Droplet discharge method and droplet discharge apparatus

Abstract

The liquid droplet ejection method includes ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle among a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first liquid droplet ejection position of an object using a multi-nozzle head including the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction and ejecting the liquid droplets, the multi-nozzle head is scanned in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed, a second droplet is ejected from a second droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles to the first droplet ejection position, and a first droplet is ejected from the first droplet ejection nozzle to the second droplet ejection position, the shape of a first structure formed by the first droplet and the second droplet at the first position is different from the shape of a second structure formed by the first droplet at the second position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a liquid droplet ejecting method and a liquid droplet ejecting device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, inkjet printing technology has been applied to industrial processes. For example, the manufacturing process of color filters for liquid crystal displays is an example. As an inkjet printing technology, a so-called piezoelectric head that ejects droplets by mechanical pressure or vibration is generally used, but an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head that can eject finer droplets has attracted attention. Patent document 1 discloses an electrostatic ejection type inkjet recording device.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-34967 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the present invention

[0007] On the other hand, when a conventional electrostatic ejection type inkjet head is used to eject a droplet, one droplet is ejected to one droplet ejection position. At this time, since the cross section of the structure to be formed is affected by the surface tension of the ink used as the droplet, the wettability of the substrate, etc., it usually has an arc shape.

[0008] One of the objects of the present invention is to form a structure having a new cross-sectional shape using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head.

[0009] Means used to solve problems

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a liquid ejection method is provided, comprising using a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles arranged at a prescribed nozzle interval in a first direction and ejecting droplets, ejecting a first droplet from a first electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles toward a first droplet ejection position of an object, scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a prescribed scanning speed, ejecting a second droplet from a second electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles toward the first droplet ejection position, and ejecting the first droplet from the first electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle toward the second droplet ejection position, wherein a shape of a first structure formed by the first droplet and the second droplet at the first droplet ejection position is different from a shape of a second structure formed by the first droplet at the second droplet ejection position.

[0011] In the above droplet discharge method, the predetermined nozzle interval may be greater than or equal to 20 μm and less than or equal to 500 μm.

[0012] In the droplet ejection method, the predetermined scanning speed may be greater than or equal to 0.00001 m / s and less than or equal to 1 m / s.

[0013] In the droplet discharge method, the viscosity of the solvent in the droplet may be greater than or equal to 0.1 cps and less than or equal to 10000 cps.

[0014] In the above droplet ejection method, the electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle may eject a volume of 0.00001 picoliter or more and 50 picoliters or less each time.

[0015] In the above droplet ejecting method, the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejecting nozzles may include three or more electrostatic droplet ejecting nozzles.

[0016] In the above droplet discharge method, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the first structure and the second structure may be connected to form a third structure, and the third structure may have a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction.

[0017] In the above droplet ejection method, the end portion of the third structure may have a cross-sectional shape of an arc when viewed from a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a droplet ejection device, comprising a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles, wherein the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles are arranged at a prescribed nozzle interval in a first direction and eject droplets, and a control unit for ejecting a first droplet from a first electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles toward a first droplet ejection position of an object, scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a prescribed scanning speed, ejecting a second droplet from a second electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles toward the first droplet ejection position, and ejecting a first droplet from the first electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle to the second droplet ejection position.

[0019] In the above-mentioned droplet ejection device, the predetermined nozzle interval may be greater than or equal to 20 μm and less than or equal to 500 μm.

[0020] In the above-mentioned liquid droplet ejecting device, the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles may include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles.

[0021] In the liquid droplet ejection device, the control unit may control the scanning speed based on a material of the liquid droplets.

[0022] Effects of the Invention

[0023] By using one embodiment of the present invention, a structure having a new cross-sectional shape can be formed using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a liquid droplet ejection device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2A A plan view of a multi-nozzle head.

[0026] Figure 2B An enlarged plan view of a portion of a multi-nozzle head.

[0027] Figure 3A An enlarged top view of the droplet ejection nozzle.

[0028] Figure 3B An enlarged cross-sectional view of the droplet ejection nozzle.

[0029] Figure 4 A diagram for explaining a method of ejecting liquid droplets.

[0030] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the ejected droplets.

[0031] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the ejected droplets.

[0032] Figure 7 A diagram for explaining a method of ejecting liquid droplets.

