JP4503063B2 - Ink ejection apparatus, method thereof, program, and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink ejection apparatus that ejects ink to a plurality of objects existing on a medium, a method, a program thereof, and a computer-readable recording medium.

  Ink ejection technology is generally applied to consumer printers and the like. In recent years, application of the above technology to industrial uses has been promoted, and the uses have been diversified.

  As an ink ejection technique that is being industrially applied, there is an ink jet patterning technique that forms a fine pattern by applying ink to a desired position to be ejected. The ink jet patterning technique is a technique for ejecting a small amount of liquid (ink) from an ink ejection device to form a fine pattern on a substrate. This ink-jet patterning technique is attracting attention as a technique applicable to a pattern forming method using a de-vacuum process in place of a conventional pattern forming method using a vacuum process by photolithography.

  Manufacturing apparatuses using inkjet patterning technology include, for example, CF (Color Filter) panels and TFT (Thin Film Transistor) panels used in liquid crystal displays, organic EL (electroluminescence) elements, and fine metal wiring on a substrate. And a manufacturing apparatus used for forming the film. Among them, the CF panel manufacturing apparatus is an apparatus for forming pixels on a transparent substrate (glass substrate) using an inkjet mechanism that discharges a small amount of ink. The pixel is formed by landing ink of one of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) on each of the plurality of RGB pixel regions formed on the glass substrate. It is formed by filling (coloring) the pixel region. The ink jet patterning technique is also used in the manufacture of liquid crystal CF panels whose area is increasing year by year.

  Further, the inkjet patterning technique is used in the defect repairing process of the colored portion of the pixel, in addition to the above-described entire surface printing (coloring) process of the pixel in the CF panel manufacturing process, and the defective pixel. Development of repair devices for (defective pixels) is in progress. The defect which a pixel has is, for example, color mixing in a colored portion, mixing or adhesion of impurities. As a repair method used in the above-described defective pixel repair apparatus, for example, when ink leaks from an adjacent pixel, a defective portion of the pixel (mixed color portion of the colored portion) is replaced with a YAG laser (yttrium (Y ), Aluminum (Al) and a garnet crystal), etc., and an ink having a desired color (any one of RGB) is applied to the removed portion using an inkjet patterning technique. And a method of repairing by discharging.

  Conventionally, in the above-described method, a method of removing a colored portion including a defective portion into a rectangle has been adopted. When the colored portion including the defective portion is removed in a rectangular shape, an ink density difference is likely to occur between the repaired area and the non-restored area, and the image quality deterioration due to the density difference has been a problem. As a method for solving the above problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a pixel defect in which the entire colored portion of the defective pixel is removed instead of removing a portion of the colored portion including the defect in the colored portion of the pixel. A repair method is disclosed.

  In addition, when the colored portion including the defective portion is removed in a rectangular shape, a variation in film thickness is likely to occur between the repair region and the non-repair region, and the image quality is significantly deteriorated due to the variation in the film thickness. In order to manufacture a CF panel that realizes high image quality, it is necessary to strictly control the amount of ink ejected to the area where the colored portion is removed in a rectangular shape. As a method for forming the repaired region and the non-repaired region with substantially the same film thickness, Patent Document 2 discloses that the amount of ink calculated based on the area of the region where the colored portion is removed in a rectangular shape is accurately applied to the region. Disclosed is a method of discharging into the water.

  Here, the CF panel generally includes a BM (black matrix) film formed on a transparent substrate, and the RGB pixel region surrounded by the BM film in a matrix. The BM film has functions of preventing color mixing that occurs when adjacent pixels are colored, improving the contrast of the pixels, and preventing light from entering the TFT drive unit.

In order to efficiently prevent damage caused by light incident on the TFT driver and generation of leakage current, the area of the BM film may be increased. However, when the area of the BM film is increased, the image quality deteriorates due to a decrease in the aperture ratio of the pixel. Therefore, in order to realize a high-quality liquid crystal display device, it is necessary to form a BM film having an area and a shape that can simultaneously achieve light shielding of the TFT drive unit and high pixel aperture ratio. For this reason, the BM film is not simply formed so as to uniformly surround the periphery of the pixel in a wide line shape, but needs to be formed so as to have a different width depending on a place. In particular, it is preferable that a portion (for example, a corner portion of a pixel) that shields the TFT driver is formed to have a complicated shape in order to efficiently shield the TFT driver. As a result, the pixel surrounded by the BM film as described above naturally has a complicated shape.
JP 2003-66218 A (published March 5, 2003) JP 2004-251988 A (published on September 9, 2004)

  However, Patent Document 1 does not consider at all the shape of the RGB pixel region (region surrounded by the BM film). For this reason, even if the wettability state of the substrate forming the RGB pixel region is deteriorated to such an extent that it does not become a problem when the RGB pixel region has a simple shape, the BM film having a complicated shape and the RGB film region There is a high possibility that the ink does not get wet and spread in a portion adjacent to the pixel region, particularly in a corner portion of the pixel region. Since the area where the ink has not spread out forms a bright spot (white area) of the pixel, the image deteriorates. Further, in the process of removing the colored portion including the defective portion with a laser, there is a possibility that the degree of removal of the colored portion may vary due to fluctuations in laser power or unevenness of intensity in the laser irradiation area. At this time, when the wettability state of the substrate forming the RGB pixel region (restoration target region) is very poor, the edge of the region where the colored portion is removed even if the RGB pixel region has a simple shape Ink may not get wet and spread. The wettability state of the substrate is the degree of lyophilicity and liquid repellency of the substrate with respect to ink. The higher the lyophilic property, the better the wettability state, and the higher the liquid repellency, the poorer the wettability state. It is. The wettability state deteriorates due to adhesion of foreign matters (such as dust) and contamination with organic matter (decrease in lyophilicity or increase in liquid repellency of the substrate).

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes that the ink discharge amount is determined based on the volume of the restoration target area, but does not consider the shape of the RGB pixel area and the ink landing position. For this reason, when a defective part exists in the vicinity of a BM film | membrane, the following problems may arise.

  When a colored portion including a defective portion of a pixel having a complicated shape as described above is removed by a laser, it is necessary to remove so that the volume of the removed region is equal to or larger than the volume of the minimum ink ejection amount. At this time, there is a possibility that the BM film is included in the removal target region. That is, the aperture ratio may change due to damage to the BM film caused by laser irradiation. In addition, when the corner of the BM film is present in the laser irradiation region, the volume of the removal region may be different from the volume calculated from the set area irradiated with the laser. Can not be formed.

  In addition, due to deterioration of the laser optical system over time, the area or position of the region from which the colored portion has been removed may be shifted due to deviation of the laser irradiation position from the set position or due to an error in scanning accuracy of the apparatus including the laser. May deviate from the setting. For this reason, for example, in a 200 × 600 μm pixel, the laser irradiation position causes a positional deviation of about ± 15 μm at the maximum. At this time, the variation of the area of the region from which the colored portion is removed exceeds about 18%. Here, in order for the CF panel to exhibit desired characteristics, it is necessary to suppress the film thickness variation (optical characteristic variation) of about ± 1%. Therefore, as described above, if the area or position of the region from which the colored portion is removed deviates from the setting, the characteristics of the CF panel deviate from the allowable range and greatly deteriorate.

  Further, in common with Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is described that the colored portion including the defective portion is removed after the defective portion is imaged by the camera, but the colored portion is removed after the colored portion is removed. It is not described that the (repair target area) is imaged by a camera. That is, no consideration is given to accurately confirming the position and area of the actual restoration target region. Therefore, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the position and the ink volume that need to be repaired are not determined based on the information on the actual repair target area. For this reason, when the colored part remains in the restoration target region without being removed, there is a possibility that the position and amount of ink ejection cannot be accurately determined.

  Furthermore, with the diversification of panel sizes and the improvement in the aperture ratio of the panel, the CF panel is not limited to the conventional arrangement of pixels having the same size and shape with the same direction oriented. Yes. For example, by integrating the TFT drive unit at the center of four pixels, a contrivance has been made to ensure the light shielding property by using a BM film having a smaller area.

  For this reason, as a method of repairing defective pixels of a CF panel formed by arranging a plurality of pixels having various sizes, shapes, and orientations, a method of repairing by setting an ejection pattern in advance is adopted. I can't.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 only describe that the colored portion of the CF panel is repaired using color material ink. That is, for example, in the TFT panel, after the gate electrode is formed on the glass substrate, the defective part of the gate insulating film is repaired with the insulating material ink, and the ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film defective part that is the pixel electrode is ITO. Defect repair such as repair of electrode film with ink containing fine particles, repair of alignment film with polyimide precursor ink for polyimide alignment film defects, or resist coating film repair with resist ink for resist coating defects in each TFT photolithography process Is not described. In repairing a defective portion as described above, if a repair region is formed by laser removal, the action of the laser (removal of the base film, etc.) on the lower layer (base film) of the stacked film may not be ignored.

  If a desired repair region is formed by laser removal of the repair region including the defective portion, there are the following problems. For example, when a repair region including a defective portion where a base film that is easily affected by a laser (easily removed by a laser) is exposed is formed, the base film is excessively removed. On the other hand, for example, even in the case of forming a repair region including a defective portion where a base film that is easily affected by laser (easy to be removed by laser) is exposed, a part of the base film is excessively caused by laser power variation or the like. It will be removed. In these cases, there is a problem that the thickness of the normal lower layer film changes and the TFT does not operate normally. Therefore, in order to avoid this problem, it may be necessary to repair an irregular defect part as it is without forming a repair part having a desired shape.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to quickly and accurately apply ink to a plurality of regions existing on a medium having a fine and complicated shape. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ejecting apparatus, a method, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium.

In order to solve the above problems, the ink ejection apparatus of the present invention is:
An ejection target area determining means for determining the shape of an ink ejection target area based on a pattern desired to be formed on a substrate; a nozzle driving means for driving a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head; and the ejection target area Control for determining nozzles for ejecting ink based on the shape of the ink and supplying control signals for controlling the number of ejections and landing positions of ink ejected from each of the nozzles ejecting ink to the nozzle driving means Means.

  The ejection target area determining means sets the ejection target area in accordance with the shape of the pattern desired to be formed. At this time, it is preferable that the ejection target area determining means sets the ejection target area inside the pattern so that the ejected ink can surely land in the pattern. Examples of the shape of the pattern include a shape having three, four, five, or more corners and sides, a shape including an arc and a curve, and the like. The shape of the ejection target region is determined so as to correspond to the shape of the pattern.

  The control means calculates the number of ink ejections and the landing position according to the shape of the ejection target region so that the ink is uniformly applied to the pattern with a desired thickness, and the control unit calculates the ejection number and the landing position from the ejection number and the landing position. Determination (assignment) of nozzles that eject ink to the ejection target area is performed.

  Here, the number of ink landings per unit area in the ejection target region may be uniform or non-uniform in all locations of the ejection target region. For example, when the pattern has a particularly complicated shape, other portions of the discharge target region corresponding to portions where the ink of the pattern is difficult to wet and spread (locations having unevenness or the like) The number of ink ejections and the landing position may be set so that the number of ink landings is larger than the number of inks. On the other hand, when the pattern has a relatively simple shape, the number of ink ejections and the landing position may be set so that the number of ink landings per unit area is equal.

  The nozzle driving means that has been supplied with the control signal generated by the control means drives the nozzle according to the control signal. That is, ink is ejected from the desired nozzle a desired number of times, and the ejected ink lands on a desired position in the ejection target region corresponding to the driven nozzle. That is, a desired landing position can be obtained by driving a nozzle that faces the desired landing position.

  For this reason, for example, when a color filter for a liquid crystal display device is manufactured using the ink ejection device having the above-described configuration, formation of bright spots due to variation in wetting and spreading in pixels, which are unit regions colored by ink, And a pixel region having a uniform ink film thickness can be formed. The same applies to the case where the ink ejection device is used to repair defective pixels of a color filter for a liquid crystal display device. Therefore, a high quality CF panel can be provided.

  From the above, there is an effect that the ink can be applied so as to have a desired thickness and shape with respect to at least one ejection target region having a fine and complicated shape.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
The control means determines the nozzle that ejects ink according to the width of the ejection target area, and the ink ejected from each of the nozzles that ejects ink according to the length of the ejection target area. A control signal for controlling the number of ejections and the landing position may be supplied to the nozzle driving means.

