JP2003182071A - INK JET HEAD AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, INK JET RECORDING DEVICE AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, COLOR FILTER MANUFACTURING DEVICE AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND ELECTROLUMINATED SUBSTRATE MANUFACTURING DEVICE AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an ink jet head which has a simple structure without causing complication of a control circuit and has no missing dots. SOLUTION: An ink jet head chip 100 comprising a plurality of nozzle holes 44, independent discharge chambers communicating with each of the nozzle holes 44, and an energy generating element for applying discharge energy to ink in the discharge chambers is formed in a line shape. In a plurality of inkjet heads, a plurality of inkjet head chips 10 arranged in a line are arranged.
At 0, the nozzle hole diameter d2 at each end on the adjacent joint side was set to be larger than the other nozzle hole diameters d1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles in a printing direction, a method for manufacturing the same, an inkjet recording apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same, a manufacturing apparatus for a color filter and a method for manufacturing the same, and an electroluminescent substrate. The present invention relates to a manufacturing device and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, recording devices have been required to print at high speed. However, in the conventional method of scanning the head in the print line direction, when the number of recording elements is large, the mass of the head also increases, so the load on the head scanning mechanism also increases, and there is a limit to increasing the number of recording elements. . Therefore, a so-called line type inkjet head has been devised in which a large number of recording elements are arranged in the print row direction at the same intervals as the printing resolution and printing is performed by a fixed head.

In such a line head, an extremely large number of recording elements obtained by dividing the print width by the print resolution is required. However, it is difficult to form a large number of recording elements with a single head in terms of yield. In addition, it is difficult to configure a large number of recording elements with a single head in terms of equipment cost of the manufacturing line. That is, since high resolution printing is desired, photolithography technology, which is an application of semiconductor technology, is used for manufacturing the head. And
The equipment cost of the production line using photolithography becomes extremely high as the substrate size increases.

Therefore, it has been devised to assemble a long head by connecting a plurality of head chips having a relatively small number of recording elements in a line.

[0005]

However, in the case of connecting the head chips in a line, an adhesive layer for connecting the head chips to each other is required at the adjacent joint ends.
Further, since there is a side wall of each head chip at the adjacent joint end, two walls exist between the nozzles of each head chip. Therefore, there is a problem that the recording element interval is widened at the connection portion of each head chip, and the print pixel interval is widened (dot missing).

As a method for solving this problem, for example, there is an image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-086438. In this image forming apparatus, a plurality of head chips are arranged in a zigzag pattern in the line direction and the head ends are overlapped with each other to prevent the recording element pitch from expanding.

However, the method of the above publication has the following problems. With the method of arranging the head chips in a staggered pattern, one line cannot be printed at a time, so it is necessary to divide the print data and store the data to be printed by the subsequent heads in the memory. For this reason, the print control circuit becomes complicated and the memory capacity also increases. Further, when the method of arranging the head chips in a staggered manner is applied to an ink jet printer, it is necessary to provide two stages of ink supply paths, which complicates the layout of the head and increases the head size itself. .

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and does not make the control circuit complicated.
The purpose is to provide an inkjet head with a simple structure and no missing dots. Moreover, it aims at providing the manufacturing method of this inkjet head. Further, another object is to obtain a recording apparatus using the ink jet head and a manufacturing method thereof, a color filter manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof, and an electroluminescent substrate manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0009]

(1) An inkjet head according to one aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of nozzle holes,
In a device including an independent ejection chamber that communicates with each of the nozzle holes and an energy generating element that gives ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber, a pitch deviation is made so as to correct the pitch between the plurality of nozzle holes. The amount of ink ejected from a certain nozzle hole is set. In the present invention, when there is a deviation in the pitch between the nozzle holes, the ink amount is set so as to correct the pitch deviation.
Even if the pitch between nozzles is wide, dot omission does not occur. Examples of the energy generating element include a vibration plate provided in the ejection chamber and a driving unit that deforms the vibration plate, and a heater board for generating bubbles in the ink in the ejection chamber.

(2) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, independent ejection chambers communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chambers. A plurality of inkjet head chips that are arranged in a line, the plurality of inkjet heads being configured to correct a pitch deviation between nozzle holes between the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line. The amount of ink ejected from the nozzle holes at the ends of the adjacent joint sides of the head chip is set. In the present invention, the amount of ink ejected from the nozzle holes of each adjacent joint side end of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is adjusted so as to correct the pitch deviation between the nozzle holes of the adjacent inkjet head chips. Since it is set, it is possible to prevent dot omission in the adjacent joint portion of the head chip.

(3) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. A plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line, the nozzle hole diameter of each adjacent joint side end of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line being larger than the other nozzle hole diameters. It is a large setting. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an inkjet head having a simple structure and without missing dots without complicating the control circuit.

(4) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In a plurality of ink jet head chips arranged in a line, the energy generating element includes a vibration plate formed on at least one wall of the discharge chamber, and the energy generating element is arranged in a line. In addition, the area of the diaphragm at the end of each adjacent joint side in the plurality of inkjet head chips is set larger than that of the other diaphragms. The method of driving the diaphragm in the present invention includes a method using an electrostatic force and a method using a piezoelectric element.

(5) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. A plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line, the energy generating element includes a vibrating plate formed on at least one wall of the discharge chamber, and a predetermined gap with the vibrating plate. Of the nozzles at the end of each adjacent joint side in the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line, the electrodes being opposed to each other and configured to deform the diaphragm by electrostatic force by applying a drive voltage. The gap is set smaller than the gaps of other nozzles.

(6) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. A plurality of ink jet head chips arranged in a line, the energy generating element includes a vibration plate formed on at least one wall of a discharge chamber, and the vibration plate when a drive voltage is applied. A vibration plate driving means for deforming the vibrating plate, and a driving voltage applied to the vibrating plate driving means at each end of the adjacent joint sides of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is applied to another vibrating plate driving means. It is set higher than the drive voltage. In the present invention, the drive voltage is set in advance when the distance between the head chip joints is known in advance. In addition, after the line head is assembled, a shot test may be performed to measure the actual dot spacing at the head chip junction, and the drive voltage may be set based on the measured value.
It should be noted that the driving method of the diaphragm includes a method using an electrostatic force and a method using a piezoelectric element.

