JP2010142722A - Droplet discharging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet discharging apparatus which prevents an absorbent and a waste liquid passage in a cap from being dried or clogged with fouling and can make a cleaning part function over a long period of time. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet discharging apparatus includes a droplet ejection head 5 which discharges a functional liquid on a substrate P, a carriage 4 which is loaded with the droplet ejection head 5, the cleaning part 15 which cleans the droplet ejection head 5, and a washing spraying part which is set on the carriage 4 and sprays washing into the cleaning part 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a droplet discharge apparatus including a droplet discharge head (hereinafter referred to as a head) that discharges predetermined ink (functional liquid) to various media is widely used as a printer for forming an image or a film forming apparatus for device manufacturing. It is used in.
In such a droplet discharge device, a suction process for forcibly discharging the functional liquid from the nozzle and a flushing process for discharging the functional liquid from the nozzle are performed as cleaning for restoring or maintaining the ejection characteristic of the functional liquid in the head. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). In the suction process, a cap constituting the cleaning member is brought into contact with the nozzle plate of the head, and ink is discharged from the nozzle. The cap also functions as a receiving member for ink discharged from the nozzles during the flushing process. The cap can hold a certain amount of ink, and an absorbing material for uniformly sucking out ink from each nozzle is provided in the cap.
JP 2003-80209 A

  By the way, although the absorbent material is composed of a porous material, if the particles contained in the ink are coarse, or if the viscosity of the solvent is high or it is easy to dry, dirt accumulates, and eventually the ink is put in the cap. There is a risk of clogging.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device that can cause a cleaning unit to function normally over a long period of time.

  In order to solve the above problems, a droplet discharge apparatus according to the present invention includes a droplet discharge head that discharges a functional liquid onto a substrate, a carriage that mounts the droplet discharge head, and cleaning of the droplet discharge head. And a cleaning liquid ejecting section that is provided on the carriage and ejects a cleaning liquid into the cleaning section.

  According to the droplet discharge device of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is ejected into the cleaning section by the cleaning liquid ejecting section, so that the dirt attached to the cleaning section can be removed satisfactorily. Therefore, since the waste liquid flow path in the cleaning unit can be maintained well, the cleaning unit can function normally over a long period of time. Further, since the cleaning liquid ejecting section is provided on the carriage, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid ejecting unit is detachably provided on the carriage.
For example, the carriage or the droplet discharge head may need to be replaced due to deterioration over time. Therefore, if the present invention is adopted, the cleaning liquid ejecting section can be removed from the carriage, so that the replacement work can be easily performed and the maintainability can be improved.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid ejecting unit ejects the cleaning liquid containing the same main component as the functional liquid into the cleaning unit.
According to this configuration, since the cleaning liquid contains the same main component as the functional liquid, it is possible to obtain a good cleaning performance against dirt in the cleaning unit, and there is also a scientific deterioration with respect to the members constituting the cleaning unit. It becomes difficult to give.

In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus, the carriage is movable between the substrate and the cleaning unit, and the cleaning liquid ejecting unit is disposed on the cleaning unit side in the movement direction of the carriage. It is preferable.
According to this configuration, when the carriage and the cleaning unit are opposed to each other, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit is disposed on the cleaning unit side in the carriage moving direction, so that the cleaning liquid ejecting unit always passes over the cleaning unit. Therefore, when the carriage is moved to the substrate side after the cleaning process is completed, the cleaning liquid can be ejected into the cleaning section from the cleaning liquid ejecting section that passes again over the cleaning section. As described above, since the cleaning unit can be cleaned while moving the carriage to the substrate side, the cleaning tact time can be shortened and the productivity of the droplet discharge device can be improved.

In the droplet discharge device, the cleaning unit includes a receiving member that receives the functional liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head during the cleaning as a waste liquid, and a waste liquid tank that collects the waste liquid of the receiving member. A waste liquid flow path section connecting the receiving member and the waste liquid tank; and suction means for generating a negative pressure in the waste liquid flow path section, and driving the suction means and from the cleaning liquid injection section It is preferable to spray the cleaning liquid onto the receiving member.
According to this configuration, since the inside of the waste liquid flow path portion is set to a negative pressure, the cleaning liquid sprayed into the receiving member is favorably collected in the waste liquid tank. If there is no means for discharging the waste liquid, the storage capacity of the cleaning unit will be exceeded, causing waste liquid leakage. Moreover, since the dirt separated by the cleaning liquid is discharged toward the waste liquid tank as needed, the inside of the receiving member and the waste liquid flow path can be reliably cleaned.

