JP5380768B2 - Droplet discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a head unit having a head for ejecting liquid droplets, a liquid droplet ejection apparatus including the head unit, a head unit assembly method for assembling the head unit, and a head unit assembly apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a technique for forming a functional film such as a color filter film of a color liquid crystal device or a light emitting film of an organic electroluminescence device, a droplet discharge device having a droplet discharge head for discharging a liquid as a droplet is used. A technique is known in which droplets of a liquid material containing a functional film material are ejected and landed at an arbitrary position on a substrate, and the landed liquid material is dried to form a functional film. Since the droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device used for forming such a film can accurately and selectively discharge minute droplets from the nozzle row, manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display device, etc. In addition, application to manufacturing apparatuses such as various electronic devices and optical devices is also expected.

  Considering such applied technology, in addition to the performance of the droplet discharge head itself, the droplet discharge head and the substrate are relatively moved so that the droplet discharge nozzle of the droplet discharge head faces a desired position of the substrate. High accuracy is required for the positional accuracy of the scanning mechanism and the positional accuracy (assembly accuracy) of the nozzles (nozzle rows) in the droplet discharge device which is the premise thereof. In addition, depending on the liquid to be ejected, the life of the droplet ejection head is shortened, and frequent replacement of the droplet ejection head needs to be considered. Patent Document 1 discloses a head unit configuration and assembly method (a plurality of IJ head-mounted sub-carriages and an assembly method thereof) capable of stably and accurately assembling a plurality of droplet discharge heads on a single carriage. ing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-224665

  However, in general, there is always an assembly error in the assembled head unit, and an assembly error in the position of the droplet discharge head causes a position error in the droplet discharge head, that is, a position error in the droplet discharge nozzle. Thus, there has been a problem that the position accuracy of the droplet discharge nozzle is lowered. In addition, there is a problem that the assembly error becomes larger as the number of droplet discharge heads is assembled to a single carriage and the head unit becomes larger. Even in the case of applying the configuration and assembly method of the head unit as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is required to suppress the influence of an increase in the size of the head unit on the assembly error.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and a droplet discharge device capable of reducing the positional variation of the droplet discharge nozzles by suppressing the cause of the position error of the assembled droplet discharge head, It is an object to realize a head unit, a head unit assembling method, and a head unit assembling apparatus.

A droplet discharge device according to the present invention is a droplet discharge device including a head unit in which a plurality of droplet discharge heads are fixed to a unit plate, and has a mounting portion to which the head unit is attached. The head unit is arranged at a point-symmetrical position with respect to the midpoint of the pair of first reference points formed on the unit plate, and the head unit is provided on the mounting portion on a straight line passing through the pair of first reference points. It is characterized by being positioned by the provided position regulating member.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the head unit and the drawing target move relative to each other in two directions, and the straight line extending direction coincides with one of the two directions.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a head unit assembling method, a droplet discharge device, and a head unit assembling device according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Droplet discharge device)
First, the overall configuration of the droplet discharge device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a droplet discharge device. As shown in FIG. 1, a droplet discharge apparatus 1 mainly includes a substrate stage 14 for placing a substrate W as a drawing target, which is a target for discharging and landing a liquid material as droplets, and a substrate stage 14. And an X-axis scanning mechanism 10 that moves in the scanning direction. The carriage unit 20 includes a carriage 22 (see FIG. 6) having a head unit 30 (see FIG. 5) on which a plurality of droplet discharge heads 40 (see FIG. 2) is mounted, and the carriage unit 20 is moved in the sub-scanning direction. And a Y-axis scanning mechanism 17 to be operated. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 1, the main scanning direction is the X-axis direction, the sub-scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction (X-axis direction) is the Y-axis direction, and the directions orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are The Z-axis direction and the rotation direction around the Z-axis direction are denoted as the θ direction.

  The substrate stage 14 is a suction table that vacuum-sucks and fixes the substrate W, and is fixed to the X-axis moving plate 12 via the rotation mechanism 16 so as to be rotatable in the θ direction. The X-axis scanning mechanism 10 is installed on the floor with the X-axis moving plate 12 and extends in the X-axis direction, and moves the X-axis moving plate 12 in the X-axis direction via an air slider (not shown). It has a pair of X-axis guide rails 11 and 11 provided with a linear motor 11a. Two accommodation boxes 9 are disposed so as to sandwich the pair of X-axis guide rails 11, 11. The accommodation box 9 accommodates an air supply pipe of an air supply means for supplying compressed air to the air slider, a signal cable for sending a drive signal to the X-axis scanning mechanism 10, and the like.

  The carriage unit 20 includes a carriage plate 21, and the carriage 22 is attached to the carriage plate 21 so as to be rotatable in the θ direction. The carriage plate 21 is disposed so as to be passed between the pair of Y-axis guide rails 18 and 18. On the carriage plate 21 that has been passed, a predetermined amount of liquid material fed from a tank in which each liquid material is stored via a pipe is stored, and the liquid material is supplied to each droplet discharge head 40. A liquid supply unit 23 and a head electrical unit 24 for supplying an electric signal for driving each droplet discharge head 40 are mounted.

  The Y-axis scanning mechanism 17 has a pair of Y-axis guide rails 18 and 18 each having a linear motor 18a that moves ten carriage units 20 in the Y-axis direction via air sliders (not shown). The ten carriage units 20 are individually movable in the Y-axis direction. The pair of Y-axis guide rails 18 and 18 are disposed on the six support stands 19 standing on the floor with a space therebetween so as to straddle the X-axis scanning mechanism 10.

