JPH1114816A - Device and method for manufacturing color filter and color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely position every ink head in a short time by providing the mechanism, which is capable of independently adjusting plural ink jet heads in the direction normal to a scanning direction, to a holding mechanism. SOLUTION: A head unit 5 is provided with relative position adjusting mechanisms of an R head 31 and a B head 32 using a G head 30, which is arranged in the center, as a reference. In other words, a micrometer head 33 adjusts the relative position of the head 31 in an X direction and a piezoelectric element 35 finely adjusts the relative position of the head 31 in the X direction. A micrometer head 38, which is used to adjust the R head in a G direction, uses a wedge similar to the X direction adjustment. Reletive position adjustment of each head and the position adjustment of the entire head unit are conducted by detecting the gaps in the X direction between each θ, R-G and G-B from ink landing positions, the amount of the deviation in the θ direction and the positional relationship with respect to a stage employing an ink land position detection optical system and the relative position adjusting mechanism of each head and the head unit position adjustment mechanism are driven accordingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color filter such as a color liquid crystal display used for a color television or a personal computer and a technique for producing the same, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for producing a color filter using an ink jet recording technique, and the like. Regarding the color filter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, methods for producing a color filter include a dye method, a pigment dispersion method, an electrodeposition method, and a printing method. The dye method is to form a layer of a water-soluble polymer material which is a material for a dye on a glass substrate, form this into a desired pattern by photolithography, and immerse the glass substrate in the dye layer. The process of obtaining a colored pattern is repeated three times for three colors of R, G, and B to form a color filter.

The electrodeposition method is a process of forming a transparent electrode pattern on a glass substrate, immersing the glass substrate in an electrodeposition coating solution containing a pigment, a resin, an electrolytic solution and the like to electrodeposit a single color. , G, and B colors are repeated three times, and then fired to form a color filter.

[0004] The printing method is to repeat the printing using a thermosetting resin in which a pigment is dispersed three times to separately apply R, G, and B colors, and then thermosetting the resin. is there.

[0005] What is common to these four methods is that
It is necessary to repeat the same process three times in order to color R, G, and B colors, and there are drawbacks such as a low yield and a high cost due to the large number of processes.

Furthermore, the electrodeposition method is difficult to apply to a TFT because the shape of a pattern that can be formed is limited.
In addition, the printing method has disadvantages such as poor resolution and difficulty in responding to pattern miniaturization.

In order to compensate for these drawbacks, there has been proposed a technique for forming a filter pattern by discharging ink jet onto a glass substrate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-752).
No. 05, JP-A-63-235901, JP-A-1-21
No. 7320). In the technique using the ink jet, it is important to adjust the position of each ink jet head in the nozzle arrangement direction with high accuracy, and to maintain the positional relationship of the nozzles even during the drawing operation. For this reason, a position adjusting mechanism using a manual micrometer head and a wedge mechanism and a head position adjusting mechanism using a lock mechanism have been proposed (JP-A-9-49919, JP-A-9-4).
No. 9921). In addition, it is necessary to easily replace the inkjet head in consideration of the operation rate of the production apparatus in the above-described technology using the inkjet. For this reason, there has been proposed a configuration in which a head is unitized and a device uses a mechanism for attaching and detaching and holding a head unit (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-1997).
No. 49920).

[0008]

However, the above-described head position adjusting mechanism has problems that it takes a long time to adjust the position, the position shifts when locking, and the disturbance characteristic during drawing is poor, and the like. Accuracy, operation rate, etc. were insufficient. In addition, the color filter based on the inkjet method has a disadvantage that the density is different between the center and the end of the pixel, and the difference in density is reduced by drawing the same portion a plurality of times and shifting the substrate by a small amount for each scan. However, in the adjustment using the substrate stage, there is a problem that it cannot be shifted for each ink (head).

In the above-mentioned head unit attaching / detaching holding mechanism, the holding rigidity of the chuck portion is weak, and the head unit becomes heavy due to the high precision positioning function required for the head unit. There is a problem in that the dynamic characteristics of the body are low, the disturbance characteristics during drawing deteriorate, the drawing accuracy deteriorates, and in severe cases, color mixing occurs. here,
The time required to adjust the relative position of each head of the head unit is about one hour for two head units because a large number of samples are measured at the landing position, which is a major cause of the decrease in the operation rate of production equipment. It is one of. For this reason, time is reduced by attaching a head unit that matches the relative positional relationship of each head to the drawing device with a simple head position adjustment device, but the influence on the relative position due to the change in the posture of the chuck is reduced. Need to be removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and it is a first object of the present invention to provide a color filter manufacturing apparatus and method capable of positioning each ink head in a short time and with high accuracy. Aim. It is a second object of the present invention to provide a color filter manufacturing apparatus and method in which the head unit can be easily replaced and the drawing accuracy is high.