  Hereinafter, although one embodiment of the present invention is described, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. In the following description, various structures are illustrated using the drawings. However, in order to make the characteristic portions of the structure easy to see, the dimensions and scale of the structure are illustrated as appropriately different from the actual structure.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a droplet discharge device according to the present embodiment. In this droplet discharge device, a liquid material is disposed on a substrate to be processed by a droplet discharge method. The functional liquid to be disposed contains a solid content such as a membrane material, and the solid content remains when dried. That is, the functional liquid here includes a dispersion liquid in which a solid content is dispersed in a dispersion medium, a solution in which the solid content is dissolved in a solvent, and the like. Specific examples of the liquid include color filter materials containing pigments and dyes, colloidal solutions containing metal particles that are conductive film pattern forming materials such as UV ink and metal wiring.

  In the present embodiment, as a droplet discharge device that uses a liquid as described above as a film material, a color filter material (functional liquid) droplet is discharged onto a predetermined region of a color filter substrate (discharge target) to produce a color. An apparatus for forming the filter layer will be described. In the following description, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system shown in FIG. 1 is set, and each member will be described with reference to this XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. The XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in FIG. 1 is set so that the X axis and the Y axis are parallel to the work stage (conveying unit) 2, and the Z axis is set in a direction orthogonal to the work stage 2. In the XYZ coordinate system in FIG. 1, the XY plane is actually set to a plane parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z axis is set to the vertically upward direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge device IJ includes an apparatus base 1, a work stage 2, a stage moving device 3, a carriage 4, a droplet discharge head 5, a carriage moving device 6, a tube 7, a first tank 8, A second tank 9, a third tank 10, a control device 11, and a cleaning unit 15 are provided.

  The device mount 1 is a support for the work stage 2 and the stage moving device 3. The work stage (conveying unit) 2 is installed on the apparatus base 1 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by the stage moving device 3, and the color filter substrate P (conveyed from an upstream conveying device (not shown)). Hereinafter, the substrate P is held on the XY plane by a vacuum suction mechanism. The stage moving device 3 includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide, and moves the work stage 2 in the X-axis direction based on a stage position control signal indicating the X coordinate of the work stage 2 input from the control device 11. Let

  The carriage 4 mounts a droplet discharge head 5 and is provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction by a carriage moving device 6. As will be described later, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles, and discharges droplets of color filter material based on drawing data and drive control signals input from the control device 11. The droplet discharge heads 5 are provided corresponding to the color filter materials R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Each droplet discharge head 5 is connected to a tube 7 via a carriage 4. It is connected with. Then, the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to R (red) is supplied with the color filter material for R (red) from the first tank 8 via the tube 7, and the droplet discharge head corresponding to G (green). 5 is supplied with a color filter material for G (green) from the second tank 9 via the tube 7, and the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to B (blue) is supplied to the third tank 10 via the tube 7. Is supplied with a color filter material for B (blue).

  The carriage moving device 6 has, for example, a bridge structure straddling the device mount 1 and includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and is input from the control device 11. The carriage 4 is moved in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction based on the carriage position control signal indicating the Y coordinate and the Z coordinate.

  The tube 7 is a color filter material supply tube that connects the first tank 8, the second tank 9, the third tank 10 and the carriage 4 (droplet discharge head 5). The first tank 8 stores the color filter material for R (red) and supplies the color filter material to the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to R (red) via the tube 7. The second tank 9 stores the color filter material for G (green) and supplies the color filter material to the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to G (green) via the tube 7. The third tank 10 stores the color filter material for B (blue) and supplies the color filter material to the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to B (blue) via the tube 7.

  The control device 11 outputs a stage position control signal to the stage moving device 3, outputs a carriage position control signal to the carriage moving device 6, and outputs drawing data and a drive control signal to the drive circuit board 30 of the droplet discharge head 5. By outputting and performing synchronous control of the droplet discharge operation by the droplet discharge head 5, the positioning operation of the substrate P by the movement of the work stage 2, and the positioning operation of the droplet discharge head 5 by the movement of the carriage 4, A droplet of the color filter material is discharged to a predetermined position above.