  Between the pair of Y-axis guide rails 18, 18, nozzle clogging of a plurality of droplet discharge heads 40 mounted on the carriage 22 (head unit 30) is eliminated, and foreign matter and dirt on the nozzle surface are removed. A maintenance unit 26 for performing maintenance is disposed at a position facing the plurality of droplet discharge heads 40.

(Droplet ejection head)
Next, the droplet discharge head 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the droplet discharge head as viewed from the nozzle forming plate side. This droplet discharge head 40 is a so-called two-unit type, a liquid introduction part 45 having two connection needles 46, 46, a two-head head substrate 47 that continues to the side of the liquid introduction part 45, and a liquid Two pump parts 48 connected to the introduction part 45 and a nozzle forming plate 41 connected to the pump part 48 are provided. A pipe connecting member is connected to the liquid introducing portion 45, and a flexible flat cable is connected to the head substrate 47. On the other hand, the pump portion 48 and the nozzle forming plate 41 constitute a square head main body 40A.

  A flange portion 44 is formed in a square flange shape on the base portion side of the pump portion 48, that is, the base portion side of the head main body 40 </ b> A so as to receive the liquid introduction portion 45. A pair of screw holes (female threads) 49 for small screws for fixing the droplet discharge head 40 to the sub head holding member 33 (see FIG. 3) are formed in the flange portion 44. The pair of screw holes 49, 49 are located at both long side portions and are arranged so as to be point-symmetric with respect to the center of the nozzle forming surface 41a. As will be described in detail later, the droplet discharge head 40 is fixed to the sub head holding member 33 by two head set screws 37 and 37 that pass through the sub head holding member 33 and are screwed into the screw holes 49 (see FIG. 3).

  On the nozzle forming surface 41 a of the nozzle forming plate 41, two nozzle rows 43, 43 formed on the nozzle forming plate 41 and including discharge nozzles 42 that discharge droplets are formed. The two nozzle rows 43, 43 are arranged in parallel to each other, and each nozzle row 43 is composed of 180 (schematically illustrated) discharge nozzles 42 arranged at an equal pitch. Yes. That is, two nozzle rows 43 and 43 are symmetrically arranged on the nozzle forming surface 41a of the head main body 40A with the center line therebetween.

(Installation of droplet discharge head)
Next, a structure for attaching the droplet discharge head 40 to the unit plate 51 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a view showing a structure for attaching the droplet discharge head to the unit plate. 3A is a plan view of the droplet discharge head attached to the unit plate as viewed from the nozzle plate side, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3A. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a head opening 51a is formed in the unit plate 51, and the main head holding member 32 is fixed to the unit plate 51 so as to substantially cover the head opening 51a. Yes. The main head holding member 32 is fixed to the unit plate 51 by three holding member screws 38 that pass through holes formed in the main head holding member 32 and are screwed into screw holes formed in the unit plate 51. Yes. (Hereafter, the side on which the main head holding member 32 is set is referred to as “back side”, and the opposite side is referred to as “front side”.)

  A flange opening 32a is formed in the main head holding member 32, and the sub head holding member 33 is fixed to the back side of the main head holding member 32 so as to straddle the flange opening 32a at both ends in the long side direction. Has been. The sub head holding member 33 is formed by two main holding members screws 38 that pass through holes formed in the sub head holding member 33 and are screwed into screw holes formed in the main head holding member 32. It is fixed to.

  The sub head holding member 33 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape made of stainless steel or the like. The sub head holding member 33 is formed with a square head main body opening 33d through which the head main body 40A of the droplet discharge head 40 is inserted. As described above, the sub head holding member 33 is set on the back surface side of the main head holding member 32 so as to straddle the flange opening 32a. On the other hand, the droplet discharge head 40 is inserted into the head main body opening 33d through the head main body 40A so that the head main body 40A protrudes to the back side of the sub head holding member 33, so It is set from. The droplet discharge head 40 is attached to the sub head holding member 33 by two head set screws 37 that pass through holes formed in the sub head holding member 33 and are screwed into screw holes 49 formed in the flange portion 44. It is fixed.

  Around the head main body opening 33d of the sub head holding member 33, there are two through holes corresponding to the screw holes 49, and the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b on the center line of the head main body opening 33d. Is formed. The first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b are parts to which position correction adjustment pins 121 (see FIG. 7) in the head unit assembly apparatus 100 (see FIG. 7) described later are engaged. In this case, the first adjustment hole 33a is formed in a circular shape and the second adjustment hole 33b is formed in an oval shape that is long in the center line direction so that the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 can be easily engaged. .

  Further, on the center line of the head main body opening 33d, two adhesive holes 33c are formed at substantially opposite positions with respect to the head main body opening 33d on the opposite side of the first main adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b to the head main body opening 33d. Has been. Each adhesive hole 33 c is a long hole extending in the transverse direction of the sub head holding member 33. An adhesive is injected into the adhesive hole 33c, and the sub head holding member 33 is bonded and fixed to the main head holding member 32 with the adhesive (not shown).

  The droplet discharge head 40 is fixed to the sub head holding member 33 by the head set screw 37, and the sub head holding member 33 is not fixed to the main head holding member 32 by the holding member screw 38 and the adhesive. In the state, the droplet discharge head 40 is fixed to the unit plate 51 so as to be movable by the gap between the flange portion 44 and the flange opening 32a or the gap between the head substrate 47 and the head opening 51a. It becomes. In the present embodiment, such a state is referred to as a “temporary mounting” state. Since the sub head holding member 33 and the head substrate 47 are larger than the opening of the flange opening 32a, the temporarily mounted droplet discharge head 40 (the droplet discharge head 40 is fixed to the sub head holding member 33 across the main head holding member 32). The set of the droplet discharge head 40 and the sub head holding member 33) does not fall off from the main head holding member 32. Assembling the droplet discharge head 40 to the unit plate 51 is performed by temporarily mounting the droplet discharge head 40 and then adjusting the position of the droplet discharge head 40 in the temporarily mounted state, and then adjusting the sub head holding member 33. This is performed by performing adhesive fixing to the main head holding member 32 with an adhesive and screw fixing with the holding member screw 38.

