Apparatus for correcting impact point of ink and system for treating substrate with the apparatus

An ink impact point correction apparatus for automatically measuring and correcting an impact point of ink using a pattern on a substrate, on which a coordinate system is displayed, and a substrate treating system including the same are provided. The ink impact point correction apparatus includes a recognition unit for acquiring information on the impact point of ink at a plurality of points located on a substrate; and a correction unit for correcting a position of an ink discharge point on the substrate based on the information on the impact point, wherein a coordinate pattern in the form of a coordinate system is formed at the plurality of points.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0083245, filed on Jul. 7, 2020, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an ink impact point correction apparatus and a substrate treating system having the same. More specifically, it relates to an ink impact point correction apparatus used to manufacture a display device and a substrate treating system having the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When performing a printing process (for example, RGB patterning) on a transparent substrate to manufacture display devices such as LCD panels, PDP panels, and LED panels, printing equipment having an inkjet head module may be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to correct and mitigate errors (e.g., translation errors, rotation errors, etc.) that affect the impact of individual droplets on the substrate in the transport path system, and accurately pattern R/G/B, calibration work is indispensable to cope with the mechanical defects of the printing equipment.

In order to improve the mechanical error, it is necessary to correct the impact for each glass position. Conventionally, for this purpose, a method of manually confirming the impact of ink through a vision camera after impacting ink on a water-repellent-treated glass was applied.

However, the above method may incur a cost burden because a water-repellent-treated glass is additionally required. Further, the above method may take a lot of time to complete the calibration work because the work time is very long, and it may be unsuitable for mass production of patterned products because the calibration value is manually recipe corrected.

An object to be solved in the present invention is to provide an ink impact point correction apparatus for automatically measuring and correcting an impact point of ink using a pattern on a substrate, on which a coordinate system is displayed, and a substrate treating system having the same.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of the ink impact point correction apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a recognition unit for acquiring information on an impact point of ink at a plurality of points located on a substrate; and a correction unit for correcting a position of an ink discharge point on the substrate based on the information on the impact point, wherein a coordinate pattern in a form of a coordinate system is formed at the plurality of points.

Wherein the recognition unit may recognize coordinates of a droplet of the ink and acquire information on the impact point when the droplet of the ink is discharged on the coordinate pattern.

Wherein the correction unit, when coordinates of a plurality of ink droplets are acquired as information on the impact point, may calculate a slope based on the coordinates of the plurality of ink droplets, and correct the position of the ink discharge point based on the slope.

Wherein the correction unit, when coordinates of a plurality of ink droplets are acquired as information on the impact point, may correct the position of the ink discharge point so that all coordinate values of at least one axis in the coordinates of the plurality of ink droplets are 0.

Wherein the correction unit, when there are a plurality of cell areas on the substrate, may correct the position of the ink discharge point using any one of a first mode and a second mode based on relationship information between two neighboring cell areas.

Wherein the correction unit may correct the position of the ink discharge point using the first mode when correcting a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to the two neighboring cell areas, and correct the position of the ink discharge point using the second mode when correcting a pattern recipe to be differentially applied to the two neighboring cell areas.

Wherein the recognition unit, when the correction unit corrects the position of the ink discharge point using the first mode, may recognize the impact point at a plurality of points located outside the two neighboring cell areas, or the recognition unit, when the correction unit corrects the position of the ink discharge point using the second mode, may recognize the impact point at a plurality of points located outside the two neighboring cell areas and at least one point located between the two neighboring cell areas.

Wherein the correction unit may use at least one of information on whether applications having the same size are installed in the two neighboring cell areas, information on whether an application having thermal deformation is installed in the two neighboring cell areas, and information on whether an alignment is changed between the two neighboring cell areas as the relationship information.

Wherein the plurality of points may be formed in a dummy area, in which no cell area is formed on the substrate.

Wherein the plurality of points may be formed in the dummy area before the cell area is formed on the substrate, or after the cell area is formed on the substrate, and the plurality of points may be formed in the dummy area based on an alignment mark formed on the substrate when the plurality of points are formed in the dummy area before the cell area is formed on the substrate.

Wherein the recognition unit may recognize the impact point at the plurality of points arranged in a row in at least one direction on the substrate to acquire information on the impact point.

Wherein the recognition unit may recognize the impact point at two points located outside when recognizing the impact point at the plurality of points arranged in a row in one direction on the substrate.

Wherein the plurality of points may be selected by considering a moving direction of the substrate.

Wherein the plurality of points arranged in a direction different from the moving direction of the substrate may be selected.