[0011]

In order to achieve the first object, a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of inkjet heads (heads) mounted on a light-transmitting substrate. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by ejecting a colorant while relatively scanning the same and forming a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant on a substrate to form a color filter. The head holding mechanism has a mechanism for independently adjusting the position in the orthogonal direction or the intersecting direction.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the head position adjusting mechanism is an actuator. Also, the position adjustment mechanism of the head,
It is characterized by comprising a coarse adjustment mechanism and a fine adjustment mechanism. Also, the head position adjustment mechanism is characterized in that the coarse adjustment mechanism is a manual adjustment mechanism and the fine movement adjustment mechanism is an actuator. Further, the head position is measured on at least one reference end face in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged.

[0013] The head is a head for discharging ink using thermal energy, and is characterized in that it has a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. .

Further, according to the color filter manufacturing method of the present invention, in the color filter manufacturing method in which the same portion of the substrate is scanned and colored a plurality of times by using the above-described color filter manufacturing apparatus, the head position adjustment for each scan is performed. The actuator is characterized in that the position of the head is shifted by a very small amount.

By adjusting the position of the head based on the above-described configuration, the head can be positioned with high accuracy in a short time, and high-quality drawing without color mixing or color unevenness can be performed. It becomes possible.

In order to achieve the second object, the color filter manufacturing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention scans a plurality of ink jet heads (heads) relative to a light-transmissive substrate. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by forming a plurality of filter elements colored by the colorant on the substrate and discharging the colorant while causing the plurality of heads to form a unit. (Head unit), and can be attached to the manufacturing apparatus by a holding mechanism that can be replaced in a short time.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the position of the mounting reference surface of the head unit is detected from the reference surface of the holding mechanism, and the attitude of the head unit is detected.
It is characterized by correction. In addition, a member having a high damping effect is used for at least a part of the reference surface where the holding mechanism and the head unit are in contact. Further, the holding mechanism has a mechanism for pressing a mounting portion of the head unit against a reference surface of the holding mechanism via a member having a high damping effect. The head is a head that uses thermal energy to eject ink,
It is characterized by having a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy given to the ink.

By configuring the mechanism for holding the head unit based on the above configuration, the dynamic characteristics of the head mounting portion can be improved, and the head and the substrate can be positioned with high accuracy. It is possible to perform high-quality color filter drawing without color mixture.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a surface plate for mounting the apparatus, 2 denotes a vibration isolation table that supports the surface plate 1 and shuts off external vibration, and 3 denotes an XY that is provided on the surface plate 1 and moves a large stroke. A stage 4 is a drawing head for R, G, and B colors, and a head unit 5 is a unitized unit for facilitating replacement and position adjustment of the drawing heads for three colors, and has a relative position adjustment mechanism for each head. ing. Reference numeral 6 denotes a substrate for forming a color filter, 7 denotes an optical system for detecting the alignment of the substrate 6 in the X, Y and θ directions, 8 denotes an optical system for detecting Z, 9
Is an optical system for detecting the landing position of ink ejected by the drawing head 4, 10 is a chuck for holding the head unit 5 and an actuator for adjusting the θ of the head unit 5, and 11 is a scan for adjusting the position of the head unit 5 and replacing the head unit. Orthogonal direction moving mechanism (head unit moving mechanism),
12 is a laser for length measurement, 13 is a hyper-planar mirror for length measurement,
14 is a cap unit for preventing drying of the head, and 1
5 is a cleaning unit for wiping the head face, 16 is a cleaning unit for cleaning the cap unit 14 and the cleaning unit 15, and 17 is a drive system for moving the cap unit 14 and the cleaning unit 15 to below the drawing head 4. is there.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the XY stage 3.
The movable part of the XY stage 3 is configured with a Z-tilt actuator and a θ mechanism. In the figure, 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes a substrate holding plate, 21 denotes a Z-tilt actuator, 22 denotes a Z-tilt guide, 23 denotes a θ rotation direction actuator, 24 denotes a θ rotation direction guide, and 25 denotes an XY movable base.