[0033] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the ejected droplets.

[0034] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the ejected droplets.

[0035] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of the ejected droplets.

[0036] Fig.11A Schematic diagram of a structure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Fig. 11B Schematic diagram of a structure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Fig.12 A plan view of a multi-nozzle head.

[0039] Fig.13 This is a functional block diagram of a control unit of a liquid droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Fig.14 An example of a dataset.

[0041] Fig.15 This is a flow chart of a liquid droplet ejection method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Fig.16 is a photograph of the multi-nozzle head in this embodiment.

[0043] Fig.17 This is a photograph of the multi-nozzle head mounted on the mounting portion in this embodiment.

[0044] Fig.18 is a plan view of the structure formed in this example.

[0045] Fig.19 : is a cross-sectional profile image of the structure formed in this embodiment.

[0046] Fig. 20 Schematic diagram of a structure in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist thereof, and should not be construed as being limited to the description content of the embodiments illustrated below.

[0048] In addition, in the drawings referred to in the present embodiment, the same reference numerals or similar reference numerals (reference numerals such as A, B, etc. are assigned only after the numbers) are assigned to the same parts or parts having the same functions, and their repeated descriptions are sometimes omitted. In addition, for the sake of convenience of description, the dimensional ratios in the drawings may be different from the actual ratios, or some structures may be omitted from the drawings.

[0049] In addition, in the detailed description of the present invention, when defining the tilt relationship between one component and another component, unless otherwise specified, "upper" and "lower" include not only the case where one component is tilted directly above or below, but also the case where another component is inserted between them.

[0050] <First Embodiment>

[0051] [1-1. Structure of Liquid Droplet Discharging Device 100]

[0052] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a liquid droplet ejection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] The droplet ejection device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a power supply unit 125, a drive unit 130, a mounting unit 140, an ink supply unit 145, a multi-nozzle head 150, a display unit 170, an operation unit 180, an adjustment unit 190, an object holding unit 200, and a housing 210. The control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the power supply unit 125, the drive unit 130, the mounting unit 140, the ink supply unit 145, the multi-nozzle head 150, the display unit 170, the operation unit 180, the adjustment unit 190, and the object holding unit 200 are electrically connected through a wiring bus and are disposed inside the housing 210. In addition, in the present embodiment, the display unit 170, the operation unit 180, and the adjustment unit 190 do not necessarily need to be provided.

[0054] The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or other arithmetic processing circuits. The control unit 110 uses a preset droplet ejection program to control the droplet ejection process of the multi-nozzle head 150.

[0055] The storage unit 120 has a function as a database for storing the droplet ejection program and various information used in the droplet ejection program. A memory, an SSD, or a storage element is used as the storage unit 120 .

[0056] The power supply unit 125 applies voltage to the multi-nozzle head 150 based on the signal input from the control unit 110. In this example, the power supply unit 125 applies a pulse voltage (1000V in this example) to the multi-nozzle head 150. In addition, the voltage is not limited to a pulse voltage, and a constant voltage may be applied at all times.

[0057] The driving unit 130 is composed of driving components such as a motor, a belt, a gear, etc. The driving unit 130 moves the multi-nozzle head 150 in one direction (in this example, the second direction D2) relative to the object 220 according to an instruction from the control unit 110. The driving unit 130 can move the object holding unit 200.

[0058] The mounting part 140 mounts the multi-nozzle head 150. In this example, the mounting part 140 mounts the multi-nozzle head 150 by being adhered to a plate portion of the multi-nozzle head 150. At this time, the mounting part 140 may mount the multi-nozzle head 150 using a jig, an adhesive, or the like.

[0059] The ink supply unit 145 (also referred to as an ink tank or ink cartridge) is provided separately from the mounting unit 140. The ink supply unit 145 stores ink. The ink supply unit 145 supplies the stored ink to the multi-nozzle head 150. As the ink, it is preferable to use an ink composed of a solvent and a solute or a pigment, and it is more preferable that the solute or the pigment component is based on an inorganic substance or a metal, and it is more preferable to use a metal ultrafine particle ink.

[0060] The multi-nozzle head 150 is provided separately from the ink supply portion 145. The structure of the multi-nozzle head 150 will be described later.