  The cleaning unit 15 is for performing various cleanings on the droplet discharge head 5 mounted on the carriage 4. The cleaning unit 15 is disposed at the home position in the droplet discharge head 5. This home position is an area where the carriage 4 is disposed when the droplet discharge device IJ is in a discharge operation pause state, such as during non-discharge operation or during storage. Here, the position of the carriage 4 when ejecting droplets from the droplet ejection head 5 onto the substrate P is referred to as an ejection position. That is, the carriage 4 is positioned above the work stage 2 at the discharge position.

  Here, the cleaning unit 15 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the cleaning unit 15. 2A is a plan configuration diagram of the cleaning unit 15, FIG. 2B is a perspective configuration diagram of the cleaning unit 15, and FIG. 2C illustrates a schematic cross-sectional configuration of a main part of the cleaning unit 15. FIG. The cleaning unit 15 is driven by a control signal from the control device 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the cleaning unit 15 includes a cap body 67 and a seal member 62 that is provided in a frame shape on the upper surface of the cap body 67 and abuts against the droplet discharge head 5. And a wiping member 63 used during the wiping process for wiping the nozzle plate 21 (see FIG. 4) of the droplet discharge head 5, and a housing portion 64 that integrally holds the cap body 67 and the wiping member 63. I have. The wipe member 63 is made of an elastic member such as an elastomer. Further, the cap body 67 functions as a receiving member that receives waste liquid containing ink discharged from the droplet discharge head 5 during the flushing process.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, the cap main body 67 accommodates therein an ink absorber 65 that absorbs ink discharged from the nozzles N of the droplet discharge head 5. The ink absorber 65 is composed of a porous member such as a sponge. The ink absorber 65 may be composed of a single sponge or may be formed by combining a plurality of sponges.

  A convex portion 66 protruding downward is formed on the lower surface of the cap body 67, and an opening 66 a is formed in the convex portion 66. Further, one end of a tube T (waste liquid flow path portion) is connected to the convex portion 66, and a waste liquid tank 61 is connected to the other end of the tube T. In the middle of the tube T, a suction pump (suction means) 50 for generating a negative pressure in the tube T is provided. The waste liquid tank 61 is for collecting the waste liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head 5.

  Next, the carriage 4 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the carriage 4. Specifically, FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a planar configuration of the carriage 4, and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a perspective configuration of the carriage 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the carriage 4 has a carriage body 4a, and the droplet discharge head 5 is mounted on one surface (lower surface) of the carriage body 4a. A cleaning liquid ejecting section 12 is detachably attached to the side surface of the carriage body 4a. The cleaning liquid injection unit 12 includes an injection unit 13 that injects the cleaning liquid and a supply tube 14 that supplies a predetermined cleaning liquid to the injection unit 13.

  The cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects the cleaning liquid into the cleaning unit 15 as the carriage 4 moves as will be described later. Thereby, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 can clean the flow path formed in the cleaning unit 15. Specifically, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 cleans the ink absorber 65 accommodated in the cap main body 67 and the tube T as a waste liquid flow path by dropping the cleaning liquid into the cap main body 67. .

  The ejection unit 13 ejects a cleaning liquid containing the same main component as the color filter material. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a cleaning liquid containing PCA that is the main component of the color filter material is supplied to the ejection unit 13 through the supply tube 14. As described above, by using the cleaning liquid containing the same main component as the color filter material, it is possible to obtain a good cleaning property against dirt adhering in the cap body 67.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the droplet discharge head 5. 4A is a plan view of the droplet discharge head 5 viewed from the work stage 2 side, FIG. 4B is a partial perspective view of the droplet discharge head 5, and FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view for 1 nozzle.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a plurality of (for example, 180) nozzles N arranged in the Y-axis direction. A plurality of nozzles N form a nozzle row NA. Although FIG. 4A shows one row of nozzles, the number of nozzles and the number of nozzle rows provided in the droplet discharge head 5 can be arbitrarily changed, and the nozzles for one row arranged in the Y-axis direction are arranged on the X axis. A plurality of rows may be provided in the direction. Further, the number of droplet discharge heads 5 arranged in the carriage 4 can be arbitrarily changed. Further, a plurality of carriages 4 may be provided for each sub-carriage.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a vibration plate 20 provided with a material supply hole 20 a connected to the tube 7, a nozzle plate 21 provided with a nozzle N, and a vibration plate 20. And the nozzle plate 21 are provided with a reservoir (liquid reservoir) 22, a plurality of partition walls 23, and a plurality of cavities (liquid chambers) 24. The nozzle plate 21 is made of, for example, SUS. On the vibration plate 20, piezoelectric elements (drive elements) PZ are arranged corresponding to the respective nozzles N. The piezoelectric element PZ is, for example, a piezo element.

