Patent Publication Number: US-10308036-B2

Title: Printhead, printing equipment and printing method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201710624809.5 filed on Jul. 27, 2017 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of display product manufacturing technology, and in particular, to a printhead, a printing equipment and a printing method. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     At present, in the field of display product manufacturing technology, a film layer is generally formed on a substrate by vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like, and then a corresponding pattern is formed on the film layer by a photolithographic process or the like. However, when the above method is used to manufacture a display product, it is necessary to perform a photolithographic process to etch away some parts of the film layer, resulting in a low utilization rate of material. In order to increase the utilization rate of material, a printing method may generally be adopted. The printing method is implemented by ejecting droplets onto a substrate by a printhead to form a corresponding pattern on the substrate. When a printing method is used, it is unnecessary to adopt such as the photolithographic process to etch away some parts of the film layer to form the corresponding pattern, instead, the droplets are directly dropped onto the substrate to form the corresponding pattern. Therefore, a method of manufacturing a display product using a printing method has a high utilization rate of material, thus more and more display product manufacturer&#39;s attention is drawn to it. 
     The printing method is generally implemented by using a printing equipment. The printing equipment includes a printhead in which a plurality of nozzles are disposed. Droplets are ejected onto the substrate by the nozzles in the printhead to realize a manufacture of the display product. However, in such a printing equipment, due to limitation of structure and working manner of the nozzles in the printhead, it is difficult to control the droplets ejected from the nozzles in the relevant art, and thus it is difficult to obtain a display product with a higher resolution when adopting such a printing equipment to manufacture the display product. 
     SUMMARY 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following technical solutions: 
     A printhead, comprising: 
     a primary liquid discharging assembly, comprising a plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles for forming primary droplets; and 
     a plurality of flow branching components below the primary liquid discharging assembly, and the plurality of flow branching components being in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles, wherein each of the plurality of flow branching components is configured to be in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle, and to split each of the primary droplets into at least two branched droplets. 
     Optionally, the printhead further comprises a plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels below the primary liquid discharging assembly, the plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels being in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of flow branching components, 
     wherein each of the flow branching components is located in a corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel of the plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels, and the each of the flow branching component is configured to separate the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel into at least two branching channels, and in the at least two branched droplets formed from the primary droplet which is split by the each of the flow branching components, each of the branched droplets flows through a corresponding branching channel. 
     Optionally, each of the flow branching components comprises a tine, and a tip of the tine is directed towards a corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle of the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles. 
     Optionally, a distance between a channel wall of each of the secondary liquid discharging channels and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle is less than a distance between the tine and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle. 
     Optionally, the printhead further comprises a plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels below the primary liquid discharging assembly, the plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels being in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of flow branching components, 
     wherein each of the flow branching components is located in an opening of a corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel of the plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels close to a corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle of the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles, and in the at least two branched droplets formed from each of the primary droplets which is split by a corresponding flow branching component of the plurality of flow branching components, one of the branched droplets flows through the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel, and the remaining branched droplets are diverted to an outside of the secondary liquid discharging channels. 
     Optionally, each of the flow branching components comprises a tine disposed on a channel wall of the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel, and a tip of the tine is directed towards the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle. 
     Optionally, each of the flow branching components further comprises a shielding wall disposed on the channel wall of the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel and facing the tine, and a distance between the shielding wall and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle is less than a distance between the tine and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle. 
     Optionally, each of the flow branching components further comprises a flow guiding slot on a side of the tine facing away from the secondary liquid discharging channel. 
     Optionally, the shielding wall is flush with a corresponding channel wall in channel walls of a primary liquid discharging channel of the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle, and a distance between the tine and the shielding wall is less than a distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall and the channel wall corresponding to the tine, in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channels of the primary liquid discharging nozzles. 
     Optionally, the distance between the tine and the shielding wall is ⅓ to ¾ of the distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall and the channel wall corresponding to the tine, in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channels of the primary liquid discharging nozzles. 
     Optionally, the distance between the tine and the shielding wall is ½ of the distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall and the channel wall corresponding to the tine, in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channels of the primary liquid discharging nozzles. 