Wherein the recognition unit may recognize the impact point at the plurality of points arranged in a row in at least two directions on the substrate, and the correction unit may correct a pattern recipe to be applied to a cell area on the substrate in at least two directions.

Wherein the correction unit may correct the position of the ink discharge point by controlling timing of discharging ink onto the substrate, or correct the position of the ink discharge point by correcting a position or posture of a device discharging ink onto the substrate, or correct the position of the ink discharge point by correcting a position or posture of the substrate.

Wherein the correction unit may correct the position of the ink discharge point before patterning RGB on the substrate.

The ink impact point correction apparatus may further comprise a selection unit for selecting a point on the substrate, to which ink is to be discharged.

Another aspect of the ink impact point correction apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object comprise a recognition unit for acquiring information on an impact point of ink at a plurality of points located on a substrate; and a correction unit for correcting a position of an ink discharge point on the substrate based on the information on the impact point, wherein the correction unit, when there are a plurality of cell areas on the substrate, corrects the position of the ink discharge point using any one of a first mode and a second mode based on relationship information between two neighboring cell areas, wherein the correction unit corrects the position of the ink discharge point using the first mode when correcting a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to the two neighboring cell areas, wherein the correction unit corrects the position of the ink discharge point using the second mode when correcting a pattern recipe to be differentially applied to the two neighboring cell areas.

One aspect of the substrate processing system of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a substrate support unit for supporting a substrate; a gantry unit movably installed on the substrate; an inkjet head module installed on the gantry unit and for discharging ink onto the substrate; and an ink impact point correction apparatus comprising a recognition unit for acquiring information on an impact point of ink at a plurality of points located on the substrate; and a correction unit for correcting a position of an ink discharge point on the substrate based on the information on the impact point, wherein a coordinate pattern in a form of a coordinate system is formed at the plurality of points.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the publication of the present invention to be complete, and are provided to fully inform those skilled in the technical field to which the present invention pertains of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

When elements are referred to as “on” or “above” of other elements, it includes not only when directly above of the other elements, but also other elements intervened in the middle. On the other hand, when elements are referred to as “directly on” or “directly above,” it indicates that no other element is intervened therebetween.

The spatially relative terms “below,” “beneath,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” etc., as shown in figures, can be used to easily describe the correlation of components or elements with other components or elements. The spatially relative terms should be understood as terms including the different direction of the element in use or operation in addition to the direction shown in the figure. For example, if the element shown in the figure is turned over, an element described as “below” or “beneath” the other element may be placed “above” the other element. Accordingly, the exemplary term “below” can include both the directions of below and above. The element can also be oriented in other directions, so that spatially relative terms can be interpreted according to the orientation.

Although the first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, elements and/or sections, these components, elements and/or sections are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component, element, or section from another component, element or section. Therefore, first component, the first element or first section mentioned below may be a second component, second element, or second section within the technical spirit of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” means that the elements, steps, operations and/or components mentioned above do not exclude the presence or additions of one or more other elements, steps, operations and/or components.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present description may be used with meanings that can be commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly defined specifically.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding elements are assigned the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and the description overlapped therewith will be omitted.

Conventionally, in order to improve the mechanical error of printing equipment, ink is impacted onto water-repellent-treated glass, and then the distance between the ink and the actual pattern is manually measured through a vision camera, and the measured distance is manually reflected by recipe offset and then the printing process is performed.

However, in this method, since the water-repellent-treated glass should be separately provided, and the above procedure should be repeated before performing the printing process, the efficiency of product production may be degraded.

The present invention relates to an ink impact point correction apparatus for automatically measuring and correcting an impact point of ink using a pattern on a substrate, on which a coordinate system is displayed, and a substrate treating system having the same.

The ink impact point correction apparatus according to the present invention can measure and correct the impact point of ink in real time using a pattern, in which X coordinates and Y coordinates are displayed in the dummy area of the mass-produced glass, without a separate water-repellent glass. According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

First, the working time can be shortened from 4 hours per day to 5 minutes, thereby improving the productivity of the equipment.

Second, it is possible to improve the product yield by automatically correcting the mechanical defects of the transport system, and prevent process defects in advance by monitoring the impact point during mass production.

Third, human errors can be eliminated with the auto tuning function, and accordingly, the quality of equipment can be improved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a substrate treating system including an ink impact point correction apparatus will be described.

FIG.1is a perspective view schematically showing an internal structure of a substrate treating system, andFIG.2is a plan view schematically showing an internal structure of a substrate treating system.

The substrate treating system is to treat the substrate. Such a substrate treating system may be implemented as a printing equipment that discharges ink or the like onto a substrate using, for example, an inkjet head module. Hereinafter, a case where the substrate treating system is a printing equipment will be described as an example.