  For example, when the control unit determines (assigns) five nozzles that perform ejection in accordance with the width (lateral distance) of the ejection target region, the control unit has five vertical ejection target regions that have the same width. Divide into In addition, the control means determines the number of ejections and the landing positions of the ink ejected from each of the nozzles according to the length of the divided area (vertical distance) to which the nozzles are assigned. Here, when the lengths of the five divided regions are not all the same, the number of times of ejection and the number of landings for each of the assigned nozzles are made so that the number of landings of ink per unit area in the entire discharge target region is uniform. Determine the position independently.

  Thus, the ink can be applied to a plurality of regions on the medium having a fine and complicated shape so as to have a desired thickness and shape.

Further, the ink ejection device of the present invention is
Angle adjusting means for adjusting the angle formed by the width direction of the ejection target region and the nozzle arrangement direction of the inkjet head so as to increase the number of nozzles that the control means can determine as nozzles that eject ink. Is preferably further provided.

  For example, when the width of the plurality of nozzles arranged in the inkjet head is larger than the width of the ejection target area, the angle between the width direction of the ejection target area and the arrangement direction of the plurality of nozzles is close to a right angle The number of nozzles that eject ink into the ejection target region can be increased. The greater the number of nozzles that eject ink, the shorter the ink ejection time for one ejection target area.

  Accordingly, if the angle adjusting means is used so that the width of the plurality of nozzles does not become smaller than the width of the discharge target region and the angle is adjusted to be closer to a right angle, the takt time of the ink discharge process Can be shortened.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
The ejection target area determining means is means for further associating the positions of the plurality of ejection target areas on the substrate with the shapes of the plurality of ejection target areas based on the pattern, and the shapes of the plurality of ejection target areas It is preferable to further include a discharge order determining unit that determines the order of the plurality of discharge target areas for performing ink discharge based on the corresponding positions.

  By having the said structure, the position on a board | substrate is further matched with respect to each of the shape of several discharge target area | region. Relative movement of the inkjet head and the substrate necessary for ejecting ink to all the ejection target regions existing on the substrate based on the shapes of the plurality of ejection target regions and the positions on the substrate The distance can be calculated. Here, the ejection order determining means determines the order of ink ejection to the plurality of ejection target areas, in which the relative movement distance is the shortest.

  Therefore, it is possible to determine the order for ejecting ink in the shortest time with respect to all of the plurality of ejection target regions on the substrate. That is, the takt time of the ink discharge process can be shortened.

Further, the ink ejection device of the present invention is
Scanning direction determining means for determining a relative scanning direction of the inkjet head and the substrate based on the order of the plurality of ejection target areas for performing ink ejection, the relative scanning direction, and determination of the ejection target area It is preferable that the apparatus further includes a correction signal supply unit that supplies the control unit with a signal that rotates the shape of the ejection target region by the difference in angle between the scanning direction that is sometimes assumed.

  In order to perform ink ejection in the shortest time in the ink ejection processing for one substrate, the above-described ejection order is determined so as not to waste time in the ink ejection processing. Examples of the wasted time include returning to the start end in the scanning direction without discharging ink after the inkjet head has reached the end in the scanning direction in the discharge target region.

  When performing the ink ejection process according to the above-described ejection order, the relative scanning direction of the inkjet head and the substrate may be changed in the reverse direction, or different from the scanning direction when the shape is determined by the ejection target region determining means. Can happen.

  Here, when the scanning direction determined by the scanning direction determining unit changes in the ink discharge process for one substrate, the correction signal supply unit transmits a signal for rotating the shape of the discharge target region by an angle at which the scanning direction changes. To do. In addition, when the scanning direction determined by the scanning direction determination unit is different from the scanning direction when the shape is determined by the ejection target region determination unit, the correction signal supply unit is equivalent to the difference in angle between the two scanning directions. Then, a signal for rotating the shape of the discharge target region is transmitted.

  Even when the relative scanning direction of the ink jet head and the substrate changes, the shape and orientation of the ejection target region when ink is actually ejected can be accurately recognized. In other words, the shape of the ejection target region in the relative scanning direction of the inkjet head and the substrate can be kept constant throughout the entire ink ejection process.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to recognize the shape of the ejection target area every time ink is ejected to each of the plurality of ejection target areas, and the tact time can be shortened.

Further, the ink ejection device of the present invention is
Pattern recognition means for recognizing the shape and position of the pattern desired to be formed on the substrate, and the discharge target region determination means is configured to perform ink based on the shape and position recognized by the pattern recognition means. The shape of the discharge target area may be determined.

  For example, the pattern recognition unit converts a solid-state image sensor that images a defective pixel formed on a substrate and an electric signal output from the solid-state image sensor into data for specifying the shape and position of the pattern. And a program to perform.

  By having the above-described configuration, all the processes of ink ejection from pattern recognition can be performed by one apparatus.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
Among the substrates, when the inside of the pattern has lyophilicity with respect to the ink and the outside of the pattern has liquid repellency with respect to the ink,
It is preferable that the ejection target area determination unit determines the ejection target area as a polygon that connects a plurality of ink landing candidate positions inside the shape recognized by the pattern recognition unit.

  With the above-described configuration, a desired amount of ink can be ejected from a defective portion having high wettability without protruding from the defective portion. Further, since the irregular defect portion can be repaired as it is, a step such as laser processing can be omitted. Therefore, even when a normal part is adversely affected by laser processing, the defective part can be repaired.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
When the inner side and the outer side of the pattern have the same degree of lyophilicity as the ink among the substrates,
It is preferable that the ejection target area determination unit determines the ejection target area as a polygon connecting a plurality of ink landing candidate positions outside the shape recognized by the pattern recognition unit.

  By having the above configuration, even when the difference in wettability between the defective portion and the periphery thereof is small, it is possible to reliably discharge ink to the entire defective portion. Further, since the irregular defect portion can be repaired as it is, a step such as laser processing can be omitted. Therefore, even when a normal part is adversely affected by laser processing, the defective part can be repaired.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
It is preferable that the ejection target area determination unit selects a plurality of ink landing candidate positions that minimize the area of the polygon.

  By having the above configuration, a minimum amount of ink is ejected to the normal part. Therefore, it is possible to surely repair the irregular defect portion and to suppress the deterioration of the normal portion due to the adhesion of excess ink.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
The substrate is a transparent substrate in which a plurality of pixels, which are unit regions colored with the ink, are formed, and one or more of the pixels in which the pattern is formed on the transparent substrate has a defective portion. It can be a group of pixels.

  By having the above configuration, formation of bright spots due to variation in wetting spread in the repaired pixel can be suppressed. Furthermore, defective pixels can be repaired so as to have a uniform film thickness. Furthermore, defective pixels of the CF panel can be repaired in a short time. That is, the CF panel having defective pixels can be repaired easily and accurately in a short time.

In the ink ejection device of the present invention,
The substrate may be a transparent substrate partitioned using a light shielding portion, and the pattern may be a pixel region surrounded by the light shielding portion.

  By having the above configuration, formation of bright spots due to variation in wetting spread in pixels can be suppressed. Further, a pixel having a uniform film thickness can be formed. Further, pixels can be formed on the CF panel in a short time. That is, the CF panel can be formed easily and accurately in a short time.

In order to solve the above problems, the ink ejection method of the present invention is:
In order to form a pattern on a substrate using an inkjet head, an ejection target region determination step for determining the shape of an ink ejection target region based on a pattern desired to be formed on the substrate, and the ejection target region Based on the shape of the ink jet head, a nozzle that ejects ink is determined from among a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head, and the ejection number and landing position of ink ejected from each of the nozzles that eject ink are controlled. A control step of supplying a control signal to the nozzle driving means, and a nozzle driving step of driving the nozzle used for ink ejection.

  By having the above structure, a fine pattern having a desired shape and thickness can be formed on the substrate. That is, the same effect as that of the above-described ink ejection device is obtained.

In order to solve the above problems, an ink ejection control program of the present invention is
A computer is made to function as each means with which the said ink discharge apparatus was provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  As a result, the computer can be operated as the ink ejection device, and the above-described effects exhibited by the ink ejection device can be obtained.

  A recording medium on which the ink ejection control program is recorded is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the ink discharge apparatus and the ink discharge method of the present invention determine the shape of the ink discharge target region, and based on the shape of the discharge target region, the ink is discharged from the plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head. Since the number of nozzles to be ejected is determined and the number of ink ejections and the landing position of each of the nozzles that eject ink are controlled, a desired target area having a fine and complicated shape can be obtained. There is an effect that the ink can be applied so as to have a thickness and a shape.

  An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members and components. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[Ink ejection device 10]
The configuration of the ink ejection apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ink ejection apparatus 10.

  The ink ejection apparatus 10 includes an information processing unit 1, an inkjet head 3, a pattern recognition unit 5 (pattern recognition unit), a movable unit 7, and a start instruction output unit 9. A nozzle 31 is formed in the inkjet head 3. In addition, an external input device 19 that acquires pattern position information on the substrate and supplies the position information to the information processing section 1 is connected to the start instruction output section 9.

  The above-described configuration of the ink ejection apparatus 10 operates as follows. Based on the operation start instruction from the start instruction output unit 9, the pattern recognition unit 5 acquires pattern shape information desired to be formed on the substrate 20, and the external input device 19 acquires the position information of the pattern. The shape information and position information of the acquired pattern are transmitted to the processing unit 1. Based on the two pieces of information transmitted from the pattern recognition unit 5 and the external input device 19, the information processing unit 1 determines the nozzle 31 used for ejection, controls the ink ejected from the nozzle 31, and the ink ejection target area. A control signal is generated for determining the ejection order of the ink and for controlling the relative scanning direction of the inkjet head 3 using the movable portion 7 and the substrate 20. Based on the four control signals generated by the information processing unit 1, ink is ejected so that a desired pattern can be formed on the substrate 20.

  The pattern recognition unit 5 includes a camera including a solid-state image sensor that images a subject, and a program processing unit that converts an electrical signal output from the solid-state image sensor into data for specifying the shape of the subject. It is a configuration that includes.

  Here, the information processing unit 1 for setting the main operation of the ink ejection apparatus 10 includes an ejection target region determination unit 11 (ejection target region determination unit), a control unit 12 (control unit), and a nozzle driving unit 13 (nozzle driving). Means), an angle adjustment unit 14 (angle adjustment unit), a discharge order determination unit 15 (discharge order determination unit), a scanning direction determination unit 16 (scanning direction determination unit), and a correction signal supply unit 17 (correction signal supply unit). Has been.

  The ejection target area determination unit 11 determines the shape information of the ink ejection target area on the substrate 20 based on the pattern shape information and the position information from the pattern recognition unit 5 and the external input device 19, and uses the shape information as the shape information. Corresponding position information on the substrate 20 is associated. Further, the discharge target region determination unit 11 transmits both or one of the two pieces of information to the control unit 12, the angle adjustment unit 14, and the discharge order determination unit 15.

  Based on the shape information and position information of the determined ejection target area, the ejection order determination unit 15 ejects ink so that ink ejection processing can be performed on the plurality of ejection target areas in the shortest time. Determine the order. The determined order of the ejection target regions is transmitted to the control unit 12 and the scanning direction determination unit 16.

  The scanning direction determination unit 16 determines a relative scanning direction between the inkjet head 3 and the substrate 20 based on the above order, and the movable unit 7 moves the substrate holding table 24a that holds the inkjet head 3 and the substrate 20. Determine the direction.

  The correction signal supply unit 17 corrects the shape of the ejection target area determined by the ejection target area determination unit 11 as necessary. For example, when the driving direction of the movable unit 7 is different from the scanning direction at the time of pattern recognition by the pattern recognition unit, the correction is performed by rotating the ejection target region by the difference in angle between the two directions. The angle obtained by correcting (rotating) the ejection target region is transmitted to the control unit 12 and the angle adjusting unit 14.

  The angle adjusting unit 14 sets an angle for rotating the inkjet head 3 based on the determined shape of the ejection target area and the angle obtained by correcting (rotating) the ejection target area. The arrangement direction of the nozzles 31 is changed by the rotation of the inkjet head 3. By changing the arrangement direction of the nozzles 31, the number of nozzles 31 that can perform ejection on the ejection target region is increased, or the nozzles 31 that perform ejection on the ejection target region are made uniform into the ejection target region. Disperse. The angle set for rotating the inkjet head 3 is transmitted to the control unit 12.