     Optionally, an apex angle of the tine is variable. 
     Optionally, the tine is made of a piezoelectric material. 
     Optionally, the printhead further comprises a first static electricity generator on an opening of the secondary liquid discharging channel away from the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle. 
     Optionally, the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel of the primary liquid discharging nozzle is made of a piezoelectric material. 
     Optionally, the printhead further comprises a partition plate between the primary liquid discharging assembly and the secondary liquid discharging channels, the partition plate being provided with a plurality of through holes, the plurality of through holes being in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles, and a cross-sectional area of the through hole being greater than a cross-sectional area of the primary liquid discharging channel of the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle of the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles. 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following technical solutions: 
     A printing equipment, comprising the printhead according to the foregoing technical solutions. 
     Optionally, the printing equipment comprises a stage below the printhead, a second static electricity generator is on the stage, and the second static electricity generator is configured to generate an electrical property of static electricity that is opposite to an electrical property of static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator in the printhead. 
     Optionally, the printing equipment further comprises a liquid supply system, a recovery system, and a waste liquid system, wherein 
     the liquid supply system is communicated with a liquid inlet of the primary liquid discharging assembly of the printhead; 
     the recovery system is communicated with the liquid supply system, a liquid outlet of the primary liquid discharging assembly, and a flow guiding slot of the flow branching components of the printhead, and a switching valve is provided in a pipeline communicating the flow guiding slot with the recovery system; and 
     the waste liquid system is communicated with the liquid outlet of the primary liquid discharging assembly and the flow guiding slot. 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following technical solutions: 
     A printing method using the printhead according to the foregoing technical solutions, wherein the printing method comprises: 
     forming the primary droplets by the primary liquid discharging nozzles of the primary liquid discharging assembly; and 
     making each of the flow branching components in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets. 
     Optionally, after making each of the flow branching components in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, the printing method further comprises: 
     generating static electricity by a first static electricity generator to charge the branched droplets flowing through secondary liquid discharging channels; 
     generating by a second static electricity generator static electricity having an electrical property of static electricity that is opposite to an electrical property of static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator, to form an electric field between the printhead and a stage; and 
     dropping the charged branched droplets onto a substrate placed on the stage. 
     Optionally, before forming the primary droplets by the primary liquid discharging nozzles of the primary liquid discharging assembly, the printing method further comprises: 
     supplying a printing liquid by a liquid supply system to the primary liquid discharging assembly of the printhead; 
     after making each of the flow branching components in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, the printing method further comprises: 
     directing the printing liquid in the primary liquid discharging assembly that does not form primary droplets and the printing liquid in the flow guiding slot of the flow branching component into a recovery system; and 
     introducing the printing liquid in the recovery system into the liquid supply system. 
     Optionally, the printing method further comprises: 
     directing the printing liquid in the primary liquid discharging assembly that does not form primary droplets and the printing liquid in a flow guiding slot of the flow branching component into a waste liquid system, and cleaning the primary liquid discharging assembly and the flow guiding slot. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings listed herein are provided to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and the description thereof are used to explain the present disclosure, but do not improperly limit the present disclosure. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic structural view of a printhead according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic structural view of a primary liquid discharging device in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic structural view of a secondary liquid discharging channel in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view along A-A in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is another schematic structural view of a secondary liquid discharging channel in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view along B-B in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic structural view of a printing equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of an electric field formed between a stage and a printhead in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is another schematic view of an electric field formed between a stage and a printhead in  FIG. 7 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart of a printing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In order to further describe the printhead, the printing equipment, and the printing method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 6 , a printhead  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , comprising a plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles  111  for forming primary droplets; and a plurality of flow branching components  13  located below the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and the plurality of flow branching components  13  are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles  111 . The flow branching component  13  can be configured to be in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and branch the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets. 