(Reference pin)
Next, the reference pin 54 that serves as a reference for defining the position of the droplet discharge head 40 on the unit plate 51 will be described with reference to FIG. The pair of reference pins 54 and 54 (see FIG. 5) is also used as a reference for positioning (position recognition) in the θ direction when the carriage unit 20 to which the head unit 30 is attached is attached to the droplet discharge device 1. . Further, it is also used as a reference for positioning in the θ direction when the head unit 30 (unit plate 51) is attached to the head unit assembling apparatus 100 (see FIG. 7). The arrangement position of the pair of reference pins 54 and 54 on the unit plate 51 will be described later.

  4A is a plan view of the reference pin viewed from the reference mark hole side, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the reference pin. As shown in FIG. 4, each reference pin 54 is composed of a cylindrical pin body and a concave, specifically, hole-shaped reference mark hole 56 formed at the center of the tip surface 57 of the pin body. Yes. The pin main body includes a base press-fit portion 54b for press-fitting into the unit plate 51, a barrel portion 54a connected to the base press-fit portion 54b, and a mark forming portion 54c formed protruding from the tip of the barrel portion 54a. A reference mark hole 56 is formed in the front end surface 57 of 54c.

  The front end surface 57 is mirror-finished, and a small hole serving as a reference mark hole 56 is formed at the center position of the front end surface 57. The small hole (reference mark hole 56) has a diameter of about 0.3 mm, for example, and communicates with an axial hole formed in the axial center portion from the base press-fitting portion 54b to the trunk portion 54a. Although the reference pin 54 has been described with a circular cross section, it may be oval or polygonal. Furthermore, the reference mark hole 56 of the small hole is not limited to the small hole, but may be a concave shape having a groove that can provide sufficient contrast, and the planar shape of the concave is also limited to a circular shape. It is not a thing. The reference mark hole 56 corresponds to the first reference point.

  The reference pin 54 thus formed is press-fitted so that the base press-fitting portion 54 b is driven into the mounting hole portion formed in the unit plate 51. The reference pin 54 press-fitted into the unit plate 51 is such that the tip surface 57 has substantially the same height as the nozzle forming surface 41a (see FIG. 2 or 3) of the droplet discharge head 40 attached to the unit plate 51. It protrudes from the back side of unit plate 51 so that it may become. That is, the front end surface 57 serving as the image recognition surface of the reference pin 54 and the nozzle forming surface 41a serving as the image recognition surface of the droplet discharge head 40 are positioned in substantially the same plane.

(Head unit)
Next, the overall configuration of the head unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the head unit in the carriage. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the droplet discharge head 40 is attached to the unit plate 51 of the head unit 30 via the main head holding member 32 and the sub head holding member 33. As shown in FIG. 5, one head unit 30 includes twelve droplet discharge heads 40. A pair of reference pins 54 and 54 in which a reference mark hole 56 (see FIG. 4) is formed are fixed to the unit plate 51, and each of the twelve droplet discharge heads 40 is a reference formed on the reference pin 54. The mark hole 56 is positioned and fixed at an appropriate position.

  The unit plate 51 is also formed with a first position restricting hole 52a and a second position restricting hole 52b. The first position restricting hole 52a and the second position restricting hole 52b are fitted to a position restricting pin 63 erected on the carriage frame 62, so that the X-axis with respect to the carriage frame 62 of the unit plate 51 (head unit 30). The position in the plane direction parallel to the Y axis is defined. In this case, the first position restricting hole 52a is circular and the second position restricting hole 52b is the first position restricting so that the engagement can be easily performed even if the distance between the pair of position restricting pins 63 varies. It is formed in an oval shape that is long in the direction of a straight line connecting the center of the hole 52a and the center of the second position restricting hole 52b. The X axis, Y axis, and Z axis shown in FIG. 5 are the same as the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis shown in FIG. That is, in a state where the head unit 30 is attached to the droplet discharge device 1, the nozzle row 43 (see FIG. 2) formed on the droplet discharge head 40 is configured to extend in the Y-axis direction. The head unit 30 is fixed to the carriage frame 62 by four unit fixing screws 68 that pass through the unit fixing holes 53 formed in the unit plate 51 and are screwed into screw holes 64 formed in the carriage frame 62. Yes.

  Next, the positional relationship on the unit plate 51 among the droplet discharge head 40, the pair of reference mark holes 56, 56, the first position restricting hole 52a, and the second position restricting hole 52b will be described. A line A indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5 is an imaginary line passing through the center of each of the pair of reference mark holes 56 and 56. Similarly, a line B indicated by a one-dot chain line is a virtual line orthogonal to the line A at the midpoint G of the pair of reference mark holes 56 and 56. In a state in which the head unit 30 is attached to the droplet discharge device 1, the line A extends in the X-axis direction that is the main operation direction, and the line B extends in the Y-axis direction that is the sub-operation direction. Both the first position restricting hole 52a and the second position restricting hole 52b are formed at positions where the line A passes through the center thereof. As shown in FIG. 5, the twelve droplet discharge heads 40 are represented as heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, 400f, 401a, 401b, 401c, 401d, 401e, 401f, respectively.