Referring toFIGS.1and2, the printing equipment100may include a base110, a substrate support unit120, a gantry unit130, a gantry moving unit140, an inkjet head module150, a head moving unit160, a droplet discharge amount measuring unit170, and a nozzle inspection unit180.

The base110constitutes the body of the printing equipment100. The base110may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a predetermined thickness. Meanwhile, a substrate support unit120may be arranged on the upper surface of the base110.

The substrate support unit120supports the substrate (S). The substrate support unit120may include a support plate121, on which the substrate (S) is placed.

The support plate121is one, on which the substrate (S) is mounted. The support plate121may be a flat plate having a rectangular shape. Meanwhile, a rotation driving member122may be connected to the lower surface of the support plate121.

The rotation driving member122rotates the support plate121. The rotation driving member122may be implemented as a rotation motor for this purpose. The rotation driving member122may rotate the support plate121using a rotation center axis formed in a direction perpendicular to the support plate121.

When the support plate121is rotated by the rotation driving member122, the substrate (S) may also rotate along the support plate121. For example, when the long side direction of the cell formed on the substrate (S), to which the droplet is to be applied, towards the second direction20, the rotation driving member122may rotate the substrate so that the long side direction of the cell towards the first direction10.

The linear driving member123linearly moves the support plate121and the rotation driving member122. The linear driving member123may linearly move the support plate121and the rotation driving member122in the first direction10.

The linear driving member123may include a slider124and a guide member125. In this case, the rotation driving member122may be installed on the upper surface of the slider124.

The guide member125may extend from the center of the upper surface of the base110in the first direction10as a longitudinal direction. A linear motor (not shown) may be embedded in the slider124, and the slider124may be linearly moved in the first direction10along the guide member125by the linear motor.

The gantry unit130supports a plurality of inkjet head modules150. The gantry unit130may be provided above the path through which the support plate121is moved.

The gantry unit130may be spaced apart from the upper surface of the base110in the upward direction. Further, the gantry unit130may be arranged such that its longitudinal direction towards the second direction20.

The gantry moving unit140linearly moves the gantry unit130in the first direction10. The gantry moving unit140may include a first moving unit141and a second moving unit142.

The first moving unit141may be provided at one end of the gantry unit130, and the second moving unit142may be provided at the other end of the gantry unit130. In this case, the first moving unit141may slide along the first guide rail211provided on one side of the base110, and the second moving unit142may slide along the second guide rail212provided on the other side of the base110to linearly move the gantry unit130in the first direction10.

The inkjet head module150discharges droplets such as ink on the substrate (S). The inkjet head module150may be installed on the side surface of the gantry unit130and supported by the gantry unit130.

The inkjet head module150may linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the gantry unit130, that is, in the second direction20by the head moving unit160, and may linearly move in the third direction30. Further, the inkjet head module150may rotate about an axis parallel to the third direction30with respect to the head moving unit160.

A plurality of inkjet head modules150may be provided on the gantry unit130. Three inkjet head modules150, for example, a first head unit151, a second head unit152, and a third head unit153may be provided. The plurality of inkjet head modules150may be coupled to the gantry unit130in a row, for example, in the second direction20.

The inkjet head module150may include a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for discharging droplets and a nozzle plate (not shown), on which a plurality of nozzles are formed. For example, 128 nozzles or 256 nozzles may be provided to the inkjet head module150.

The inkjet head module150may be provided with a number of piezoelectric elements corresponding to a plurality of nozzles. The droplet discharge amount of the plurality of nozzles may be independently adjusted by controlling the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element.

The head moving unit160linearly moves the inkjet head module150. The head moving unit160may be provided in the printing equipment100corresponding to the number of inkjet head modules150. For example, if three inkjet head units150, such as a first head unit151, a second head unit152, and a third head unit153, are provided, three head moving units160may also be provided.

Meanwhile, a single head moving unit160may be provided, and in this case, the inkjet head module150does not move individually, but may move together at the same time.

The droplet discharge amount measuring unit170measures the droplet discharge amount of the inkjet head module150. The droplet discharge amount measuring unit170may be arranged on one side of the substrate support unit120on the base110.

The droplet discharge amount measuring unit170may measure the amount of droplets discharged from all nozzles for each inkjet head module150. Through the measurement of the droplet discharge amount of the inkjet head module150, it is possible to macroscopically check whether or not all nozzles of the inkjet head module150are abnormal. That is, when the droplet discharge amount of the inkjet head module150is out of the reference value, it can be seen that at least one of the inkjet head modules150is abnormal.