(7) In an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of nozzle holes, independent ejection chambers communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and energy generation for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chambers. A plurality of ink-jet head chips arranged in a line, the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzles of each adjacent joint side end of the plurality of ink-jet head chips arranged in a line. It is set to be larger than the number of ink droplets ejected from other nozzles. In the present invention, similarly to the above (6), when the distance between the head chip joints is known in advance, the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzles at the adjacent joint side ends is set in advance. Alternatively, after the line head is assembled, a shot test may be performed to measure the actual dot spacing at the head chip joint portion, and the number of ejected ink droplets may be set based on the measured value.

(8) In a method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzle holes formed therein and a plate having an independent ejection chamber communicating with each nozzle hole are formed. And a plate on which an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to the ink in the ejection chamber is formed, the inkjet head chip is arranged in a line, and the inkjet head chips are arranged in a line. In addition, the nozzle plate is patterned and photolithographically processed so that the nozzle hole diameter of each adjacent joint side end of the plurality of inkjet head chips is larger than the other nozzle hole diameters. In the present invention, since the nozzle holes of the nozzle plate are formed by photolithography,
The accuracy of the diameter of the nozzle hole can be made extremely high.

(9) In a method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first plate having a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent discharge chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and the discharge chamber. A plurality of inkjet head chips formed by joining a second plate having a vibrating plate for giving ejection energy to the ink and a third plate having vibrating plate driving means for deforming the vibrating plate are arranged in a line. In the method of manufacturing an ink jet head as described above, the second diaphragm is configured such that the area of the diaphragm at each end of the adjacent joint side in the plurality of ink jet head chips arranged in a line is larger than the area of another diaphragm. Photolithography is performed by patterning on a plate. In the present invention, since the diaphragm is formed by photolithography, the area accuracy of the diaphragm can be made extremely high.

(10) In the method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to one aspect of the present invention, a first plate having a plurality of nozzle holes formed therein, an independent discharge chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and the discharge chamber are provided. A second plate on which a vibration plate for giving ejection energy to the ink is formed, and an electrode which is arranged to face the vibration plate with a predetermined gap and which deforms the vibration plate by electrostatic force by applying a drive voltage. In a method for manufacturing an inkjet head in which a plurality of inkjet head chips formed by joining the formed third plate to each other are arranged in a line, in the adjacent joining side end portions of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line. The third plate is processed so that the gap of the nozzle is smaller than the gaps of the other nozzles. That.

(11) An ink jet recording apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is equipped with the ink jet head of any one of the above (1) to (7). In the present invention, printing can be performed by merely feeding the recording paper without moving the inkjet head in the width direction of the recording paper, so that the printing speed can be extremely increased.

(12) The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is the above (8) to (1).
The inkjet head is manufactured by the inkjet head manufacturing method according to any one of 0) and the inkjet head is mounted.

(13) An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter according to one aspect of the present invention is equipped with the ink jet head according to any one of the above (1) to (7).

(14) A method of manufacturing a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, comprises the steps (8) to (1) above.
The inkjet head is manufactured by any one of the methods 0), and the inkjet head is mounted.

(15) An electroluminescent substrate manufacturing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is equipped with the ink jet head of any one of the above (1) to (7).

(16) The method for manufacturing an electroluminescent substrate manufacturing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is the above (8) to (10).
An inkjet head is manufactured by any one of the methods for manufacturing an inkjet head, and the inkjet head is mounted.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. (Regarding Configuration) FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the present embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part surrounded by a circle in FIG. The present embodiment is an inkjet head in which a plurality of inkjet head chips 100 are arranged in a line, and a plurality of inkjet head chips 1 arranged in a line.
In No. 00, the nozzle hole diameter of each adjacent joint side end is set larger than the other nozzle hole diameters. By setting the nozzle hole diameter large in this way, the amount of ink ejected from the other nozzle holes is increased to prevent dot omission.

In this embodiment, the standard resolution of a commercial printer is 360 dpi (dot per inc).
In h), six head chips 100 having 256 nozzles per head are arranged in parallel to form a line head unit having 1536 nozzles and 4.3 inches.

First, the main part of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Each head chip 100 has a structure in which a flow path substrate 1, an electrode glass substrate 2, and a cover glass 3 are laminated. As shown in FIG. 1, the adjacent bonding portions of the head chips 100 are filled with an adhesive 99 to firmly fix the adjacent bonding side ends of the head chips 100 to each other. As described above, since the adjacent bonding portion is filled with the adhesive 99, and since there is a side wall of each head chip at the adjacent bonding end, there are two walls between the nozzles of each head chip. The nozzle spacing of the adjacent joint portion of the head chip 100 is wider than the other nozzle spacings.

More specifically, referring to FIG.
If the nozzle spacing of each head chip 100 is L1 and the nozzle spacing at each end of the adjacent head chip 100 is L2, then the relationship of L1 <L2 holds. Therefore, the nozzle hole diameter at the adjacent joint end of each head chip is made larger than the other nozzle hole diameters to increase the amount of ink ejected from there. Specifically, assuming that the nozzle hole diameters of the respective end portions of the adjacent head chips 100 are d2 and the other nozzle hole diameters are d1, d1 <d2 is set.

That is, in the joint portion between the adjacent head chips 100, the nozzle hole diameter is increased and the ink ejection amount is increased because the nozzle interval is widened. By increasing the ink ejection amount, the spread of the nozzle interval is corrected, and dot omission is prevented.

Next, a specific relationship between the pitch deviation and the nozzle diameter will be described. FIG. 3 is a graph explaining this relationship. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents the nozzle diameter (μm), and the vertical axis (the left side in the drawing) represents the ink weight (ng / drop). When the nozzle pitch is shifted by 10% in the direction of increasing the nozzle pitch, the ink weight is increased by 10%. Therefore, in the joint portion of the head chips 100, when the nozzle pitch is 20% longer than the other nozzle pitches, the nozzle hole diameter at the end of each head chip 100 is increased to The amount of ink ejected from the nozzle hole of the head chip 100 is increased by 10%. That is, the deviation of the pitch at the end of each head chip 100 is corrected by the amount of ink ejected from two adjacent nozzles.

Explaining with the concrete numerical values shown in FIG. 3, the ink discharge amount in the standard case is about 22 ng / drop.
When the pitch deviation is 10%, the ink discharge amount is increased by 10% to about 24.2 ng / drop. In order to increase the ink amount by 10% in this way, the nozzle hole diameter is set from the standard about 26.8 μm to about 28.1 μm.