In the above configuration, when the color filter is manufactured, as shown in FIG. 3, when the substrate 6 is mounted on the XY stage 3 (step S51), the surface of the substrate 6 is brought into the detection range (focus) of the alignment detection optical system 7. The position in the Z-tilt direction is adjusted by the Z-tilt adjustment mechanism (actuators 21 and 22) of the XY stage 3 so as to be within the depth (depth) (step S52). Thereafter, the amount of displacement in the X, Y, and θ3 directions is detected by the alignment detecting optical system 7 so that the alignment mark on the substrate 6 is at the reference position (step 53). Here, the alignment detection optical system 7 reads the alignment mark with a sensor such as a CCD, and analyzes image information obtained therefrom by an image processing unit to calculate a shift amount. This detection may be performed by a plurality of detection systems using a plurality of detection systems, or by performing a plurality of detection marks by moving the stage using a single detection system. Based on the detection result, the deviation of the θ component is corrected by the θ adjustment mechanism (θ rotation direction actuator 23 and θ rotation direction guide 24) of the XY stage 3, and the deviation in the X direction is adjusted to the X position of the XY stage 3. (Step 54). The deviation in the Y direction (drawing scanning direction) is XY
This is performed by adjusting the Y position of the stage 3 or controlling the ejection timing from the drawing head 4. After the substrate alignment, a drawing operation is performed (step S55). After the drawing is completed, a head cleaning sequence (Step S57) and a head cap (Step S58) for maintaining the head function are performed during the discharge (Step S56) and mounting (Step S51) operations of the substrate. Further, the cleaning of the head cleaning mechanism and the head cap mechanism is performed during the drawing operation (step S55) and the like, so that a clean state is maintained.

Here, the position of the drawing head 4, that is, the ink landing position, is determined by discharging the ink when the head unit 5 is attached to the apparatus and using the landing position detecting optical system 9 to position the XY stage 3. The ink landing position is detected on the basis of the coordinates, each head relative position adjusting mechanism formed in the head unit 5, a head unit θ adjusting actuator 10, and a head unit scanning orthogonal direction moving mechanism 11
Adjust with. At this time, by obtaining the positional relationship between the landing position detecting optical system 9 and the substrate alignment detecting optical system 7, it is possible to align the position of the substrate and the head. In the present embodiment, the landing position detecting optical system 9 and the substrate alignment detecting optical system 7 are separate, but the same optical system may be used.

A mechanism for adjusting the relative position of each head of the head unit 5 will be described below. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of each head relative position adjusting mechanism of the head unit 5 which is a feature of the present invention.

The head unit 5 is basically composed of R, G,
The heads of the three colors B are configured to have a mechanism for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the heads of the three colors based on the position of the head of one color. In the present embodiment, the center G head is used as a reference. 3
0 is the G head as a relative position reference, 31 is the R head, 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes a B head, 33 denotes a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the R head 31 in the X direction, 34 denotes a wedge for reducing the amount of movement of the micrometer head 33, and increases the adjustment resolution. Is a piezoelectric element for finely adjusting the relative position of the R head 31 in the X direction, 36 is a piezoelectric element 35
And a spring for applying a preload to remove backlash during adjustment of the wedge 34, 37 is an elastic deformation guide for moving the R head 31 in the X direction, and 38 is a micro head for adjusting the R head θ. It is a meter head and uses a wedge as in the X-direction adjustment. 39 is an elastic deformation guide of the R head 31 in the θ direction, 40 is a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the B head X in the X direction, 41 is a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the B head 32 in the θ direction, Reference numeral 42 denotes a holder for mounting the head unit 5 on the apparatus. Also, θ
The direction relative position adjustment mechanism does not use a piezoelectric element,
Only adjustment by a micrometer head and wedges.
This mechanism also has a resolution in the θ direction of 2 seconds or less, and the influence on the X direction is very small. There was no problem when actually evaluated. The relative position adjusting mechanism of the B head 32 is the same as the relative position adjusting mechanism of the R head 31.

Further, the relative position adjustment of each head and the position adjustment of the entire head unit are performed by drawing an alignment pattern as shown in FIG. 5, and determining the distance between each of θ, RG, GB in the X direction from the landing position. The displacement amount between 50 and the θ direction 51 and the positional relationship between the stage and the stage are detected using the landing position detecting optical system 9. Based on this detection amount, the heads are adjusted by a relative position adjusting mechanism and a head unit position adjusting mechanism.