[0061] The display unit 170 displays control information (text information or image information) based on the control of the control unit 110 . At this time, the display unit 170 may display the control information via a GUI (Graphical User Interface). In addition, the display unit 170 may display information about the multi-nozzle head 150 .

[0062] The operation unit 180 includes an operable member. For example, a button, a lever, a numeric keypad, etc. are used for the operation unit 180. By performing an operation of moving up and down and left and right, pressing, rotating, etc. or inputting a numerical value using the operation unit 180, the control unit 110 acquires information based on the operation. In addition, in the case where the display unit 170 has the function of the operation unit 180, the display unit 170 can be used as a touch panel.

[0063] The adjustment part 190 can adjust the position and inclination of the multi-nozzle head 150. Specifically, the adjustment part 190 can adjust the inclination of the tip portion 153a of the droplet ejection nozzle 153 of the multi-nozzle head 150 and the direction of the multi-nozzle head. The adjustment part 190 can use a θ stage or a goniometer stage.

[0064] The object holding part 200 has a function of holding the object 220. In this example, a stage is used as the object holding part 200. The mechanism of the object holding part 200 holding the object 220 is not particularly limited, and a general holding mechanism can be used. In this example, the object 220 is vacuum-sucked onto the object holding part 200. In addition, the present invention is not limited to this, and the object holding part 200 can use a fixing tool to hold the object 220.

[0065] [1-2. Structure of the multi-nozzle head 150]

[0066] The structure of the multi-nozzle head will be described in detail below. Figure 2A 1 is a plan view of the multi-nozzle head 150 . Figure 2B An enlarged plan view of a portion of a multi-nozzle head. Figure 3A This is an enlarged schematic diagram of the top surface of the droplet ejection nozzle. Figure 3B An enlarged cross-sectional view of the droplet ejection nozzle.

[0067] like Figure 2A and Figure 2B As shown, the multi-nozzle head 150 includes a plate portion 151 and a plurality of droplet ejection nozzles 153 (also referred to as electrostatic droplet ejection nozzles).

[0068] The plate portion 151 is formed in a plate shape and extends in the first direction D1. The plate portion 151 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel.

[0069] The droplet ejecting nozzles 153 are disposed on a surface of the plate portion 151. The droplet ejecting nozzles 153 are arranged in a first direction D1. In the present embodiment, droplet ejecting nozzles 153-1, 153-2, ..., 153-(N-1) and 153-N are disposed on the plate portion 151. N is a natural number greater than 3. In the present example, the multi-nozzle head 150 includes 10 droplet ejecting nozzles 153. In addition, in the case where it is not necessary to separately describe the droplet ejecting nozzles 153-1 (also called a first electrostatic droplet ejecting nozzle), 153-2 (also called a second electrostatic droplet ejecting nozzle), ..., 153-(N-1), 153-N, they are described as droplet ejecting nozzles 153. The droplet ejecting nozzles 153 use a metal material such as nickel. As Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 has a shape with a tapered front end.

[0070] The plate portion 151 has a through hole 151o having an inner diameter r151o greater than the inner diameter r153a of the ejection outlet of the droplet ejection nozzle 153 (the opening 153ao of the tip portion 153a of the droplet ejection nozzle 153) in the portion (overlapping portion) corresponding to the droplet ejection nozzle 153. The inner diameter of the through hole 151o of the plate portion 151 may be greater than 1 μm and less than 100 μm. The inner diameter of the tip portion 153a of the droplet ejection nozzle 153 may be greater than several hundred nm and less than 50 μm, preferably greater than 1 μm and less than 15 μm, and more preferably greater than 5 μm and less than 12 μm. In the present embodiment, a voltage may be applied to the droplet ejection nozzle 153, a voltage may be applied to the plate portion 151 (or the ink supply portion 145), or a voltage may be applied to the ink. When a voltage is applied to the plate portion 151 and the droplet ejection nozzle 153, an electrode may be provided. As the electrode, tungsten, nickel, molybdenum, titanium, gold, silver, copper, platinum, etc. may be provided. In this case, a plurality of electrodes may be provided so that the voltage is uniformly applied to the entire plate portion 151. In addition, although an example of applying a voltage to the droplet ejection nozzle 153, the plate portion 151, or the ink is shown in the present embodiment, a voltage may be applied to a jig holding the multi-nozzle head 150.