  The reservoir 22 is filled with a liquid color filter material (liquid material) supplied through the material supply hole 20a. The cavities 24 are formed so as to be surrounded by the diaphragm 20, the nozzle plate 21, and the pair of partition walls 23, and are provided for each nozzle N in a one-to-one correspondence. In addition, the color filter material is introduced into the cavities 24 from the reservoir 22 through supply ports 24 a provided between the pair of partition walls 23.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the piezoelectric element PZ is configured such that the piezoelectric material 25 is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 26, and the piezoelectric material 25 contracts when a drive signal is applied to the pair of electrodes 26. Is. The diaphragm 20 on which such a piezoelectric element PZ is disposed is integrally bent with the piezoelectric element PZ and bends outward (opposite the cavity 24) at the same time. The volume increases. Therefore, the color filter material corresponding to the increased volume in the cavity 24 flows from the liquid reservoir 22 through the supply port 24a. Further, when the application of the drive signal to the piezoelectric element PZ is stopped from such a state, the piezoelectric element PZ and the diaphragm 20 both return to the original shape, and the cavity 24 also returns to the original volume. The pressure of the color filter material increases, and droplets L of the color filter material are ejected from the nozzle N toward the substrate P.

  Next, the operation of the droplet discharge device IJ according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the operation of the carriage 4 and the cleaning unit 15 attached to the carriage 4 in the droplet discharge device IJ will be mainly described.

  First, when cleaning the droplet discharge head 5, the droplet discharge device IJ moves the carriage 4 positioned on the substrate P (work stage 2) to the cleaning unit 15 side (same as shown in FIG. 5A). (Move in the -Y direction). Then, the droplet discharge head 5 mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 4 and the cap body 67 of the cleaning unit 15 are opposed to each other. Subsequently, the cap body 67 is brought into close contact with the nozzle plate 21 via the seal member 62, and the suction pump 50 (see FIG. 5D) is driven. The inside of the tube T is depressurized by driving the suction pump 50.

  As a result, the sealed space formed between the cap body 67, the seal member 62, and the nozzle plate 21 communicating with the tube T through the opening 66a is in a reduced pressure state, and suction processing for forcibly discharging ink from the nozzle N is performed. Done. As a result, waste ink (waste liquid) is attached to the cap body 67 and the ink absorber 65.

  After completion of the suction process, the carriage 4 is moved to the substrate P side (in the + Y direction in FIG. 5B). When the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 is positioned above the cap body 67, the control device 11 ejects the cleaning liquid from the ejecting unit 13 of the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 as shown in FIG. As the carriage 4 moves, the cleaning liquid is supplied into the cap body 67. In the present embodiment, since the cleaning liquid is ejected from the ejecting unit 13 at a predetermined pressure, the waste ink adhering to the cap main body 67 and the ink absorber 65 can be washed away favorably.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 ejects the cleaning liquid into the cap body 67 while the suction pump 50 is driven. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5D, the waste liquid X washed away by the cleaning liquid is drawn into the tube T in a negative pressure state by the suction pump 50 and connected to the other end side of the tube T. It is collected in the waste liquid tank 61. Therefore, the cap body 67, the ink absorber 65, and the inside of the tube T serving as the waste liquid channel can be reliably cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

  In the present embodiment, since the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 is disposed on the cleaning unit 15 side of the carriage 4, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 passes over the cleaning unit 15 when the carriage 4 and the cleaning unit 15 face each other. become. Therefore, when the carriage 4 is moved to the substrate P side (+ Y direction in FIG. 5A) after the suction process is completed, the cleaning liquid can be injected into the cap body 67 from the cleaning liquid injection unit 12 that passes again over the cleaning unit 15. Accordingly, since the cleaning unit 15 can be cleaned while moving the carriage 4 to the substrate P side, the cleaning tact time can be shortened and the productivity of the droplet discharge device IJ can be improved.