The R, G, and B heads were actually mounted, and the landing positions of the ink were measured and adjusted. In the measurement, the landing position of 30 nozzles was measured for one head. The time required for one measurement and adjustment was 5 to 7 minutes. The number of adjustments is such that the target adjustment value θ is ± 10 seconds or less, R,
When the distance between G and B was 88 ± 1 μm or less, the number was 2 to 4 times, and the average was slightly more than 2 times. The average number of adjustments when the R, G, and B intervals were adjusted by adjusting only the micrometer head was about four times on average. It can be said that the configuration of this embodiment is effective not only in the ease of adjustment but also in the adjustment time. In particular, considering the size of the device when the substrate size is changed from 360 × 460 mm, which is currently the mainstream, to 550 × 650 mm, it is necessary to move the head unit to a position where it can be easily adjusted for adjustment. Because of the increase, the adjustment by the piezoelectric element enables the adjustment without moving the head unit to the adjustment operation position.

In this embodiment, all positions of the head are adjusted on the apparatus. However, by attaching a unit in which the relative distance between R, G, and B is adjusted in advance to the drawing apparatus, the head is adjusted. Can be reduced to about half when the piezoelectric element is used for fine adjustment, and can be reduced to about 2/3 when adjusting only the micrometer head.

In this embodiment, the adjustment amount is detected only by the ink landing position. However, as shown in FIG. 15, a sensor 2 for measuring the positions of the R and B heads 31 and 32 from the G head 30 is used.
By using 00, it is possible to reliably guarantee the relative position accuracy during the drawing operation. In FIG.
0 is a displacement sensor such as an eddy current type displacement sensor,
201 is a member for fixing the sensor 200 based on the G head 30.

Embodiment 2 (Method for preventing color unevenness) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the ink has landed on the base 6. In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a black matrix; 61, a color mixture prevention layer for preventing color mixture; 62, an opening of a color filter;
3 is the R ink landing point, 64 is the G ink landing point, 65
Is the ink landing point of B. The landed ink has a density distribution in which the density at the center is high and the density at the edges is low, as shown in FIG. 7 (particularly (b)), which appears as color unevenness and degrades the performance of the color filter. I have. Also, the density distribution and the spread of the ink are as follows:
Different characteristics are often exhibited depending on the type of ink.

To solve this problem, a color filter is manufactured by a drawing method in which the landing position is shifted by a small amount for each ink, that is, for each head, using the relative position adjustment configuration of each head shown in FIG. Thereby, color unevenness can be reduced. This schematic diagram is shown in FIG. d is the shift amount of the landing position.

The ink actually used by the present inventors has a spreadability of G>R> B and was evaluated using this. In the writing method, one stripe line was drawn back and forth once. At this time, the shift amount d between the forward path and the return path is G = 0.
(Μm), R is 7 (μm), and B is 15 (μm).
A color filter drawn by the method of the present embodiment and a method without displacement by a small amount was compared with a color filter visually through a backlight, and it was clear that the color filter of the present method had less color unevenness.

As described above, according to the configuration and method of the first embodiment, high-precision positioning can be performed in a short time by adjusting the position of the head, and as shown in the second embodiment, A uniform color filter without unevenness can be formed by shifting each head position by an individual shift amount in the return path.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a surface plate for mounting the apparatus, 2 denotes a vibration isolation table that supports the surface plate 1 and shuts off external vibration, and 3 denotes an XY that is provided on the surface plate 1 and moves a large stroke. A stage 4 is a drawing head for three colors of R, G, and B, and 101 is a head unit formed as a unit to facilitate replacement and position adjustment of the drawing heads for three colors. The head unit 101 has a relative position adjustment mechanism for each head. 102 is a chuck for holding the head unit 101, 6 is a substrate for forming a color filter,
Reference numeral 7 denotes an optical system for detecting the alignment of the substrate 6 in the X, Y, and θ directions, 8 denotes an optical system for detecting Z, 9 denotes an optical system for detecting the impact position of the ink ejected by the drawing head 4, and 103 denotes the head unit 101. a θ adjustment actuator 11 is a scanning orthogonal direction moving mechanism (head unit moving mechanism) for adjusting the position of the head unit 101 and replacing the head unit;
12 is a laser for length measurement, 13 is a hyper-planar mirror for length measurement,
14 is a cap unit for preventing drying of the head, and 1
5 is a cleaning unit for wiping the head face, 16 is a cleaning unit for cleaning the cap unit 14 and the cleaning unit 15, and 17 is a drive system for moving the cap unit 14 and the cleaning unit 15 to below the drawing head 4. is there.