  The control unit 12 corrects the shape of the discharge target region associated with the position on the substrate 20, the angle by which the arrangement direction of the nozzles 31 is rotated, the determined order of the discharge target region, and the discharge target region ( Based on the rotated angle, the nozzles 31 that perform ejection to each of the ejection target regions are determined, and the number of ejections and the landing position of the ink ejected from the nozzles 31 are determined. Further, the control unit 12 generates a control signal for controlling the number of ejections of the ink ejected from the nozzles 31 and the landing position. Supplying the control signal causes the nozzle 31 to eject ink based on the ink ejection signal generated by the nozzle driving unit 13.

[Ink ejection device 10 as defective pixel repair device]
A configuration example when the ink ejection apparatus 10 according to the present invention is used as a defective pixel repair apparatus for a CF panel will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the external configuration of the ink ejection apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink ejection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a computer 21 incorporating an information processing unit 1, an ink ejection unit 22 incorporating an inkjet head 3, a pattern recognition unit 5, and a head. A stage 23, a substrate stage 24, and a bridge 25 are provided. The computer 21 is connected to the ink ejection unit 22, the pattern recognition unit 5, and the substrate stage 24. The substrate stage 24 includes a substrate holding table 24a and a stage 24b. A start instruction output unit 9 is formed on the substrate placement portion of the substrate support 24a. A movable portion 7 (not shown) is formed between the substrate holding base 24a and the stage 24b. In the present embodiment, a camera is used as the pattern recognition unit 5, and a sensor is used as the start instruction output unit 9.

  The ink discharge unit 22 and the pattern recognition unit 5 are fixed to the head stage 23 so that the respective axes in the height direction are parallel to the Z axis in FIG. The head stage 23 is connected to a bridge 25 via a movable portion 7 (not shown), and is movable on the bridge 25 in the Y-axis direction.

  The substrate stage 24 is arranged in parallel with the XY plane of FIG. 2, and the substrate 20 is similarly held by the substrate holding table 24a so as to be parallel to the XY plane. As described above, since the movable portion 7 is formed between the substrate holding table 24a and the stage 24b, the substrate holding table 24a is movable in the X-axis direction. The substrate holding table 24a is formed with a gap adjusting unit (not shown) between the held substrate 20 and the gap adjusting unit. The ink adjusting unit 22, the substrate 20 and the substrate holding table 24a. And is formed to adjust the distance.

  From the above, the ink discharge surface of the ink discharge unit 22 (the lower surface of the ink discharge unit 22) and the imaging surface of the pattern recognition unit 5 (the lower surface of the pattern recognition unit 5) always face the upper surface of the substrate 20 in parallel. is doing. In other words, this state can be rephrased that the formation surfaces of the ink discharge unit 22 and the pattern recognition unit 5 of the head stage 23 are orthogonal to the substrate arrangement surface of the substrate stage 24. Furthermore, since the head stage 23 is movable in the Y-axis direction and the substrate holder 24a is movable in the X-axis direction, the lower surface of the ink discharge unit 22 and the lower surface of the pattern recognition unit 5 are made to face the entire upper surface of the substrate 20. Can do. That is, ink can be ejected to a desired position on the substrate 20 and the entire surface of the substrate 20 can be imaged.

  When the sensor used as the start instruction output unit 9 senses that the substrate 20 has been carried onto the substrate holding unit 24a, the sensor for imaging the defective pixel with respect to the pattern recognition unit 5 and the defect with respect to the external input device 19 are detected. Instructs the start of pixel repair processing. Further, the sensor may sense the end of alignment between the substrate 20 and the ink ejection device 10 performed after the substrate 20 is carried in, and may instruct the start of the repair process.

  An illumination unit (not shown) such as a fiber lamp is attached in the vicinity of the camera used as the pattern recognition means 5. The camera captures a reflected image of the substrate 20 obtained by irradiating the substrate 20 with light from the illumination unit. The captured reflection image of the substrate 20 is converted into data and sent to the information processing unit 1. The above-described data of the reflection image of the substrate 20 specifies the shape of the ink layer having a defective portion (hereinafter referred to as a defective pixel) ink layer and the position of the defective pixel on the substrate 20 in the ejection target region determining means of the information processing unit 1. Used to do.

  Based on the image data, the information processing unit 1 determines the nozzles used for ejection, controls the ink ejected from the nozzles 31, determines the ejection order of the ink to the ejection target area, and the inkjet head 3 and the substrate 20. A control signal for controlling the relative scanning direction is generated. Based on the four control signals, the information processing unit 1 transmits a control signal to another configuration of the ink ejection apparatus 10 so that a desired pattern can be formed on the substrate. See FIG. 1 and [Ink Ejecting Device 10] for the processing inside the information processing section 1.

  In the present embodiment, the ink discharge device 10 is configured to include one ink discharge unit 22, but may include a plurality of ink discharge units 22. At this time, a plurality of ink discharge units 22 may be connected to one head stage 23, or one or more ink discharge units 22 may be connected to a plurality of head stages 23. Further, if necessary, the ink discharge unit 22 and the pattern recognition unit 5 may be connected to separate head stages 23.

  In the present embodiment, the ink ejection device 10 may be configured not to include the pattern recognition unit 5. For example, the shape information and position information of the pattern formed on the substrate 20 are acquired using an external device before the substrate 20 is carried in, and the acquired shape information and position information are automatically or manually discharged from the information processing unit 1. The structure which transmits to a target area | region determination part may be sufficient.

  In the present embodiment, the ink ejection device 10 is configured to perform the ink ejection processing by moving both the substrate 20 and the ink ejection unit 22 using the two movable parts 7. The configuration may be such that only one of the ink discharge units 22 is moved. For example, a configuration in which the bridge 25 is connected to the substrate stage 24 via the movable portion 25 can be exemplified.

  The substrate 20 may be carried into and out of the ink ejection apparatus 10 using, for example, an automatic conveyance device (not shown) such as a robot.

[Ink discharge unit 22]
The internal configuration of the ink discharge unit 22 provided in the ink discharge apparatus 10 of FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the ink discharge unit 21.

  The ink discharge unit 22 includes an inkjet head 3, a head holding unit 37, a rotating unit 35, and a fixed unit 39. The ink jet head 3 may be arranged in the head holding portion 37 for the types of ink colors used for coloring the pixels. In the ink discharge device 10 of the present embodiment, three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are used for coloring the pixels, and therefore, the three inkjet heads 3 are arranged in the head holding portion 37. Has been.

  A head holding part 37 holding the inkjet head 3 is connected to a fixed part 39 via a rotating part 35. The rotating unit 35 is a structure for rotating the inkjet head 3. Here, a θ stage is used as the rotating unit 35, but various conventionally known structures can be adopted as long as the structure is for rotating the inkjet head 3. The ink jet head 3, the head holding part 37 and the rotating part 35 are fixed to the ink discharge unit 22 by a fixing part 39.

  Here, each of the inkjet heads 3 is connected to the information processing unit 1 via the computer 21, and independent discharge control is possible using the information processing unit 1. A plurality of nozzles 31 are formed on the lower surface of the inkjet head 3 so as to be arranged in a straight line parallel to the Y axis. Further, each of the plurality of nozzles 31 is connected to the information processing unit 1. For this reason, it is possible to form a linear pattern by ejecting ink droplets once using a plurality of nozzles 31 and to independently control ink ejection from the plurality of nozzles 31.

  Note that independently controlling ink ejection from the plurality of nozzles 31 means independently controlling the timing of ink ejection performed by each of the plurality of nozzles 31. Furthermore, it is preferable that the information processing unit 1 independently controls a voltage for causing each of the plurality of nozzles 31 to eject ink.

  As described above, since the inkjet head 3 is connected to the rotating unit 35 via the head holding unit 37, the angle of the arrangement direction of the nozzles 31 with respect to the ejection target region on the substrate 20 can be arbitrarily adjusted. Can do. The rotation of the ink jet head 3 using the rotating unit 35 will be described in detail in the following [Repair processing of defective pixels of the ink ejection apparatus 10].

  Further, the ink jet head 3 is further provided with an ink supply port (not shown). The ink supply port receives ink supplied from an ink supply unit (not shown) provided on the head stage 23. The ink supply unit is filled with R, G, and B inks.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the inkjet head 3 is formed with a plurality of nozzles 31 arranged in a straight line parallel to the Y axis. Although not particularly described, a plurality of linear arrays including a plurality of nozzles 31 may be formed on one inkjet head 3.

[Repair processing of defective pixels of ink ejection apparatus 10]
The details of the defective pixel repair process by the ink ejection apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the ink ejection apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the start instruction output unit 9 is used to instruct the ink ejection apparatus 10 to start repairing defective pixels on the substrate 20 (step S1). The output of the repair start instruction using the start instruction output unit 9 is that when a sensor formed on the substrate holding unit 24a detects that the substrate 20 has been carried into the substrate holding unit 24a by the robot, the sensor starts repairing. Is transmitted to the pattern recognition unit 5 and the external input device 19.

  In the carried-in substrate 20, the colored portion of all defective pixels is removed using a YAG laser or the like, and the entire colored portion of defective pixels is removed. The position information of the defective pixel existing on the substrate 20 is acquired when the colored portion is removed using the laser and is stored in the external input device 19.

  In the present embodiment, the output of the start instruction is performed by sensing that the substrate 20 has been carried in using a sensor, but other methods may be used. As another method for outputting the start instruction, for example, a method in which the pattern recognition unit 5 recognizes the loading of the substrate 20 can be cited. Moreover, the start instruction may be output manually. As a method for outputting manually, for example, a method in which an operator who desires to repair defective pixels of the substrate 20 inputs a start instruction to the computer 21 can be cited.

  When the pattern recognition unit 5 and the external input device 19 acquire the repair start instruction from the start instruction output unit 9, the pattern recognition unit 5 acquires the shape information of the defective pixel by imaging all the defective pixels on the substrate 20. The shape information is transmitted to the ejection target area determining means, and the external input device 19 transmits the position information of the defective pixel to the ejection target area determining means (step S2).

  Further, in the present embodiment, pattern shape information is acquired by imaging defective pixels using a camera that is the pattern recognition unit 5, but may be stored in the external input device 19. For example, when removing the colored portion of the defective pixel, a method of acquiring the positional information and shape information of the defective pixel on the substrate 20 in association with each other can be used. When adopting a configuration in which the shape information and position information of the defective pixel are input from the external input device 19, the ink ejection device 10 may not include the pattern recognition unit 5.

  Based on the shape information and position information of the defective pixels transmitted from the pattern recognition unit 5 and the external input device 19, the shapes of the plurality of ejection target regions are determined in a state in which the shapes are associated with the position information on the substrate 20 (step S3). ).

  Here, in the ejection target area determination unit 11, a method for determining the ejection target area based on the shape information of the defective pixel, and the correspondence between the shape information of the ejection target area and the position information on the substrate 20 are illustrated. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows image data generated based on the reflected image of the defective pixel imaged by the camera, and FIG. 5B shows the ejection target area determined based on the image data of FIG. Indicates the state.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, one defective pixel imaged by the camera from which the ink layer including the defective portion has been removed is a colored portion surrounded by a light shielding portion 61 called a black matrix (BM). 62 is recognized by the discharge target area determination unit 11.

  The light shielding unit 61 is a black material that normally does not transmit light in order to shield the TFT drive unit, improve the contrast between two adjacent pixels, and prevent ink leakage. It is formed from the material which has. On the other hand, the colored portion 62 is a transparent material that does not absorb in the visible region and is lyophilic to the ink in order to transmit white light such as a backlight and to easily form ink. (For example, glass).

  For this reason, the camera (pattern recognition unit 5) that captures a reflected image from the defective pixel of the irradiated light is bright because the light shielding unit 61 has a low reflected light intensity and the colored portion 62 has a high reflected light intensity. Recognize as an area. Data captured by the camera is transmitted to the ejection target area determination unit 11 in the computer 21.

  The ejection target region determining unit 11 binarizes the data transmitted from the camera by providing a threshold between the reflected light intensity of the light shielding unit 61 and the reflected light intensity of the colored portion 62. Recognize as data. Then, the actual area of the colored portion 62 is obtained based on the pixel size of the colored portion 62 in the recognized image data and the magnification of the camera. Furthermore, the colored portion 62 has a desired shape and film thickness based on the obtained area of the colored portion 62, the desired film thickness of the ink layer, the ejection volume per ink drop, and the remaining film ratio of the ink layer. The total number of ink ejections required to form the CF film (ink layer) is calculated. The calculated total number of ink ejections is transmitted to the control unit 12.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5B, a method for determining the ejection target region 63 based on the area of the colored portion 62 will be described. When actually performing the ink ejection process, it is necessary to consider the maximum variation amount of the landing position from the landing accuracy of the ink ejected from the nozzle 31, the variation in the ejection speed of the nozzle 31, the mechanical accuracy of the ink ejection apparatus 10, and the like. is there. Therefore, in order to ensure that the ink is landed in the colored portion 62, as shown in FIG. 5B, the ejection target region 63 has a distance W1 obtained by adding the maximum variation amount and the radius of the ink landing diameter. It is necessary to set only inside the colored portion 62.

