JP2005246169A - Head unit and mounting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a head unit capable of efficiently transporting and mounting a large sub-carriage having a plurality of droplet discharge heads mounted thereon, and a mounting method thereof.
SOLUTION: Two guide rails (one not shown) 33 as guides are disposed on both sides along the Y-axis direction in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the carriage mounting portion 30. Further, four holes 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d (34c and 34d are not shown) for screwing are disposed on a surface substantially perpendicular to the guide rail 33. At one end of the guide rail 33 where the sub-carriage 50 is inserted, pins 35a and 35b (35b not shown) are disposed on each of the two guide rails. A connector board fixing side 36 is fixed to the carriage mounting portion 30 on the opposite surface of the carriage mounting portion 30 where the sub-carriage 50 is inserted.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  Sub-carriage mounting method, mounting mechanism, electrical wiring processing, and piping processing related to liquid materials for droplet discharge devices (drawing devices) that discharge industrial liquid materials and manufacture various devices such as electro-optical devices and electron emission devices About. Examples of the electro-optical device include a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL device, a PDP device, and an electrophoretic display device. Examples of the electron-emitting device include an FED device. The present invention also relates to spacer formation, metal wiring formation, lens formation, resist formation, and light diffuser formation.

  Conventionally, in a large printer, in consideration of the yield of an inkjet head (droplet discharge head), the entire arrangement (one line) of discharge nozzles in the sub-scanning direction is not a single droplet discharge head but a plurality of droplets. It consists of a discharge head. In this case, the plurality of droplet discharge heads are mounted on a single carriage and are attached to a printer drive system as a head unit.

  Conventionally, when a sub-carriage is attached to a carriage attachment portion attached to a carriage of a droplet discharge device, positioning is performed using a positioning pin and a hole that engages with the positioning pin. For this reason, the work efficiency is not good because the work in the up-and-down direction for lifting and fitting the heavy sub-carriage is performed. In addition, there are problems such as bending of the sub-carriage when lifting. In addition, after the sub-carriage is mounted on the carriage mounting portion, it is necessary to individually perform electrical wiring processing and piping processing related to the liquid discharge material (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-127343 A (pages 14 to 15, FIG. 16)

  By the way, this type of droplet discharge head can accurately and selectively discharge minute droplets from the nozzle row, and can be applied to the manufacture of color filters such as liquid crystal display devices and organic EL display devices. In addition, it is expected to be applied to manufacturing apparatuses for various electronic devices and optical devices. Considering such applied technology, a large head unit with a large number of droplet discharge heads mounted on a single sub-carriage is required. At the same time, depending on the liquid to be discharged, the durability of the droplet discharge head Therefore, it is necessary to consider frequent replacement of the droplet discharge head (head unit). That is, unlike the conventional one, it is assumed that a large-sized head unit having a heavy weight considering frequent replacement (attachment / removal) is required.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a head unit that can efficiently transport and attach a large sub-carriage having a plurality of droplet discharge heads mounted thereon, and a method for attaching the head unit. Further, a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device manufactured using the head unit and its mounting method, a manufacturing method of an organic EL device, a manufacturing method of an electron emission device, a manufacturing method of a PDP device, a manufacturing method of an electrophoretic display device, It is an object to provide a color filter manufacturing method, an organic EL manufacturing method, a spacer forming method, a metal wiring forming method, a lens forming method, a resist forming method, and a light diffuser forming method.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a plurality of droplet discharge heads, a sub-carriage provided with a plurality of droplet discharge heads, a carriage mounting portion to which the sub-carriage is attached and detached, and an outer shape of the sub-carriage The gist is to mount the guide by a guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion.

  According to this configuration, the sub carriage is mounted on the carriage substantially horizontally without lifting up the large and heavy sub carriage by the outer shape of the sub carriage and the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion. A large-sized sub-carriage having a plurality of droplet discharge heads mounted thereon can be efficiently mounted.

  The gist of the present invention is that, in the head unit, the relative position in the vertical direction between the carriage mounting portion and the sub-carriage is determined by the upper surface of the bottom of the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion and the lower surface of the sub-carriage.