The XY stage 3 has the same structure as that of the first embodiment shown in detail in FIG.

In the above configuration, when the color filter is manufactured, as shown in FIG. 3, when the substrate 6 is mounted on the XY stage 3 (step S51), the surface of the substrate 6 is brought into the detection range (focal point) of the alignment detection optical system 7. The position in the Z-tilt direction is adjusted by the Z-tilt adjustment mechanism (actuators 21 and 22) of the XY stage 3 so as to be within the depth (depth) (step S52). Thereafter, the amount of displacement in the X, Y, and θ3 directions is detected by the alignment detecting optical system 7 so that the alignment mark on the substrate 6 is at the reference position (step 53). Here, the alignment detection optical system 7 reads the alignment mark with a sensor such as a CCD, and analyzes image information obtained therefrom by an image processing unit to calculate a shift amount. This detection may be performed by a plurality of detection systems using a plurality of detection systems, or by performing a plurality of detection marks by moving the stage using a single detection system. Based on the detection result, the deviation of the θ component is corrected by the θ adjustment mechanism (θ rotation direction actuator 23 and θ rotation direction guide 24) of the XY stage 3, and the deviation in the X direction is adjusted to the X position of the XY stage 3. (Step 54). The deviation in the Y direction (drawing scanning direction) is XY
This is performed by adjusting the Y position of the stage 3 or controlling the ejection timing from the drawing head 4. After the substrate alignment, a drawing operation is performed (step S55). After the drawing is completed, a head cleaning sequence (Step S57) and a head cap (Step S58) for maintaining the head function are performed during the discharge (Step S56) and mounting (Step S51) operations of the substrate. The cleaning of the head cleaning mechanism and the head cap mechanism is performed during the drawing operation (step S55), and the cleaning state is maintained.

The position of the drawing head 4, that is, the landing position of the ink, is determined by moving the head unit 101 to the chuck 10.
When the head unit 101 ejects ink and detects the ink landing position using the landing position detection optical system 9 based on the position coordinates of the XY stage 3, the head unit 101
The head relative adjustment mechanism 103, the head unit θ adjustment actuator 103, and the head unit scanning orthogonal direction moving mechanism 11 are used for adjustment. At this time, by obtaining the positional relationship between the landing position detecting optical system 9 and the substrate alignment detecting optical system 7, the positions of the substrate 6 and the heads 30 to 32 can be adjusted. In the present embodiment, the landing position detecting optical system 9 and the substrate alignment detecting optical system 7 are separate, but the same optical system may be used.

Next, the mechanism of the head unit 101 will be described. FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining a schematic configuration of the head unit. The head unit 101
Basically, it is composed of a set of three color heads of R, G, and B. The three color heads adjust the relative positional relationship of each head based on the position of one color head. It has a mechanism to do. In the present embodiment, the center G head is used as a reference. Reference numeral 30 denotes a G head serving as a relative position reference, 31 denotes an R head, 32 denotes a B head, 33 denotes a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the R head in the X direction, and 34 denotes a micrometer head 33. It is a wedge for reducing the moving amount and for improving the adjustment resolution. 36
A spring for applying a preload to remove backlash when adjusting the wedge 34, an elastic deformation guide 37 for moving the R head 31 in the X direction, and a micrometer head 38 for adjusting the R head θ And a wedge mechanism is used similarly to the X-direction adjustment. 39 is an elastic deformation guide of the R head 31 in the θ direction, 40 is a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the B head X in the X direction, 41 is a micrometer head for adjusting the relative position of the B head 32 in the θ direction, Reference numeral 42 denotes a holding portion flange for mounting the head unit 101 on the apparatus.

