation (step S1), and determines that the coating head 5 is not performing a coating operation (step S1). NO), the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, when it is determined that the coating head 5 is performing the coating operation (YES in step S1), it is determined whether or not each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (step S2). If it is determined that it is not on the imaging position (NO in step S2), the process returns to step S1.

  For example, one imaging position is set in each of the areas R1 to R9 of the display area R, but the number is not limited. In addition, if the number of imaging positions is increased in each area R1 to R9 of the display area R and the number of imaging positions is set so that the entire area R1 to R9 of the display area R can be imaged, each area R1 to Since the entire region of R9 is imaged and used for correction, the correction accuracy can be improved.

  When it is determined that each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (YES in step S2), imaging is performed by each imaging unit 7 (step S3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the application section Ra on which the droplet E1 has landed is imaged. In other words, a plurality of coating sections Ra within the imaging range of each imaging unit 7 and sequentially landed with the droplets E1 are imaged.

  Thereafter, the control unit 8 determines whether or not imaging at all imaging positions has been completed (step S4), and if it is determined that the imaging has not been completed (NO in step S4), processing is performed. To step S1. Thereby, for each display region R, imaging is performed at the imaging positions of the regions R1 to R9. On the other hand, when it is determined that imaging at all imaging positions has been completed (YES in step S4), correction is performed using the captured image of the application section Ra (step S5).

  Here, it is assumed that application to the entire display region R on the application surface Ka of the substrate K is completed in six scans (relative movement) (see FIG. 2), and imaging and correction will be described. The moving direction of the substrate K is the Y-axis direction and the downward direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the first scan, the application is performed in the order of the region R1, the region R2, and the region R3 of the lower right display region R, and then the region R1, the region R2, and the region R3 of the upper right display region R. Done. In the second scan, application is performed in the order of the region R4, the region R5, and the region R6 in the lower right display region R, and then the region R4, the region R5, and the region R6 in the upper right display region R. In the third scan, application is performed in the order of the region R7, the region R8, and the region R9 in the lower right display region R, and then the region R7, the region R8, and the region R9 in the upper right display region R. Thereafter, the fourth, fifth, and sixth scans are also performed in the lower left and upper left display areas R in the same manner as the first, second, and third scans described above.

  In the second scan, the application may be performed in the order of the region R6, the region R5, and the region R4 in the upper right display region R, and then the region R6, the region R5, and the region R4 in the lower right display region R. . At this time, the moving direction of the substrate K is the upward direction in FIG. 2 in the Y-axis direction. However, in this case, each imaging unit 7 must be positioned on the downstream side of the coating head 5 in the Y-axis direction in order to image the coating section Ra after the droplet landing. For this reason, in addition to each imaging unit 7, a plurality of imaging units are newly provided on the opposite side of the imaging unit 7 with the coating head 5 interposed therebetween, or each imaging unit 7 is moved to the opposite side. It is necessary to do.

  In the first scan, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R1 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range and on which the droplet has landed is imaged at the imaging position. . Thereby, an image as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. Further, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R2 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range at the imaging position and on which the liquid droplet has landed is captured. When the imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R3 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range at which the liquid droplet has landed is imaged. The same imaging as that described above is also performed in each of the regions R1 to R3 in the upper right display region R. In the second to sixth scans, imaging similar to that in the first scan is performed.

  Thereafter, each image of the entire display region R obtained by the full scanning is recognized for each image by the image processing of the control unit 8, and the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are obtained. As shown in FIG. 3, for each coating section Ra, the shape of the droplet E1 landed on the coating section Ra is recognized, and the center position of the droplet E1 and the coating position of the coating section Ra (for example, based on the design value). Deviations from the center position) (position deviation X1 in the X-axis direction and position deviation Y1 in the Y-axis direction) are calculated. Further, for each application section Ra, the application area of the droplet E1 obtained from the image recognition is compared with the application area of the droplet at the optimum application amount stored in the storage unit 8a, and the application amount is determined based on the area difference. Is calculated.

  Next, in the plurality of application sections Ra arranged in the Y-axis direction (relative movement direction) within the imaging range of the imaging unit 7, the above-described deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are averaged. The average deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are used, and the predetermined application position and the predetermined application amount stored in the storage unit 8a are corrected. For example, a shift averaged in the region R1 of the display region R is used for correcting the application position in the region R1, and a shift averaged in the region R2 of the display region R is the application position in the region R2. In other areas, the averaged deviation is used in the same manner.