  The head 400a and the head 400d are shifted by the length of the nozzle row 43 in the Y-axis direction. The nozzle rows 43 and 43 of the head 400a and the nozzle rows 43 and 43 of the head 400d constitute a nozzle row twice as long as the nozzle row 43 of the droplet discharge head 40. When a part of the discharge nozzles 42 constituting the nozzle row 43 is not used, the discharge nozzles 42 used by the head 400a and the head 400d are configured to be a continuous nozzle row. Similarly, the head 400b and the head 400e, or the head 400c and the head 400f constitute a nozzle row twice as long as the nozzle row 43. The head 400a, the head 400b, and the head 400c are shifted by a length of one third of the length of the nozzle row 43 in the Y-axis direction. Accordingly, the six heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, and 400f are arranged so as to be shifted by a length that is one third of the length of the nozzle row 43 in the Y-axis direction. Six heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, and 400f are arranged at equal intervals in the X-axis direction and three on each side of the line B.

  The heads 401f, 401e, 401d, 401c, 401b, and 401a are arranged at positions and directions that are point-symmetric with respect to the midpoint G with respect to the heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, and 400f. The main head holding member 32 and the sub head holding member 33 for fixing the heads 401f, 401e, 401d, 401c, 401b, and 401a also fix the heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, and 400f, respectively. The main head holding member 32 and the sub head holding member 33 are arranged in a point-symmetric position and direction with respect to the middle point G. The outer shape of the unit plate 51 is also a shape that is point-symmetric with respect to the midpoint G, and the first position restricting hole 52a and the second position restricting hole 52b are formed at positions symmetrical with respect to the line B. The four screw holes 64 are also formed symmetrically with respect to the line B.

  Among the heads 400a to 400f and the heads 401a to 401f, the heads having the largest distances from the midpoint G to the heads 400a to 400f and the heads 401a to 401f are the head 400f and the head 401a. When the distance is L, one of the distances from the point other than the middle point G to the head 400f or the head 401a is larger than L. Accordingly, the midpoint G corresponds to a reference point that is the center of gravity of the position from each of the plurality of droplet discharge heads.

(Carriage unit)
Next, the overall configuration of the carriage unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the carriage unit. The carriage unit 20 includes a carriage plate 21, and the carriage 22 is attached to the carriage plate 21 via a suspension mechanism 70 so as to be rotatable in the θ direction. As described above, the carriage plate 21 is disposed so as to be passed between the pair of Y-axis guide rails 18. On the carriage plate 21 that has been passed, a predetermined amount of liquid material fed from a tank in which each liquid material is stored via a pipe is stored, and the liquid material is supplied to each droplet discharge head 40. A liquid supply unit 23 and a head electrical unit 24 for supplying an electric signal for driving each droplet discharge head 40 are mounted.

  The suspension mechanism 70 includes a suspension substrate 71, a suspension rotation shaft 72, a suspension support frame 73, a suspension rotation frame 74, and a press frame 76. A suspended substrate 71 is fixed to the lower surface of the carriage plate 21, and a suspension support frame projecting in a flange shape is attached to the tip of a substantially cylindrical suspension rotating shaft 72 that is integrally suspended from the suspended substrate 71. 73 is formed. In the hanging rotation frame 74, a hole formed in the vicinity of the center is loosely fitted to the hanging rotation shaft 72, and is supported by a suspension support frame 73 around the hole. A rotation motor (not shown) is formed between the suspension support frame 73 and the suspension rotation frame 74, and the suspension rotation frame 74 can be rotated in the θ direction. The suspension rotation frame 74 is restricted from moving in a direction away from the suspension support frame 73 by a presser frame 76 fixed to the suspension rotation shaft 72. A carriage frame 62 of the carriage 22 is fixed to an end portion around the suspension rotation frame 74. As shown in FIG. 6, the carriage 22 is supported so as to be suspended below the suspension mechanism 70. In this state, the center G (see FIG. 5) of the unit plate 51 of the carriage 22 substantially coincides with the rotation center axis of the hanging rotation frame 74. By rotating the suspension rotation frame 74 by the rotation motor, the carriage 22 suspended from the suspension mechanism 70 is rotated in the θ direction. Accordingly, the X-axis and Y-axis directions shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are made to coincide with the X-axis and Y-axis directions shown in FIG. 1, thereby extending the nozzle row 43 formed in the droplet discharge head 40. The present direction is matched with the Y-axis direction.

  As described above, the head unit 30 inserts the position restriction pin 63 provided on the carriage frame 62 into the first position restriction hole 52 a and the second position restriction hole 52 b formed in the unit plate 51, so that the carriage frame 62 is positioned. The positioned head unit 30 passes through the unit fixing hole 53 formed in the unit plate 51 and is screwed into the carriage frame 62 by four unit fixing screws 68 screwed into the screw holes 64 formed in the carriage frame 62. It is fixed. The liquid material stored in the liquid material supply unit 23 is supplied to the droplet discharge head 40 via a liquid supply pipe and a valve (not shown). The electric signal supplied from the head electrical unit 24 is relayed by the IF board 69 and supplied to the droplet discharge head 40 via a wiring cable (not shown).