FIG. 11 shows a head unit holding portion flange 4.
2 and a cross-sectional view for explaining the mechanism of the head unit chuck 102. 110 is a cross section of the head unit holding portion flange 42, 111 is a tapered surface attached to the tip of the holding portion flange 42 that receives a holding force, 112
Is a ball for transmitting the holding force of the chuck to the holding portion flange, 11
3 is a rod for moving the ball 112 back and forth, 114 is a tapered surface for changing the direction of the holding force transmitted from the rod, 115 is a spring for generating the holding force, and 116 is a direction opposite to the holding force for releasing the chuck holding. Air injection holes 117 for generating a force are flanges for fixing the chuck to the drawing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a contact surface of the chuck 102 with the head unit 101, which is characterized in the second aspect of the present invention. 120 is a reference contact surface, and 121 is a gap sensor. In this chuck 102, the gap between the chuck 102 and the mounting surface of the head unit 101 at the time of chucking is measured at three places, and the posture at the time of mounting is sensed. Then, the position of the head unit 101 is adjusted using the change in posture as a correction value. Also, if this posture change is an amount and direction that affects the head relative position,
When the head unit 101 is attached to the chuck 102, the micrometer head (33, 38, 40,
Make adjustments according to 41). As a result, the position adjustment when attached to the device was about three times on average,
Could be less than times.

Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 13 shows a head unit 101 of a chuck 102 showing characteristics of the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a contact surface with the contact. 120 is a reference contact surface, 12
1 is a gap sensor, and 122 is a vibration damping rubber having a high damping effect. As a result, the rigidity of the holding unit of the chuck 102 and the head unit 101 is the smallest in the conventional apparatus, and is very weak against disturbance. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the vibration settling can be shortened.

Actually, in the drawing sequence using the conventional apparatus, drawing is performed while scanning the stage, and then the step is moved in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction to perform the next scanning and drawing operation. A timer of about 2 seconds was provided for the vibration of the head unit due to disturbance due to acceleration and deceleration at the time. However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, even without this timer, the vibration could be contained within the running time during the drawing scan.

Embodiment 5 Embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a chuck and a head unit showing features of the third embodiment of the present invention. 140 is a chuck holder, 141 is a mounting unit mounting flange, 142 is a lock arm, 143 is a pressure cylinder, 144 is a simple guide, 14
Reference numeral 5 denotes a vibration-proof rubber having a high damping effect. Lock arm 14
2. The portion composed of the pressure cylinder 143, the simple guide 144, and the rubber vibration isolator 145 is a mechanism for strengthening the lock between the chuck and the head unit, thereby improving the holding force and the damping characteristics of the rechuck. This locking mechanism
It is arranged at three places on the circumference. Desirably, Example 3
The gap sensor 12 configured on the chuck similarly to
It is desirable to control the pressure so that the attitude of the flange surface of the head unit is within an allowable value according to 1. This lock strengthening mechanism is only an auxiliary mechanism with regard to the chuck holding function. It aims at effective use of the damping effect and a little increase in holding rigidity, and it locks via vibration damping rubber with high damping effect. Generation force is 1-3k
It may be about gf / cm ² .

When actually evaluated by the configuration of this embodiment, the maximum amplitude of the XY stage 3 during acceleration / deceleration was about 13 (μm).
m) What was present became about 6 (μm). In the present drawing sequence applied to the conventional apparatus, the head cleaning mechanism and the head cap mechanism are cleaned during the drawing operation (step S55 in FIG. 3), and the head is disturbed by the pulsation of the cleaning water. Although the unit tip had a vibration of about 2 (μm) in the X direction (see FIG. 9), the amplitude could be reduced to 1 (μm) or less by the mechanism of this embodiment.

[0044]

As described above, with the configuration and method according to the first aspect of the present invention, high-precision positioning can be performed in a short time by adjusting the position of the head. By shifting each head position by an individual shift amount in the return path, a uniform color filter without unevenness can be formed.