  Thereafter, the control unit 8 performs a coating operation based on the corrected coating position information and coating amount information. At this time, the tilt angle of the coating head 5 is changed based on the corrected coating position information and coating amount information, and the droplet coating pitch in the X-axis direction is adjusted. Further, the droplet ejection frequency (ejection timing) is also changed, and the coating pitch in the Y-axis direction is also adjusted. Furthermore, the drive voltage applied to the piezoelectric element of the coating head 5 is also changed, and the coating amount is adjusted.

  As described above, the displacement of the application position with respect to the application section Ra is accurately grasped for each display area R from each image captured during the application operation, and the application position is corrected. Without application, droplets are accurately applied to a desired application position. Even when the multi-nozzle coating head 5 is used, the coating amount of the coating section Ra is accurately grasped for each display region R, the coating amount is accurately corrected, and the discharge amount is made uniform. .

  The above-described correction process is executed when the first substrate K is placed and then when the predetermined number of substrates K is replaced. Thereby, since correction | amendment is performed regularly, the quality of a product can be stabilized. When the application state is poor, that is, when the application position deviation and the application amount deviation are larger than a predetermined amount (when the variation is large), the correction interval for correction is shortened, and the application state is stabilized. In such a case, control for increasing the correction interval is also performed. The calculated deviation is sequentially stored in the storage unit 8a and used for state determination for determining the application state.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, during the application operation, the application section Ra on which the droplet E1 has landed is sequentially imaged, and the image of the application section Ra that has been sequentially imaged is used. The application operation is determined by correcting the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit 8a using the application position deviation and the application amount deviation. From each image picked up inside, the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount with respect to the application section Ra are accurately grasped for each display region R. Thereby, since the application position is corrected, the application position can be accurately corrected without being affected by the increase in size of the substrate K. Even when the multi-nozzle coating head 5 is used, the coating amount can be corrected accurately. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in coating position accuracy and coating amount accuracy, and as a result, a display panel with high quality can be obtained.

  Further, the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are averaged in a plurality of application sections Ra arranged in the Y-axis direction (relative movement direction) within the imaging range of the imaging unit 7, and the average deviation of the application position and the application amount are averaged. Since the application position information and the application amount information are corrected using the deviation, the application position deviation and the application amount deviation are averaged for each ejection hole N of the application head 5, and the averaged application position is determined. Since the deviation and the deviation of the coating amount are used for correction, more accurate correction can be performed. Thereby, the fall of application | coating position precision can be suppressed more, and, as a result, a display panel with high quality can be obtained reliably.

  Further, when imaging is completed for all the sections of the application section Ra on which the liquid droplets have landed, a deviation of the application position and a deviation of the application amount are obtained by using the image of the application section Ra of all the captured sections. Since the application position information and the application amount information are corrected using the application position deviation and the application amount deviation, after imaging of the entire display region R of the application surface Ka of the substrate K is completed, that is, after the application operation is completed. Since the correction such as the displacement calculation process is performed, the correction can be performed when the substrate K is replaced, and the processing load on the control unit 8 can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The second embodiment of the present invention is basically the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, only parts different from the first embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, description of the same parts as those described in the first embodiment is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the coating head 5 is performing a coating operation (step S11), and determines that the coating head 5 is not performing a coating operation (step S11). NO), the process returns to step S11. On the other hand, when it is determined that the coating head 5 is performing the coating operation (YES in step S11), it is determined whether or not each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (step S12). If it is determined that it is not on the imaging position (NO in step S12), the process returns to step S11.

  If it is determined that each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (YES in step S12), imaging is performed by each imaging unit 7 (step S13), and correction is performed using the captured image of the application section Ra (step S13). Step S14). Thereby, the application section Ra on which the droplet E1 has landed is imaged (see FIG. 3), and then correction is performed based on the image. At this time, a plurality of coating sections Ra within the imaging range of each imaging unit 7 and sequentially landed with the droplets E1 are imaged.

  Thereafter, the control unit 8 determines whether or not imaging at all imaging positions is completed (step S15), and if it is determined that the imaging is not completed (NO in step S15), processing is performed. Is returned to step S11. In this way, for each display region R, imaging is performed at the imaging positions of the regions R1 to R9. On the other hand, if it is determined that imaging at all imaging positions has been completed (YES in step S15), the process ends.

  Here, as in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the coating on the entire display region R of the coating surface Ka of the substrate K is completed in six scans (relative movement) (see FIG. 2), and imaging and correction are performed. explain.

  In the first scan, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R1 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range and on which the droplet has landed is imaged at the imaging position. . Thereby, an image as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. Subsequently, the image is recognized by the image processing of the control unit 8 as in the first embodiment, and the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are obtained. These deviations are used for correction for the next region R2.

  Next, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R2 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range and where the droplets landed is imaged at the imaging position. Thereafter, image recognition and correction are performed in the same manner as described above. Further, imaging, image recognition, and correction are performed in the same manner in the region R3 in the lower right display region R and the regions R1, R2, and R3 in the upper right display region R.