  According to this configuration, the lower surface of the sub carriage is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom of the guide disposed in the carriage mounting portion, and the carriage mounting portion supports the sub carriage. The sub-carriage can be placed on the carriage mounting portion substantially horizontally without being lifted up.

  In the present invention, in the head unit, a part of the sub carriage is brought into contact with a surface disposed substantially perpendicular to the guide at one end of the guide disposed in the carriage mounting portion, and the carriage mounting portion, the sub carriage, The gist is that the relative position of is determined.

  According to this configuration, the sub-carriage is placed on the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion, and a part of the sub-carriage contacts the surface disposed substantially perpendicular to the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion. Since the relative position between the sub-carriage and the carriage mounting portion is determined, the operator can complete the work by pressing the sub-carriage into the carriage mounting portion and pressing it until it stops.

  According to the present invention, in the head unit, the relative position between the carriage mounting portion and the sub-carriage is determined by passing a pin through the hole provided in the sub-carriage and the hole provided in the carriage mounting portion or guide. The gist.

  According to this configuration, the relative position between the carriage mounting portion and the sub carriage is determined by passing the pin through the hole disposed in the sub carriage and the hole disposed in the carriage mounting portion or the guide. Can be removed from the sub-carriage once, and the relative position between the carriage attachment portion and the sub-carriage can be determined by attaching a small pin, so that the attachment can be performed efficiently.

  The gist of the present invention is that the head unit is screwed and fixed using a female screw provided on one surface of the sub-carriage and a hole provided in the carriage mounting portion or guide.

  According to this configuration, since the screw is fixed using the female screw provided on one surface of the sub-carriage and the hole provided in the carriage mounting portion or the guide, the operator can connect the sub-carriage with the screw. It can be fixed simply by stopping the carriage mounting portion, and can be mounted efficiently.

  The gist of the present invention is that, in the head unit, the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion are all electrically connected at once. .

  According to this configuration, it is not necessary to individually connect the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion. This eliminates any mistakes and enables efficient installation.

  The gist of the present invention is that in the head unit, a plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and a plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion are connected.

  According to this configuration, it is not necessary to individually connect the plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and the plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion. There are no mistakes in connection work, and it can be installed efficiently.

  In the present invention, in the head unit, before the electrical connector or the liquid material connector disposed on the sub-carriage contacts the electrical connector or the liquid material connector disposed on the carriage mounting portion, the sub-carriage Alternatively, the gist is that one end of the guide pin disposed on the carriage mounting portion reaches one end of the parallel hole portion of the guide hole member disposed on the carriage mounting portion or the sub-carriage.

  According to this configuration, in order to connect the electrical connector or the liquid material connector disposed in the sub-carriage and the electrical connector or the liquid material connector disposed in the carriage mounting portion at a time, these Before the connector comes into contact, one end of the guide pin disposed on either the sub-carriage or the carriage mounting portion is connected to the parallel hole portion of the guide hole member disposed on either the sub-carriage or the carriage mounting portion. Since the relative position between the sub-carriage and the carriage mounting portion is determined by the guide pin and the parallel hole portion of the guide hole member, these connectors can be prevented from being damaged and mounted efficiently.

  The gist of the present invention is that in the head unit, an elastic member is compressed and disposed between the guide pin disposed on the sub-carriage and the guide hole member disposed on the carriage mounting portion.

  According to this configuration, the elastic member is compressed and disposed between the guide pin disposed on the sub-carriage and the guide hole member disposed on the carriage mounting portion. The operator can easily remove the elastic member by urging the elastic member.

  The present invention relates to a head unit mounting method for mounting a sub-carriage to a carriage mounting portion mounted on a carriage of a droplet discharge device, wherein the sub-carriage is temporarily placed on a temporary placement table, and the sub-carriage is guided to the carriage mounting portion. The point is that the tip of the sub-carriage is guided by the guide and is placed almost horizontally while sliding on the temporary placement table.