[0071] Here, if Figure 2BAs shown, adjacent droplet ejection nozzles 153 have a predetermined interval (distance S1 between nozzles). From the viewpoint of controlling the shape of the structure to be formed, the distance S1 between adjacent nozzles is preferably 20 μm or more and 500 μm or less. In this example, the distance S1 between the droplet ejection nozzles 153 is 200 μm.

[0072] In this embodiment, the shape of the structure can be controlled based on the size of the ejected droplets and the distance between adjacent nozzles.

[0073] [1-3. Liquid droplet ejection method]

[0074] Hereinafter, a liquid droplet ejection method according to the present embodiment will be described. Figures 4 to 9 Schematic diagram of a droplet ejecting method in a droplet ejecting device.

[0075] First, the multi-nozzle head 150 is used to scan in the first direction D1 where the droplet ejection nozzles 153 are arranged. From the viewpoint of the drying speed of the droplets, the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 is preferably 0.00001 m / s to 1 m / s.

[0076] Then, if Figure 4 As shown, the first droplet 157-1 is ejected from the first droplet ejection nozzle 153-1 among the plurality of droplet ejection nozzles 153 toward the first droplet ejection position P1 using the ink supplied from the ink supply unit 145. From the viewpoint of droplet drying, the ejection amount of the droplet is preferably 0.00001 picoliter or more and 50 picoliters or less. Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , during the drying process of the first droplet 157-1, more ink particles remain at the end compared to the center of the first droplet 157-1 (e.g., coffee cup phenomenon). Therefore, a convex structure is formed at the end of the first droplet 157-1, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 shown.

[0077] Then, if Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , as the multi-nozzle head 150 scans in the first direction D1, the second droplet ejection nozzle 153-2 moves to the first droplet ejection position P1. Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , for the first droplet ejection position P1, a second droplet 157-2 of the second droplet is ejected from the second droplet ejection nozzle 153-2. Similarly, in the second droplet 157-2, a structure with a raised end portion of the second droplet 157-2 is formed, and as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown, the ink particles are accumulated in the groove portion at the center portion formed by the first liquid droplet 157-1 (forming the first structure 158-1).

[0078] In addition, when the second droplet ejection nozzle 153-2 ejects the second droplet toward the first droplet ejection position P1, the second droplet ejection position P2 is set in the direction (first direction D1) in which the multi-nozzle head 150 moves based on the first droplet ejection position P1. Fig.10 As shown, the first droplet 157-1 of the first droplet is ejected using the ink supplied from the ink supply unit 145 from the first droplet ejection nozzle 153-1. At this time, the shapes of the structure (first structure 158-1) formed at the first droplet ejection position P1 and the structure (second structure 158-2) formed at the second droplet ejection position P2 are different according to the number of ejected droplets. The more times the droplets are ejected, the closer the first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 are to a rectangle (trapezoid). When the prescribed number of times is exceeded, the shape of the first structure 158-1 and the shape of the second structure 158-2 may be the same.

[0079] In addition, the first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 are connected when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Specifically, when the distance between the first droplet ejection position P1 and the second droplet ejection position P2 is less than a predetermined distance, the first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 are connected (forming a third structure). The same applies to the droplet ejection positions after the second droplet ejection position P2.

[0080] The droplet ejection nozzles 153 after the third droplet ejection nozzle 153-3, which are arranged in the opposite direction of the first direction D1 from the second droplet ejection nozzle 153-2, also eject droplets to the first droplet ejection position P1 and the second droplet ejection position P2 in sequence. The same is true for the droplet ejection positions after the second droplet ejection position P2 arranged in the first direction D1.

[0081] Fig.11A It is a schematic cross-sectional view of a structure 159 formed in this embodiment when viewed from the first direction D1. Fig. 11B 159 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram when the structure 159 is viewed from the second direction D2. In this embodiment, by repeatedly ejecting droplets at each droplet ejection position, the side end portion has a warped shape while the groove in the center portion is filled. As a result, as shown in FIG. Fig.11A and Fig. 11B As shown, when viewed from the first direction D1, a linear structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape is formed without going through a photolithography process.

[0082] In the conventional droplet ejection method, when an electrostatic ejection nozzle is used, a single nozzle is generally used. Therefore, the structure formed by the droplet ejection has an arc shape. In addition, even if a plurality of droplet ejection nozzles are provided, such as a piezoelectric inkjet nozzle, when scanning in the arrangement direction, ink droplets are ejected to different ejection positions of different colors.