Next, the overall structure and operation principle of the ink jet head having the above nozzle hole diameter will be described.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the head chip 100 alone, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the structure and driving principle of an electrostatic drive type inkjet head. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the head chips 100 has a channel substrate 1 made of a silicon single crystal,
This is a structure in which an electrode glass substrate 2 made of borosilicate glass and a cover glass 3 are laminated. A discharge chamber 6, a vibrating plate 5, and an ink reservoir 8 are formed in the flow path substrate 1, and each discharge chamber 6 is separated by a partition wall 42. And the cover glass 3 in which the nozzle 44 and the orifice 46 are formed
A channel is formed by closing the upper surface of the channel substrate 1 with.

A gap G and an individual electrode 21 are formed on the electrode glass substrate 2, and a seal 43 is provided to prevent foreign matter from entering the gap G. further,
An ink supply hole 27 is provided at a position avoiding the individual electrode 21, and the ink reservoir 8 is provided through the ink supply hole 27.
Ink 106 is supplied to.

A plurality of head chips 100 configured as described above are arranged in a line as shown in FIG.
The line head unit is configured by being bonded on the substrate 53.

The operation of the line head unit constructed as above will be described. At the time of driving, a voltage is applied to the common electrode 45 and the individual electrode 21 provided on the flow path substrate 1 to generate an electrostatic attractive force between the vibrating plate 5 and the individual electrode 21 to attract the vibrating plate 5 to the individual electrode 21. With ink reservoir 8
The discharge chamber 6 is filled with the ink 106 (see FIG. 5).
(B)). At the time of ejection, the voltage is removed, and the ink 106 is ejected from the nozzle 44 by the spring force of the vibration plate 5 (FIG. 5C).

At this time, since the nozzle hole diameter is set to be large at the adjacent joint end portion of the head chip 100, the amount of ejected ink becomes large. As a result, even if the nozzle interval is wide, no dot omission occurs.

(Manufacturing Method) FIGS. 6 to 10 are explanatory views of the manufacturing process of the individual head chips 100. First, a method of manufacturing the flow path substrate 1 through which ink passes will be described with reference to FIG. Plane orientation (110), thickness 140 μm
On the lower surface of the substrate 47 made of the single crystal silicon wafer of 0.8 μm at a high concentration of boron (about 5 × 10 ¹⁹ cm
^-3 or more) After diffusion to form a boron layer 49 (FIG. 6A), a thermal oxide film 51 is formed by wet oxidation, and both surfaces of the substrate are etched by photolithography with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution. Discharge chamber shape, reservoir shape,
And pattern the ink supply hole shape (see FIG. 6).
(B)).

When this substrate 47 is etched with an aqueous solution of 35% potassium hydroxide at 80 ° C., the partition wall is vertically etched to form the ejection chamber 6 due to the anisotropy of the etching of the silicon single crystal, and at the same time, the ink reservoir 8 is formed.
Is also formed. When the etched surface reaches the high-concentration boron layer 49, the solubility in the potassium hydroxide aqueous solution changes, the etching rate decreases, and the diaphragm 5 having a uniform thickness is formed. Since the boron layer 49 in the ink supply hole 27 portion is etched from the beginning, it penetrates the ink reservoir 8 (FIG. 6C).

After the etching is completed, the insulating film is formed on the lower surface of the diaphragm by forming the thermal oxide film 51 by dry oxidation to a thickness of 0.1 μm. Since the oxide film formed on the flow path surface is hydrophilic, it functions to improve the filling property of the ink into the flow path. After forming the thermal oxide film 51, a part of the thermal oxide film 51 is removed by dry etching, and platinum is sputtered to form the common electrode 45 (FIG. 6).
(D)).

Next, a method of manufacturing the electrode glass substrate 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Chromium and gold are sputtered to form a film on a borosilicate glass substrate, which is used as an etching mask. The borosilicate glass substrate is etched with hydrofluoric acid to a depth of 3000 angstroms to form a step 25 that serves as a gap (FIG. 7).
(A)). The ITO film, which is a transparent electrode, is sputtered to a thickness of 0.1 μm, and then patterned into the shape of the individual electrode 21. After patterning, the ink supply hole 27 is opened with a diamond drill (FIG. 7B).

Next, a method of manufacturing the cover glass 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Chromium and gold are deposited by sputtering on a borosilicate glass substrate that will be the cover glass 3, and the patterns of the nozzles 44 and orifices 46 are patterned. At this time, the nozzles 44 at the respective adjacent joint ends of the head chips arranged adjacent to each other
Is patterned to have a larger diameter than other nozzles. How much this diameter should be increased is shown in FIG.
Make a decision based on the graph. After the patterning, anisotropic dry etching is performed vertically to form the nozzle 44 and the orifice 46.

When the three substrates (the flow path substrate 1, the electrode glass substrate 2 and the cover glass 3) forming the line head are formed as described above, these are bonded to form the line head. . First, the three substrates 1, 2, and 3 are stacked and anodically bonded, and the bonded body is cut by dicing to form the head chip 100. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the positional relationship among the nozzles 44, the discharge chambers 6, and the partition walls 42 in the head chip 100.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 10, the head chips 100 are arranged and fixed in a line on a substrate 53 which also has an ink supply path 52 and also serves as an ink supply path to form a line head. At this time, an adhesive is filled between the head chips, and the head chips are firmly fixed so that the ends do not shift. The filling of this adhesive widens the nozzle spacing at the head chip joint, but this is not a problem because it is corrected by increasing the nozzle hole diameter described above.

Further, in order to seal the periphery of the ink supply hole 27, a silicone sealant is filled in the seal groove 57 from the bottom surface of the substrate 53 through the seal hole 55. The silicone-based sealant is used here to prevent cracking of the head chip 100 due to thermal stress or the like generated between the stainless steel substrate 53 and the glass head chip 100. After the fixing of the line head unit 110 is completed, the FPC mounting is performed.

In this embodiment, the so-called edge type ink jet head in which the nozzle hole is provided at the end portion of the substrate is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a so-called face inkjet type in which nozzle holes are provided in the surface portion of the substrate. As for the driving method for ejecting ink, in addition to the electrostatic driving method according to the present embodiment, a piezoelectric driving method for driving a vibrating plate with a piezoelectric element, ink is ejected by a pressure generated by heating ink to generate bubbles. Including those of the type.

Embodiment 2. In the present embodiment,
The area of the vibration plate is set to be large in order to increase the ink ejection amount at the joint portion of the head chip. The ink ejection volume is proportional to the volume change of the ejection chamber,
By increasing the area of the vibrating plate, the volume change amount of the ejection chamber can be increased and the ink ejection amount can be increased.