The inkjet head module150may be moved in the first direction10and the second direction20by the gantry moving unit140and the head moving unit160to be located above the droplet discharge amount measuring unit170. The head moving unit160may move the inkjet head module150in the third direction30to adjust a vertical distance between the inkjet head module150and the droplet discharge amount measuring unit170.

The nozzle inspection unit180checks whether or not an individual nozzle provided to the inkjet head module150is abnormal. The nozzle inspection unit180may check whether or not an individual nozzle is abnormal through, for example, optical inspection.

As a result of macroscopic checking on the abnormality of the nozzle in the droplet discharge amount measurement unit170, when it is determined that there is abnormality in an unspecified nozzle, inspection of all nozzles may proceed while checking whether an individual nozzle is abnormal.

The nozzle inspection unit180may be arranged on one side of the substrate support unit120on the base110. The inkjet head module150may be moved in the first direction10and the second direction20by the gantry moving unit140and the head moving unit160to be located above the nozzle inspection unit180. The head moving unit160may move the inkjet head module150in the third direction30to adjust a vertical distance between the inkjet head module150and the nozzle inspection unit180.

Meanwhile, the printing equipment100may further include a droplet supply device190.

The droplet supply device190may be installed on the upper and side portions of the gantry unit130. The droplet supply device190may include a droplet supply module191and a pressure control module192.

The droplet supply module191supplies liquid such as ink to the inkjet head module150. After receiving the liquid from a storage tank (not shown) storing the liquid, the droplet supply module191may supply the liquid to the inkjet head module150.

The pressure control module192controls the pressure of the droplet supply module191. The pressure control module192may control the pressure of the droplet supply module191by providing positive pressure or negative pressure to the droplet supply module191.

Meanwhile, the droplet supply module191and the pressure control module192may be coupled to the gantry unit130.

In order to improve the mechanical errors (e.g., translation errors, rotation errors, etc.) of the printing equipment100, impact correction for each position of the substrate is required. The substrate treating system may be equipped with an ink impact point correction apparatus for this purpose.

The ink impact point correction apparatus can automatically measure and correct the impact point of ink in order to cope with the mechanical defects of the printing equipment. Ink impact errors may be caused by mechanical defects in the transport system (e.g., gantry unit130). In this embodiment, in spite of the mechanical defects of the transport system, the above errors can be corrected to improve the printing accuracy for the substrate. The ink impact point correction apparatus can be applied to correct for non-orthogonal mismatch in the coordinate system.

Hereinafter, an ink impact point correction apparatus will be described.

FIG.3is a conceptual diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG.3, the ink impact point correction apparatus300may include a recognition unit310, a correction unit320, and a control unit330. The ink impact point correction apparatus300may further include a power supply unit340and a selection unit350. This will be described later with reference toFIG.24.

When ink is discharged to a plurality of points on the substrate (S) (e.g., a glass substrate for manufacturing a display device) by the inkjet head module150, the recognition unit310performs a function of acquiring position information about the impact point of the ink at each ink discharge point. To this end, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink at each ink discharge point.

The recognition unit310may be implemented as a vision camera that performs a recognition function. In this case, the control unit330may be implemented as a computer device (or software installed in the computer device) that controls the operation of the recognition unit310. Meanwhile, the recognition unit310may be understood as a concept including a vision camera and a computer device that controls the operation of the vision camera.

A plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) are for accurately patterning RGB on the substrate (S). The inkjet head module150may discharge ink to such a plurality of points.

The plurality of points may be formed in a dummy area on the substrate (S), in which no cell is formed. For example, as shown inFIG.4, when there are two cell areas411and412on the substrate (S), nine points431to439may be formed in the dummy area420, which is an area other than the two cell areas411and412. In the above, the cell areas411and412refer to areas, in which RGB is patterned.FIG.4is a first exemplary view for describing an arrangement structure of a plurality of ink discharge points formed on a substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Some of the plurality of points may be formed adjacent to the alignment mark440. For example, as shown inFIG.4, a first point431, a second point432, a third point433, a seventh point437, an eighth point438, and a ninth point439and the like may be formed adjacent to the alignment mark440, and the fourth point434, the fifth point435, and the sixth point436may not be formed adjacent to the alignment mark440.