  According to this configuration, the subcarriage is temporarily placed on the temporary placement table, and while the subcarriage is slid on the temporary placement table toward the guide of the carriage mounting portion, the tip of the subcarriage is guided by the guide and is substantially horizontal. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the subcarriage 50 itself from being bent due to lifting the subcarriage 50, and to prevent relative displacement between the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 mounted on the subcarriage 50. At the same time, the operator can easily and efficiently mount it.

  In the present invention, there is provided a method for mounting the head unit, wherein the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head disposed on the sub-carriage is directed downward and is mounted on a temporary table that is positioned substantially horizontally. The gist of the invention is that the head unit is adjusted by rotating and fixing at a desired angle, and when the adjustment work is completed, the temporary placing table is returned to a substantially horizontal position.

  According to this configuration, the large sub-carriage is mounted on the temporary placement table positioned substantially horizontally with the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head facing downward, and the temporary placement table is rotated and fixed at a desired angle. Since the unit can be adjusted, the sub-carriage can be adjusted safely and easily. When the adjustment is completed, the temporary table is returned to a substantially horizontal position, and the orientation of the sub-carriage is adjusted to the carriage mounting position. Therefore, from the adjustment work to the installation work can be made consistently and efficiently.

  In the present invention, there is provided a method for mounting the head unit, wherein the height of the temporary table is adjusted by a vertically movable portion disposed below the temporary table, and a part of the temporary table or a part of the sub carriage is provided. The gist is that the relative position between the temporary placement table and the carriage mounting portion is determined by contacting a part of the carriage or a part of the carriage mounting portion of the droplet discharge device.

  According to this configuration, the height of the temporary table is adjusted by the vertically movable portion disposed below the temporary table, and there is no work for lifting the large sub-carriage, and a part of the temporary table is provided. Alternatively, a part of the sub-carriage abuts a part of the carriage of the droplet discharge device or a part of the carriage mounting portion to determine the relative position between the temporary mounting table and the carriage mounting portion. Can be transferred to the carriage mounting portion.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the droplet discharge device 1 of the droplet discharge device 1. The droplet discharge device 1 includes a tank 12 that holds a liquid material 11, a tube 13, and a discharge scanning unit 2 to which the liquid material 11 is supplied from the tank 12 via the tube 13. The ejection scanning unit 2 includes a sub-carriage 50 that holds a plurality of droplet ejection heads 51, a carriage mounting unit 30 that holds the sub-carriage 50, a carriage 3 that further holds the carriage mounting unit 30, and the position of the carriage 3. A second position control device 4 that controls the substrate, a stage 5 that holds the base body 10A having the discharged portion 21, a first position control device 6 that controls the position of the stage 5, a control unit 7, and a maintenance device 8. And a drainage device 9. The tank 12 and the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 in the carriage 3 are connected by a tube 13, and the liquid material 11 is supplied from the tank 12 to each of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51. The liquid material 11 is, for example, a liquid conductive thin film material, a liquid fluorescent material, a liquid light emitting material, and a liquid color filter material. Here, the head unit 53 is expressed as a generic name including the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51, the sub-carriage 50, the carriage mounting portion 30, and the carriage 3.

  In the method of providing the discharged portion 21 on the base 10A, a plurality of compartments in which the liquid material 11 is accommodated are manufactured on one surface of the base 10A using a known screen printing technique or patterning technique. The base 10A is made of glass, metal plate, ceramics, plastic, or the like. In order to uniformly apply the liquid material 11 to a plurality of sections provided on the base 10A, it is preferable to make the surface of the base 10A lyophilic. For this reason, it is treated with an oxygen plasma treatment under atmospheric pressure or an alcohol-based cleaning solution. The surface of the substrate 10A becomes lyophilic. Further, depending on the substrate 10A, in order to partially have liquid repellency and prevent the liquid material 11 from adhering, for example, plasma processing using tetrafluoromethane as a processing gas is performed. In the present specification, the base body 10A having the discharge target portion 21 may be referred to as a “receiving substrate”.