The specific structure of the ink jet head is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the length of the diaphragm at the end of the joint portion of each head chip is set longer than that of the others. That is, the area is increased by increasing the length while keeping the width of the diaphragm constant.

Here, the specific relationship between the length of the diaphragm and the ink ejection amount in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the ink ejection amount and the length of the diaphragm.
In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents the diaphragm length (mm) and the vertical axis (left side in the drawing) represents the ink weight (ng / drop). The example shown in this graph has a resolution of 180d.
pi (dot per inch), nozzle pitch is 14
The width of the diaphragm is 1 μm and the width of the diaphragm is 105 μm. Since the width of the diaphragm is determined by the nozzle pitch, to change the diaphragm area, fix the diaphragm width determined from the nozzle pitch,
It is realistic to change the length of the diaphragm.

As shown in FIG. 11, the pitch deviation is 10%.
If there is, the ink ejection amount is increased by 10%. That is, in the present embodiment, the ink discharge amount in the standard case is set to 22 ng / drop, and when the pitch deviation is 10%, the ink discharge amount is increased by 10% to about 24.2 ng.
/ Drop. In order to increase the ink amount by 10% in this way, the length of the diaphragm is set from the standard length of about 2.8 mm to about 3.
Make it 1 mm.

As described above, by adjusting the length of the vibrating plate, it is possible to adjust the ink discharge amount, and it is possible to prevent dot omission at the joint portion of the head chips.

The manufacturing method is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but when manufacturing the flow channel substrate,
Patterning is performed so that the length of the vibration plate at the end of the joint portion of each head chip is increased. That is, the thermal oxide film 51 is formed by wet oxidation, and the both surfaces of the substrate are photolithographically etched with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution to pattern the ejection chamber shape, the reservoir shape, and the ink supply hole shape (FIG. 6). However, the patterning of the discharge chamber 6 in which the vibration plate at the end of the joint portion of each head chip is formed during this patterning is different from other patterning.

Embodiment 3. In the present embodiment,
The gap G between the vibrating plate and the electrode glass substrate in a specific nozzle is set to be small in order to increase the ink ejection amount at the joint portion of the head chip. By setting the gap G to be small, the electrostatic force acting on the diaphragm is increased and the speed of the diaphragm is increased. As a result, the kinetic energy of the ink drawn into the reservoir becomes high,
As a result, the volume of ink to be drawn in increases and the ejection amount increases. However, if the gap becomes too small, the excluded volume will decrease and this effect will be canceled out, so it is necessary to set a certain limit to make the gap G smaller than the standard one.

The specific structure of the ink jet head is basically the same as that of the first embodiment except that the gap G at the adjacent joint end of each head chip is set smaller than the others.

Here, the specific relationship between the gap length and the ink ejection amount in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the ink ejection amount and the gap length. Figure 1
2, the horizontal axis represents the gap length (Å), and the vertical axis (left side in the figure) represents the ink weight (ng / drop).

When the pitch deviation is 5%, the ink ejection amount is increased by 5%. That is, in the present embodiment, the ink discharge amount in the standard case is about 21.5 ng / dro.
When the pitch deviation is 5%, the ink ejection amount is increased by 5% to be about 22.5 ng / drop. To increase the amount of ink, the gap length should be about 1
From 800Å to about 1400Å.

As described above, by adjusting the gap length, it is possible to adjust the ink ejection amount, and it is possible to prevent dot omission at the joint portion of the head chip.

The manufacturing method is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but when manufacturing the electrode substrate,
The gap length between adjacent joint ends in each head chip is set to be short. That is, after forming chromium and gold on a borosilicate glass substrate by sputtering as an etching mask, the depth of the borosilicate glass substrate when etched with hydrofluoric acid is made shallower than the standard, and the step 25 (Fig. 7 (a)).

Fourth Embodiment In the present embodiment,
The driving voltage of a specific nozzle is set to be high in order to increase the ink ejection amount at the joint portion of the head chip. By setting the drive voltage high, the electrostatic force acting on the diaphragm becomes high, so that the speed of the diaphragm becomes high. As a result, the kinetic energy of the ink drawn into the reservoir becomes high, and as a result, the volume of the drawn ink also increases and the ejection amount increases.

The specific structure and manufacturing method of the ink jet head are basically the same as in the first embodiment.

Here, the relationship between the drive voltage and the ink ejection amount in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the ink ejection amount and the drive voltage. In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis represents the drive voltage (V), and the vertical axis (the left side in the drawing) represents the ink weight (ng / drop).

When the pitch deviation is 10%, the ink ejection amount is increased by 10%. That is, in the present embodiment, the ink discharge amount in the standard case is about 22 ng / dro.
As p, when the pitch shift is 10%, the ink ejection amount is increased by 10% to be about 24.2 ng / drop. In order to increase the amount of ink in such a manner, the driving voltage is set to about 33V from the standard of about 29.5V.

By adjusting the drive voltage in this way,
It is possible to adjust the ink ejection amount and prevent missing dots at the joint portion of the head chip.

The following two methods are available for setting the drive voltage.
There are two ways. As one method, a method of predicting in advance the interval between the head chip adjacent joints and the spread of the dot interval in that interval, and experimentally previously determining and setting the drive voltage necessary for preventing dot dropout in that case. As another method, after the line head is assembled, a shot test is performed to measure the actual dot spacing at the head chip adjacent junction, and the drive voltage is set based on the measured value.

In the above example, the case of the electrostatic drive system is given as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.
It also includes a piezoelectric drive system in which a piezoelectric element is attached to a diaphragm and the diaphragm is vibrated by the piezoelectric element.

Embodiment 5. In the present embodiment,
In a so-called multi-drop type inkjet head that expresses a smooth tone for each dot by repeatedly striking dots several times, this technique is used to prevent dot omission in the head chip adjacent connection portion. First, the outline of the multi-drop method will be described. In the multi-drop method, a plurality of droplets are overlapped and landed at substantially the same location to form one pixel. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of pixel formation by this multi-drop method.

Generally, it takes several hundred msec or more for the ink to permeate even when the droplets land on the recording material such as printing paper. Therefore, when the preceding droplets land on the recording material 105, hemispherical droplets 107 are formed on the recording material. Therefore, a larger hemispherical droplet 111 can be formed on the recording material by overlapping and landing the succeeding droplet 109 on the preceding droplet on the recording material,
The size of the pixel 113 can be controlled by changing the number of droplets to be overlapped. For example, 1 on the recording material
When a pixel (1 dot) is formed by superimposing a maximum of seven liquid droplets, pixels of seven sizes can be freely obtained as shown in FIG. Here, n is the number of droplets landed at substantially the same position on the recording material to form one pixel.