However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. It is also possible that the entire plurality of points may be formed adjacent to the alignment mark440. For example, as shown inFIG.5, a first point431, a second point432, a third point433, a fourth point434, a fifth point435, and a sixth point436and the like may be formed adjacent to the alignment mark440.FIG.5is a second exemplary view for describing an arrangement structure of a plurality of ink discharge points formed on a substrate according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

A plurality of points formed in the dummy area420may be formed after the cell areas411and412are formed on the substrate (S) as shown inFIG.6. In this case, a plurality of points may be formed on the area adjacent to the cell areas411and412. The plurality of points may be formed in consideration of the alignment mark440as well. For example, a plurality of points may be formed on the area adjacent to the cell areas411and412and the alignment mark440.FIG.6is a first exemplary view for describing a method of forming a plurality of ink discharge points formed on a substrate according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. A plurality of points may be formed before forming the cell areas411and412on the substrate (S) as shown inFIG.7. In this case, a plurality of points may be formed on the area adjacent to the alignment mark440.FIG.7is a second exemplary view for describing a method of forming a plurality of ink discharge points formed on a substrate according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Meanwhile, in the examples ofFIGS.4to7, it has been described that two cell areas411and412are formed on the substrate (S). However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. Only one cell area may be formed on the substrate (S), or three or more cell areas may be formed.

In order for the recognition unit310to recognize the impact point of ink at each ink discharge point, the inkjet head module150should discharge ink to each point on the substrate (S). In this embodiment, before the inkjet head module150performs a printing process on the two cell areas411and412, a plurality of inks may be discharged on the substrate (S). In this embodiment, through this, it is possible to obtain an effect of improving the printing precision of the substrate.

When recognizing the impact point of ink at each ink discharge point, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink using a coordinate pattern installed at each ink discharge point.

The coordinate pattern may be implemented as a coordinate system composed of an X-axis coordinate value and a Y-axis coordinate value. The coordinate pattern may be implemented, for example, in a Cartesian coordinate system as shown inFIG.8.FIG.8is an exemplary diagram of a coordinate pattern installed at a plurality of points on a substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink at ink discharge points arranged in a row in the first direction10among a plurality of points on the substrate (S). In this case, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of the ink by using the entire points arranged in a row in the first direction10as the ink discharge points.

For example, as shown inFIG.9, when the first points431to ninth points439are formed on the substrate (S), the recognition units310may recognize the impact point of the ink by using three points (first point431to third point433, or fourth point434to sixth point436, or seventh point437to ninth point439) arranged in a row in the first direction10as the ink discharge points.FIG.9is a first exemplary view for describing a function of a recognition unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using some of the points arranged in a row in the first direction10as the ink discharge points.

For example, as shown inFIG.10, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using two points (first point431and third point433, the fourth point434and the sixth point436, or the seventh point437and the ninth point439)) located the outside among three points arranged in a row in the first direction10as the ink discharge points.FIG.10is a second exemplary view for describing the function of the recognition unit constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink at ink discharge points arranged in a row in the second direction20among a plurality of points on the substrate (S). In this case, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of the ink by using the entire points arranged in a row in the second direction20as the ink discharge points.

For example, as shown inFIG.11, when the first points431to ninth points439are formed on the substrate (S), the recognition units310may recognize the impact point of ink by using three points (first point431and fourth point434and seventh point437, or second point432and fifth point435and eighth point438, or the third point433and the sixth point436, and the ninth point439) arranged in a row in the second direction20as the ink discharge points.FIG.11is a third exemplary view for describing a function of a recognition unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using some of the points arranged in a row in the second direction20as the ink discharge points.

For example, as shown inFIG.12, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using two points (first point431and seventh point437, or the second point432and the eighth point438, or the third point433and the ninth point439) located the outside among three points arranged in a row in the second direction20as the ink discharge points.FIG.12is a fourth exemplary view for describing a function of a recognition unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink at a predetermined number of ink discharge points among a plurality of points on the substrate (S). In this case, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of the ink at the ink discharge point selected in consideration of the moving direction of the substrate (S).

For example, as shown inFIG.13, when the moving direction of the substrate (S) is the second direction20, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using a plurality of points arranged in a row is the first direction10that is a direction perpendicular to the second direction20as the ink discharge points.

Further, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using a plurality of points formed at the rear end of the moving substrate (S) as the ink discharge points. That is, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of the ink by using three points (that is, the first point431to the third point433) formed at the rear end of the substrate (S) among a plurality of points arranged in a row in the first direction10as the ink discharge points.FIG.13is a fifth exemplary view for describing a function of a recognition unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using some of the plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) as ink discharge points. However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using the entire plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) as ink discharge points.

When the recognition unit310recognizes the entire plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) as the ink discharge points, the entire plurality of points may be recognized as the ink discharge points by considering the first direction10and the second direction20in the order of the first direction10and the second direction20.