Further, based on the configuration according to the second aspect of the present invention, by holding the head unit, it is possible to improve the dynamic characteristics of the head mounting portion, and perform highly accurate positioning of the head and the substrate. Can be. As a result, it is possible to manufacture a color filter with high image quality without color mixing, and it is possible to improve the drawing speed and to improve the productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of an XY stage of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of substrate processing in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a head unit of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a drawing pattern for head alignment by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of ink landing by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of ink density distribution by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of ink landing by a drawing method according to a second embodiment using the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a head unit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a chuck of the apparatus of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a chuck contact surface showing characteristics of the apparatus of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a chuck contact surface showing characteristics of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a chuck contact surface showing features of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a head position detection unit showing features of a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Surface plate, 2: Vibration isolation table, 3: XY stage, 4: Drawing head, 5: Head unit, 6: Substrate, 7: Optical system for detecting substrate alignment, 8: Optical system for detecting Z, 9: Landing Optical system for position detection, 10: actuator for chuck and θ adjustment, 11: head unit moving mechanism, 12: laser for length measurement, 13: hyper flat mirror, 14: cap unit, 15: cleaning unit, 16: cleaning unit , 17: moving drive system for cap and cleaning unit, 20: substrate holding plate, 21: Z-tilt actuator, 22: Z-tilt guide, 23: θ rotation actuator, 24: θ rotation guide, 25: XY movable base, 30: G head, 31: R head, 32: B head, 33: micrometer head, 34: wedge mechanism, 35 piezoelectric element, 3 : Preload spring, 37: elastic deformation guide, 38: micrometer head, 39: elastic deformation guide, 40: micrometer head, 41: micrometer head, 42: head unit holding part, 50: X direction gap displacement, 51 : Deviation amount in the θ direction, 60: black matrix, 61: color mixture prevention layer, 62: opening, 63: R
Landing, 64: G landing, 65: B landing, d: displacement amount, 10
1: head unit, 102: chuck, 103: θ adjustment actuator, 110: flange, 111: tapered surface, 112: sphere, 113: rod, 114: tapered surface, 115: spring, 116: air injection hole, 117: Flange, 120: Reference contact surface, 121: Gap sensor, 122: Anti-vibration rubber, 140: Chuck holder, 1
41: Flange, 142: Lock arm, 143: Pressure cylinder, 144: Simple guide, 145: Anti-vibration rubber.

Claims (14)

[Claims] A colorant is discharged while a plurality of inkjet heads are relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a plurality of filter elements. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the head holding mechanism has a mechanism for adjusting a position of each of the heads independently in a direction intersecting with the scanning direction. Filter manufacturing equipment. 2. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position adjusting mechanism is an actuator. 3. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position adjusting mechanism comprises a coarse adjusting mechanism and a fine adjusting mechanism. 4. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in the head position adjusting mechanism, the coarse adjusting mechanism is a manual adjusting mechanism, and the fine movement adjusting mechanism is an actuator. 5. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of each head is measured with reference to at least one end face in a direction in which nozzles are arranged. 6. A method in which a colorant is discharged while a plurality of inkjet heads are relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored by the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a plurality of filter elements. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the plurality of heads are unitized, and the head unit is attached to a manufacturing apparatus main body by a holding mechanism capable of replacing the head unit in a short time. Filter manufacturing equipment. 7. The holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism includes a holding flange provided on a top of the head unit, and a chuck provided on the manufacturing apparatus main body and chucking the flange from above. Color filter manufacturing equipment. 8. A colorant is ejected while a plurality of ink-jet heads are relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored by the coloring agent are formed on the substrate so as to be arranged. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the plurality of heads are unitized, and the head unit is attached to a manufacturing apparatus main body by a holding mechanism, and a mounting reference of the head unit is determined from a reference surface of the holding mechanism. An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein a position of a surface is detected, and a posture of the head unit is detected and corrected. 9. A method in which a colorant is discharged while a plurality of ink jet heads are relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a plurality of filter elements. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the plurality of heads are unitized, and the head unit is attached to a manufacturing apparatus main body by a holding mechanism, and at least a reference surface at which the holding mechanism and the head unit come into contact with each other. An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein a member having a high damping effect is used in a part. 10. A colorant is discharged while a plurality of ink jet heads are relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored by the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a plurality of filter elements. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the plurality of heads are unitized, and the head unit is attached to a manufacturing apparatus main body by a holding mechanism, and the holding mechanism has a damping effect on an attachment portion of the head unit. An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, comprising: means for pressing against a reference surface of the holding mechanism via a high member. 11. The head according to claim 1, wherein the head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 11. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 10. 12. A method for manufacturing a color filter, comprising the head position adjusting mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the same portion of the substrate is scanned and colored a plurality of times. Wherein the position of the head is displaced by a small amount by the actuator of (1). 13. The head according to claim 1, wherein the head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy converter that generates thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 13. The method for producing a color filter according to Item 12. 14. A color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, or a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 12.
3. A color filter manufactured by the color filter manufacturing method according to 3.