As described above, by using the multi-drop method, it is possible to change the number of droplets landed on substantially the same position on the recording material, and it is possible to change the dot size. Therefore, in this embodiment, dot dropouts are prevented by increasing the number of droplets landed at the adjacent joint portions of the head chips and increasing the dot size. Table 1 shows specific examples of gradation and the number of shots.

[0068]

[Table 1]

In the example shown in Table 1, the gradation is set to 7 gradations of 0 to 6 and the number of shots is set to 8 steps of 0 to 7. Then, assuming that there is a pitch deviation of 15% for the nozzles at the adjacent joint ends, the irregular gradation control is performed for the nozzles at the adjacent joint ends. That is, in the standard nozzle, the number of shots is 0 to 6 corresponding to each of 0 to 6 gradations. On the other hand, regarding the nozzles of the adjacent junction end, from 0 to 2 gradations, the number of shots is set to 0 to 2 corresponding to each gradation, and the number of shots of 3 to 6 gradations is added to the standard one. 4-7 shots. In addition,
In the rightmost column of Table 1, the target ink ejection amount is shown as "aim value".

As described above, by utilizing the gradation control, it is possible to adjust the ink ejection amount, and it is possible to prevent dot omission at the joint portion of the head chip. In the present embodiment, the gradation control method can be set in advance when the distance between the head chip adjacent joints is known in advance. Also, after the line head is assembled, a shot test may be performed to measure the actual dot spacing at the head chip joint portion, and the control method for gradation control may be set based on the measured value.

In the above example, the dot dropout is prevented by gradation control for one nozzle at the adjacent joint end, but gradation control for two adjacent nozzles at the joint of each chip head is performed. It is also possible to prevent missing dots.

The concrete structure of the ink jet head may be the same as that of the first embodiment, that is, the electrostatic drive system or the piezoelectric device. Alternatively, the ink may be ejected with a pressure generated by heating the ink to generate bubbles.

Sixth Embodiment (Printing Device) FIG. 16 is an external perspective view of the printing device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of main components of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. The printing apparatus 150 is equipped with the line inkjet head 151 described in the first to third embodiments.

The configuration of the printing device 150 will be described. The printing device 150 includes a line inkjet head 151 arranged so as to include a recording range, and the recording paper 6 via a recording position by the line inkjet head 151.
4, a feed mechanism 155 including a paper pressing roller 153 that presses the recording paper 64, and an ink supply mechanism 157 including an ink pipe 156 that supplies ink to the line inkjet head 151. (Mainly refer to FIG. 17).

The ink supply mechanism 157 includes an ink tank for storing the ink, an ink circulation pump mechanism for collecting the ink at the same time as sending it to the line ink jet head 151, an ink tank, and the ink circulation pump mechanism and the line ink jet head 151. And an ink pipe 156 connected to the ink supply mechanism 15
It is housed in the housing part 158 (see FIG. 16) of No. 7.

The printing device 150 has a configuration including a control circuit portion in addition to the above configuration. The control circuit portion drives and controls the line inkjet head 151, the transport mechanism 155, and the ink supply mechanism 157, and also controls the scanner and
Sends and receives data to and from higher-level devices such as networks.

In the printing apparatus 150 configured as described above, ink droplets are ejected from the line ink jet head 155 at appropriate times according to the conveyance speed of the recording paper 64, and characters or images are printed on the recording paper 64. . That is, the transport mechanism 15
The rotation angle and speed of the feed roller 154 are detected by a detection mechanism (not shown) attached to the ink jet printer 5, and the control unit controls the drive timing of the head in accordance with the detected transport speed, and the ink is fed from the line inkjet head. Is discharged to perform printing. As a result, clear printing can be performed at high speed.

According to the present embodiment, printing can be performed only by feeding the recording paper 64 without moving the ink jet head in the recording paper width direction, so that the printing speed can be extremely increased. Moreover, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified, the manufacturing can be simplified, and high-speed printing can be realized without complicating the drive circuit.

Embodiment 7. As a seventh embodiment of the present invention, a color filter manufacturing apparatus equipped with the inkjet heads of the above-described first to fifth embodiments will be described.

When the ink jet heads of Embodiments 1 to 5 described above are applied to a color filter manufacturing apparatus, the ink jet head is mounted on the color filter substrate in order to match the resolution of the ink jet head and the pixel pitch of the color filter. Are arranged diagonally, and the pixel pitches are used together, which will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 18 is a view of the state in which the pixels of the color filter are colored by the ink jet head as seen from above, and for the ink jet head, only the positions of the nozzle rows are shown. In addition, a state in which a portion to be colored red in the determined pattern is colored is shown. In addition, R, which is drawn in each pixel in FIG.
The letters G and B indicate that each pixel is colored red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

The nozzle row 310 is formed in the ink jet head, and ink is ejected from this to form ink dots on the substrate. The pixel (filter element) 311 of the color filter is a portion where ink dots are formed on the substrate.

In the example of FIG. 18, since the pixel pitch P1 of the color filter and the nozzle pitch P2 of the ink jet head do not match, the heads are tilted by the angle θ, and the heads are tilted by the angle θ, and the heads of the same color are arranged every three lines. By aligning the position of the pixel with the position of the ink ejected from every five nozzles and forming an ink dot in the pixel 311 while moving the inkjet head relatively in the X direction in the drawing, Color it. This is performed by an inkjet head that ejects red, green, and blue inks to manufacture a color filter. Therefore, in the inkjet head for coloring the red pixels shown in this figure, the second, seventh, and twelfth nozzles counting from the lower right discharge.
Do not eject other nozzles.

In this example, as the ink jet head, a general ink jet head having a nozzle pitch of 360 dpi (70.5 μm) is used. In addition, as the color filter, an interval of 100 μm between pixels is shown.