(Head unit assembly equipment)
Next, the head unit assembling apparatus 100 for assembling the head unit 30 will be described. The head unit assembling apparatus 100 uses the above-described head unit 30 as an assembly target, and positions and bonds (primarily fixes) the 12 droplet discharge heads 40 temporarily mounted on the unit plate 51 with high accuracy. In the head unit assembly apparatus 100, the head unit 30 to which the droplet discharge head 40 is primarily fixed is set on the carriage frame 62 through a secondary fixing process and a cleaning process in which the droplet discharging head 40 is further fixed using the holding member screw 38. The FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the head unit assembling apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the head unit assembly device 100 includes a unit moving device 101, a head correction device 102, an adhesive fixing device (not shown), and a recognition device 104. The unit moving device 101 mounts the head unit 30 and moves it in the X axis direction, the Y axis direction, and the θ direction in a plane parallel to the X axis and the Y axis. The head correction device 102 performs position correction to adjust the position of each droplet discharge head 40 temporarily mounted on the unit plate 51 to an appropriate position. The adhesive fixing device supplies the adhesive so as to flow into the adhesive hole 33c (see FIG. 3), and primarily fixes each droplet discharge head 40 whose position is corrected with respect to the unit plate 51 to the position ( Adhesive fixation). The recognition device 104 recognizes the position of the unit plate 51 and each droplet discharge head 40 prior to the position correction of the droplet discharge head 40. The head unit assembling apparatus 100 also includes a control device (not shown) that performs overall control of the unit moving device 101, the head correction device 102, the adhesive fixing device, and the recognition device 104. The unit moving device 101, the head correction device 102, the adhesive fixing device, and the recognition device 104 are installed on the machine base 106 or supported by a support stand 116 installed on the machine base 106.

  The unit moving device 101 has a holding table 110 on which the head unit 30 as an assembly target is placed and held, and the holding table 110 fixed. The holding table 110 is rotated by rotating the holding table 110 in the θ direction. Is provided with a turning mechanism 109 for turning the head unit 30 placed on the head unit 30 in the θ direction. The unit moving device 101 also moves the rotation mechanism 109 in the X-axis direction to move the head unit 30 in the X-axis direction, and moves the rotation mechanism 109 in the Y-axis direction. And a Y-axis moving mechanism 108 for moving the head unit 30 in the Y-axis direction. The holding table 110 corresponds to a set table.

  The Y-axis moving mechanism 108 is provided on the Y-axis moving plate 117 and the machine base 106 so as to extend in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis moving plate 117 is attached to the Y-axis moving plate 117 via an air slider (not shown). It has a pair of Y-axis rails 118, 118 provided with a linear motor 118a that moves in the axial direction. The X-axis moving mechanism 107 is provided on the X-axis moving plate 112 and the Y-axis moving plate 117 so as to extend in the X-axis direction, and the X-axis moving plate 112 is passed through an air slider (not shown). And a pair of X-axis rails 111 and 111 having a linear motor 111a that moves in the X-axis direction. The rotation mechanism 109 includes a fixed plate 119a fixed to the X-axis moving plate 112 and a rotation plate 119b supported by the fixed plate 119a so as to be rotatable in the θ direction via a rotation motor (not shown). Have. The holding table 110 is fixed to the rotating plate 119b.

  The holding table 110 is formed with two substantially rectangular unit receiving portions 162 that are portions where the unit plate 51 fixed to the holding table 110 abuts. The two unit receiving portions 162 are planes substantially parallel to the X axis and the Y axis, and are substantially the same plane in the Z-axis direction. A position regulating pin 163 is erected near the center of the unit receiving portion 162. Two screw holes 164 are formed in each unit receiving portion 162. Mask receiving portions 161 are formed on both sides of the unit receiving portion 162. The mask receiving part 161 is higher than the unit receiving part 162.

  The recognizing device 104 adjusts the focus by moving the camera 143 and the lens 144 for recognizing the image of the head, the illumination device 146 for illuminating the object, and the camera 143 and the lens 144 in the Z-axis direction. A camera up / down mechanism 147 and a camera up / down motor 148. The recognition device 104 includes a pair of a camera 143, a lens 144, a lighting device 146, a camera up / down mechanism 147, and a camera up / down motor 148. The recognition device 104 is supported by a support stand 116 so that the lens 144 can face the head unit 30 placed on the holding table 110.

  The head correction device 102 has a pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121. The pair of adjustment pins 121, 121 are engaged with the first adjustment hole 33 a and the second adjustment hole 33 b formed in the sub head holding member 33, so that the droplet discharge head 40 temporarily attached to the unit plate 51 is attached. A force for slight movement is applied to the sub head holding member 33 in order to position it at an appropriate position. In addition, the head correction device 102 includes a pin X-axis movement mechanism, a pin Y-axis movement mechanism, a pin rotation mechanism, and an adjustment pin up-and-down mechanism that are provided in the shadow portion of the recognition device 104 in FIG. Yes. The pair of adjustment pins 121, 121 are lowered by the adjustment pin up / down mechanism to engage with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b. The pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b are moved in a direction parallel to the X axis and the Y axis by the pin X axis movement mechanism and the pin Y axis movement mechanism. And by rotating in the θ direction by the pin rotation mechanism, the droplet discharge head 40 temporarily mounted on the unit plate 51 is slightly moved and positioned at an appropriate position. The positional relationship between the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 in the X-axis and Y-axis plane direction is fixed, and is moved simultaneously by the pin X-axis movement mechanism, the pin Y-axis movement mechanism, and the pin rotation mechanism. Movement by the adjustment pin up / down mechanism is performed individually for each adjustment pin 121.

  Next, a state where the head unit 30 is placed on the holding table 110 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the holding table and the head unit placed on the holding table. As described above, the unit plate 51 of the head unit 30 is formed with the first position restricting hole 52a, the second position restricting hole 52b, and the unit fixing hole 53. The holding table 110 is formed with two unit receiving portions 162, two position restricting pins 163, and four screw holes 164. As shown in FIG. 8, the head unit 30 is configured to fit the position restriction pins 163 provided on the holding table 110 into the first position restriction holes 52 a and the second position restriction holes 52 b formed in the unit plate 51. It is positioned with respect to the holding table 110. The positioned head unit 30 passes through the unit fixing holes 53 formed in the unit plate 51 and is screwed into four unit fixing screws 68 that are screwed into screw holes 164 (see FIG. 7) formed in the holding table 110. The holding table 110 is fixed.