  The second position control device 4 changes the relative position of the carriage 3 along the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in response to a signal from the control unit 7. Further, the second position control device 4 also has a function of rotating the carriage 3 around an axis parallel to the Z axis. In this embodiment, the Z-axis direction is a direction substantially parallel to the vertical direction (that is, the direction of gravitational acceleration). The first position control device 6 changes the relative position of the stage 5 along the Y-axis direction orthogonal to both the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction in response to a signal from the control unit 7. Further, the first position control device 6 also has a function of rotating the stage 5 around an axis parallel to the Z axis. In the present specification, the second position control device 4 and the first position control device 6 may be referred to as “scanning unit”.

  The stage 5 has a plane parallel to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Further, the stage 5 is configured so that the base body 10A having the discharged portion 21 to which the predetermined liquid material 11 is to be applied can be detachably mounted or held on the plane.

  In this specification, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction coincide with the direction in which one of the carriage 3 and the stage 5 changes the relative position with respect to the other. The virtual origin of the XYZ coordinate system that defines the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction is fixed to the reference portion of the droplet discharge device 1. In this specification, the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the Z coordinate are coordinates in such an XYZ coordinate system. Note that the above virtual origin may be fixed to the stage 5 or may be fixed to the carriage 3.

  The carriage 3 and the stage 5 further have a degree of freedom in changing the parallel relative position other than the above and rotating. However, in the present embodiment, descriptions relating to the degrees of freedom other than the above degrees of freedom are omitted for the purpose of simplifying the explanation.

  The control unit 7 is configured to receive ejection data representing a relative position at which the liquid material 11 is to be ejected from an external information processing apparatus (not shown).

In the maintenance device 8, a unit for performing maintenance of several droplet discharge heads 51 is provided. The unit is selected by the control of the control unit 7, and the relative position is changed in the Y-axis direction to correspond to the carriage 3. Stop. When performing maintenance of the droplet discharge head 51, the second position control device 4 changes the relative position of the carriage 3 on the maintenance device 8 in the X-axis direction so that a desired unit comes to the position of the carriage 3. The maintenance device 8 is selected by moving, and the relative position is changed.
The drainage device 9 collects the liquid material 11 collected by each unit of the droplet discharge device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the sub-carriage 50 and the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 as viewed from the stage 5 side. The direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Further, the left-right direction of the paper surface is the X-axis direction, and the vertical direction of the paper surface is the Y-axis direction. The subcarriage plate 54 of the subcarriage 50 holds a plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 each having substantially the same structure. In the present embodiment, the number of droplet discharge heads 51 held on the sub-carriage 50 is 24. Each droplet discharge head 51 has a bottom surface provided with a plurality of nozzles 52. The shape of the bottom surface of each droplet discharge head 51 is a quadrangle having two long sides and two short sides. The bottom surface of the droplet discharge head 51 held by the sub-carriage 50 faces the stage 5, and the long side direction and the short side direction of the droplet discharge head 51 are the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. Is almost parallel to.

  The relative positions of the nozzles 52 of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 are adjusted with high accuracy by a device such as a sub-carriage assembly device. In the sub-carriage 50, two guide holes 101 and 102 are disposed along the A plane. Further, female screws 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d are disposed on the opposite sides A and B in the X-axis direction. This sub-carriage 50 is transferred in the direction of the arrow 103 and is inserted into the carriage mounting portion 30 fixed to the carriage 3. If a virtual line connecting nozzle rows (not shown) formed by the nozzles 52 of the droplet discharge head 51 is oriented in the X-axis direction, it is inserted into the droplet discharge device 1 (see FIG. 1). The direction to be performed may be either the X direction or the Y direction. The opposite sides of the sub-carriage plate 54 in the X-axis direction are denoted as A side and B side.

  Each of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 needs to be electrically connected to the droplet discharge device 1 for discharging the liquid material 11 and connected to the tube 13 as a pipe for the liquid material. In this embodiment, as will be described later, these connections are made at a time.