     For example, the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is used in a printing equipment to form a corresponding pattern on a substrate by using a printing process, to manufacture a display product, such as a liquid crystal display product or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display product, etc. The printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and flow branching components  13 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  comprises a plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles  111  arranged in an array, or arranged in a row or a column. Each of the primary liquid discharging nozzles  111  comprises a primary liquid discharging channel  112 , and each of the primary liquid discharging nozzles  111  can form primary liquid droplets from a printing liquid introduced into the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 . The primary liquid droplets flow out through the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . A plurality of the flow branching components  13  are located below the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and the plurality of flow branching components  13  are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles  111 , that is, one flow branching component  13  is provided below each primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . The flow branching component  13  can be in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary dispensing nozzle  111  and split the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets. In the at least two branched droplets formed from the primary droplet which is split by the flow branching component  13 , at least one branched droplet is dropped onto the substrate to form the corresponding pattern. 
     Therefore, in the printhead according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the primary droplets are formed by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and the primary droplets formed by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  are split by the corresponding flow branching component  13 , to form at least two branched droplets, so that a volume of each branched droplet is reduced in comparison with a volume of the primary droplet, and then the branched droplets are dropped onto the substrate to form the corresponding pattern. Thus the droplets falling on the substrate are controlled, especially the volume of the droplet falling on the substrate is reduced, so that the pattern formed on the substrate can be controlled. In this way, the precision of the pattern formed on the substrate can be improved, and a display product with a higher resolution can be manufactured. 
     It should be noted that, in the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the primary liquid discharging assemblies  11  may be one, or may be more than one. If the number of the primary liquid discharging assemblies  11  is more than one, the plurality of primary liquid discharging assemblies  11  are stacked in order above the flow branching component  13 , and in two adjacent ones of the primary liquid discharging assemblies  11 , the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the upper primary liquid discharging assembly  11  has a cross-sectional area greater than that of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the lower primary liquid discharging assembly  11 . With such a design, from top to bottom, the cross-sectional areas of the primary liquid discharging channels  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzles  111  in the primary liquid discharging assemblies  11  gradually decrease, and the volumes of the formed primary droplets also gradually decrease, thereby the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, especially the volume of the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, to achieve a display product with a higher resolution. 
     Similarly, in the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the flow branching components  13  may be one to form one stage of branching, or may be more than one to form multiple stages of branching. If the flow branching components  13  are set in multiple stages, the multiple stages of flow branching components  13  are stacked in order below the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and in adjacent two stages of the multiple stages of flow branching components  13 , the lower flow branching component  13  can be in contact with the branched droplet which is formed by a branching operation of the upper flow branching component  13 , and further split the branched droplet which is formed by the branching operation of the upper flow branching component  13 . In this way, from top to bottom, the volumes of the droplets formed by the flow branching components  13  gradually decrease, thereby the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, especially the volume of the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, to achieve a display product with a higher resolution. 
     In the above embodiment, the flow branching component  13  is in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , to split the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, then all the branched droplets can be made to pass through the corresponding channels respectively to fall on the substrate to form a corresponding pattern. Specifically, referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the printhead according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels  12  located below the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , the plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels  12  are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of flow branching components  13 . The flow branching component  13  is located in a corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the flow branching component  13  is configured to separate the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12  into at least two branching channels  121 , and branched droplets are formed from the primary droplet which is split by the flow branching component  13 , and each of the at least two branched droplets flows through a corresponding branching channel  121 . For example, further referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the flow branching component  13  is provided in a corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the flow branching component  13  separates the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  into two branching channels  121 . After the primary droplet is split by the flow branching component  13 , two branched droplets may be formed. One branched droplet falls onto the substrate through one branching channel  121 , and the other branched droplet falls onto the substrate through the other branching channel  121 , i.e., two branched droplets respectively fall onto the substrate through the corresponding flow branching channels  121  to respectively form corresponding patterns. With such a design, all the branched droplets formed from the primary droplet which has been split can be dropped onto the substrate to form corresponding patterns, thus it can increase the utilization rate of material and reduce material waste. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the flow branching component  13  may comprise a tine  131 , and a tip of the tine  131  is directed towards the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . For example, further referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the tine  131  is located in the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and separates the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  into two flow branching channels  121 . The primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , contacts with the tip of the tine  131 , and is split into two parts by the tip of the tine  131 , forming two branched droplets. The two branched droplets fall on the substrate through the corresponding branching channels  121  to form corresponding patterns. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a distance between a channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  is less than a distance between the tine  131  and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . That is to say, the tine  131  is located in the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the tip of the tine  131  is directed towards the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and the tip of the tine  131  is lower than an opening of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  facing the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . Therefore, when the primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , it at first contacts with the channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and falls down along the channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and then the primary droplet contacts with the tine  131 . When the primary droplet is in contact with the tine  131 , the channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  can block the primary droplet, and prevent the primary droplet from shifting due to the force caused by the contact with the tine  131 . 