When the color filter is used as an optical element for full-color display, R, G, and B are 3
One pixel is formed by using the color filter elements as one unit. The array of the filter elements is, for example, the stripe array shown in FIG. 19A, the mosaic array shown in FIG. The delta arrangement | sequence etc. which are shown by (c) are known. The stripe arrangement is a color arrangement in which all the columns of the matrix have the same color. The mosaic array is a color arrangement in which any three filter elements arranged in a vertical and horizontal straight line have three colors of R, G, and B.
The delta arrangement is a color arrangement in which the filter elements are arranged differently and three adjacent filter elements have three colors of R, G, and B.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an outline of an apparatus for manufacturing a color filter equipped with the ink jet head of the above embodiment. The calculation unit 400 generates and outputs a drawing image (arrangement pattern of pixels of the color filter) 401 and a nozzle switching signal 402. The drawn image (color filter pixel array pattern) 401 is printed on the substrate 50.
It is data showing the relative positional relationship of each ink dot to be formed on 0. The nozzle switching signal 402 instructs switching of the nozzle corresponding to each point of the pixel of the color filter. A specific method of switching the nozzle group is shown in FIG.
Describing using 8, first, counting from the right 2, 7,
Supposing that the 12th nozzle group is used, the next is the 3, 8 and 13th nozzle groups, and the next is the 4, 9 and
It is easy to set the 14th nozzle group to the forward feed,
Other methods are also acceptable.

Further, the switching of the nozzle group is to be sequentially performed when the life of the nozzle currently in use has expired.
The life of the nozzle is determined, for example, based on the usage time of one nozzle group, and when the usage time of one nozzle group reaches a predetermined time, it is determined that the life has expired.

The drawing data generator 403 associates each pixel on the substrate with the nozzle in accordance with the nozzle switching signal 402 to generate the drawing data which is the absolute position data of each ink dot on the substrate. At this time, when the nozzles are switched, the change in the positions of the nozzles before and after the switching is calculated from the known data regarding the nozzle arrangement, and the position of the stage 408 at the time of forming each ink dot before and after the nozzle switching is correspondingly changed. Change.

The driver 404 follows the drawing data
Inkjet head 405, feeding devices 406 and 407
Are driven to form ink dots on the substrate 500 according to the drawing data. Inkjet head 405
Includes a red head 405a for ejecting red ink, a green head 405b for ejecting green ink, and a blue head 405c for ejecting blue ink. The feeding devices 406 and 407 move the position of the stage 408 in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively, in response to a signal from the driver 404. The stage 408 holds the substrate 500 to be colored. With the above configuration, the drawing image 40 is formed on the substrate 500.
A drawing pattern corresponding to 1 is generated.

In this embodiment, the change in the positional relationship between the substrate and the drawing head, which corresponds to the nozzle position shift amount due to the nozzle switching, is estimated from the known data regarding the nozzle arrangement of the nozzles. And so on
The positional relationship of the ink dots formed by each nozzle may be actually measured.

FIG. 21 is a diagram schematically showing the process of manufacturing a color filter by the color filter manufacturing apparatus of the above-described Embodiment 7 in process order.

(A) First, as shown in FIG. 21A, partition walls 506 are formed on the surface of the mother substrate 512 with a resin material having no light-transmitting property in a grid pattern as viewed in the direction of arrow B. The lattice hole portion 507 of the lattice pattern is a region where the filter element 503 is formed, that is, a filter element region. The planar dimension of each filter element region 507 formed by the partition wall 506 when viewed in the direction of arrow C is, for example, 30 μm × 1.
It is formed to have a thickness of about 00 μm.

The partition wall 506 is formed in the filter element region 5
It also has the function of blocking the flow of the filter element material supplied to No. 07 and the function of the black matrix. Further, the partition wall 506 is formed by an arbitrary patterning method, for example, a photolithography method, and further heated by a heater and fired if necessary.

(B) After forming the partition wall 506, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Each filter element region 507 is filled with the filter element material 513 by supplying 8 to each filter element region 507. In FIG. 21 (b), reference numeral 513R indicates a filter element material having an R (red) color, reference numeral 513G indicates a filter element material having a G (green) color, and reference numeral 513B indicates a B element.
Figure 3 shows a filter element material with a (blue) color.

(C) When each filter element region 507 is filled with a predetermined amount of the filter element material, the heater heats the mother substrate 512 to, for example, about 70 ° C. to evaporate the solvent of the filter element material. Due to this evaporation, the volume of the filter element material 513 is reduced and flattened as shown in FIG. When the volume is drastically reduced, the supply of droplets of the filter element material and the heating of the droplets are repeated until a sufficient film thickness is obtained for the color filter. By the above processing, only the solid content of the filter element material remains and is finally formed into a film, whereby each desired color filter element 503 is formed.

(D) As described above, the filter element 5
After 03 is formed, a heating process is performed at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time in order to completely dry the filaments 503. After that, the protective film 504 is formed as shown in FIG. 21D by using an appropriate method such as a spin coating method, a roll coating method, a ripping method, or an inkjet method. This protective film 504 is
It is formed to protect the filter element 503 and the like and to planarize the surface of the color filter 501.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, it is possible to apply the color filter materials of the three additive primary colors at one time in the process, and the color filter material is discharged directly to the filter element, which is wasteful. It does not consume to. Therefore, the yield can be improved, and a color filter manufacturing apparatus with good cost performance can be obtained. In particular, since it can be produced at a cost much lower than that of the conventional method, it is possible to obtain a color filter having good cost performance in consideration of the cost of the inkjet head. Further, the color filter material is not wasted, which is good for the environment.

Embodiment 8. In the eighth embodiment, the organic EL using the inkjet head of the above-described embodiment
A procedure for producing an organic EL substrate by the substrate manufacturing apparatus will be described. The organic EL substrate manufacturing apparatus in this case is the color filter manufacturing apparatus described in the fifth embodiment (see FIG. 2).
Since the configuration of 0) is almost applicable, the illustration of the configuration is omitted.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the main steps of the method for manufacturing an EL device according to the sixth embodiment and the main sectional structure of the EL device finally obtained. The EL device 601 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), the pixel electrodes 602 are formed on the transparent substrate 604, and the banks 605 are provided between the pixel electrodes 602.
Are formed in a grid shape when viewed from the direction of arrow G, and the hole injection layer 620 is formed in these grid-shaped recesses, and R color light emission is performed so that a predetermined array such as a stripe array is viewed when viewed from the direction of arrow G. A layer 603R, a G-color light emitting layer 603G, and a B-color light emitting layer 603B are formed in each lattice-shaped recess, and a counter electrode 613 is further formed thereon.

When the pixel electrode 602 is driven by a two-terminal type active element such as a TFD (thin film diode) element, the counter electrode 613 is formed in a stripe shape when viewed from the direction of arrow G. When the pixel electrode 602 is driven by a three-terminal active element such as a TFT (thin film transistor), the counter electrode 613 is formed as a single surface electrode.

