Patent ID: 8267038

Claim:
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising: a set of a plurality of droplet discharge heads configured and arranged to discharge a liquid material; a stage configured and arranged to mount a substrate as a target of landing the discharged liquid material; a stage movement unit configured and arranged to move the droplet discharge heads and the stage relative to each other in a main scanning direction; a weight measurement unit configured and arranged to measure the weight of the liquid material discharged from the droplet discharge heads; a weight measurement unit movement part configured and arranged to move the droplet discharge heads and the weight measurement unit relative to each other in the main scanning direction; a weight measurement unit secondary movement part configured and arranged to move the droplet discharge heads and the weight measurement unit relative to each other in a secondary scanning direction that is substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction; a dummy discharge receptacle configured and arranged to receive the liquid material discharged in a dummy discharge performed by the droplet discharge heads in order to maintain a state of the droplet discharge heads; and a weight measurement controller configured to control the droplet discharge heads, the weight measurement unit, the weight measurement unit movement part, and the weight measurement unit secondary movement part, the weight measurement controller being configured to move the droplet discharge heads and the weight measurement unit relative to each other so that the droplet discharge heads are placed in a position that faces the weight measurement unit by controlling the weight measurement unit movement part and the weight measurement unit secondary movement part, the weight measurement controller being configured to control one of the droplet discharge heads in the set to perform a weight measurement discharge for measuring a weight of the liquid material discharged from the one of the droplet discharge heads, and to control the rest of the droplet discharge heads in the set so that the dummy discharge is performed in the rest of the droplet discharge heads concurrent to the weight measurement discharge carried out by the one of the droplet discharge heads.