  In order to determine the distance W1, the maximum variation amount and the radius of the ink landing diameter are input to the ejection target region determination unit 11 in advance. For example, the radius of the ink landing diameter may be measured using a material such as glossy paper that absorbs in the thickness direction immediately after the ink landing. For example, when the maximum variation amount is 15 μm and the radius of the landing diameter is 15 μm, W1 is 30 μm. Therefore, the ejection target region 62 is formed as a similar shape of the colored portion 62 inside 30 μm from the boundary between the colored portion 62 and the light shielding portion 61.

  As described above, when the coloring portion 62 has high lyophilicity (wetting property) and the light shielding portion 61 has high liquid repellency (low wetting property), it is discharged inside the coloring portion 62. The target area 63 may be set. However, in the vicinity of the light shielding portion 61 in the colored portion 62, the colored portion is not removed completely but remains as a residue in the colored portion removing process by the laser. Some lyophilicity of 62 may be reduced. At this time, if the difference in wettability between the colored portion 62 and the light shielding portion 61 is not large to some extent, the ink may not wet and spread throughout the colored portion 62. For example, when the contact angle with the ink included in the colored portion 62 is larger than 40 ° and the contact angle with the ink included in the light shielding portion 61 is smaller than 70 °, for the reason described above, Insufficient ink may spread out.

  In such a case, the ejection target region 63 may be determined so that not only the colored portion 62 but also a part of the light shielding portion 61 overlaps. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the discharge target region 63 may be determined from the outer periphery of the coloring portion 62 to the outside by W9. At this time, W9 is 30 μm. Here, since some ink runs on the light shielding portion 61, the film thickness of the ink formed on the colored portion 62 is slightly reduced, and the characteristics as CF are slightly deteriorated. However, since the ink can be reliably wetted and spread over the entire portion to be colored 62, white light leakage due to the formation of bright spots can be reliably prevented. CF with white light leakage cannot be used as a product, but there is no problem as a product as long as the ink film thickness is slightly reduced. Therefore, it is preferable to set the ejection target region 63 larger than the coloring portion 62 from the viewpoint of reliably restoring the CF. Further, if the amount of ink that rides on the light-shielding portion 61 is obtained by experiments, it is possible to reliably prevent the formation of bright spots and simultaneously form an ink layer having a desired film thickness on the colored portion 62.

  The above process is performed on data obtained by imaging all defective pixels. Further, by comparing the position information on the substrate 20 where the camera has imaged the defective pixel with the position information of the defective pixel on the substrate 20 acquired from the external output device 19, each of the shapes of the plurality of ejection target regions 63 is determined. Is associated with a position on the substrate 20.

  The ejection target region determination unit 11 transmits the shape of the ejection target region 63 associated with the position on the substrate 20 to the ejection order determination unit 15, the angle adjustment unit 14, and the control unit 12.

  Subsequent to step S <b> 3, the ejection order determination unit 15 determines the order of ejecting ink to the plurality of ejection target areas 63 based on the shape of the ejection target area 63 with which the position on the substrate 20 is associated. (Step S4). The ejection order determination unit 15 determines the order so that the time required for ejecting ink to all of the ejection target regions 63 is minimized.

  Examples of a method for determining the order of performing the ink ejection processing in the shortest time include the following methods. For example, (1) a method for determining the order so that the scanning distance in the ink ejection process for the substrate 20 is the shortest, (2) a method for determining the order so that the number of times the scanning direction is reversed is minimized, and (3) Examples thereof include a method of selecting the discharge target region 63 having the shortest scanning distance from the shape and position of the target discharge target region 63 as a region where discharge is performed next. As a result, it is possible to shorten the tact time of the defective pixel repair process using the ink ejection apparatus 10.

  Information on the ejection order determined by the ejection order determination unit 15 is transmitted to the scanning direction determination unit 16 and the control unit 12.

  Based on the acquired information on the ejection order, the scanning direction determination unit 16 determines the relative scanning direction between the substrate 20 and the nozzle 31 when ink is ejected to each of the plurality of ejection target regions 63 ( Step S5). The scanning direction determination unit 16 determines the movable direction of the movable unit 7 included in the substrate stage 24 and the movable unit 7 included in the head stage so that ink can be discharged in the discharge order. Based on the determined movable direction, a relative scanning direction between the substrate 20 and the inkjet head 3 when ink is ejected to each of the plurality of ejection target regions 63 is determined.

  The scanning direction determination unit 16 controls driving of the movable unit 7 during the ink ejection process based on the determined movable direction. Further, each of the relative scanning directions when the ejection is performed on each of the plurality of ejection target regions 63 is transmitted to the correction signal supply unit 17.

The correction signal supply unit 17 has the following two scanning directions:
(1) Scanning direction at the time of imaging the defective pixel in step S2; and (2) Ink to the ejection target region 63 that is the scanning direction acquired from the scanning direction determination unit and is determined based on the shape of the defective pixel. Relative scanning direction when dispensing,
Is determined for each of the plurality of ejection target regions 63 in accordance with the determined ejection order (step S6).

  In step S6, when the correction signal supply unit 17 determines that the direction (1) and the direction (2) are the same (NO) with respect to a certain discharge target region 63, the shape correction of the discharge target region 63 is performed. Do not do. Then, a signal not to perform shape correction is transmitted to the control unit 12 and the angle adjustment unit 14.

  In step S6, when the correction signal supply unit 17 determines that the direction (1) and the direction (2) are different (YES) with respect to a certain ejection target region 63 (YES), A signal for rotating the shape of a certain ejection target region 63 is transmitted to the control unit 12 and the angle adjusting unit 14 by the difference in angle between the directions 2) (step S61).

  A method for determining whether or not the correction signal supply unit 17 corrects the shape of the ejection target region 63 and a method for correcting the shape of the ejection target region 63 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when the substrate holder 24a (see FIG. 2) on which the substrate 20 is arranged moves in the direction D1, in order to repair the coloring portion 62a of the defective pixel, the coloring target Since the upper right corner of the portion 62a is depressed, it is necessary to start ink ejection using the nozzle 31 located on the left (L) side from the vicinity of the center of the inkjet head 3. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the substrate holding base 24a on which the substrate 20 is arranged moves in the D2 direction, in order to repair the coloring portion 62a of the defective pixel, In addition, it is necessary to start discharging from all the nozzles 31 that pass through the discharge target region 63 of the coloring portion 62a. That is, when the scanning direction changes, there are cases where the timing of ejection from the plurality of nozzles 31 must be changed according to the shape of the ejection target region 63.

  Further, when a plurality of defective pixels on the substrate 20 have shapes such as the colored portions 62a, 62b, 62c, and 63d, the ink ejection of the nozzles 31 to the plurality of ejection target regions 63 is performed even when the scanning direction is the same. It is necessary to change the start timing. The processing of the correction signal supply unit 17 in such a case will be described with reference to FIG.

  For example, each of the pixel shape patterns recognized by the pattern recognition unit 5 when the substrate 20 is scanned in the D1 direction (for example, shape a, b, and c) is stored in the correction signal supply unit 17 in advance. The relative scanning direction (here, the scanning direction of the substrate 20) determined by the scanning direction determination unit 16 is D2 when the inkjet head 3 passes over the colored portions 62a and 62b, and the inkjet head 3 is covered. It is assumed that D1 when passing over the colored portions 62c and 62d.

  Shape information possessed by each of the ejection target regions 63 of the plurality of defective pixels is acquired (step 1). The discharge target area 63 of the colored portion 62a is compared with each of the stored plurality of shape patterns. The shape of the discharge target region 63 of the colored portion 62a is associated with a shape pattern (shape a) having a shape similar to the shape of the discharge target region 63 (step 2). A relative scanning direction (D2) is further associated with the shape of the ejection target region 63 of the colored portion 62a associated with the shape (step 3). The correction signal supply unit 17 recognizes that the discharge target region 63 of the colored portion 62a has a shape and is a region where discharge is performed while scanning in the D2 direction (step 4). As a correction signal for the discharge target region 63 of the colored portion 62a, the shape of the discharge target region 63 is equal to a difference in angle (180 degrees) between D1 (scanning direction when recognizing the shape) and D2 (scanning direction when discharging). A signal is generated that rotates.

  The above-described processing is performed on all the colored portions 62 of the defective pixels (here, the colored portions 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d). The generated correction signal is supplied to the control unit 12 and the angle adjustment unit 14 and used for shape correction of the ejection target region 63.

  By performing the above processing, even when the scanning direction in the repair processing is changed and / or the shape of the defective pixel is different, the control unit 12 changes the shape of the ejection target region 63 in accordance with the actual ink ejection processing. Can be acquired. That is, the shape of the ejection target region in the relative scanning direction of the inkjet head and the substrate can be kept constant throughout the entire ink ejection process using the ink ejection device 10.

  Next, the angle adjustment unit 14 sets the angle between the nozzle arrangement direction and the width direction of the ejection target region 63 by comparing the width in the nozzle arrangement direction with the width of the ejection target region 63. The rotating unit 35 adjusts the angle of the nozzle arrangement based on the set angle (step S7).

  The nozzle array angle adjustment processing performed by the angle adjustment unit 14 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the nozzle arrangement direction and the long side direction of the defective pixel coloring portion 62 are substantially parallel, and FIG. 7B shows the nozzle arrangement direction and the defective pixel coloring portion. 62 shows a state in which the long side direction 62 forms an angle α. The arrow in the figure indicates the direction in which the colored portion 62 of the defective pixel on the substrate 20 moves.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the width W4 of the nozzle array is longer than the width W2 of the ejection target region 63. In such a case, the angle adjustment unit 14 sets the angle α for adjusting the nozzle arrangement direction so that the two nozzles 31 at both ends of the inkjet head 3b are located inside the width W2, and the set angle α It transmits to the control part 12 and the rotation part 35.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when α = 0 degrees or 180 × X degrees (X is an integer), the number of nozzles 31 that can eject ink to the ejection target region 63 depends on the pitch of each nozzle 31. Determined. For example, if the size of the ejection target area 63 is 399 μm (W2) wide, 133 μm long, and the pitch of the nozzles 31 is 169 μm (W3), the maximum number of nozzles 31 that can eject ink to the ejection target area 63 is three. Become one.

  Here, it is assumed that the total number of ink ejections required to repair the colored portion 62 for which the ejection target area 63 having the above size has been determined is 300. At this time, since the number of nozzles 31 that can eject ink to the ejection target region 63 is three, it is necessary to eject 100 drops of ink from one nozzle 31.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the nozzle arrangement direction has an inclination α with respect to the width direction of the ejection target region 63, the nozzle 31 that can eject ink to the ejection target region 63. The number of can be increased. For example, when W2 = 399 μm, W3 = 169 μm, and α = 60 degrees, the interval between the nozzles 31 in the width direction of the ejection target region 63 when viewing the inkjet head 3 in the direction of the arrow in the figure is 84.5 μm. . Since W2 is 399 μm, the number of nozzles 31 that can eject ink to the ejection target region 63 is five. That is, since the colored portion 62 can be repaired by ejecting 60 drops of ink from one nozzle 31, the scanning speed can be improved as compared with the state of FIG. An improvement in scanning speed leads to a reduction in tact time.

  Here, when α = 90 degrees, the interval between the nozzles is 0 μm, and the number of inks ejected from each of the plurality of nozzles 31 can be set to the minimum, so the scanning speed is the fastest. However, since the range in which ink can be applied is narrow, it is necessary to reciprocate over the ejection target region 63 many times in order to repair one colored portion 62. In this case, the restoration process of the colored portion 62 takes extra time. Further, if α is set too large, the nozzles 31 at both ends of the inkjet head 3 are disposed on the inner side larger than W2, so that the ink is not sufficiently spread and spread in the colored portion 62 by only one scanning. For these reasons, the angle adjustment unit 14 sets the angle α so that the ink discharge to the discharge target region 63 is completed in one scan and the scanning speed becomes faster.

