Liquid droplet ejection apparatus, method of manufacturing electrooptical device, electrooptical device, and electronic apparatus

• US 20050253881A1
• Filed: 04/25/2005
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kojima, Kenji, Murayama, Yoshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,455,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/9
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/865 comprising light absorbing layers, e.g. light-blocking layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/122 Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/35 comprising red-green-blue [RGB] subpixels
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/38 comprising colour filters or colour changing media [CCM]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8792 comprising light absorbing layers, e.g. black layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/441 in the presence of solvent vapors, e.g. solvent vapour annealing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/611 using printing deposition, e.g. ink jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

In a liquid droplet ejection apparatus, a plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads are arranged such that a plurality of color-dependent partial imaging lines, each formed by a plurality of ejection nozzles, are formed so as to continuously make up a single imaging line in the Y-axis direction. An imaging process is performed by repeating a main scanning operation for driving each function liquid droplet ejection head in synchronization with moving of the substrate in the X-axis direction, and a sub-scanning operation for moving the function liquid droplet ejection heads through a carriage unit in the Y-axis direction by a length of a partial imaging line.

Claims

1. A liquid droplet ejection apparatus for ejecting function liquid droplets so as to be landed in a plurality of pixel areas formed on a substrate on a basis of a color arrangement pattern composed of a plurality of colors, said function liquid droplets being ejected by moving, relative to the substrate, a plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads having a plurality of corresponding kinds of function liquids introduced therein, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of carriage units, each having the plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads placed on a corresponding carriage;

an X-axis table having the substrate thereon and moving the substrate in an X-axis direction as a main scanning direction;

a Y-axis table for moving each of the plurality of carriage units in the Y-axis direction; and

control means for controlling each of the function liquid droplet ejection heads, the X-axis table, and the Y-axis table,

wherein the plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads of each of the carriage units is arranged such that a plurality of color-dependent partial imaging lines, each formed by a plurality of ejection nozzles, are connected to one after another in a predetermined order in the Y-axis direction so as to make up a single divided imaging line, and

wherein the control means performs the imaging process by repeating a main scanning operation for driving each of the function liquid droplet ejection heads in synchronization with the substrate moving in the X-axis direction and a sub-scanning operation for moving each of the function liquid droplet ejection heads in the Y-axis direction through the carriage unit by about each of the partial imaging lines.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein each of the carriage units has the plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads placed on the carriage, and

wherein the plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads of each of the carriage units is arranged such that the plurality of color-dependent partial imaging lines, each formed by the plurality of ejection nozzles, are repeatedly connected one after another in a predetermined order in the Y-axis direction so as to make up a single divided imaging line.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control means controls the liquid droplet ejection apparatus such that, when function liquid droplets ejected in two of the pixel areas lying mutually adjacent in the Y-axis direction are of different colors from each other, the function liquid droplets are ejected in the two pixel areas through the mutually different main scanning operations.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color arrangement pattern is any one of stripe, mosaic, and delta arrangements.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Y-axis table has a drive source including a liner motor.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the carriage units has a plurality of color-dependent function liquid tanks placed thereon, for feeding function liquid of a plurality of colors to each of the plurality of color-dependent function liquid droplet ejection heads.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a flushing unit disposed on the X-axis table and flushing each of the ejection nozzles of the function liquid droplet ejections head upon the main scanning operation,

wherein the flushing unit is formed so as to correspond to a head-ejection covering-range over which, with respect to the Y-axis direction, is covered by all of the function liquid droplet ejection heads of the plurality of carriage units in the sub-scanning operation.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a maintenance area is formed at a moving trajectory of the carriage units moved by the Y-axis table, lying outside one of the sides of the X-axis table,

wherein the liquid droplet ejection apparatus further comprises maintenance means provided in the maintenance area, and

wherein the control means controls the liquid droplet ejection apparatus such that at least one function liquid droplet ejection head not driven during an arbitrary one of the main scanning operations faces the maintenance means before the following main scanning operation so as to be subjected to a function-recovery process.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a pair of maintenance areas are provided on a moving trajectory of the carriage units moved by the Y-axis table and outside both sides of the X-axis table, and

wherein the liquid droplet ejection apparatus further comprises a pair of maintenance means in the corresponding maintenance areas for applying a function-recovery process to the plurality of ejection nozzles of each of the function liquid droplet ejection heads.

10. A method of manufacturing an electrooptical device, comprising forming a film-deposited section of function liquid droplets on the substrate by using the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1.

11. An electrooptical device having a film-deposited section of function liquid droplets formed on the substrate by using the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1.

12. An electronic apparatus having incorporated therein an electrooptical device manufactured by the method of claim 10.

13. An electronic apparatus having incorporated therein an electrooptical device having incorporated therein an electrooptical device according to claim 11.