  Further, the four holes 109 arranged at the four corners of the sub-carriage plate 54 are holes for fixing to a temporary placement table 501 of the reversing work table 500 described later by a set screw 502.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage mounting portion 30. The carriage mounting portion 30 is positioned by two pins (not shown) provided in the carriage 3 (see FIG. 1) with guide holes 31a and 31b in the carriage 3 of the droplet discharge device 1. Are fixed using female screws 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d.

  Two guide rails (one not shown) 33 as guides are arranged on both sides along the Y-axis direction near the bottom surface of the carriage mounting portion 30. Further, four holes 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d (34c and 34d are not shown) for screwing are disposed on a surface substantially perpendicular to the guide rail 33. At one end of the guide rail 33 where the sub-carriage 50 is inserted, pins 35a and 35b (35b not shown) are disposed on each of the two guide rails.

  A connector board fixing side 36 is fixed to the carriage mounting portion 30 on the opposite surface of the carriage mounting portion 30 where the sub-carriage 50 is inserted. On the connector board fixing side 36, a plurality of electrical connectors 37a and a plurality of liquid material connectors 38a are arranged so as to be connected on a plane parallel to the Y-axis direction. Further, guide hole members 58a and 58b (58b not shown) having parallel hole portions are disposed.

  The plurality of electrical connectors 37 a are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown) of the droplet discharge device 1 and the discharge of the liquid material 11 from the droplet discharge head 51 is controlled. The plurality of liquid material connectors 38 a are connected to the tank 12 through piping and tubes 13, and the liquid material 11 stored in the tank 12 is supplied to the droplet discharge head 51.

  On the A and B surfaces of the subcarriage plate 54 as the outer shape of the subcarriage 50, female screws 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d (104c and 104d are shown in the figure) corresponding to the holes 34a, 34b, 34c, and 34d of the carriage mounting portion 30. (Not shown) is provided. Further, on the upper surface of the sub-carriage plate 54, 55 per degree is disposed corresponding to the A surface and the B surface, and is a position that abuts on the peripheries pins 35a and 35b disposed on the carriage mounting portion 30. ing.

  A circuit unit 56 for droplet discharge heads is disposed above the sub-carriage 50, and drives and controls a plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 disposed on the sub-carriage plate 54. A connector board 39 is disposed on the surface including the Z-axis and the X-axis inserted into the carriage mounting portion 30 of the sub-carriage 50.

  The connector board 39 is provided with a plurality of electrical connectors 37b and a plurality of liquid material connectors 38b respectively corresponding to the plurality of electrical connectors 37a and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38a disposed on the carriage mounting portion 30. Has been. The plurality of electrical connectors 37b are electrically connected to the droplet discharge head circuit portion 56. The plurality of liquid material connectors 38b are piped via a plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 and piping members such as tubes.

  The connector board 39 is provided with a pair of guide pins 57a and 57b (57b not shown), and a guide hole having a parallel hole provided on the connector board fixing side 36 of the carriage mounting portion 30. It engages with the members 58a and 58b. This relationship will be described later.

  The sub-carriage 50 is inserted into the carriage mounting portion 30 configured as described above. First, the tip portions of the A and B surfaces of the sub-carriage plate 54 come into contact with and engage with the two guide rails 33 disposed on the carriage mounting portion 30. In addition, when the sub carriage plate 54 is urged and pushed, the degree 55 provided on the sub carriage plate 54 corresponds to the degree pin 35 a provided on at least one of the two guide rails 33. , 35b and stop. At this time, the relative position between the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage mounting portion 30 is determined only in the Z-axis direction.

  Next, a method for determining the relative positions in the X-axis and Y-axis directions will be described. Guide holes 105 and 106 corresponding to the guide holes 101 and 102 provided in the sub-carriage plate 54 are also provided in the two guide rails 33. Two stepped positioning pins 107 and 108 are inserted from above. Thereby, the relative position between the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage mounting portion 30 is determined.

  Next, when the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage mounting portion 30 eject the liquid material 11 by the droplet ejection device 1, the occurrence of vibration or the like is predicted. Four holes 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d (34c and 34d are not shown) and female screws 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d arranged on the A and B surfaces of the sub-carriage plate 54 It is fixed with screws.