  Further, when the droplet discharge head 5 passes above the wipe member 63, the wiper member 63 is raised by a drive mechanism (not shown) to bring the nozzle plate 21 and the wipe member 63 into contact with each other. Thereby, the surface of the nozzle plate 21 is wiped by the wipe member 63 (wiping process), and the ink attached to the surface of the nozzle plate 21 by the suction process can be removed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 is positioned above the wipe member 63, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the ejecting unit 13. Thereby, the waste ink adhering to the wipe member 63 by the above-mentioned wiping process can be washed well.

  On the other hand, when the flushing process is performed as cleaning, the carriage 4 positioned on the substrate P (work stage 2) is moved to the cleaning unit 15 side (the same as the −Y direction in the figure), so The droplet discharge head 5 and the cap body 67 of the cleaning unit 15 are opposed to each other. Then, ink is discharged from the nozzles N of the droplet discharge head 5 into the cap body 67. The ink ejected from each nozzle N is absorbed by the ink absorber 65 accommodated in the cap body 67, thereby preventing the ink from scattering to the surroundings.

  After the completion of the flushing process, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the ejection unit 13 into the cap body 67 while moving the carriage 4 toward the substrate P (in the + Y direction in FIG. 5B). And the inside of the tube T as a waste liquid flow path can be reliably washed.

  As described above, according to the droplet discharge device according to the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is ejected into the cleaning unit 15 by the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12, so that the dirt attached to the cleaning unit 15 can be removed well. Therefore, since the waste liquid flow path (tube T) in the cleaning unit 15 can be removed satisfactorily, the cleaning unit 15 can function normally over a long period of time. In addition, since the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 is provided in the carriage 4, the apparatus can be reduced in size.

  Incidentally, it may be necessary to replace the carriage 4 or the droplet discharge head 5 due to deterioration over time. At this time, according to the droplet discharge device IJ according to the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 can be attached to and detached from the carriage 4, so that the replacement work can be easily performed and the maintainability can be improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention, it can change suitably. For example, when the cap body 67 and the ink absorber 65 are very dirty, the carriage 4 may reciprocate a plurality of times above the cleaning unit 15 during the cleaning process of the cleaning unit 15. As described above, the carriage 4 reciprocates a plurality of times above the cleaning unit 15, whereby the cleaning liquid can be ejected into the cleaning unit 15 from the cleaning liquid ejecting unit 12 a plurality of times. Therefore, the cleaning property of the cleaning unit 15 can be improved. Alternatively, the substrate P may be held on a fixed work stage, and only the carriage 4 may be moved to discharge the functional liquid.

It is a schematic block diagram of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a cleaning part. It is a figure which shows the structure of a carriage. It is a schematic block diagram of a droplet discharge head. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a droplet discharge apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

P ... Color filter substrate (substrate), IJ ... Droplet ejection device, 2 ... Work stage (conveyance unit), 4 ... Carriage, 5 ... Droplet ejection head, 12 ... Cleaning liquid ejection unit, 15 ... Cleaning unit, 50 ... Suction Pump (suction means), 61 ... Waste liquid tank, 67 ... Cap body (receiving member)

Claims (5)

A droplet discharge head for discharging a functional liquid onto a substrate;
A carriage on which the droplet discharge head is mounted;
A cleaning unit for cleaning the droplet discharge head;
A cleaning liquid ejecting section that is provided on the carriage and ejects a cleaning liquid into the cleaning section;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising:   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejecting unit is detachably provided on the carriage.   The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejecting unit ejects the cleaning liquid containing the same main component as the functional liquid into the cleaning unit. The carriage is movable between the substrate and the cleaning unit;
The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid ejecting unit is disposed on the cleaning unit side in the moving direction of the carriage. The cleaning unit includes a receiving member that receives the functional liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head during the cleaning as a waste liquid, a waste liquid tank that collects the waste liquid of the receiving member, and the receiving member and the waste liquid tank. A waste liquid channel part to be connected, and suction means for generating a negative pressure in the waste liquid channel part,
5. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction unit is driven and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejecting unit onto the receiving member.

Images