Assuming that the minimum angle α at which ink ejection can be completed in the ejection target region 63 by one scan is α ₁ , α ₁ is determined as follows.

  If the drive frequency of the nozzle 31 is f and the drive speed of the substrate holding table 24a is s, the landing interval between two inks ejected from one nozzle 31 can be expressed as s / f. The maximum number of inks that can be ejected from one nozzle 31 is the number obtained by dividing the length of the ejection target region 63 in the drive direction of the substrate holder 24a by the landing interval s / f of two inks (rounded down to the nearest decimal point). is there.

  A number n (rounded up after the decimal point) obtained by dividing the number of inks necessary for restoration (the number obtained by dividing the deposition of the colored portion 62 by the deposition of one drop of ink) by the maximum number of inks that can be ejected from one nozzle 31 is once. This is the minimum number of nozzles 31 necessary for repairing the ejection target region 63 in the scanning of.

Here, when the inkjet head 3 is substantially parallel to the ejection target region 63 (the state shown in FIG. 7A), at least one nozzle 31 is disposed in the range of the width W3 of the inkjet head 3. The number of nozzles 31 that pass through the ejection target region 63 can be expressed as W2 / W3 (truncated after the decimal point). Therefore, when the inkjet head 3 is scanned at an angle α (state shown in FIG. 7B), the number of nozzles 31 passing through the ejection target region 63 can be expressed as W2 / W3 × COSα (rounded down to the nearest decimal place). That, alpha ₁ is the angle that satisfies _{n = W2 / W3 × COSα 1} .

  In order to determine α at which the nozzle 31 passing through the ejection target area 63 is maximized by completing the ink ejection to the ejection target area 63 in one scan, the number of inks necessary for the repair of the colored portion 62 and the substrate It is necessary to consider various parameters such as the driving speed of the holding base 24a, the frequency of the ink ejection signal, the driving mode of the inkjet head 3, and the distance between the landed inks.

  In particular, since the distance between the landed inks has a great influence on the wetting and spreading of the ink, it is necessary to sufficiently consider the ink ejection to the ejection target region 63 in one scan. As α is smaller (the number of nozzles 31 used for ejection is smaller), the distance between inks ejected continuously from one nozzle 31 becomes shorter, and the distance between inks ejected from adjacent nozzles 31 becomes longer. . On the other hand, as α is larger (the number of nozzles 31 used for ejection is larger), the distance between inks ejected continuously from one nozzle 31 becomes longer, and the distance between inks ejected from adjacent nozzles 31 is longer. Shorter. In consideration of the above-described distance between the landed inks, it is necessary to determine the value of α so that the ink is evenly spread and spreads on the colored portion 62.

For the above reasons, α may be an angle satisfying α ₁ <α <90 degrees, and α is determined as an angle satisfying α = (90 degrees + α ₁ ) / 2 in consideration of various parameters described above. Is preferred.

  The relationship between the drive speed of the substrate holder 24a, the frequency of the ink discharge signal, and the drive mode of the inkjet head 3 and the angle α (the number of inks that each of the plurality of nozzles 31 can discharge) will be described later. In the description of “Signal Generation (Step S9)”, a specific example is described.

  The controller 12 assigns the number of nozzles 31 used for ejection to one ejection target region 63, and controls the number of ejections and the landing position of ink ejected from each of the assigned nozzles 31 (step S8). .

  Control performed by the control unit 12 will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control process performed by the control unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the shape information of the ejection target region 63 is acquired (step S81). The acquired shape information is information (shape information of the ejection target region 63 and a correction angle of the ejection target region 63) received from steps S3 and S7. Based on the shape information of the ejection target region 63, the shape and orientation of the ejection target region 63 that actually ejects ink are recognized.

  Based on the adjustment angle setting of the nozzle array from step S7, the width of the entire nozzle array after the angle adjustment in the width direction of the discharge target area 63 and the interval of the nozzles 31 in the width direction of the discharge target area 63 are confirmed (step) S82).

  The width of the ejection target area 63 acquired in step S81 is compared with the width of the entire nozzle array acquired in step S82, and the nozzle 31 that ejects ink is determined based on the interval of the nozzles 31 acquired in step S82 ( Step S83). For example, when the width of the entire nozzle array acquired in step S82 is larger than the width of the ejection target region 63 acquired in step S81, by specifying the position of the nozzle 31 using the interval of the nozzles 31, The nozzle 31 that passes through the inside of the width of the ejection target region 63 acquired in step S81 is determined as the nozzle 31 used for ejection. On the other hand, when the entire width of the nozzle array acquired in step S82 is slightly smaller than the width of the discharge target region 63 acquired in step S81, all of the nozzles 31 are used for discharge.

  That is, the determination method of the nozzle 31 that performs ejection passes through the ejection target region 62 from the maximum length of the ejection target region 63 in the direction orthogonal to the substrate scanning direction, the pitch of the nozzles 31, and the angle α in the nozzle arrangement direction. In other words, calculating the maximum number of nozzles.

  The ejection target area 63 is equally divided in the vertical direction by the number of nozzles 31 determined in step S83 (step S84).

  Assignment to the divided ejection target regions 63 (hereinafter referred to as divided regions) through which each of the nozzles 31 passes is performed (step S85).

  The number of ejections of ink ejected from each of the nozzles 31 is determined in accordance with the vertical distance of the assigned divided area (step S86).

  Details of the processes in steps S84 to S86 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view for explaining a state in which the ejection target area 63 is divided into divided areas having an equal width by the number of nozzles used for ejection.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the ejection target region 63 corrected (rotated) in the direction in which ejection is actually performed is divided in the vertical direction so as to have an equal width by the number of nozzles 31 used for ejection. ing. The ejection target region 63 is composed of two types of regions 63a and 63b having two types of lengths (W7 and W8). The region 63a is composed of five divided regions 63a ', and the region 63b is composed of 16 divided regions 63b'.

  That is, in this embodiment, the number of nozzles 31 used for ejection is determined as 21 in step S84. The number of nozzles 31 is the number determined in step S83, and is the number of nozzles 31 that pass inside the width (W5 + W6) of the ejection target region 63.

  In step S85, one nozzle 31 passing above is assigned to each of the total of 21 divided regions 63a 'and 63b'.

  Ink ejected from each of the 21 nozzles 31 so that the ratio between the length (W7 or W8) in the substrate scanning direction of each of the divided regions 63a ′ and 63b ′ and the number of ejected ink droplets is constant. Determine the number of drops.

  For example, W5 = 100 μm, W6 = 320 μm, W7 = 112 μm, and W8 = 140 μm. From the lengths of the four sides of the ejection target region 63 and the film thickness of the ink layer desired to be formed, the total number of ink droplets that need to be ejected to the ejection target region 63 (total number of ink ejections) is obtained as 100. Suppose.

  Region 63a has a length W7 and a width W5, and region 63b has a length W8 and a width W6. Therefore, the area of the region 63a: the area of the region 63b = 100 × 112: 320 × 140 = 1: 4. From here, it is necessary to eject 20 drops of ink to the area 63a and 80 drops of ink to the area 63b. As described above, five nozzles 31 are assigned to the region 63a, and sixteen nozzles 31 are assigned to the region 63b. Therefore, the control unit 12 generates a control signal so that the nozzle 31 passing through the region 63a 'ejects four drops and the nozzle 31 passing through the region 63b' ejects five drops of ink.

  Next, ink landing on each of the divided regions 63a ′ and 63b ′ based on the number of ink discharges of each of the nozzles 31 determined in step S86 (the number of ink discharges on each of the divided regions 63a ′ and 63b ′). The position is determined (step S87).

  Details of the processing in step S87 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 shows the ink landing position with respect to the divided region 63a 'of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, there are thirteen possible landing positions 101 where ink ejected from one nozzle 31 can land in the divided region 63a '. In step S86, the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzle 31 assigned to the divided region 63a 'for repairing the colored portion 62 of the defective pixel is four. Therefore, in the present embodiment, four landing positions 102 are selected from thirteen landing possible positions 101 so that ink can be uniformly applied to the divided region 63a '. In the drawing, p represents the minimum landing interval of ink ejected from the nozzle 31.

The number of possible landing positions 101 of the divided area 63a ′ is calculated from the length p, the length W7 of the divided area 63a ′, and the radius of the ink landing diameter. Here, the minimum landing interval p of the nozzles 31 in the ink ejection apparatus 10 of the present embodiment depends on the frequency of the ink ejection signal and the movable speed of the substrate holding table 24a of the substrate stage 24. Assuming that the frequency of the ink ejection signal is f and the movable speed of the substrate holder 24a is s, the minimum landing interval p is expressed by the following formula:
p = s / f
It is represented by

  In the ink ejection device 10, the frequency f of the ink ejection signal is set to 33.3 kHz, and the driving speed s of the substrate holder 24a is set to 300 mm / s, so the minimum landing interval p is 9 μm. Further, since W7 is 112 μm, a maximum of thirteen possible landing positions 101 can be set on the divided region 63a ′.

  In FIG. 10, the ink droplet is depicted as landing in the divided area 63 a ′, but FIG. 10 schematically shows the landing possible position 101, the landing position 102, and the divided area 63 a ′. FIG. Actually, it is only necessary to set the landing possible position 101 so that the center of the landing mark of the ink having a substantially circular shape falls within the divided area 63a ′, and a part of the ink droplet straddles the boundary line of the divided area 63a ′. You may land. Furthermore, landing marks of a plurality of inks may overlap each other. In the ink ejection device 10 according to the present invention, the ejection target region 63 is set inside the colored portion 62 by a distance W1 in consideration of the maximum variation amount of the ink landing position and the landing radius of the ink droplet ( (See FIG. 5 (b)). Therefore, the ink droplet can be reliably landed in the colored portion 62 without landing on the light shielding portion 61.

  As described above, the four landing positions 102 are selected from the thirteen landing positions 101 so that the ink can be uniformly applied to the divided region 63a ′. May be. For example, the landing position 102 may be adjusted between the adjacent divided regions 63a 'so that the ink can be uniformly applied to the entire region 63a. Further, for example, the landing position 102 may be adjusted between the regions 63a and 63b so that the ink can be uniformly applied to the entire ejection target region 63. Further, for example, the landing position 102 is adjusted so that the landing frequency is increased in a portion where the ejection target region 63 has a particularly complicated shape or the material is formed so that the ink is difficult to spread. May be.

  Based on the above determination in step S8 (steps S81 to 87), the control unit 12 generates a control signal to be supplied to the nozzle driving unit 13 (step S9).

  Here, regarding the timing of the output of the ink discharge signal from the nozzle driving unit 13, it is considered which of the two adjacent nozzles 31 reaches which discharge nozzle 63 reaches the discharge target area 63 earlier (or later). There is a need. The time lag when the ink ejected from the two adjacent nozzles 31 reaches the ejection target region 63 is different from the shape of the ejection target region 63, the pitch of the nozzles 31, the nozzle array adjustment angle α, and the operation of the substrate holder 24a. It can be calculated from the speed s. By adjusting the output of the control signal generated in the control unit 12 according to the calculated time (timing deviation), the timing of the output of the ink ejection signal from the nozzle driving unit 13 for driving the adjacent nozzles 31 is adjusted. Adjustment (advance or delay) is sufficient.

  Further, when the inkjet head 3 having a structure in which it is difficult to drive the adjacent nozzles 31 at the same time, there are cases where the start of ink ejection cannot be synchronized depending on the frequency f of the ink ejection signal. For example, when the inkjet head 3 in which the channel for supplying ink to the nozzle 31 is separated by the wall of one piezoelectric element is used, ink cannot be ejected simultaneously from the three nozzles 31 arranged (four arranged). The two nozzles 31 located at both ends of the nozzle 31 can simultaneously eject ink).

  Here, it is assumed that the frequency f of the ink ejection signal for ejecting ink from the two adjacent nozzles 31 is 100 kHz, the nozzle array angle α is 0 degree, and the driving speed s of the substrate holder 24a is 300 mm / s.

At this time, while the inkjet head 3 ejects ink once, the substrate holder 24a is only s / f (3 × 10 ⁵ (μm / s) / 10 ⁵ (times / s) = 3 (μm / times)). Moving. Since the adjacent nozzles 31 cannot be driven simultaneously, the landing position of the ink ejected from the adjacent nozzles 31 is shifted by 3 μm in the movable direction of the substrate holding table 24a. Due to this shift, there is a possibility that the landing possible position 101 with respect to the divided region 63a ′ or 63b ′ may decrease. As described above, since the ink cannot be ejected at the same time unless the nozzles 31 are separated from each other by three, even if the frequency f of the ink ejection signal is set to 100 kHz, the ink is ejected from each nozzle 31 at a frequency of f / 3. Is discharged.