  Thereafter, in the second to sixth scans, imaging, image recognition, and correction are performed in the same manner. In this way, the image in the downstream area is used for correction in the adjacent upstream area. Therefore, correction is performed in real time, and when the coating head 5 performs ejection in the next area, correction based on ejection in the previous area is performed. In order to improve the real-time property, the number of sections for dividing the display area R as an inspection area may be increased.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, every time imaging is performed, the application position deviation and the application amount deviation are obtained using the imaged application section Ra, and the application position information and the application amount are obtained using the obtained application position deviation and application amount deviation. Correction is performed in real time by performing the application operation based on the corrected application position information and application amount information each time the information is corrected. As a result, when the coating head 5 performs the next ejection, correction based on the previous ejection is performed, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in the coating position accuracy and the coating amount accuracy even in the substrate K that is the inspection target. Can do.

(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The third embodiment of the present invention is basically the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, in the third embodiment, parts different from the first embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, description of the same parts as those described in the first embodiment is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the coating head 5 is performing a coating operation (step S21), and determines that the coating head 5 is not performing a coating operation (step S21). NO), the process is returned to step S21. On the other hand, when it is determined that the coating head 5 is performing the coating operation (YES in step S21), it is determined whether or not each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (step S22). If it is determined that it is not on the imaging position (NO in step S22), the process returns to step S21.

  When it is determined that each imaging unit 7 is on the imaging position (YES in step S22), imaging is performed by each imaging unit 7 (step S23), and one scan on the imaging position in the upstream display region R is performed. Is determined (step S24). If it is determined that imaging for one scan is not completed (NO in step S24), the process returns to step S21.

  If it is determined that imaging for one scan at the imaging position is completed in the upstream display area R (YES in step S24), correction for one scan in the downstream display area R is performed (step S25). ), It is determined whether or not full scanning on the substrate K has been completed (step S26). If it is determined that full scanning has not been completed (NO in step S26), the process returns to step S21. On the other hand, if it is determined that all scanning has been completed (YES in step S26), the process ends.

  Here, as in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the coating on the entire display region R of the coating surface Ka of the substrate K is completed in six scans (relative movement) (see FIG. 2), and imaging and correction are performed. explain.

  In the first scan, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R1 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range and on which the droplet has landed is imaged at the imaging position. . Thereby, an image as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. Further, when each imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R2 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range at the imaging position and on which the liquid droplet has landed is captured. When the imaging unit 7 faces the imaging position in the region R3 of the lower right display region R, the application section Ra within the imaging range at which the liquid droplet has landed is imaged.

  Next, those images are image-recognized by the image processing of the control unit 8 as in the first embodiment, and the displacement of the application position and the application amount in the region R1, the region R2, and the region R3 of the downstream display region R. Is required. The deviations obtained in the regions R1, R2, and R3 are used for correction of the regions R1, R2, and R3 in the upstream display region R.

  Thereafter, in the second to sixth scans, imaging, image recognition, and correction are performed in the same manner. In this way, each image in the downstream display region R is used for correction in the upstream display region R. Accordingly, the application position and the application amount in the upstream display region R are corrected based on the discharge to the downstream display region R, and when the coating head 5 performs the discharge to the upstream display region R, the downstream side The correction based on the ejection for the display area R is performed. Note that after the substrate K to be inspected is replaced, the application position and the application amount in the upstream display region R are corrected in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, using the image of the coating section Ra imaged in the upstream display region R in the relative movement direction, the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are obtained, and the obtained deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are used. By applying the application operation based on the corrected application position information and application amount information in the downstream display region R in the relative movement direction by correcting the application position information and application amount information, the application in the upstream display region R is performed. The position and the coating amount are corrected based on the discharge with respect to the downstream display region R. As a result, when the coating head 5 performs ejection on the upstream display region R, correction is performed based on ejection on the downstream display region R. Therefore, even on the substrate K to be inspected, coating is performed. A decrease in position accuracy and application amount accuracy can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate K is moved with respect to the coating head 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the coating head 5 and the substrate K may be relatively moved. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the droplet applying apparatus 1 is used for manufacturing a color filter. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the droplet applying apparatus 1 may be used in addition to manufacturing a color filter.

  Finally, in the above-described embodiment, various numerical values are given, but these numerical values are merely examples and are not limited.

It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the droplet coating apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the application surface of the board | substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which expands and shows a part of application | coating surface shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the correction | amendment process in the application | coating operation | movement which the droplet coating device shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the correction process in the application | coating operation | movement which the droplet coating device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the correction | amendment process in the application | coating operation | movement which the droplet application apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention performs.