  The position of the rotation mechanism 109 and the holding table 110 in the plane direction parallel to the X axis and the Y axis is configured such that the rotation center 109G of the rotation mechanism 109 is positioned approximately at the center of the holding table 110. . The two position restricting pins 163 are formed on the straight line extending in the X-axis direction through the rotation center 109G, and the centers thereof are positioned at symmetrical positions with the rotation center 109G interposed therebetween. Yes. The four screw holes 164 are also formed at symmetrical positions with respect to a straight line that passes through the rotation center 109G and extends in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, in a state where the unit plate 51 is fixed to the holding table 110, the center point G of the unit plate 51 and the rotation center 109G substantially coincide with each other in the plane direction parallel to the X axis and the Y axis. The pair of reference mark holes 56, 56 are on a straight line passing through the rotation center 109G and extending in the X-axis direction, and their centers are located at symmetrical positions with the rotation center 109G interposed therebetween.

(Head unit assembly method)
Next, an assembling method by the head unit assembling apparatus 100 for assembling the head unit 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the process of assembling the head unit by the head unit assembling apparatus.

  Prior to execution of the work, an alignment mask is introduced into the holding table 110, and the recognition device 104 recognizes an image of the reference mark of the alignment mask. The reference mark is a mark of the position of the reference mark hole 56 (see FIG. 4) formed in the reference pin 54 and the reference position where each droplet discharge head 40 should be positioned with reference to the reference mark hole 56. is there. The head unit assembling apparatus 100 stores reference position data that has been image-recognized, and the position of each droplet discharge head 40 is corrected based on the reference position data (master data). It should be noted that the alignment mask is periodically introduced not only when the new head unit 30 is introduced and assembled, but also with the same head unit 30 based on the number of assembled heads and the operation time. Of course, the reference position data is reset at that time. The step of recognizing the reference mark of the alignment mask by the recognition device 104 corresponds to the set position acquisition step.

  In the head unit assembly apparatus 100, the head unit 30 on which the droplet discharge head 40 is temporarily mounted is set. The head unit 30 is set on the upper surface of the holding table 110 with the head main body 40A of each droplet discharge head 40 facing upward. The head unit 30 is set on the upper surface of the holding table 110, and the assembly process of the head unit 30 which is the position adjustment of the droplet discharge head 40 by the head unit assembling apparatus 100 is started. The step of temporarily mounting the droplet discharge head 40 on the unit plate 51 corresponds to the temporary fixing step.

  9, the position of the reference mark hole 56 is detected by recognizing the reference mark hole 56 formed in one of the pair of reference pins 54 and 54 by the recognition device 104. Step S1 corresponds to a reference point detection step.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the other reference pin 54 recognizes the recognition device 104 so that the recognition device 104 can recognize the reference mark hole 56 formed in the other reference pin 54 of the pair of reference pins 54, 54. The head unit 30 set on the holding table 110 is moved in the X-axis direction by the X-axis moving mechanism 107 so as to reach the position facing the head.

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the recognition device 104 recognizes the reference mark hole 56 formed in the other reference pin 54 of the pair of reference pins 54 and 54, thereby detecting the position of the other reference mark hole 56. .

  Next, in step S4, whether the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction between the position of one reference mark hole 56 recognized in step S1 and the position of the other reference mark hole 56 recognized in step S3 satisfies the standard. Determine whether. As described with reference to FIG. 8, the pair of reference mark holes 56, 56 are on a straight line passing through the rotation center 109G and extending in the X-axis direction, and are symmetrical with respect to the rotation center 109G. It is defined that its center is located at the position. That is, the deviation in the Y-axis direction between the position of one reference mark hole 56 and the position of the other reference mark hole 56 is caused by the head unit 30 being inclined in the θ direction.

  If the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction does not satisfy the standard (NO in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5. In step S <b> 5, the direction of the head unit 30 is adjusted by rotating the head unit 30 on the holding table 110 in the θ direction by the rotation mechanism 109. As described above, since the pair of reference mark holes 56 and 56 are located at substantially symmetrical positions with the rotation center 109G interposed therebetween, one of the reference mark holes 56 moves about half the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction. Rotating to correct the deviation in the Y-axis direction. After step S5, the process proceeds to step S1, and steps S1 to S4 are repeated.

  If the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction satisfies the standard (YES in step S4), the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the X-axis moving mechanism 107, the Y-axis moving mechanism 108, and the position of the recognized reference mark hole 56 coincide with the position of the reference mark hole 56 on the previously acquired reference position data. Are used to move the head unit 30 on the holding table 110 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Step S5 and step S6 correspond to a reference point setting step.

  Next, in step S <b> 7, the position of the droplet discharge head 40 is detected by the recognition device 104. The droplet discharge head 40 is detected by recognizing the discharge nozzle 42 of the droplet discharge head 40 by the recognition device 104. For example, the discharge nozzles 42 at both ends of the nozzle row 43 are recognized.

  Next, in step S8, whether or not the deviation amount of the position of the droplet discharge head 40 recognized in step S7 from the position of the droplet discharge head 40 on the previously acquired reference position data satisfies the standard. Determine.

  If the deviation amount does not satisfy the standard (NO in step S8), the process proceeds to step S9. In step S <b> 9, the position of the droplet discharge head 40 is corrected by the head correction device 102. The positional relationship between the head correction device 102 and the recognition device 104 is such that when the droplet discharge head 40 is located at a position where the recognition device 104 can recognize the discharge nozzle 42 of the droplet discharge head 40, the head correction device. The pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 of 102 are in such a positional relationship that they face the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b formed in the sub head holding member 33 to which the droplet discharge head 40 is fixed. It has become. At this position, the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 are lowered by the adjustment pin up-and-down mechanism to engage with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b.