     In the above embodiment, the flow branching component  13  is in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , to split the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, and it is also possible to allow a portion of the branched droplets to fall on the substrate through the corresponding channel, to form a corresponding pattern. Specifically, referring to  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 6 , the printhead according to an embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels  12  located below the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 . The plurality of secondary liquid discharging channels  12  are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of flow branching components  13 . The flow branching component  13  is located in an opening of a corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12  close to the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and at least two branched droplets are formed from the primary droplet which is split by the flow branching component  13 . One of the branched droplets flows through the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the remaining branched droplets are diverted to an outside of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . For example, further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the flow branching component  13  is provided on the channel wall of the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the flow branching component  13  is located in the opening the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  facing the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . When the primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the flow branching component  13  can split the primary droplet into two branched droplets, and one of the branched droplets falls onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  to form a corresponding pattern, and the other branched droplet is diverted by the flow branching component  13  to the outside of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and is no longer dropped onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , thereby the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, especially the volume of the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, to achieve a display product with a higher resolution. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the flow branching component  13  may comprise a tine  131  disposed on a channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and a tip of the tine  131  is directed towards the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . Specifically, the tine  131  may be disposed on a channel wall on one side of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the tine  131  is directed towards the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . One side of the tine  131  faces the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and the other side faces away from the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . The primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , contacts with the tine  131 , and is split by the tip of the tine  131  to form two branched droplets. One of the branched droplets falls along the left side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6  and enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and falls onto the substrate to form a corresponding pattern. The other branched droplet falls along the right side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6 , and is directed to the outside of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . 
     Further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the flow branching component  13  further comprises a shielding wall  132  disposed on the channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and facing the tine  131 , and a distance between the shielding wall  132  and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  is less than a distance between the tine  131  and the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . For example, further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the flow branching component  13  comprises a shielding wall  132  and a tine  131 . The shielding wall  132  is located on a left channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  or  FIG. 6 , and the tine  131  is located on a right channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  or  FIG. 6 , and the shielding wall  132  is higher than the tine  131 . When the primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the primary droplet at first contacts with the shielding wall  132  and falls down along the shielding wall  132 , and then contacts with the tine  131  and is split by the tine  131  to form two branched droplets. One of the branched droplets falls along the left side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6  and enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and falls onto the substrate to form a corresponding pattern. The other branched droplet falls along the right side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6 , and is directed to the outside of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . With such a design, when the primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the shielding wall  132  can block the primary droplet and prevent the primary droplet from falling down into the adjacent secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . At the same time, when the primary droplet contacts with the tine  131 , the shielding wall  132  can also block the primary droplet and prevent the primary droplet from shifting due to the force caused by the contact with the tine  131 . 
     Further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the flow branching component  13  further comprises a flow guiding slot  133  on a side of the tine  131  facing away from the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . For example, further referring to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the flow branching component  13  comprises a tine  131 , a shielding wall  132 , and a flow guiding slot  133 . The tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  are respectively disposed on the channel walls of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the tine  131  faces the shielding wall  132 . An inlet of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  is located between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132 , and the flow guiding slot  133  is located on a side of the tine  131  facing away from the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . It is also understood that the flow guiding slot  133  is located on a side of the tine  131  facing away from the shielding wall  132 . When the primary droplet enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the primary droplet at first contacts with the shielding wall  132  and falls along the shielding wall  132 , then contacts with the tine  131 , and is split by the tine  131  to form two branched droplets. One of the branched droplets falls along the left side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6  and enters the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and falls onto the substrate to form a corresponding pattern. The other branched droplet falls along the right side of the tine  131  in  FIG. 6 , and is directed to the flow guiding slot  133 . The arrangement of the flow guiding slot  133  can be used to receive the branched droplet directed to the outside of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  by the tine  131  after the primary droplet contacting with the tine  131 , so as to drain the branched droplet, to prevent the branched droplet from flowing into the adjacent secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . 