Explanation of symbols

1 Droplet coating device 3 Movement mechanism (X-axis movement mechanism)
4 Movement mechanism (Y-axis movement mechanism)
5 Application Head 7 Imaging Unit 8 Control Unit 8a Storage Unit E1 Droplet K Application Object (Substrate)
Ka coating surface R Display area Ra coating section

Claims (10)

A coating head for discharging droplets toward the coating section of the coating target having a coating surface on which a plurality of coating sections are formed;
A moving mechanism for relatively moving the application object and the application head in a direction along the application surface;
An imaging unit that images the coating section landed with the droplet;
A storage unit that stores application position information regarding the application position of the droplet and application amount information regarding the application amount of the droplet;
Based on the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit, the application head is configured to perform an application operation of sequentially ejecting the liquid droplets by relatively moving the application object and the application head. And means for controlling the moving mechanism;
Means for controlling the imaging unit so as to sequentially image the application section on which the droplet has landed during the application operation;
The application position stored in the storage unit is obtained using the difference between the application position and the application amount obtained using the images of the application sections that have been sequentially imaged. Means for correcting the information and the application amount information;
Means for controlling the application head and the moving mechanism to perform the application operation based on the corrected application position information and application amount information;
A droplet applying apparatus comprising:   The correcting means averages the application position deviation and the application amount deviation in the plurality of application sections arranged in the relative movement direction within the imaging range of the imaging unit, and averages the application position deviation and The droplet application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit are corrected using the deviation of the application amount.   When the imaging is completed for all the sections of the application section where the droplet has landed, the correcting means uses the image of the application section of all the sections that have been captured and the amount of application and the amount of application. 2. The application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit are corrected using the obtained application position deviation and the application amount deviation. Droplet coating device. The correction means obtains the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount using the image of the taken application section every time the image is taken, and the obtained deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount. To correct the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit,
The control means controls the coating head and the moving mechanism so as to perform the coating operation based on the corrected coating position information and the coating amount information each time the correction is performed. Item 2. A droplet coating apparatus according to Item 1. The plurality of application sections are formed on the application surface for each display area,
The correcting means obtains a deviation of the application position and a deviation of the application amount using an image of the application section imaged in an upstream display region in the relative movement direction, and calculates the deviation of the application position and the obtained deviation of the application position. Using the deviation of the application amount, the application position information and the application amount information stored in the storage unit are corrected,
The controlling means controls the coating head and the moving mechanism so as to perform the coating operation based on the corrected coating position information and the coating amount information in the downstream display region in the relative movement direction. The droplet coating apparatus according to claim 1. Based on the application position information relating to the application position of the droplet and the application amount information relating to the application amount of the droplet, the application object having an application surface on which a plurality of application sections are formed and the droplets are ejected toward the application section. Performing a coating operation of sequentially ejecting the droplets onto the coating head by relatively moving the coating head in a direction along the coating surface;
During the execution of the application operation, sequentially imaging the application section landed with the droplets;
Deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are obtained using the images of the application sections taken sequentially, and the application position information and the application amount information are corrected using the obtained deviation of the application position and deviation of the application amount. And a process of
Performing the application operation based on the corrected application position information and application amount information;
A droplet coating method comprising:   In the correcting step, the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are averaged in the plurality of application sections arranged in the relative movement direction within the imaging range, and the deviation of the application position and the application amount which are averaged are averaged. The droplet application method according to claim 6, wherein the application position information and the application amount information are corrected using a deviation.   In the correcting step, when the imaging is completed for all the sections of the application section on which the droplet has landed, the application position shift and the application amount using the image of the application section of all the captured sections The droplet application method according to claim 6, wherein the deviation of the application position is obtained, and the application position information and the application amount information are corrected using the obtained deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount. In the correcting step, each time the image is taken, the deviation of the application position and the deviation of the application amount are obtained using the imaged image of the application section, and the obtained deviation of the application position and deviation of the application amount are obtained. The application position information and the application amount information are corrected using
7. The droplet coating method according to claim 6, wherein in the controlling step, each time the correction is performed, the coating operation is performed based on the corrected coating position information and the coating amount information. The plurality of application sections are formed on the application surface for each display area,
In the correcting step, a deviation of the application position and a deviation of the application amount are obtained using an image of the application section captured in the display area on the upstream side in the relative movement direction, and the deviation of the application position obtained and Correct the application position information and the application amount information using a deviation of the application amount,
7. The droplet application according to claim 6, wherein in the controlling step, the application operation is performed based on the corrected application position information and the application amount information in a display area on the downstream side in the relative movement direction. Method.

Images