  When the inclination α of the nozzle arrangement is not 0 degree, the above-described deviation can be large, so that the variation in the number of inks that can be ejected using the two adjacent nozzles 31 (difference in the number of landable positions 101) can be large. Sex is further enhanced.

  In consideration of the above points, the control unit 12 controls the ink ejection signal generation of the nozzle drive unit 13 for each of the nozzles 31. This process is performed for all of the nozzles 31 that discharge ink to one discharge target region 63.

  Based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 12, the nozzle driving unit 13 generates an ink ejection signal. Based on the generated ink discharge signal, each of the nozzles 31 is driven to form a pattern on the substrate 20 (step S10).

  Details of the ink ejection signal generated in the nozzle drive unit 13 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 11A shows an example of an ink ejection signal generated by the nozzle drive unit 13 based on the control signal of the landing position 102 of FIG. 10 determined by the control unit 12, and FIG. 11B shows the signal of FIG. It is a graph which shows the signal waveform for producing | generating.

  For example, a signal that instructs ejection is 1 and a signal that does not perform ejection is 0. At this time, the nozzle drive unit 13 generates a digital signal as shown in FIG. 11A based on the control signal from the control unit 12 so that it can land at the landing position 102 of FIG. The arrow indicates the direction in which the nozzle 31 relatively passes over the divided region 63a '.

  Further, the signal waveform when the digital signal of FIG. 11A is output can be represented as a waveform as shown in FIG. In FIG. 11B, the horizontal axis represents time (t), and the vertical axis represents voltage magnitude (V).

  As described above, the output of the ink ejection signal output for driving each of the nozzles 31 from the nozzle driving unit 13 is controlled by the control signal from the control unit 12. By sending an ink ejection signal to the inkjet head 3 and sending a drive signal from the scanning direction determination unit 16 to the movable unit 7, the ejection of ink from the nozzle 31 and the drive of the movable unit 7 are linked. Thereby, a pattern of a desired shape can be formed at a desired position.

  It is confirmed whether or not the processing from steps S6 to S10 has been performed for each of all the ejection target regions 63 existing on the substrate 20 (step S11).

  If the pattern formation is completed for each of all the ejection target regions 63, the ink ejection apparatus 10 ends the process. If there is an ejection target area 63 that has not been repaired, the process is performed again from step S6.

In the present embodiment, it has been described that the control process by the control unit 12 is performed when ink is ejected to each of the ejection target regions 63. In fact, the following controls:
(1) Shape correction of the discharge target region 63;
(2) Adjustment of nozzle array angle;
(3) allocation of nozzles to each of the divided areas;
(4) determining the number of ink ejections for each of the divided areas; and (5) determining the ink landing position for each of the divided areas.
Is performed on all the ejection target regions 63, and the nozzle driving unit 13 is movable using signals from the control unit 12, the angle adjustment unit 14, and the scanning direction determination unit 17 in accordance with the ejection target region 63 from which ink is ejected. The operations of the unit 7 and the rotating unit 35 may be controlled.

  As described above, by employing the ink ejection device 10 of the present embodiment, the nozzles 31 can be assigned according to the pixel shape, and the number of ink ejections and the landing position can be controlled. Thus, the defective pixel having a complicated shape can be repaired in a short time while the film thickness is accurately controlled.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 12, the shape of the pixel which can form an ink layer in a desired shape and film thickness using the ink discharge apparatus 10 which concerns on this invention is illustrated. 12A shows the shape of one pixel surrounded by the light shielding portion 61, and FIG. 12B shows a CF panel in which a plurality of pixels having different shapes are arranged on the same substrate 20. (C) shows a CF panel composed of a plurality of pixels having different sizes.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the colored portion 62 of the pixel surrounded by the light-shielding portion 61 with no corners is a shape that is expected to be developed in the future. As shown in (b), a CF panel combining a shape in which the left and right sides of the shape in (a) are reversed and a plurality of pixels in which the top and bottom are reversed (a plurality of pixels having the same shape) is also assumed. The The shape of the light-shielding portion 61 formed so as to increase in width near the center of the four pixels shown in (b) is effective as the configuration of the CF panel because the light-shielding efficiency of the TFT drive portion can be increased. . Furthermore, with the diversification of panel sizes, it can be considered that pixels with different areas are formed as shown in FIG.

  When each pixel is formed of a polygonal shape having five or more corners and sides, as exemplified by using FIG. 12, it is desired to form a plurality of pixels having different shapes on one panel. In any of these cases, such as when forming a plurality of pixels having different areas, the formation of pixels having a desired shape and film thickness can be performed accurately by using the ink ejection device 10 of the present embodiment. And it can be performed in a short time. Therefore, a CF panel on which clear pixels are formed can be easily manufactured.

  In the present embodiment, the ink ejection apparatus 10 for repairing defective pixels on the CF panel has been described as an example, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to, for example, repairing a defective portion of a laminated film existing on a TFT panel. The present invention can be applied, for example, to the manufacture of an electroluminescence (EL) display device having a plurality of discharged portions arranged in a matrix or stripe form. The present invention can be applied to, for example, manufacturing a back substrate of a plasma display device. The present invention can be applied, for example, to the manufacture of an image display device provided with an electron-emitting device. The present invention can be applied to, for example, the formation of wirings and insulating films for semiconductor circuit elements or electronic circuit boards.

  In the above, the ink discharge apparatus 10 that determines the discharge target region based on the shape of the pattern recognized by the pattern recognition unit 5 and discharges ink to the colored portion 62 in which the pixels including the defective portion are removed by the laser has been described. . The ink ejection apparatus 10 can execute a sequence for applying an appropriate amount of the correcting CF ink to an appropriate location in accordance with the shape of the defective pixel of the CF. Hereinafter, a method for repairing an irregular defect portion without removing it by a laser will be described.

[Repair of irregular defects]
When repairing a defective portion in the CF, a rectangular or polygonal colored portion 62 may be formed by laser trimming, and ink may be ejected to the colored portion 62. However, TFT panels have various shapes (non-polygonal irregular shapes) such as insulating film defects, transparent electrode defects, wiring defects, alignment film defects, or resist defects in the photolithography process. Defects occur. These defects are partial defects of the laminated film, and it is difficult to remove a region including the defective portion into a desired shape by laser irradiation. Further, in many cases, a difference in wettability or a bank (step) is not formed at the boundary between the film defect portion and the normal film formation portion. For these reasons, it is difficult to apply a desired amount of ink to a desired position of an irregular defect portion in the TFT panel. Even in such a case, the ink ejection apparatus 10 of the present invention can appropriately repair an irregular film defect portion in a TFT panel or the like according to an example of the processing flow shown in FIG. Details of the process of repairing the irregular defect by the ink ejection apparatus 10 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In the case of repairing the irregular defective portion, the processing in Step 3 may be changed in the processing described in the section “Repair processing of defective pixels of the ink ejection apparatus 10”. In detail, the processing of the image of the defective part which the pattern recognition part 5 imaged by the discharge target area | region determination part 11 in step 3 differs.

  First, a film defect portion on the TFT panel is imaged by the pattern recognition unit 5 provided in the ink ejection apparatus 10. The film defect part is preferably imaged in a state where the pattern recognition unit 5 and the TFT panel having the film defect part to be imaged are stationary. This is because the position information and shape (dimension) information of the film defect portion are obtained more accurately. Even when information such as the position, shape, and area of the colored portion 62 of the CF pixel that has been laser-removed is acquired, the colored portion 62 can be imaged while the pattern recognition unit 5 and the imaging target are stationary. preferable. By acquiring accurate information, the ink ejection position and ejection amount can be determined more accurately, so that the defect can be repaired more accurately. Here, the pattern recognition unit 5 scans the entire surface of the TFT panel and images the film defect portion. However, information on the film defect portion may be acquired in advance using another defect inspection apparatus. In addition, information such as a repair region including a defect portion of a CF pixel can be acquired by the pattern recognition unit 5 which is a relatively simple optical system, but information such as a film defect portion having a thickness of submicron. Is preferably provided with a differential interference optical system or the like.

  FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of a normal source / gate cross portion in a TFT of a TFT panel, and FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a panel to which foreign matter adheres during the formation of the TFT. (C) is sectional drawing which shows a state when a foreign material is removed from the panel of (b), (d) is sectional drawing which shows the state which formed the source film on (c).

  As shown in FIG. 14A, the TFT is formed on the gate film 71 formed on the glass substrate 70, the gate insulating film 72 formed on the substrate 70 and the gate film 71, and the gate insulating film 72. Source film 73. Thus, the film constituting the TFT is not formed on a flat surface except for the gate film 71. Further, the TFT is formed by laminating films having different properties. For this reason, when a defective part arises, a laser process may become difficult by the property of the film | membrane (substrate | substrate) exposed as a defective part. In addition, when the defective part is not formed on a flat surface or the properties of the film (substrate) exposed as the defective part may be different, it is difficult to form a uniform film on the defective part by repair There is.

  As shown in FIG. 14B, since foreign matter 74 is attached across the gate film 71 and the glass substrate 70 during the formation of the TFT (after the formation of the gate film 71), a part of the gate film 71 and the glass substrate 70 is formed. The gate insulating film 72 is not properly formed. And as shown in FIG.14 (c), when the foreign material 74 is removed, the gate film 71 and a part of glass substrate 70 will be exposed as a defect part 75 (pattern). If the source film 73 is formed while leaving the defective portion 75 left, the gate film 71 and the source film 73 are short-circuited as shown in FIG. When assembled as a liquid crystal display in this state, a fatal defect called a line defect that does not drive all of the pixels connected in a straight line occurs. Thus, even in the formation of the TFT panel, a defective portion 75 that needs to be repaired may be formed. However, unlike a defect in a pixel of a CF panel, in a TFT panel, a portion exposed as a defective portion may not be flat or may be made of a material having a different property, so that different processing is required.

  The defective part 75 of the insulating film when the image of FIG. 14C is captured by a camera having a differential interference optical system as the pattern recognition unit 5 of the ink ejection apparatus 10 can be acquired as a color image (not shown). At this time, by adjusting the optical system, the appearance (the color of the defective portion) can be changed. In other words, the defective portion 75 of the insulating film can be changed to blue or orange depending on the presence or absence of the insulating film and the film thickness distribution, and can be displayed embossed on the image. The defect 75 of the insulating film imaged by the pattern recognition unit 5 is irregular (indefinite) in size and shape. Further, since the defective portion 75 of the insulating film is a portion where various base films such as the gate film 71 or the glass substrate 70 are exposed, the wettability with respect to the ink made of the insulating material for correction is different. Furthermore, there is no difference in wettability (liquid-repellent contrast) at the boundary between the defective portion and the normal portion, and at the same time, an ink dam is formed around the defective portion 75 (ink outflow is prevented. There is no bank (step). In order to appropriately repair such a defective portion 75 of the film, it is necessary to modify the surface (ink application surface) of the defective portion 75 and to appropriately control the ejection of ink to the defective portion 75 of the film.

  It is preferable to make the wettability of the defective portion 75 (ink discharge region) where the underlying film having various wettability is exposed as uniform as possible by modifying the ink application surface. For example, the ink ejection device 10 may include an ink adhesion surface modification unit such as an atmospheric pressure plasma source or an ultraviolet cleaning light source. By modifying all the underlying films constituting the defective portion 75 to have a wettability to a certain degree (contact angle with respect to the ink is about 30 ° or less), the wet spread of the discharged ink can be made substantially uniform. it can. For example, when a 6 pl ink droplet is ejected to the defective portion 75 whose contact angle with respect to the ink is in the range of 10 ° to 30 °, the ink spreads to Φ48 μm to Φ70 μm. Therefore, the repair of the defective portion 75 by ink ejection (repair ink application process) can be realized with high reproducibility. At the same time, since the ejected ink is prevented from being repelled, the occurrence of pinholes can be prevented. As described above, by modifying the surface of the defect portion 75, the defect portion 75 of the film can be reliably repaired.