Next, the relationship between the connector board fixing side 36 and the connector board 39 when the sub carriage 50 is inserted into the carriage mounting portion 30 will be described in detail.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of attaching the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage attachment portion 30. The connector board fixing side 36 fixed to the carriage mounting portion 30 includes a plurality of electrical connectors 37a (one in the drawing), a plurality of liquid material connectors 38a (one in the drawing), a pair of guide hole members 58a, 58b. The plurality of electrical connectors 37a are electrically connected to the control unit 7 (see FIG. 1) of the droplet discharge head 51 of the droplet discharge device 1. The plurality of liquid material connectors 38 a are connected to the tank 12 via the tube 13, and the liquid material 11 is supplied to the droplet discharge head 51. Further, the pair of guide hole members 58a and 58b have a slope portion 59 and a parallel hole portion 60 that are open to the sub-carriage 50 side.

  A pair of guide pins 57 a and 57 b are disposed on the connector board 39 fixed to the sub-carriage 50. The guide pins 57a and 57b are guided by guide pin guides 61 and 62. The guide pins 57a, 57b slide in the guide pin guides 61, 62 in the longitudinal direction. For example, coil springs 63 and 64 as elastic bodies are disposed between the guide pins 57a and 57b and the guide pin guides 61 and 62, and the guide pins 57a and 57b are urged toward the connector board fixing side 36. Yes. Further, the E-rings 65 and 66 restrict the longitudinal direction so that the guide pins 57a and 57b do not jump out of the guide pin guides 61 and 62.

  The connector board 39 fixed to the sub-carriage 50 is provided with a plurality of electrical connectors 37b (one shown) and a plurality of liquid material connectors 38b (one shown).

Next, the order in which the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage attachment portion 30 are attached will be described.
The sub-carriage 50 is regulated in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions by guide rails 33 disposed in the carriage mounting portion 30. The sub-carriage 50 includes a plurality of electrical connectors 37a, a plurality of electrical connectors 37b, In addition, the liquid material connectors 38a and the liquid material connectors 38b are not guided so accurately as to ensure the connection.

  Therefore, when the leading ends of the guide pins 57a and 57b disposed on the connector board 39 reach the entrance of the parallel hole 60 included in the guide hole members 58a and 58b disposed on the connector board fixing side 36. Thus, the plurality of electrical connectors 37a and the plurality of electrical connectors 37b, and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38a and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38b are not in contact with each other.

  This is because the position of the sub-carriage 50 with respect to the carriage mounting portion 30 is corrected by the guide pins 57a and 57b and the parallel hole portions 60 of the guide hole members 58a and 58b, and the relative position is determined. Thereafter, when the sub-carriage 50 further approaches the carriage mounting portion 30, the guide pins 57a and 57b are sufficiently inserted into the parallel hole portions 60 of the guide hole members 58a and 58b. Thereafter, the plurality of electrical connectors 37a and the plurality of electrical connectors 37b are electrically connected, and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38a and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38b are connected.

  This connection is electrically connected to the control unit 7 (see FIG. 1) that drives and controls the droplet discharge head 51 of the droplet discharge device 1. Each droplet discharge head 51 is connected to the tank 12 via the tube 13.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inversion work table 500 to which the sub-carriage 50 is attached. Two struts 520 are provided for standing four rollers above the legs 510 disposed at the four corners. A temporary table 501 is disposed at the tip of each column 520. The temporary placement table 501 is supported by a pair of shafts 503 and can rotate around the shafts 503. Each of the pair of shafts 503 is provided with a rotation stop lever 504.

  The sub-carriage 50 is fixed on the temporary placement table 501 by four set screws 502 (one is not shown), and the sub-carriage 50 is electrically repaired and inspected, and the droplet discharge head 51 and its surroundings are provided. Perform the inspection. When checking the droplet discharge head 51, the rotation stop lever 504 is rotated counterclockwise, and a large number of small holes provided in the disk 530 and the lock pin provided in the rotation stop lever 504. (Not shown) and the sub-carriage 50 are rotated together with the temporary placement table 501 and positioned at a desired angle. The droplet discharge head 51 located below is positioned above.

