Liquid droplet ejection device, liquid droplet ejection method, manufacturing method of electro-optical device, electro-optical device and electronic equipment

• US 20060119629A1
• Filed: 11/29/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Murayama, Yoshiaki, An, Eishoku
• Granted Patent: US 7,645,004 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/5
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/28 for printing downwardly on flat surfaces, e.g. of books, drawings, boxes , envelopes, e.g. flat-bed ink-jet printers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/407 for marking on special material

Abstract

A liquid droplet ejection device for ejecting a liquid from a nozzle of a head to a workpiece, the liquid droplet ejection device including: a table for loading the workpiece; a first shifting section capable of shifting the table in a first direction and in a second direction approximately intersecting the first direction at a right angle; a plurality of carriages having the head; and a second shifting section capable of positioning each of the carriages by mutually shifting each of the carriages along the second direction.

Claims

1. A liquid droplet ejection device for ejecting a liquid from a nozzle of a head to a workpiece, the liquid droplet ejection device comprising:

a table for loading the workpiece;

a first shifting section capable of shifting the table in a first direction and in a second direction intersecting the first direction at approximately a right angle;

a plurality of carriages having the head; and

a second shifting section capable of positioning each of the carriages by mutually shifting each of the carriages along the second direction.

2. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 1, the head including a plurality of the nozzles:

the plurality of the nozzles being arranged along the second direction.

3. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 1, the second shifting section including:

a stator holding each of the carriages;

a needle provided in each of the carriages, positioning the carriage by mutually shifting the carriage along the second direction with respect to the stator.

4. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein a maintenance section for recovering an ejection capacity of the nozzle of the head is arranged at least at one position of the second direction.

5. A liquid droplet ejection method ejecting a liquid from the nozzle of the head, the liquid droplet ejection method comprising:

a workpiece shifting process shifting a table loaded with a workpiece in a first direction and in a second direction intersecting the first direction approximately at a right angle;

a liquid ejection process ejecting the liquid to the workpiece from a nozzle of the head disposed on a plurality of carriages which have been positioned in advance, by mutually shifting along the second direction.

6. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 5, wherein the first direction is a drawing direction for drawing with respect to the workpiece with the liquid by shifting the table with respect to the head, and the second direction is a line feed direction carrying out line feed of an ejection position of the liquid on the workpiece by shifting the table for a fixed amount with respect to the head.

7. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 5, wherein the carriage not used for ejecting the liquid droplet shifts to the maintenance section along the second direction and performs recovery of the ejection capacity of the nozzle of the head in the maintenance section.

8. A liquid droplet ejection method ejecting a liquid from a nozzle of a head to a workpiece, the liquid droplet ejection method comprising:

a scanning process scanning a table loaded with the workpiece in a first direction; and

an ejection process ejecting the liquid to the workpiece from the nozzle of the head disposed on a plurality of carriages which have been positioned in advance, by shifting along a second direction intersecting the first direction approximately at a right angle, wherein the table shifts for a fixed amount in the second direction whenever the scanning process is performed for a preset frequency.