When recognizing the entire plurality of points as the ink discharge points in the order of the first direction10and the second direction20, for example, as shown inFIG.14, the recognition unit310may firstly recognize three points (first point431to third point433) arranged in a row in the first direction10as ink discharge points in turn, and then move in the second direction20and secondly recognize other three points (fourth point434to sixth point436) arranged in a row in the first direction10as ink discharge points in turn, and move back in the second direction20and finally recognize another three points (seventh points437to ninth points439) arranged in a row in the first direction10as ink discharge points in turn.

In this embodiment, the recognition unit310may recognize the entire plurality of points as ink discharge points in the order of the seventh point437to the ninth point439, the fourth point434to the sixth point436, and the first point431to the third point433.FIG.14is a sixth exemplary view for describing a function of a recognition unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the recognition unit310recognizes the entire plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) as ink discharge points, it is also possible to recognize the entire plurality of points as ink discharge points in consideration of the first direction10and the second direction20in the order of the second direction20and the first direction10.

When recognizing the entire plurality of points as ink discharge points in the order of the second direction20and the first direction10, for example, as shown inFIG.15, the recognition unit310may firstly recognize three points (first point431, fourth point434and seventh point437) arranged in a row in the second direction20as ink discharge points in turn, and then move in the first direction10and secondly recognize other three points (second point432, fifth point435, and eighth point438) arranged in a row in the second direction10as the ink discharge points in turn, and move back in the first direction20and finally recognize another three points (third points433, sixth point436, and ninth points439) arranged in a row in the second direction10as ink discharge points in turn.

In this embodiment, the recognition unit310may recognize the entire plurality of points as ink discharge points in the order of the third point433, the sixth point436, the ninth point439, and the second point432, the fifth point435, the eighth point438, and the first point431, the fourth point434, the seventh point437.FIG.15is a seventh exemplary view for describing the function of the recognition unit constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

On the other hand, when the recognition unit310recognizes the impact point of ink by using the entire plurality of points formed on the substrate (S) as the ink discharge points, it is also possible to recognize the impact point of the ink by randomly using the entire plurality of points as the ink discharge points.

As described above, the recognition unit310may move in at least one of the first direction10and the second direction20to recognize a plurality of ink discharge points. Hereinafter, a case where the recognition unit310moves in the first direction10to recognize a plurality of ink discharge points will be described as an example.

As described above, the recognition unit310may recognize the impact point of ink by using a coordinate pattern installed at each ink discharge point. When the inkjet head module150discharges ink onto a coordinate pattern installed at an ink discharge point, the recognition unit310may acquire the position information of the impact point of the ink based on the position information of the ink droplets on the coordinate pattern.

For example, when the ink droplet520is discharged on the coordinate pattern510as shown in the left view ofFIG.16, the recognition unit310may recognize that the X-axis coordinate value and the Y-axis coordinate value are each 1, as shown in the right view ofFIG.16. In this case, the recognition unit310may acquire (1, 1) as the position information of the impact point of the ink.FIG.16is an eighth exemplary view for describing the function of the recognition unit constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It will be described again with reference toFIG.3.

When the position information on the impact point of the ink is acquired by the recognition unit310, the correction unit320performs a function of correcting the position of the ink discharge point based on this information. In this case, the correction unit320may correct the position of the ink discharge point in real time and/or automatically based on the position information of the impact point of the ink.

For example, when ink droplets521,522,523are sequentially discharged on the coordinate patterns511,512,513of the first point431, the second point432, and the third point433as shown inFIG.17, the recognition unit310may acquire position information of the first ink droplet521, position information of the second ink droplet522, and position information of the third ink droplet523as (0, 0), (1, 1) and (2, 2), respectively. Then, the correction unit320may linearly analyze the data acquired by the recognition unit310to measure a slope, and automatically correct a pattern recipe to correct the position of the ink discharge point.FIG.17is a first exemplary view for describing a function of a correction unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When measuring the slope by linearly analyzing the data acquired by the recognition unit310, if position information of the first ink droplet521, position information of the second ink droplet522, and position information of the third ink droplet523are acquired as (0,0), (1,1) and (2,2), respectively, as shown inFIG.17, the correction unit320may measure the slope of a line segment connecting position information of the three ink droplets521,522, and523on the coordinate patterns511,512and513, as shown inFIG.18.FIG.18is a second exemplary view for describing a function of a correction unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Further, when the position of the ink discharge point is corrected by automatically correcting the pattern recipe, the correction unit320may correct the position of the ink discharge point so that the position information of the three ink droplets521,522and523have the slope of line segment of (0, 0), (1, 0), (2, 0), respectively, as shown inFIG.19when the slope of the line segment connecting the position information of the three ink droplets521,522,523on the coordinate patterns511,512,513is measured as shown inFIG.18. The correction unit320may correct the position of the ink discharge points so that the position information of the three ink droplets521,522, and523are all (0, 0).FIG.19is a third exemplary view for describing the function of the correction unit constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The correction unit320may be implemented with software (or a computer device that executes such software) that determines the discharge timing of ink and corrects the position of the ink discharge point. However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The correction unit320may be implemented as a device (e.g., a jetting drive) that discharges ink at a discharge timing determined according to the control of the computer device.