  In addition, an air cylinder (not shown) or a coil spring (not shown) as a biasing member is built in the central portion of the two columns 520 so that the temporary placement table 501 can be moved up and down. ing. When repairing and inspecting the subcarriage 50, the temporary table 501 can be moved up and down to work at a position that matches the body shape of the operator.

  When the repair and inspection of the sub-carriage 50 are completed, the sub-carriage 50 is inserted into the carriage mounting portion 30 of the droplet discharge device 1. First, the reversing work table 500 on which the sub-carriage 50 is fixed is moved to the vicinity of the droplet discharge device 1. The four set screws 502 are removed, and protrusions 540 are provided at two locations on the leg 510, and the recesses 550 correspond to the protrusions 540 at two locations on the legs of the droplet discharge device 1. It is arranged. The two protrusions 540 of the reversing work table 500 are engaged with the two recesses 550 of the droplet discharge device 1 to determine the relative positions of the reversing work table 500 and the droplet discharge device 1.

  Next, an air cylinder or the like built in the support column 520 is operated to move the temporary placement table 501 to which the sub carriage 50 is fixed from the lower side to the upper side. The tip portion 501b of the temporary placement table 501 protrudes forward from the sub-carriage 50 and abuts on the guide rail 33 of the carriage mounting portion 30 fixed to the carriage 3 to perform vertical positioning. In addition, both sides of the front end portion 501a of the temporary placement table 501 are bent substantially vertically to form a pair, and can be positioned in the horizontal direction with respect to the guide rail 33.

  Next, the four set screws 502 fixing the sub-carriage 50 are removed. The two handles 560 provided on the sub-carriage 50 are grasped and slid forward (in the direction of the carriage mounting portion 30). As described above, the guide rail 33 of the carriage mounting portion 30 is disposed substantially horizontally. When the sub carriage 50 is mounted, the guide rail 33 has no obstacle such as a guide pin. It can be mounted almost horizontally.

The effects of this example will be described below.
(1) The operator lifts the sub-carriage 50 up and down when the sub-carriage 50, which is a large unit, is attached to and detached from the droplet discharge device 1 by the outer shape of the sub-carriage 50 and the guides disposed on the carriage mounting portion 30. It can be installed easily and efficiently without any movement.

  (2) The connection between the sub-carriage 50 and the plurality of electrical connectors 37 a and 37 b and the plurality of liquid material connectors 38 a and 38 b disposed on the carriage mounting portion 30 pushes the sub-carriage 50 into the carriage mounting portion 30. Can be installed efficiently with no connection mistakes.

  (3) Since the inversion workbench 500 can prevent the sub-carriage 50 from being bent, it is possible to prevent displacement of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 positioned with high accuracy.

  (4) Since the subcarriage 50 fixed to the reversing work table 500 can be rotated, the operator can work by adjusting the angle of the subcarriage 50 desired by the operator.

  (5) Since the sub-carriage 50 is moved up and down by an urging member such as an air cylinder built in the column 520 of the reversing work table 500, a safe operation can be performed.