  The pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b are moved in a direction parallel to the X axis and the Y axis by the pin X axis movement mechanism and the pin Y axis movement mechanism. The liquid droplet ejection head 40 temporarily mounted on the unit plate 51 is slightly moved by rotating in the θ direction by the pin rotation mechanism, and the recognized liquid droplet ejection head 40 is acquired in advance. It is moved to the position of the droplet discharge head 40 on the reference position data, and positioned at that position. Positioning of the droplet discharge head 40 by the head correction device 102 corresponds to a head positioning step.

  After step S9, the process proceeds to step S7 while maintaining a state where the pair of adjustment pins 121, 121 are engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b, and steps S7 and S8 are performed. repeat.

  If the deviation amount satisfies the standard (YES in step S8), the process proceeds to step S10 while maintaining this positioning completion state. In order to maintain the positioning completion state, the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 are maintained in a state where they are engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b. In step S10, the adhesive is applied to the inner surface of the adhesive hole 33c and the surface of the main head holding member 32 facing the adhesive hole 33c by injecting the adhesive into the adhesive hole 33c by the adhesive fixing device. Thus, the adhesive fixing of the sub head holding member 33 to the main head holding member 32 by the adhesive is executed. By maintaining the state in which the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 are engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b until the adhesive is substantially cured after the injection of the adhesive, the adhesive The occurrence of a new misalignment of the droplet discharge head 40 due to deformation in the process of hardening of the liquid is suppressed. Adhesive fixing of the sub head holding member 33 to the main head holding member 32 by the adhesive fixing device with an adhesive corresponds to a fixing step.

  Next, in step S <b> 11, it is determined whether positioning and adhesive fixing have been executed for all the 12 droplet discharge heads 40 of the head unit 30. If positioning and adhesion fixing have not been executed for all twelve liquid droplet ejection heads 40 (NO in step S11), the process proceeds to step S7, and the liquid droplet ejection heads 40 in which positioning and adhesion fixation have not been executed. , Step S7 to Step S11 are repeated.

  If positioning and adhesive fixing have been completed for all of the twelve droplet discharge heads 40 (YES in step S11), the process of assembling the head unit 30 by the head unit assembling apparatus 100 ends.

  Further, the sub-head holding member 33 is fixed to the main head holding member 32 by using the holding member screw 38 by manual operation, so that the droplet discharge head 40 is unitized as described with reference to FIG. It is fixed to the plate 51.

Hereinafter, effects of the embodiment will be described. According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The twelve droplet discharge heads 40 mounted on one head unit 30 include heads 401f, 401e, 401d, 401c, 401b, and 401a, and heads 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, and 400f. Are arranged in a point-symmetric position and direction with respect to the middle point G of the reference mark hole 56 as a reference point. Since the middle point G is the point where the maximum distance from each of the plurality of droplet ejection heads is the smallest, the position of the droplet ejection head 40 is defined by coordinates with the middle point G as the origin. The maximum value of the distance to the position where the heads 400a to 400f and 401a to 401f should be arranged with respect to the origin is minimized, and the absolute value of the variation in distance, which is the cause of the position error, is reduced. The droplet discharge head 40 can be accurately positioned.

  (2) The extending direction of the line A connecting the pair of reference mark holes 56, 56 coincides with the main scanning direction of the droplet discharge device 1. The positions of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 40 constituting the head unit 30 can be easily expressed using the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction as coordinate axes. The plurality of droplet discharge heads 40 constituting the head unit 30 are also coordinated between the position of the droplet discharge head 40 and the relative movement amount by expressing the mutual positional relationship with the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction as coordinate axes. It becomes possible to correspond without needing.

  (3) The pair of reference mark holes 56, 56, the first position restricting hole 52a, and the second position restricting hole 52b are all formed at positions where the line A passes through the center thereof. If formed on a straight line, it is easy to detect a deviation from the straight line, so that the relative position error between the reference mark hole 56 and the first position restricting hole 52a and the second position restricting hole 52b can be suppressed.

  (4) In a state where the unit plate 51 is fixed to the holding table 110, the center point G of the unit plate 51 and the rotation center 109G of the rotation mechanism 109 are positions in a plane direction parallel to the X axis and the Y axis. Are approximately the same. In step S5, when the direction of the head unit 30 is adjusted by rotating the head unit 30 on the holding table 110 in the θ direction by the rotation mechanism 109, the unit plate 51 is centered on the center point G. It can be rotated. Since the pair of reference mark holes 56 and 56 are on a straight line passing through the rotation center 109G and extending in the X-axis direction, the amount by which the reference mark holes 56 and 56 are shifted in the X-axis direction is reduced by rotating. be able to. When detecting the reference mark holes 56 and 56 after the rotation, the reference mark hole 56 after the rotation can be detected only by searching a narrow range in the vicinity of the reference mark holes 56 and 56 before the rotation in the X-axis direction. , 56 can be detected.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment which concerns on this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, embodiment of this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, and can be implemented as follows.

  (Modification 1) In the above embodiment, the positioning of the unit plate 51 with respect to the carriage frame 62 or the holding table 110 is performed by using the first position restriction hole 52a and the second position restriction hole 52b formed in the unit plate 51. This is done by engaging the position restricting pin 63 or the position restricting pin 163. However, it is not essential that the position regulation structure formed in the unit plate 51 is a hole. A protrusion such as a position regulating pin may be formed on the unit plate 51, and a recess that engages with the protrusion may be formed on the carriage frame 62 or the holding table 110.