Meanwhile, the correction unit320may be implemented as a device (e.g., an axis movement control unit) that corrects the position of the ink discharge point by controlling the position and posture of the equipment. In this case, the correction unit320may correct the position of the ink discharge point by controlling the position and posture of the gantry unit130or the inkjet head module150. Further, the correction unit320may control the position and posture of the substrate (S) to correct the position of the ink discharge point.

Meanwhile, when the correction unit320is implemented as a jetting drive, an axis movement control unit, or the like, the control unit330may be implemented as software or a computer device that executes such software. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the correction unit320may cover not only the jetting drive, the axis movement control unit, etc., but also software controlling them (that is, the position of the ink discharge point can be corrected by determining the discharge timing of ink).

As described above, one cell area may be formed on the substrate (S), but a plurality of cell areas may be formed. Hereinafter, when a plurality of cell areas are formed on the substrate (S), how the correction unit320corrects the position of the ink discharge point will be described.

Hereinafter, a case where two cell areas, that is, a first cell area411and a second cell area412, are formed on the substrate (S), and the first point431, the second point432and the third point433are formed in the first direction10as ink discharge points will be described as an example.

In the above, the first point431refers to an ink discharge point formed outside the second cell area412, that is, between one boundary of the substrate (S) and the second cell area412. Further, the second point432refers to an ink discharge point formed between the first cell area411and the second cell area412, and the third point433refers to an ink discharge point formed outside the first cell area411, that is, between the other boundary of the substrate (S) and the first cell area411.

The correction unit320may correct the position of the ink discharge point based on whether any of the common mode and the differential mode is applied to the two cell areas411and412.

The common mode means glass printing mode. When the first cell area411and the second cell area412are formed on the substrate (S), and the common mode is applied to the two cell areas411and412, the first cell area411and the second cell area412may be patterned with RGB in the same manner. The common mode may be applied, for example, when panels having the same size are formed in the first cell area411and the second cell area412as shown inFIG.20.FIG.20is an exemplary diagram for describing a common mode applied to patterning of a cell area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The differential mode means a printing mode for each cell. When the first cell area411and the second cell area412are formed on the substrate (S), and the differential mode is applied to the two cell areas411and412, the first cell area411and the second cell area412may be patterned with RGB in different ways. The differential mode may be applied, for example, when panels having different sizes are formed in the first cell area411and the second cell area412as shown inFIG.21.FIG.21is an exemplary diagram for describing a differential mode applied to patterning of a cell area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the example ofFIG.21, the differential mode may be considered when a large area application is applied to one cell area compared to another cell area. However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The differential mode may be considered when an application with a lot of deformation (for example, an application having a large thermal deformation) is applied to at least one of the two cell areas, and the differential mode also may be considered when there are some changes such as change of the alignment between the two cell areas.

When the common mode is applied to the two cell areas411and412, the correction unit320may correct a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to the two cell areas411and412automatically and/or in real-time based on the position information on ink droplets at a plurality of ink discharge points formed outside the two cell areas411and412.

For example, when the position information of the first ink droplet521impacted on the first point431is (0, 0), and the position information of the second ink droplet522impacted on the second point432is (1, 1), and the position information of the third ink droplet523impacted on the third point433is (2, 2), the correction unit320may correct a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to the two cell areas411and412by correcting the position of each ink discharge point based on the position information of the first ink droplet521and the position information of the third ink droplet523.

That is, as shown inFIG.22, the correction unit320may correct a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to the two cell areas411and412by correcting the position of each ink discharge point so that the position information of the first ink droplet521and the position information of the third ink droplet523have the slope of line segments of (0, 0) and (2, 0), respectively.FIG.22is a fourth exemplary view for describing a function of a correction unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the differential mode is applied to the two cell areas411and412, the correction unit320may correct a pattern recipe to be differentially applied to the two cell areas411and412automatically and/or in real-time based on position information of ink droplets at a plurality of ink discharge points formed outside the two cell areas411and412and between the two cell areas411and412.