[0083] On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, since an electrostatic ejection type inkjet nozzle is used, the size of the droplets is small and the drying speed is fast compared to the droplets ejected from the piezoelectric inkjet nozzle. In addition, in the case of the present embodiment, the distance and scanning speed between adjacent electrostatic ejection type droplet ejection nozzles are controlled. In addition, the droplets are ejected multiple times to the same droplet ejection position. Therefore, a linear structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape as described above is formed.

[0084] Therefore, by using this embodiment, a structure having a new cross-sectional shape that has not been conventionally available can be formed by using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head. The structure having such a shape can also be used as a partition wall, and the structure formed by inkjet can be used for new purposes.

[0085] <Second Embodiment>

[0086] In this embodiment, a liquid droplet ejection device different from the first embodiment is described. Specifically, an example of a multi-nozzle head in which liquid droplet ejection nozzles are arranged two-dimensionally is described. For the sake of convenience of description, parts are omitted as appropriate.

[0087] Fig.12 FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of the multi-nozzle head 150A. Fig.12 As shown, the droplet ejection nozzles 153 may be arranged in the first direction D1 and in the second direction D2. In this case, a plurality of linear structures can be formed by ejecting droplets while scanning in the first direction.

[0088] <Third Embodiment>

[0089] In the present embodiment, an example in which the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head is set based on the acquired liquid droplet information will be described.

[0090] Fig.13 110B shows the internal configuration of the control section 110B. This is a functional block diagram. The control section 110B includes an acquisition section 111 , a setting section 113 , and a drive control section 115 .

[0091] The acquisition unit 111 acquires data input by a user via the operation unit 180 or data stored in the storage unit 120 . Fig.14 is an example of the data set 500 acquired by the acquisition unit 111. Fig.13 As shown, the data set 500 includes a material name 500a, a material viscosity 500b, an adjacent nozzle interval 500c, a temperature 500d, and an ejection amount 500e. In addition, the data set 500 may not include some data.

[0092] The setting unit 113 sets the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 based on the data set 500 acquired by the acquisition unit 111 .

[0093] The drive control unit 115 controls the drive unit 130 by using the set scanning speed.

[0094] Fig.15 This is a flowchart for setting the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 during droplet ejection.

[0095] First, the control unit 110 acquires information about the multi-nozzle head 150 and information about the material (S110 and S120). The information about the multi-nozzle head 150 and the information about the material are input by the user via the operation unit 180 or acquired from the storage unit 120. Fig.13 As shown, the acquired information is processed as an input data set.

[0096] Next, the control unit 110 sets the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 based on the acquired information about the multi-nozzle head 150 and the information about the material (S130). At this time, the control unit 110 may select the information about the multi-nozzle head 150 and the information about the material from the data group of scanning speeds prepared in advance. In addition, the control unit 110 may perform machine learning based on the teacher data acquired in advance and set the scanning speed.

[0097] The control unit 110 outputs the set scanning speed information to the driving unit 130 to drive the driving unit 130 ( S140 ).

[0098] By using the present embodiment, the user can set the optimal scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head for forming a structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape by inputting information on the material.

[0099] In addition, in this embodiment, an example of inputting the discharge amount is shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The control unit 110 can set the discharge amount of the droplets together with the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 .

[0100] [Example]

[0101] Next, an embodiment of a liquid droplet ejection method will be described.

[0102] Fig.16 is a photograph of an exemplary multi-nozzle head. Fig.17 : is a photograph of a multi-nozzle head mounted on a mounting portion. In addition, the multi-nozzle head used for forming the structure in this embodiment is provided with 5 rows x 20 (100) droplet ejection nozzles. In this case, each line is drawn by five nozzles.

[0103] Fig.18 is a plan view of the structure formed in this example. Fig.19 is a cross-sectional profile image of the structure formed in this embodiment. Fig.19In the figure, the pattern line width of the structure is 36.485 μm. Fig.19 As shown, it was confirmed that the structure had a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

[0104] As described above, by using one embodiment of the present invention, a linear structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape can be formed.