  Appropriate ink ejection control for the defective portion 75 of the film can be realized by the ink ejection apparatus 10 of the present invention. In order to repair the defective portion 75 of the film more reliably, as shown in FIG. 15 (when the defective portion 75 of the film and the ejection target region 63 are displayed), the defective portion 75 of the film is imaged by the pattern recognition unit 5. To recognize the shape. Based on the shape of the imaged defect portion 75 of the film, the discharge target region determination unit 11 virtually generates a discharge target region (polygon) 63 including the defect portion 75 by image processing. The ejection target area determination unit 11 ejects as a polygon (for example, a rectangle closest to the size of the image) having the maximum area in the captured image because all of the defective portions are contained in the captured image. The target area 63 is determined. The ejected ink may be ejected onto the TFT panel so as to fill the virtually generated ejection target area 63. Except for the process of determining the ejection target region 63, the section [Repair process of defective pixels of the ink ejection apparatus 10] may be referred to. As described above, the irregular defect film 75 can be suitably repaired by applying a predetermined amount of the ink made of the insulating material for repair to a large area including the defect portion 75 of the film.

  If the repairing ink is applied to an area larger than the defective portion 75 of the film, the defective portion 75 of the film can be reliably repaired. However, when the repair ink is ejected to an area larger than necessary compared to the defective portion 75, the ink is naturally applied to a portion (normal portion or normal surface) where the repair ink is not required to be applied. That is, the layer thickness of the normal surface around the defective portion 75 of the film in the TFT panel is slightly increased. As a result, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the normal part is changed, so that the liquid crystal display characteristics in the normal part are deteriorated. For this reason, it is preferable to apply repair ink to the defective portion 75 of the film and the normal portion having the smallest possible area.

  An example of a method for reliably repairing the defective portion 75 and applying ink to a minimum area will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 is a plan view showing an image in which the minimum ejection target region 63 is set for the defective portion 75 in FIG. FIG. 17A is a plan view showing a process for setting the ejection target region 63 based on the shape of the defective portion 75, and FIG. 17B is a plan view showing a process performed after (a). .

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, the ejection target region determination unit 11 determines the ejection target region 63 from the image of the film defect portion 75 acquired by the pattern recognition unit 5. The ejection target area 63 in FIG. 16 is set as a polygon having the smallest area that includes the defective portion 75 and connects the ink landing possible positions (ink ejection candidate positions). The ink landing possible position can be determined from the relationship between the moving speed of the substrate holder 24a, the frequency of the ejection signal, and the scanning direction of the inkjet head 3 and the angle α. By setting the ejection target region 63 as the polygon, the defective portion 75 can be reliably filled with ink and the amount of ink ejected to the normal portion can be minimized. That is, the defective portion 75 can be reliably repaired by the ejection target region 63 as the polygon, and unnecessary double film formation on the normal portion can be avoided as much as possible. Further, it is possible to save ink used for restoration.

  Here, in repairing the defective portion 75 formed in the gate insulating film 72, the film thickness after film formation needs to be relatively thin (for example, about 0.3 to 1 μm) unlike CF repair. There is. For this reason, it is necessary to avoid that the landing inks that did not cause a problem in the CF repair are extremely overlapped. This is because, in CF repair, a large amount of ink is landed in a region surrounded by a bank (BM or a colored portion that has not been laser-removed) having a wettability difference (lyophilic / repellent contrast). This is because even if they overlap, the film thickness after film formation is not greatly affected.

  As illustrated in FIG. 17A, the ejection target region determination unit 11 binarizes the image of the defective portion 75 and the normal portion acquired by the pattern recognition unit 5, and then (1) the center of gravity 78 of the defective portion 75. (2) Arrangement of a plurality of radiations 79 extending from the center of gravity 78 (partitioning of the binarized image), (3) Determination of the representative point 80 in the section, (4) Determination of the assumed defect shape 81, and ( 5) The assumed defect shape 81 is enlarged.

  In (1), the center of gravity 78 is determined from the binarized shape of the defect portion 75 by a known arithmetic process using a computer or the like. In (2), the number of radiations 79 to be arranged may be arbitrarily increased or decreased. Here, the defect portion 75 binarized using 36 radiations 79 is partitioned into a substantially fan shape. If the number of the radiations 79 is increased, the deemed defect shape 81 can be brought close to the shape of the defect portion 75. Naturally, when the number of substantially fan-shaped sections increases, it takes time for the arithmetic processing. Therefore, the number of the radiations 79 may be appropriately adjusted in accordance with the accuracy required for repairing the defective portion 75. In (3), the representative point 80 is selected as the point farthest from the center of gravity 78 out of the substantially sector-shaped sections of the defect 75. In (4), the deemed defect shape 81 is determined as an area surrounded by connecting all the representative points 80 in two adjacent sections. In (5), the representative point 80 is moved away by 10 μm along a straight line connecting the representative point 80 and the center of gravity 78, and the assumed defect shape 81 is enlarged. As a result, the enlarged region 77 is determined. By enlarging the assumed defect shape 81 and setting the enlarged region 77, the defective portion 75 can be reliably included in the ejection target region 63. That is, a part of the normal part near the defective part 75 is also included in the ejection target region 63. Note that the irregular region 75 may be repaired using the enlarged region 77 as the ejection target region 63.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 17B, the enlarged region 77 is determined as a polygon surrounded by a straight line connecting a plurality of ink landing positions 82. Thereby, the enlarged region 77 can be determined as a simple shape. That is, the information amount of data representing the enlarged region 77 is reduced. Therefore, the ink ejection apparatus 10 can be operated efficiently (defects repaired) by improving the speed of the arithmetic processing. The ink landing possible position 82 is determined from the nozzle pitch in the sub-scanning direction and the ink landing pitch in the main scanning direction. The nozzle pitch is determined from the rotation angle of the inkjet head, the scanning direction, and the nozzle arrangement position. The landing pitch is determined from the moving speed of the substrate holder 24a (scanning speed of the inkjet head) and the frequency of the ejection signal.

  Here, the ink discharge device 10 normally discharges the ink so that the ink is landed at the center of the landable position 82. The landing possible position 82 is a virtual position determined by the operating condition of the ink ejection apparatus 10 as described above. The landing possible positions 82 have a two-dimensional matrix-like distribution arranged in the X direction (left and right of the paper surface) and (up and down the paper surface) Y direction on the plane of the image. For example, coordinates on the substrate support 24a are assigned to the centers of the landing positions 82. The ejection target area determination unit 11 superimposes the data representing the distribution of the landing possible positions 82 and the data representing the enlarged area 77 to specify the coordinates representing the possible landing positions 82 inside the enlarged area 77. As a result, the coordinates representing the landing possible position 82 outside the enlarged region 77 are also specified. Then, the ejection target area determination unit 11 determines the ejection target area 63 as a polygon that connects two adjacent landing possible positions 82 among the plurality of possible landing positions 82 outside the enlarged area 77. . Further, in order to minimize the area of the ejection target region 63, the landing possible position 82 closest to the enlarged region 77 is selected as a point constituting the polygon without contacting the enlarged region 77.

  Here, an example of a method for minimizing the polygon as the ejection target region 63 will be described below. First, an arbitrary polygon (for example, a rectangle) sufficiently larger than the enlarged region 77 is set as a temporary ejection target region. Next, the temporary ejection target area is reduced. Specifically, the landing possible position 82 set as the outer periphery of the temporary ejection target region is changed to the landing possible position 82 adjacent in the direction of the center of gravity 78. When it is determined that the landing possible position 82 changed in the direction of the center of gravity 78 is not included in the enlarged region 77, the setting is further changed to the landing possible position 82 adjacent in the direction of the center of gravity 78. When it is determined that the changed landing possible position 82 is included in the enlarged area 77, the landing possible position 82 before the change is determined as the landing possible position 82 constituting the true ejection target area 63. By performing this process for all of the landing possible positions 82 constituting the temporary ejection target area, the ejection target area 63 having the minimum area including the enlarged area 77 can be determined. That is, the ejection target area determination unit 11 includes the true ejection target area 63 by moving the outer periphery of the temporary ejection target area (a plurality of landing possible positions 82 set as) in the direction of the center of gravity 78 of the defective portion 75. The landing possible position 82 is decreased. At this time, the ejection target area 63 is minimized by deforming the temporary ejection target area.

As described above, when the defective portion 75 of the TFT panel is repaired, it is necessary to reduce the film thickness after the repair. In order to reduce the film thickness, it is necessary to eject ink so that the inks that have landed on the ejection target region 63 do not extremely overlap. An example of a method for determining the ink ejection position that can reduce the thickness after the repair will be described below. In FIG. 17B, a landing possible position 82 filled in black represents a planned ejection position selected as an ink ejection position. As shown in FIG. 17B, even if there is an interval of 2 pitches in the direction of the nozzle pitch (left and right of the paper surface) and 3 pitches in the scanning (up and down direction of the paper surface) at the intended discharge position in the discharge target region 63. , Some of the adjacent ink droplets overlap each other. In other words, the ejection target area determination unit 11 determines the appropriate amount of ink to be ejected into the ejection target area 63 and the planned ejection position where some of the landed ink droplets overlap each other.

  Here, 39 scheduled ejection positions are set in a distributed manner within the ejection target area 63. However, if it is desired to increase the film thickness, more ejection scheduled positions are set and the ink ejection amount is set. May be increased. On the other hand, when it is desired to reduce the film thickness, the ink discharge amount may be reduced by setting a smaller number of planned discharge positions. When the number set as the planned ejection position is reduced, the ejection schedule is such that a part of the landed ink droplets overlap each other and the polygon connecting the outermost planned ejection positions includes the enlarged region 77. What is necessary is just to set a position.

  In order for the adjacent ink droplets to overlap in the scanning direction and the nozzle pitch direction, a part of the adjacent ink discharged from one nozzle overlaps and the adjacent ink discharged from the adjacent nozzle overlaps. is required. That is, it is necessary to appropriately adjust the landing pitch and the nozzle pitch.

  For example, when the inkjet head 3 that ejects 6 pl of ink is used and the contact angle of the defective portion 75 is small (for example, 10 °), the ink is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of about 70 μm. Wet and spread. At this time, the inkjet head 3 may be rotated so that the landing pitch is 70 μm or less. The angle at which the inkjet head 3 is rotated may be changed as appropriate in accordance with the amount of ink discharged or the contact angle of the target to which ink is discharged (the degree of ink wetting and spreading). In addition, when the contact angle with respect to the ink is changed in one defective portion 75 (there is fluctuation in the range of 10 ° to 30 °), the inkjet head 3 is adjusted according to the condition with the worst wettability with respect to the ink. You may change the angle to rotate.

  For example, when the discharge target region 63 set in the defect portion 75 has a diameter of about 30 μm under the same conditions as described above (one drop of ink spreads to 70 μm), the substrate 20 and the nozzle 31 It is preferable that the required amount of ink is ejected to one place while the ink is stationary. As a result, the film formed by ejecting ink can have a minimum area. Therefore, the amount of ink used can be reduced, and double film formation in the normal part around the defective part 75 can be minimized.

  The method for setting the ejection target region 63 larger than the irregular defect portion 75 has been described above. This is because, as described above, there is no difference in wettability between the irregular defect portion 75 and the normal portion, and there is no step (bank) that prevents the ink from flowing out. This is because it is difficult to discharge. Therefore, when there is a difference in wettability or a step (bank) that prevents the outflow of ink between the irregular defect portion 75 and the normal portion, conversely, the ejection target region 63 that is larger than the irregular defect portion 75. Is preferably set. For example, in a TFT manufacturing process, a gate film is formed on the entire surface of a glass substrate, and a resist is applied to the entire surface. A large discharge target area 63 may be set. At this time, the irregular defect portion 75 is a portion where the resist is not applied normally and the gate film is exposed. The contact angle of the resist ink with respect to the gate film is about 10 to 20 °. The contact angle of the resist ink with respect to the baked resist film is about 50 to 60 °. That is, there is a sufficient contact angle difference (more than 30 °) (wetability difference) between the normal part and the defective part 75. At this time, for example, a polygon connecting a plurality of landable positions 82 inside the defect shape 81 shown in FIG. 17A may be set as the ejection target region 63. Since the wettability of the defective part 75 is sufficiently high and the wettability of the normal part is sufficiently low, the ink is sufficiently spread to the boundary between the defective part 75 and the normal part.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately modified within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(Other configurations)
In addition, this invention is realizable also with the following structures.