A region sandwiched by each pixel electrode 602 and each counter electrode 613 becomes one pixel pixel, and R,
G and B pixel pixels of three colors become one unit 1
Form two pixels. By controlling the current flowing through each picture element pixel, a desired one of the plurality of picture element pixels is selectively caused to emit light, whereby a desired full-color image can be displayed in the arrow H direction.

The EL device 601 described above is manufactured, for example, as follows. (A) As shown in FIG. 22A, an active element such as a TFD element or a TFT element is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 604, and a pixel electrode 602 is further formed. As a forming method, for example, a photolithography method, a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a pyrosol method or the like can be used. ITO as the material of the pixel electrode
(Indium Tin Oxide), tin oxide, a composite oxide of indium oxide and zinc oxide, or the like can be used.

Next, partition walls or banks 605 are formed by using a well-known patterning method, for example, photolithography method, and the transparent electrodes 60 are formed by the banks 605.
Fill the space between 2. As a result, it is possible to improve the contrast, prevent color mixture of the light emitting material, and prevent light leakage between pixels. The material of the bank 605 is not particularly limited as long as it has durability against the solvent of the EL material, but can be made into Teflon (registered trademark) by fluorocarbon gas plasma treatment, for example,
Organic materials such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin, and photosensitive polyimide are preferable.

Immediately before the ink for the hole injection layer is applied, the substrate 604 is subjected to continuous plasma treatment with oxygen gas and fluorocarbon gas plasma. As a result, the polyimide surface is rendered water repellent and the ITO surface is rendered hydrophilic, and the wettability on the substrate side for fine patterning of inkjet droplets can be controlled. As an apparatus for generating plasma, an apparatus for generating plasma in vacuum or an apparatus for generating plasma in the atmosphere can be used as well.

Next, the hole injecting layer ink is ejected from the ink jet head to perform patterning coating on each pixel electrode 602. Then, the hole injection layer 620 which is incompatible with the light emitting layer ink is formed by heat treatment in the air at 20 ° C. (on a hot plate) for 10 minutes. The film thickness is 4
It is about 0 nm.

(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 22 (b), the ink for the R light emitting layer and the ink for the G light emitting layer are formed on the hole injecting layer 620 in each filter element region by an ink jet method. Apply. Here again, the thickness of each light emitting layer ink can be changed by changing the solid content concentration and the discharge amount of the ink composition discharged from the inkjet head.

After applying the ink for the light emitting layer, a vacuum (1 torr)
In R), the solvent is removed under the conditions of room temperature, 20 minutes, etc. (process P58), and subsequently, heat treatment is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere at 150 ° C. for 4 hours to conjugate the R color emitting layer 603R and the G color emitting layer 603G. To form. The film thickness is about 50 nm. The luminescent layer conjugated by heat treatment is insoluble in the solvent. Here, the R color light emitting layer 603R has, for example, PPV (polyparaphenylene vinylene) doped with rhodamine B.
Xylene solution is used. In addition, the G color light emitting layer 603
For G, for example, a xylene solution of MEH · PPV is used. For the B-color light emitting layer 603B, for example, a coumarin-doped PPV xylene solution is used.

The hole injection layer 6 is formed before the light emitting layer is formed.
20 may be subjected to continuous plasma treatment with oxygen gas and fluorocarbon gas plasma. Thereby, the hole injection layer 6
A fluorinated layer is formed on 20 to increase the ionization potential, so that the hole injection efficiency is increased, and an organic EL device having high luminous efficiency can be provided.

(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 22C, the B-color light-emitting layer 603B is changed to the R-color light-emitting layer 603R, the G-color light-emitting layer 603G and the hole injection layer 620 in each pixel pixel.
Overlaid on top of. As a result, not only the three primary colors of R, G, and B can be formed, but also the level difference between the R color light emitting layer 603R and the G color light emitting layer 603G and the bank 605 can be filled and planarized. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent a short circuit between the upper and lower electrodes. By adjusting the film thickness of the B-color light emitting layer 603B, the B-color light emitting layer 603B becomes the R-color light emitting layer 6
In the laminated structure with the 03R and G color light emitting layers 603G,
It acts as an electron injecting and transporting layer and does not emit B color.

As a method of forming the B color light emitting layer 603B as described above, for example, a general spin coating method as a wet method can be adopted, or the R color light emitting layer 6 can be used.
An inkjet method similar to the method of forming the 03R and G color light emitting layers 603G can also be adopted.

(D) After that, as shown in FIG. 22D, the counter electrode 613 is formed to manufacture the target EL device 601. When the counter electrode 613 is a surface electrode, for example, Mg, Ag, Al, L
It can be formed using a film forming method such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method using i or the like as a material. In the case where the counter electrode 613 is a stripe electrode, the formed electrode layer can be formed by a patterning method such as a photolithography method.

In the manufacturing method of the EL device described above, as a method of controlling the ink jet head,
The hole injection layer 620 and the light emitting layers 603R, 603G, and 603B for each color of R, G, and B in each pixel of FIG.
In addition, the hole injection layer and / or the light emitting layer of each color in one pixel pixel is overlapped n times, for example, 4 times by a plurality of nozzles, instead of being formed by one main scan X of the inkjet head. A predetermined film thickness may be formed by receiving ink ejection. By doing so, even if there is a variation in the ink ejection amount between the plurality of nozzles, it is possible to prevent the variation in the film thickness between the plurality of pixel pixels, and therefore, the light emitting surface of the EL device. It is possible to make the light emission distribution characteristics of 2) uniform in a plane. This means that in the EL device 601 of FIG. 22D, a clear color display without color unevenness can be obtained.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the EL device of the present embodiment, the R, G, B color pixel pixels are formed by the ink discharge using the ink jet head, and thus the photolithography method is used. There is no need to go through a complicated process like that, and no material is wasted.

Further, as a method of forming a light emitting layer or the like in an EL device, a method of depositing a metal dye or the like on the light emitting layer has been conventionally used, but when an organic EL substrate is manufactured by an ink jet method, Application and patterning of a high molecular weight organic compound to be an electroluminescent device can be performed at once. Moreover, since the liquid is directly discharged to the target position, it is only necessary to discharge the minimum necessary amount without wasting the organic compound that becomes the electroluminescent element.