The perspective view of the droplet discharge device 1 of the droplet discharge device 1 is shown. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a sub-carriage 50 and a plurality of droplet discharge heads 51 observed from the stage 5 side. 3 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a sub-carriage 50 and a carriage mounting portion 30. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of attaching the sub-carriage 50 and the carriage attachment part 30. FIG. It is a perspective view of the inversion work table 500 to which the sub-carriage 50 is attached.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, 2 ... Discharge scanning part, 3 ... Carriage, 4 ... 2nd position control apparatus, 5 ... Stage, 6 ... 1st position control apparatus, 7 ... Control part, 8 ... Maintenance apparatus, 10A ... Base | substrate 11 ... Liquid material, 12 ... tank, 13 ... tube, 21 ... discharged part, 30 ... carriage mounting part, 31a, 31b ... guide hole, 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d ... internal thread, 33 ... guide rail, 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d ... holes, 35a, 35b ... pins per degree, 36 ... connector board fixed side, 37a ... electrical connector, 37a, 37b ... electrical connector, 37b ... electrical connector, 38a ... connector for liquid material, 38a, 38b ... Connector for liquid material, 38b ... Connector for liquid material, 39 ... Connector board, 50 ... Subcarriage, 51 ... Droplet discharge head, 52 ... Nozzle 53 ... head unit, 54 ... sub-carriage plate, 55 ... per degree, 56 ... circuit portion for liquid droplet ejection head, 57a, 57b ... guide pins, 58a, 58b ... guide hole members, 59 ... slope portions, 60 ... parallel holes 61, 62 ... guide pin guide, 63, 64 ... coil spring, 65, 66 ... E-ring, 101, 102 ... guide hole, 103 ... arrow, 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d ... female screw, 105, 106 ... guide hole 107, 108 ... positioning pins, 500 ... reversing work table, 501 ... temporary placement table, 501a, 501b ... tip, 502 ... set screw, 503 ... shaft, 504 ... rotation stop lever, 510 ... leg, 520 ... column, Discs 530, 540, projections, 550, recesses, 560, handles.

Claims (12)

A plurality of droplet discharge heads;
A sub-carriage provided with the plurality of droplet discharge heads;
A carriage mounting portion from which the sub-carriage is attached and detached
The head unit is attached by an outer shape of the sub-carriage and a guide disposed on the carriage attachment portion.   2. The head unit according to claim 1, wherein a vertical relative position between the carriage mounting portion and the sub-carriage is determined by an upper surface of a bottom portion of the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion and a lower surface of the sub-carriage. A head unit characterized by that.   3. The head unit according to claim 1, wherein a part of the sub-carriage is in contact with a surface disposed substantially perpendicular to the guide at one end of the guide disposed on the carriage mounting portion. The head unit is characterized in that a relative position between the carriage mounting portion and the sub-carriage is determined.   The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pin is passed through a hole disposed in the sub-carriage and a hole disposed in the carriage mounting portion or the guide. A head unit characterized in that a relative position between an attachment portion and the sub-carriage is determined.   The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the head unit is screwed using a female screw provided on one surface of the sub-carriage and a hole provided in the carriage mounting portion or the guide. A head unit that is fixed.   The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and the plurality of electrical connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion are all at once. A head unit that is electrically connected.   The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the sub-carriage and a plurality of liquid material connectors disposed on the carriage mounting portion are connected to each other. Head unit characterized by being made.   8. The head unit according to claim 6, wherein the electrical connector or the liquid material connector disposed on the sub-carriage and the electrical connector or the liquid material disposed on the carriage mounting portion. Before the contact with the connector, one end of the guide pin disposed on the sub-carriage or the carriage mounting portion is connected to one end of the parallel hole portion of the guide hole member disposed on the carriage mounting portion or the sub-carriage. Head unit characterized by reaching.   9. The head unit according to claim 8, wherein an elastic member is compressed and disposed between the guide pin disposed on the sub-carriage and the guide hole member disposed on the carriage mounting portion. Head unit characterized by.   A head unit mounting method for mounting the sub-carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 9 on a carriage mounting portion mounted on a carriage of a droplet discharge device, wherein the sub-carriage is placed on a temporary placement table. The head is mounted once, and the front end of the sub carriage is guided by the guide and placed substantially horizontally while the sub carriage is slid on the temporary placement table toward the guide of the carriage mounting portion. How to install the unit.   The method of attaching a head unit according to claim 10, wherein the nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head disposed on the sub-carriage is directed downward and attached on the temporary placement table positioned substantially horizontally. The head unit is rotated and fixed at a desired angle to adjust the head unit, and when the adjustment operation is completed, the temporary table is returned to a substantially horizontal position. How to install. The head unit mounting method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein a height of the temporary table is adjusted by a vertically movable portion disposed below the temporary table, and a part of the temporary table. Alternatively, the head is characterized in that a part of the sub-carriage abuts a part of the carriage of the droplet discharge device or a part of the carriage mounting part to determine a relative position between the temporary placement table and the carriage mounting part. How to install the unit.

Images