     In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the shielding wall  132  is flush with a corresponding channel wall in channel walls of a primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and a distance between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  is less than a distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall  132  and the channel wall corresponding to the tine  131 , in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . For example, the distance between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  may be ⅓ to ¾ of the distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall  132  and the channel wall corresponding to the tine  131 , in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . Optionally, the distance between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  is ½ of the distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall  132  and the channel wall corresponding to the tine  131 , in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . 
     For example, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the cross-sectional shape of the liquid discharging channel of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  may be a rectangle. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the cross-sectional shape of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  is also a rectangle. The left side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  is flush with the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the left side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 . The upper side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  is flush with the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the upper side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 . The lower side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  is flush with the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the lower side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 . The right side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  is offset towards the left side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  relative to the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the right side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 , that is, a distance between the left side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and the right side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5  is less than a distance between two corresponding channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . The shielding wall  132  is disposed on the left side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 , and the tine  131  is disposed on the right side channel wall of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 5 . The shielding wall  132  is also flush with the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the shielding wall  132 , and the tine  131  is offset towards the shielding wall  132  relative to the channel wall in the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  corresponding to the tine  131 , that is, a distance between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  is less than a distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall  132  and the channel wall corresponding to the tine  131  in the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . The distance between the tine  131  and the shielding wall  132  may be set to ⅓ to ¾, optionally ½, of the distance between the channel wall corresponding to the shielding wall  132  and the channel wall corresponding to the tine  131  in the channel walls of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . With such a design, the primary droplet can be conveniently brought into contact with the shielding wall  132  when entering the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and fall along the shielding wall  132  so that the primary droplet can be properly in contact with the tine  131  and be split by the tine  131  to form two branched droplets. 
     In the above embodiment, in order to further control the volume of the branched droplet falling onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , the tine  131  can be set as a tine  131  with a variable apex angle. By changing the apex angle of the tine  131 , the volume of the two branched droplets formed by splitting the primary droplet by the tine  131  may be controlled, thereby further controlling the volume of the branched droplet falling onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . 
     In the above embodiment, if the tine  131  is set as the tine  131  with a variable apex angle, the material of the tine  131  can be selected as a deformable material. For example, the tine  131  may be made of a deformable material, optionally piezoelectric material, such as piezoelectric ceramic, piezoelectric crystal, piezoelectric polymer, and the like. When the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is used, different voltages may be applied to the tine  131 , to deform the tine  131  to different degrees. In this way, the apex angle of the tine  131  may be changed so as to control the amount of the ink separated from the primary ink by the tine  131 , to control the droplets falling onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , especially the volume of the droplets falling onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , thereby further facilitating the manufacturing of the display product with a higher resolution. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 4  or  FIG. 6 , in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the printhead  10  further comprises a first static electricity generator  15  disposed on an opening of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  away from the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , i.e., a lower opening of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  in  FIG. 4  or  FIG. 6 . Therefore, when the first static electricity generator  15  generates static electricity, it may charge the branched droplet dropped onto the substrate through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . If an electric field is formed between the printhead  10  and the stage for carrying the substrate in the printing equipment, and a direction of the electric field is configured to drive the charged branched droplet to move towards the stage, then the charged branched droplet is moved along the direction of the electric field to the substrate on the stage, so that a position of the branched droplet falling on the substrate can be controlled, and a speed of the branched droplet moving to the stage can be controlled, thereby improving the accuracy of the pattern formed on the substrate. 