(First configuration)
In a defect repairing apparatus that repairs defective pixels that are scattered on a color filter substrate that is partitioned by a light-shielding portion that does not transmit light and is formed with a coloring material on a transparent substrate by discharging the coloring material with an inkjet head.
By removing at least part of the coloring material forming region of the defective pixel, a dischargeable region having a polygonal shape is formed,
Shape recognition means for recognizing a dischargeable area consisting of a polygonal shape capable of ink landing on defective pixels scattered on the medium;
Nozzle assigning means for assigning discharge nozzles according to the shape of the dischargeable area recognized by the shape recognition means;
Discharge position calculation means for calculating a discharge landing position according to the shape of the dischargeable region for each assigned nozzle;
An ink ejection apparatus comprising: ejection pattern generation means for generating an ejection pattern according to an ejection landing position and transmitting the result as an electrical signal to an ink ejection unit.

(Second configuration)
The shape recognition means includes
An information transfer means for transferring an unnecessary film removal pattern for removing at least a part of the coloring material forming region of the defective pixel to the nozzle assigning means;
Repair order determining means for determining the order in which the defective pixels are repaired based on position information of the unnecessary film removal pattern;
A scanning direction determining means for determining a relative scanning direction between the substrate and the inkjet head for repairing the defective pixel by the repair order determining means;
Based on the information of the scanning direction determining means, the unnecessary film removal pattern shape correcting means for recognizing the shape of the unnecessary film removal pattern by rotating,
An ink ejection apparatus according to a first configuration comprising:

(Third configuration)
The discharge position calculating means includes
An ink ejection apparatus according to a first configuration, wherein the ejection landing position from each nozzle assigned according to the shape of the unnecessary film removal pattern is adjusted for each nozzle.

(Fourth configuration)
In a defect repairing apparatus for repairing defective pixels scattered on a color filter substrate, which is partitioned by a light-shielding part that does not transmit light and formed with a coloring material on a transparent substrate, by discharging the coloring material with an inkjet head,
By removing at least part of the coloring material forming region of the defective pixel, a dischargeable region having a polygonal shape is formed,
Recognize the dischargeable area consisting of polygons that can land on the defective pixels scattered on the medium,
According to the recognized shape of the dischargeable area, assign a discharge nozzle,
Calculate the discharge landing position according to the shape of the dischargeable area for each assigned nozzle,
Furthermore, an ink ejection control method for ejecting ink droplets by generating an ejection pattern according to an ejection landing position and transmitting the result as an electrical signal to an ink ejection unit.

(Fifth configuration)
As a method for recognizing the dischargeable region,
An unnecessary film removal pattern for removing at least part of the coloring material forming region of the defective pixel is transferred to the nozzle assigning unit, and
Based on the position information of the unnecessary film removal pattern, determine the order of repairing the defective pixels,
From the order, a relative scanning direction between the substrate and the inkjet head for repairing the defective pixel is determined,
Furthermore, the ink ejection control method according to the fourth configuration, wherein the unnecessary film removal pattern shape is corrected by rotating and recognizing the shape of the unnecessary film removal pattern based on information on the scanning direction for each defective pixel.

(Sixth configuration)
The discharge target region determining means on the substrate where the substrate surface in the region where the ink is attached has a relatively lyophilic property and the substrate surface in the region where the ink is not attached has a relatively lyophobic property, In the pattern recognizing means, the stationary imaging means captures the pattern on the substrate within one field of view, and the polygon connecting the ink discharge area to the outermost peripheral position of the ink discharge candidate position on the substrate is within the desired pattern. And an ink ejection device that determines to eject ink to ink ejection candidate positions that fall within the polygon.

(Seventh configuration)
The discharge target area determining means on the substrate on which the substrate surface in the area to which the ink is attached and the substrate surface in the area to which the ink is not attached has relatively no lyophobic property is the pattern recognition means in the pattern recognition means. Is a pattern in which the pattern on the substrate is stored in one field of view by a stationary imaging means, and the polygon connecting the outermost peripheral positions of the ink discharge candidate positions on the substrate is larger than the desired pattern, In addition, an ink ejection apparatus that determines to eject ink to ink ejection candidate positions that have a minimum area of the polygon and exist in the polygon.

(Program and recording medium)
Finally, each block included in the ink ejection apparatus may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, the CPU (Central Processing)
It may be realized by software using (Unit).

  That is, the ink ejection apparatus includes a CPU that executes instructions of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the control program, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the control program into an executable format. ), And a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the control program and various data.

  With this configuration, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by using a predetermined recording medium. The predetermined recording medium may record the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the control program for the ink ejection apparatus, which is software that realizes the above-described functions, in a readable manner using a computer. That's fine. The recording medium is supplied to the ink ejection device. Accordingly, an ink ejection apparatus (or CPU or MPU) provided with a computer may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

  The recording medium for supplying the program code is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, examples of the recording medium include a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Examples thereof include a disk system, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, and a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Further, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if the ink discharge device is configured to be connectable to a communication network. In this case, the program code is supplied to the ink ejection device via the communication network. The communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply the program code to the ink ejection apparatus. Examples of the communication network include the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. Can do.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. As a transmission medium constituting the communication network, for example, a cable such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, IrDA or remote control Examples thereof include radio waves such as infrared rays, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 radio, HDR, a mobile phone network, a satellite line, and a terrestrial digital network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  By using the present invention, ink can be applied quickly and accurately to a plurality of regions existing on a medium having a fine and complicated shape. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to repair of defective pixels existing on the CF panel. Further, the present invention can be applied to repairing a defective portion of a laminated film existing on a TFT panel. Further, the present invention can be applied to repairing a defective portion of a laminated film of a semiconductor circuit element or an electronic circuit board. In addition, since the present invention can be used for forming a plurality of discharged portions arranged in a matrix or stripes, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of an electroluminescence (EL) display device. Further, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of a back substrate of a plasma display device. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of an image display device including an electron-emitting device.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an ink ejection device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an external configuration of the ink ejection apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of an ink discharge unit in the ink discharge apparatus of FIG. 2. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for operating the ink ejection apparatus of FIG. 2. It is a top view which shows an example of the mode which determines the shape of an ejection object area | region based on the shape of a defective pixel. (A) is a top view explaining the relative scanning direction of an inkjet head and a board | substrate, (b) is a top view explaining the scanning direction opposite to (a), (c) is a defect. It is a figure explaining the process sequence in case the shape of a pixel differs. (A) is a top view explaining the state where the arrangement direction of a nozzle and the width direction of a pixel are parallel, (b) has an angle (alpha) with the arrangement direction of a nozzle and the width direction of a pixel. It is a top view explaining the state which exists. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process in S8 of the flowchart of FIG. It is a top view explaining a mode that the discharge object area | region was divided | segmented by the number of nozzles. It is a top view explaining the frequency | count of ejection and the landing position of the ink which one nozzle discharges with respect to one division area. (A) shows the digital signal generated in the nozzle driving means to realize the number of ink ejections and the landing position shown in FIG. 10, and (b) is a graph showing the signal waveform of (a). (A) is a top view which shows one modification of the shape of the coloring part in the pixel shown in FIG. 6, (b) is a top view which shows the other modification of the shape of the coloring part in the pixel shown in FIG. (C) is a top view which shows further the other modification of the shape of the coloring part in the pixel shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the other example of the mode which determines the shape of a discharge target area | region based on the shape of a defective pixel. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the gate / source cross part of a TFT panel, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the case where a foreign material adheres at the time of formation of the gate wiring film of a TFT panel, (c ) Is a cross-sectional view showing a state after removing foreign matter from (b), and (d) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a source film is formed on (c). It is a top view which shows an example of the image process in the repair of the defective part of FIG.14 (c). It is a top view which shows the other example of the image process in the repair of the defective part of FIG.14 (c). (A) is a top view which shows the detail of the first half of the image processing of FIG. 16, (b) is a top view which shows the detail of the process following (a).

Explanation of symbols

3 Inkjet head 5 Pattern recognition unit (pattern recognition means)
10 Ink Ejecting Device 11 Ejection Target Area Determining Unit (Ejection Target Area Determination Means)
12 Control unit (control means)
13 Nozzle drive unit (nozzle drive means)
14 Angle adjustment unit (angle adjustment means)
15 Discharge order determining unit (Discharge order determining means)
16 Scanning direction determining unit (scanning direction determining means)
17 Correction signal supply unit (correction signal supply means)
20 Substrate 31 Nozzle 61 Light-shielding part 62 Colored part (pixel area)
62a Colored part (pixel area)
62b Colored part (pixel area)
62c Colored part (pixel area)
62d Colored part (pixel area)
63 Discharge target area 70 Glass substrate (substrate)
75 Defect (pattern)
82 Landing possible position (ink ejection candidate position)
101 Landing position

Claims (13)

An ink ejection device that forms a pattern on a substrate by ink ejection using an inkjet head,
Discharge target area determining means for receiving information on the shape of a pattern desired to be formed on the substrate and determining the shape of a discharge target area that is an area on which ink is landed based on the shape of the pattern ;
Nozzle driving means for driving a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head;
Determine the nozzle that ejects ink according to the width of the ejection target area, and the number of times and the landing position of ink ejected from each of the nozzles that eject ink according to the length of the ejection target area Control means for supplying a control signal for controlling the nozzle drive means;
An ink ejection apparatus comprising: Angle adjusting means for adjusting the angle formed by the width direction of the ejection target region and the nozzle arrangement direction so as to increase the number of nozzles that the control means can determine as nozzles that eject ink; The ink discharge apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein The discharge target region determining means further comprises a means for attaching corresponds to positions of the plurality of said discharge exit target area on the substrate with respect to the shape of the plurality of the discharge target area,
Based on the plurality of the shape of the discharge target region and the position of the corresponding said discharge output target region, so that the distance that the ink jet head scans the said substrate is the shortest, or the ink jet head over the substrate Ink ejection so that the number of times of reversing the scanning direction to be scanned is minimized, or the ejection target area having the shortest distance from the ejection target area where ink is ejected is set as the ejection target area where ink ejection is performed next. the ink ejection device according to claim 1 or a plurality of said discharge exit discharge order determining means for determining the order of the target area, characterized in that it further comprises performing. Pattern recognition means for recognizing the shape of the pattern desired to be formed on the substrate;
The relative scanning direction of the substrate and the inkjet head when ink is ejected to the ejection target region, and the pattern with respect to the substrate when the pattern recognition means images the substrate to recognize the pattern Correction signal supply means for supplying a signal for rotating the shape of the ejection target area to the control means by the difference in angle between the scanning direction of the recognition means and
The ink discharge apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: Pattern recognition means for recognizing the shape of the pattern desired to be formed on the substrate;
The discharge target region determining means, the ink discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that determining the shape of the discharge target region based on the shape recognized by said pattern recognition means. When the region where the pattern is to be formed on the substrate is lyophilic with respect to ink, and the region outside the region where the pattern is to be formed on the substrate is lyophobic with respect to ink,
The ejection target area determining means is a polygon that connects a plurality of ink ejection candidate positions selected from positions where ink can be landed in an area where the pattern is to be formed on the substrate. The ink ejection apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein an ejection target area is determined. When the region on which the pattern is to be formed on the substrate and the region outside the region on which the pattern is to be formed on the substrate have the same degree of lyophilicity as ink.
The ejection target area determining means includes a plurality of ink ejection candidate positions selected from positions on the substrate outside the area where the pattern is to be formed and where ink can be landed. The ink discharge apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the discharge target area is determined as a square. The discharge target region determining means, the ink ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that to minimize the area of the polygon has to select a plurality of said ink ejection candidate position.   The substrate is a transparent substrate in which a plurality of pixels, which are unit regions colored with the ink, are formed, and one pixel having a defective portion among the pixels in which the pattern is formed on the transparent substrate, or a defect The ink ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink ejection apparatus is a group of a plurality of pixels having a portion.   The ink according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the substrate is a transparent substrate partitioned using a light shielding portion, and the pattern is a pixel region surrounded by the light shielding portion. Discharge device. An ink ejection method for forming a pattern on a substrate using an inkjet head,
A discharge target region determining step for receiving information on the shape of a pattern desired to be formed on the substrate and determining the shape of a discharge target region that is a region on which ink is landed based on the shape of the pattern ;
According to the width of the ejection target area, a nozzle that ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head is determined, and the nozzle that ejects ink according to the length of the ejection target area A control step of supplying a control signal for controlling the number of ejections and the landing position of the ink ejected from each to the nozzle driving means;
A nozzle driving step for driving the nozzle used for ink ejection;
An ink discharge method comprising: An ink ejection control program for operating the ink ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An ink discharge control program for causing a computer to function as each means included in the ink discharge apparatus.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the ink ejection control program according to claim 12 is recorded.

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