For example, when the position information of the first ink droplet521impacted on the first point431is (0, 0), and the position information of the second ink droplet522impacted on the second point432is (1, 1), and the position information of the third ink droplet523impacted on the third point433is (2, 1.5), the correction unit320may correct the pattern recipe to be differentially applied to the two cell areas411and412by correcting the position of each ink discharge point based on the position information of the first ink droplet521, the position information of the second ink droplet522and the position information of the third ink droplet523.

That is, as shown inFIG.23, the correction unit320may firstly correct the pattern recipe to be applied to the second cell area412by correcting the position of each ink discharge point so that the position information of the first ink droplet521and the position information of the second ink droplet522have the slope of the line segments of (0, 0) and (1, 0), respectively. And, the correction unit320may secondly correct the pattern recipe to be applied to the first cell area411by correcting the position of each ink discharge point so that the position information of the second ink droplet522and the position information of the third ink droplet have the slope of the line segment of (1, 0) and (2, 0), respectively.FIG.23is a fifth exemplary view for describing a function of a correction unit constituting an ink impact point correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the correction unit320corrects the position of the ink discharge point using any one of a common mode and a differential mode, it may be possible to correspond to a multi-model glass (MMG) according to an application change. Here, MMG refers to a case, in which panels of different sizes (for example, a 65-inch panel and a 55-inch panel) are produced in the two cell areas411and412.

In this embodiment, since the coordinate pattern can be used for the dummy area of the mass-produced glass, there is an advantage that the recipe can be corrected at any time during mass production. For example, there is an advantage that such a recipe check and correction are possible in the first glass for every cassette unit (e.g., 20 glasses).

In the above, when two cell areas are formed on the substrate (S), how the correction unit320corrects the position of the ink discharge point has been described. However, in this embodiment, three or more cell areas may be formed on the substrate (S).

In this case, the two neighboring cell areas are used as the first cell area411and the second cell area412, and the ink discharge points formed outside the two neighboring cell areas and between the two neighboring cell areas are used as the first point431to the third point433, and the correction unit320may correct a pattern recipe to be commonly applied to two neighboring cell areas, or correct a pattern recipe to be differentially applied to two neighboring cell areas according to any one of the common mode and the differential mode.

The correction unit320may correct the pattern recipe of the cell area formed on the substrate (S) in the X-axis direction based on information on a plurality of ink discharge points arranged in a row in the first direction10.

However, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The correction unit320may correct the pattern recipe of the cell area formed on the substrate (S) in the Y-axis direction based on information on a plurality of ink discharge points arranged in a row in the second direction20.

Further, the correction unit320may correct the pattern recipe of the cell area formed on the substrate (S) not only in the X-axis direction, but also in the Y-axis direction and the θ-axis (slope) direction based on information on a plurality of ink discharge points arranged in a row in the first direction10and information on a plurality of ink discharge points arranged in a row in the second direction20.

It will be described again with reference toFIG.3.

The control unit330functions to control the entire operation of the recognition unit310and the correction unit320constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus300. The control unit330may be implemented as a computer device (or software installed in the computer device).

In this embodiment, the ink impact point correction apparatus300may be implemented as a computer device. In this case, the recognition unit310may be embedded in the computer device as software that can control the vision camera, and the correction unit320may be embedded in the computer device as software that can control the jetting drive, the axis movement control unit, etc.

The ink impact point correction apparatus300may further include a power supply unit340and a selection unit350as shown inFIG.24.FIG.24is a conceptual diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an ink impact point correction apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The power supply unit340performs a function of supplying power to each module constituting the ink impact point correction apparatus300.

The selection unit350performs a function of selecting an ink discharge point, to which ink is discharged on the substrate (S). When the ink discharge point is selected by the selection unit350, the gantry unit130may move on the base110so that the inkjet head module150is located at the selected point on the substrate (S), and the inkjet head module150may discharge ink at that point. Then, the recognition unit310and the correction unit320may perform the functions described above by targeting the ink discharge point selected by the selection unit350.

The selection unit350may select a plurality of ink discharge points on the substrate (S). At this time, when the inkjet head module150reaches each ink discharge point on the substrate (S) (i.e., the first point to the nth point (where n is a natural number of 2 or more)), the inkjet head module150may discharge ink at the corresponding point.

The selection unit350may be implemented as software installed in a computer device. Alternatively, the selection unit350may be a computer device that executes software.

The ink impact point correction apparatus300according to various embodiments of the present invention has been described above with reference toFIGS.3to24. The ink impact point correction apparatus300measures and corrects the impact point of ink in real time/automatically using a pattern on a substrate, on which a coordinate system is displayed. The ink impact point correction apparatus300may be applied to various pattern printing equipment including ink-jet equipment.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the above and the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can understand that it can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative and non-limiting in all respects.