Further, the R, G, and B light emitting layers 603R and 6
There are various kinds of organic compounds and solutions used for 03G and 603B, and thus the organic compounds and the solutions may not be those shown above. Further, a material that develops an intermediate color may be used. However, since the weight, viscosity, etc. vary depending on the respective materials, it is necessary to adjust the ink weight and the ink speed according to the material to be ejected.

[0116]

As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of ink ejected from the nozzle having the pitch deviation is adjusted, so that the dot omission due to the pitch deviation can be prevented by a simple means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a main part according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the nozzle diameter and the ink weight in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a part of the inkjet head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional side view of the inkjet head of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a method of manufacturing a head chip substrate (flow path substrate) that constitutes the inkjet head of FIG.

7 is an explanatory diagram of a method of manufacturing a head chip substrate (glass electrode substrate) that constitutes the inkjet head of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a method for manufacturing a head chip substrate (cover glass) that constitutes the inkjet head of FIG.

9 is a nozzle of the inkjet head of FIG.
It is explanatory drawing of the arrangement relation of a discharge chamber and a partition.

10 is an explanatory diagram of an assembly process of the inkjet head of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the vibration plate length and the ink weight according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the gap length and the ink weight in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between drive voltage and ink weight in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the multi-drop method according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a relationship between the number of shots and dots in Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an external perspective view of a printing apparatus that is Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

17 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of main components of the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which pixels of a color filter are colored by an inkjet head as viewed from above.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement example of filter elements of a color filter.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an outline of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

21A to 21D are diagrams schematically showing a process of manufacturing a color filter by the color filter manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 20, in process order.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing main steps of a method for manufacturing an EL device according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention and a main cross-sectional structure of an EL device finally obtained.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 flow path substrate 2 Glass electrode substrate 3 cover glass 4 nozzle holes 5 diaphragm 6 discharge chamber 100 head chips 150 printing devices

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Katsuji Arakawa             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation F term (reference) 2C056 EC08 EC42 EC72 FA13 FB01                       HA05 HA21 HA22                 2C057 AF93 AG13 AG54 AJ10 AM13                       AM22 AN05 AP13 AP21 BA03                       BA12 BA14                 2H048 BA02 BA11 BA55 BA64 BB02                       BB41 BB42

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet head comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. An ink jet head characterized in that an amount of ink ejected from nozzle holes having a pitch shift is set so as to correct a pitch between nozzle holes. 2. A line-shaped ink jet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In an inkjet head formed by arranging a plurality of nozzle heads, the nozzle holes at the respective adjacent joint side ends of the plurality of inkjet head chips are corrected so as to correct the pitch deviation between the nozzle holes between the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line. An ink jet head characterized in that the amount of ink ejected from the ink jet head is set. 3. A line-shaped ink jet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent discharge chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving discharge energy to ink in the discharge chamber. In an inkjet head formed by arranging a plurality of nozzles, the nozzle hole diameter of each adjacent joint side end of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is set to be larger than the other nozzle hole diameters. 4. A line-shaped inkjet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In a plurality of inkjet heads, the energy generating element includes a vibrating plate formed on at least one wall of the ejection chamber, and each adjacent bonding side in the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line. An ink jet head characterized in that an area of an end vibrating plate is set larger than those of other vibrating plates. 5. An ink jet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber in a line shape. In an inkjet head having a plurality of arrays, the energy generating element is arranged to face a vibration plate formed on at least one wall of a discharge chamber, the vibration plate facing the vibration plate through a predetermined gap, and a drive voltage is applied. An electrode that deforms the vibration plate by an electrostatic force, and the gap of the nozzle at each end of the adjacent joint sides of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is smaller than the gap of the other nozzles. An inkjet head characterized by being set. 6. A line-shaped ink jet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In an inkjet head having a plurality of arrangements, the energy generating element includes a diaphragm formed on at least one wall of the discharge chamber, and a diaphragm driving unit that deforms the diaphragm by applying a driving voltage. The drive voltage applied to the diaphragm drive means at each end of the adjacent joint sides of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is set to be larger than the drive voltage applied to the other diaphragm drive means. Inkjet head. 7. A line-shaped inkjet head chip comprising a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In an inkjet head formed by arranging a plurality of ink jet heads, the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzle at each end of the adjacent joint side of the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line is more than the number of ink droplets ejected from other nozzles. Inkjet head characterized by many settings. 8. A nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzle holes, a plate having an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and an energy generating element for giving ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. In a method for manufacturing an inkjet head in which a plurality of inkjet head chips formed by joining the formed plates are arranged in a line, a nozzle at each end of the adjacent joining side in the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line A method for manufacturing an ink jet head, comprising patterning the nozzle plate so that the hole diameter is larger than other nozzle hole diameters and performing photolithography. 9. A second plate having a first plate having a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and a vibration plate for imparting ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. And a third plate on which a vibration plate driving means for deforming the vibration plate is joined, a plurality of ink jet head chips are arranged in a line, and a method for manufacturing an ink jet head is arranged in a line. In the inkjet head, the second plate is patterned and photolithographically processed so that the area of the vibration plate at the end of each adjacent bonding side of the plurality of inkjet head chips is larger than the area of the other vibration plate. Production method. 10. A second plate having a first plate having a plurality of nozzle holes, an independent ejection chamber communicating with each of the nozzle holes, and a vibration plate for imparting ejection energy to ink in the ejection chamber. And an ink jet head chip formed by joining the vibrating plate and a third plate, which is arranged to face the vibrating plate with a predetermined gap and has an electrode that deforms the vibrating plate by an electrostatic force when a driving voltage is applied. In a method for manufacturing an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line, the gaps of the nozzles at the ends of the adjacent joint sides in the plurality of inkjet head chips arranged in a line are smaller than the gaps of the other nozzles. A method for manufacturing an inkjet head, characterized in that the third plate is processed. 11. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising the inkjet head according to claim 1. 12. A method of manufacturing an inkjet recording apparatus, comprising manufacturing an inkjet head by the inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 8 and mounting the inkjet head. 13. An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, comprising the inkjet head according to claim 1. 14. A method for manufacturing a color filter manufacturing apparatus, comprising manufacturing an inkjet head by the method for manufacturing an inkjet head according to claim 8 and mounting the inkjet head. 15. An electroluminescent substrate manufacturing apparatus comprising the inkjet head according to claim 1. 16. A method for manufacturing an electroluminescent substrate manufacturing apparatus, comprising manufacturing an inkjet head by the method for manufacturing an inkjet head according to claim 8 and mounting the inkjet head.