     In the above embodiment, the primary droplet may be formed by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  in various manners. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to  FIG. 2 , the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  is made of a piezoelectric material. For example, the material of the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  can be chosen from piezoelectric ceramic, piezoelectric crystal, piezoelectric polymer, and the like. When the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is used, the printing liquid is supplied into the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and the printing liquid enters the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and a voltage is applied to the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  to deform the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  and compress the primary liquid discharging channel  112 , thereby the printing liquid in the primary liquid discharging channel  112  is extruded to form the primary droplet. By applying different voltages to the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112 , the channel wall of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  is deformed to different degrees to adjust the degree of compression of the primary liquid discharging channel  112 , thereby adjusting the volume of the formed primary droplet. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 1 , the printhead  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a partition plate  14  between the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the secondary liquid discharging channels  12 , the partition plate  14  is provided with a plurality of through holes  141 , the plurality of through holes  141  are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of primary liquid discharging nozzles  111 , and a cross-sectional area of the through hole  141  is greater than a cross-sectional area of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . The partition plate  14  is disposed in such a way that there is a certain distance between the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , thus the opening of the primary liquid discharging channel  112  of the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  close to the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12  is spaced from the opening of the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  close to the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  by a certain distance. A certain drop distance is prepared for the primary droplet formed by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  before the primary droplet enters the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , so that the primary droplet has time to form a spherical shape before entering the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and after leaving the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 . Thus the primary droplet is spherical when entering the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , so that the tine  131  can effectively split the primary droplet when the primary droplet contacts with the tine  131 , thereby the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, especially the volume of the droplet falling on the substrate is controlled, to achieve a display product with a higher resolution. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a printing equipment, comprising the printhead  10  according to the above embodiments. 
     The printing equipment has the same advantages as the above-mentioned printhead  10 , therefore they will not be described repeatedly herein. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the printing equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a stage  20  located below the printhead  10 , a second static electricity generator  21  is provided on the stage  20 , and the second static electricity generator  21  is configured to generate an electrical property of static electricity that is opposite to an electrical property of static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator  15  in the printhead  10 . For example, referring to  FIG. 8 , the static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator  15  in the printhead  10  is negative, thus the droplet flowing through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  are negatively charged, and the static electricity generated by the second static electricity generator  21  on the state  20  is positive, thus an electric field directed upward is formed between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 . The negatively charged droplet is driven to move towards the substrate  60  placed on the stage  20  under the action of the electric field between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 . Alternatively, referring to  FIG. 9 , the static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator  15  in the printhead  10  is positive, thus the droplet flowing through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  are positively charged, and the static electricity generated by the second static electricity generator  21  on the state  20  is negative, thus an electric field directed downward is formed between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 . The positively charged droplet is driven to move towards the substrate  60  placed on the stage  20  under the action of the electric field between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 . 
     With such a design, the first static electricity generator  15  is used to charge the droplet flowing through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  so that the droplet flowing through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  has charges, and an electric field is formed between the printhead  10  and the stage  20  by the static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator  15  and the static electricity generated by the second static electricity generator  21 . Under the action of the electric field between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 , the charged droplet is dropped along a straight line onto the substrate  60  placed on the stage  20 , to form the corresponding pattern. Therefore, the arrangement of the first static electricity generator  15  and the second static electricity generator  21  can adjust the straightness of the droplet falling on the substrate  60  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and adjust the magnitude of the static electricity generated the first static electricity generator  15  or/and the magnitude of the static electricity generated by the second static electricity generator  21 , to adjust the magnitude of the electric field between the printhead  10  and the stage  20 , to adjust the falling speed of the droplet falling on the substrate  60  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . In this way, the position at which the droplet falls on the substrate  60  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  and the shape of the droplet falling on the substrate  60  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12  may be controlled, thereby improving the accuracy of the pattern formed on the substrate  60 . 