[0105] (Variation Example)

[0106] Within the scope of the present invention, those skilled in the art can think of various variations and modifications, and it can be understood that these variations and modifications also belong to the scope of the present invention. For example, for each of the above-mentioned embodiments, those skilled in the art appropriately add or delete constituent elements, combine various embodiments or change the design, or add, omit processing or change the conditions of the embodiment, as long as they have the gist of the present invention, they are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0107] In one embodiment of the present invention, the droplet ejection device may include an inspection device. The inspection device inspects the inclination of the multi-nozzle head 150 mounted on the mounting portion 140. The inspection device can inspect the inclination of the tip portion 153a of the adjacent droplet ejection nozzles 153 in the multi-nozzle head 150 and the shape of the pattern. In this example, an imaging device or a level difference meter is used as the inspection device. Specifically, as an imaging device, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera can be used. The information obtained by the inspection device can be sent to the control unit 110 and the storage unit 120 to control the scanning speed. Alternatively, the inclination (first direction, second direction, third direction) between the adjacent droplet ejection nozzles 153 can also be adjusted according to the shape of the pattern.

[0108] The structure formed by the liquid droplet discharge method according to the first embodiment of the present invention shows an example having a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction D1 and the second direction D2, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Fig. 20 159C is a schematic diagram of the structure 159C. The structure 159C has a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction D1. Fig. 20 As shown, when viewed from the second direction D2, the end of the structure 159C may have an arc cross-sectional shape when the number of droplet ejections is smaller than that of the center of the structure 159C, depending on the number of droplet ejections.

[0109] Description of Reference Numerals

[0110] 100…droplet ejection device, 110…control unit, 111…acquisition unit, 113…setting unit, 115…drive control unit, 120…storage unit, 125…power supply unit, 130…drive unit, 140…installation unit, 145…ink supply unit, 150…multi-nozzle head, 151…plate unit, 151o…through hole, 153…droplet ejection nozzle, 153a…tip portion, 153ao…opening portion, 157-1…first droplet, 1 57-2…second droplet, 158-1…first structure, 158-2…second structure, 159…structure, 160…inspection device, 170…display unit, 180…operation unit, 190…adjustment unit, 200…object holding unit, 210…housing, 220…object, 500…data set, 500a…material name, 500b…viscosity, 500c…interval between adjacent nozzles, 500d…temperature, 500e…discharge amount

Claims

1. A droplet ejection method, comprising: using a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles arranged at a predetermined nozzle interval in a first direction and ejecting liquid droplets; ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles toward a first liquid droplet ejecting position of the object; scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a specified scanning speed; ejecting a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles toward the first liquid droplet ejecting position; as well as ejecting a first liquid droplet from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle toward a second liquid droplet ejection position; The shape of a first structure formed by the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet at the first liquid droplet ejection position is different from the shape of a second structure formed by the first liquid droplet at the second liquid droplet ejection position.

2. The droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined nozzle interval is greater than or equal to 20 μm and less than or equal to 500 μm.

3. The droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined scanning speed is greater than or equal to 0.00001 meters per second and less than or equal to 1 meter per second.

4. The droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein: The viscosity of the solvent in the droplet is greater than or equal to 0.1 cps and less than or equal to 100,000 cps.

5. The droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein: The electrostatic droplet ejection nozzle has an ejection amount of 0.00001 picoliter or more and 50 picoliters or less per ejection.

6. The droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles.

7. The droplet ejection method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the first structure body and the second structure body are connected to form a third structure body having a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction.

8. The droplet ejection method according to claim 7, wherein: The end portion of the third structure has a cross-sectional shape of an arc when viewed from a second direction intersecting the first direction.

9. A liquid droplet ejection device, comprising: a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at a predetermined nozzle interval in a first direction and ejecting liquid droplets; as well as A control unit, which is used to: ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles toward a first liquid droplet ejecting position of the object; scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a specified scanning speed; ejecting a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles toward the first liquid droplet ejecting position; as well as A first liquid droplet is ejected from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle toward a second liquid droplet ejection position.

10. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 9, wherein: The predetermined nozzle interval is greater than or equal to 20 μm and less than or equal to 500 μm.

11. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 10, wherein: The plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles.

12. The liquid droplet ejection device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein: The control section controls the scanning speed based on the material of the droplet.

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