  (Modification 2) In the embodiment described above, the pair of reference mark holes 56, 56, the first position restricting hole 52a, and the second position restricting hole 52b are lines A that are straight lines extending in the main scanning direction. Although arranged above, it is not essential to arrange on a straight line extending in the main scanning direction. Similar effects can be obtained even if they are arranged on a straight line extending in the sub-scanning direction.

  (Modification 3) In the above-described embodiment, the relative movement between the substrate W and the droplet discharge head 40 is performed by moving both the substrate W and the droplet discharge head 40 in the scanning direction. It is not essential for both parties to move. The scanning may be configured such that one is fixed and the other moves in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

  (Modification 4) In the above-described embodiment, the relative movement between the substrate W and the droplet discharge head 40 is configured to move in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. Relative movement in both directions is not essential. The discharge nozzle 42 may be formed over the entire surface of the substrate W in the sub-scanning direction, and only main scanning may be performed.

  (Modification 5) In the above embodiment, after the fixing using the adhesive is completed for the twelve droplet discharge heads 40 of one head unit 30, the main head holding member 33 using the holding member screw 38 is used. Although the fixing to the head holding member 32 has been executed, it is not essential to execute the screw fixing using the holding member screw 38 for the 12 droplet discharge heads 40 after the adhesive fixing is completed. For each of the droplet discharge heads 40, screw fixation may be performed following adhesion fixation.

  (Modification 6) In the above-described embodiment, when the position of the droplet discharge head 40 is detected and position correction is necessary, the pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 are replaced by the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b. However, it is not essential to engage only when position correction is necessary. A pair of adjustment pins 121 and 121 may be engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b before the discharge nozzle 42 is recognized in order to detect the position of the droplet discharge head 40. Even when position correction is not necessary, the adjustment pins 121 and 121 are engaged with the first adjustment hole 33a and the second adjustment hole 33b, thereby preventing the occurrence of deviation in the bonding process or the like. be able to.

  (Modification 7) In the above embodiment, the assembly process by the head unit assembling apparatus 100 is completed by bonding and fixing. However, even after the completion of bonding and fixing, the position of the droplet discharge head 40 is confirmed again. good. Since the assembly (position adjustment of the droplet discharge head 40) result can be verified, the reliability of the head unit 30 is improved.

  (Modification 8) In the above-described embodiment, the reference mark hole 56 which is a small hole formed in the reference pin 54 is used as a reference when the position of the droplet discharge head 40 on the unit plate 51 is defined. However, it is not essential that the reference is a hole. Any device that can be clearly detected by the recognition device 104 may be used. You may use the top of the projection of a micro warp as a reference | standard.

  (Modification 9) In the embodiment, the reference mark hole 56 which is a small hole formed in the reference pin 54 is used as a reference when the position of the droplet discharge head 40 on the unit plate 51 is defined. However, it is not essential to form the reference mark hole 56 in the reference pin 54. The reference mark hole 56 may be formed directly on the unit plate 51. By directly forming the reference mark hole 56 in the unit plate 51, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the shape error of the reference pin 54 and form the reference mark hole 56 at a more accurate position.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a droplet discharge device. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the droplet discharge head as viewed from the nozzle forming plate side. (A) The top view which looked at the droplet discharge head attached to the unit plate from the nozzle plate side. (B) Sectional drawing of the cross section shown by AA in FIG. (A) The top view which looked at the reference | standard pin from the reference | standard mark hole side. (B) A side view of the reference pin. The top view of the head unit in a carriage. The side view of a carriage unit. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of a head unit assembly apparatus. The top view of the head unit mounted in the holding table and the holding table. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of assembling the head unit by the head unit assembling apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Droplet discharge device, 10 ... X-axis scanning mechanism, 14 ... Substrate stage, 16 ... Turning mechanism, 17 ... Y-axis scanning mechanism, 20 ... Carriage unit, 21 ... Carriage plate, 22 ... Carriage, 30 ... Head unit 32 ... Main head holding member, 33 ... Sub head holding member, 33a ... First adjustment hole, 33b ... Second adjustment hole, 40 ... Droplet discharge head, 42 ... Discharge nozzle, 43 ... Nozzle row, 51 ... Unit plate 52a ... first position restricting hole, 52b ... second position restricting hole, 53 ... unit fixing hole, 54 ... reference pin, 56 ... reference mark hole, 62 ... carriage frame, 63 ... position restricting pin, 64 ... screw hole, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 70 ... Suspension mechanism, 74 ... Suspension rotation frame, 100 ... Head unit assembly apparatus, 101 ... Unit movement apparatus, 102 ... Head correction apparatus, 104 ... Recognition apparatus, 109 ... Rotation mechanism, 09G ... Rotation center, 110 ... Holding table, 121 ... Adjustment pin, 162 ... Unit receiver, 163 ... Position restriction pin, 164 ... Screw hole, 400a, 400b, 400c, 400d, 400e, 400f, 401a, 401b, 401c , 401d, 401e, 401f... Head.

Claims (2)

A droplet discharge apparatus comprising a head unit in which a plurality of droplet discharge heads are fixed to a unit plate,
It has a mounting part for mounting the head unit,
The plurality of droplet discharge heads are arranged at point-symmetric positions with respect to a midpoint of a pair of first reference points formed on the unit plate,
The head unit is a straight line passing through the first reference point of the pair, a droplet discharge apparatus characterized in that it is positioned by the position regulating member provided in the mounting portion. The head unit and the drawing object move relative to each other in two directions,
2. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein an extending direction of the straight line coincides with one of the two directions.

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