     Further referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7 , the printing equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a liquid supply system  30 , a recovery system  40 , and a waste liquid system  50 , wherein the liquid supply system  30  is communicated with a liquid inlet  113  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  of the printhead  10 ; the recovery system  40  is communicated with the liquid supply system  30 , a liquid outlet  114  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  of the printhead  10 , and a flow guiding slot  133  of the flow branching component  13  of the printhead  10 , and a switching valve  41  is provided in a pipeline communicating the flow guiding slot  133  with the recovery system  40 ; and the waste liquid system  50  is communicated with the liquid outlet  114  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the flow guiding slot  133 . 
     When the printing equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is used, the printing liquid supplied by the liquid supply system  30  is introduced in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  through the liquid inlet  113  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  of the printhead  10 , and enters each primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , then a primary droplet is formed after passing through the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and the primary droplet enters the corresponding secondary liquid discharging channel  12  through the corresponding through holes  141  in the partition plate  14 , and then falls on the substrate  60  placed on the stage  20  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , to form a corresponding pattern. One part of the printing liquid supplied to the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  from the liquid supply system  30  through the liquid inlet  113  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  forms the primary droplet by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111 , and the other part is introduced into the recovery system  40  through the liquid outlet  114  of the primary liquid discharging assembly  11 , and then is introduced into the liquid supply system  30  through the recovery system  40 , achieving ink recovery and utilization and reducing waste of material. The primary droplet formed by the primary liquid discharging nozzle  111  in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  of the printhead  10  fall down through the corresponding through holes  141  in the partition plate  14 , is split into two branched droplets by the flow branching component  13 . One of the branched droplets is dropped onto the substrate  60  through the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 , and the other branched droplet is directed into the flow guiding slot  133  outside the secondary liquid discharging channel  12 . The printing liquid in the flow guiding slot  133  is recycled to the reflow system  40  under the action of the switching valve  41 , and introduced through the recovery system  40  into the liquid supply system  30 , achieving ink recovery and utilization and reducing waste of material. If it is necessary to clean the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the flow guiding slot  133 , then the printing liquid remaining in the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the flow guiding slot  133  is collected by the waste liquid system  50 , so as to clean the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the flow guiding slot  133 , preventing the primary liquid discharging assembly  11  and the flow guiding slot  133  from being blocked. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a printing method using the printing equipment according to the above embodiments. The printing method comprises: 
     Step S 100 : forming the primary droplets by the primary liquid discharging nozzle of the primary liquid discharging assembly; and 
     Step S 200 : making the flow branching component in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets. 
     The printing method has the same advantages as the above-mentioned printing equipment, therefore they will not be described repeatedly herein. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 10 , after the step S 200  of making the flow branching component in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, the printing method further comprises: 
     Step S 300 : generating static electricity by a first static electricity generator to charge the branched droplet flowing through a secondary liquid discharging channel; 
     Step S 400 : generating by a second static electricity generator static electricity having an electrical property of static electricity that is opposite to an electrical property of static electricity generated by the first static electricity generator, to form an electric field between the printhead and a stage; and 
     Step S 500 : dropping the charged branched droplet onto a substrate placed on the stage. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 10 , before the step S 100  of forming the primary droplets by the primary liquid discharging nozzle of the primary liquid discharging assembly, the printing method further comprises: 
     Step S 10 : supplying a printing liquid by a liquid supply system to the primary liquid discharging assembly of the printhead; 
     Further referring to  FIG. 10 , after the step S 200  of making the flow branching component in contact with the primary droplet formed by the corresponding primary liquid discharging nozzle and splitting the primary droplet into at least two branched droplets, the printing method further comprises: 
     Step S 600 : directing the printing liquid in the primary liquid discharging assembly that does not form primary droplets and the printing liquid in the flow guiding slot of the flow branching component into a recovery system; and 
     Step S 700 : introducing the printing liquid in the recovery system into the liquid supply system. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 10 , the printing method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises: 
     Step S 800 : directing the printing liquid in the primary liquid discharging assembly that does not form primary droplets and the printing liquid in a flow guiding slot of the flow branching component into a waste liquid system, and cleaning the primary liquid discharging assembly and the flow guiding slot. 
     In the above description of the embodiments, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. 
     The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementation manners of the present disclosure, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Change or replacement may be easily made by the person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, and such change or replacement fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the claims.