JP2006021408A - Inkjet printer with cutting head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer with a cutting head capable of performing accurate cutting at a desired position, which can carry out fine printing to an uneven object to be processed. <P>SOLUTION: This inkjet printer 10 with the cutting head includes a belt conveyor 15 for conveying the object 16 to be processed. The belt conveyor 15 is held by a vertically movable belt-conveyor supporting frame 34. The inkjet printer comprises: an inkjet head 12 which has an inkjet nozzle 14 for printing on the object 16 by inkjet; the cutting head 60 which is disconnectably connected to the inkjet head 12; and a sensor for detecting an interval between the object 16 conveyed by the belt conveyor 15, and the inkjet nozzle 14 and the cutting head 60. The frame 34 is vertically moved depending on the interval detected by the sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printer with a cutting head, and more particularly to an inkjet printer with a cutting head that can print on an object to be processed having irregularities and cut the object to be printed.

  In order to perform printing on an object having uneven portions and then cut the printed material into a desired shape, conventionally, for example, an image is formed by an ink jet printer, and then a desired machine is used by a cutting machine different from the ink jet printer. The position was cut.

  Conventionally, printing is performed on an object having an uneven portion, and then the printed material is cut into a desired shape as described above. After the image is printed by the printer, it has to be cut by a cutting machine different from the printer, and the printed matter is replaced in another place, so that there is a problem that the cutting accuracy is poor.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-described problems. An inkjet printer with a cutting head that can print cleanly on an object to be processed having irregularities and can accurately cut at a desired position. The purpose is to provide.

  An inkjet printer with a cutting head according to the present invention includes a cutting head movable in a second direction by a track means, an inkjet head detachably connected to the cutting head and movable in the second direction, and an object to be processed in a plane. And a fixing base that can be fixed in the upper direction and movable in a first direction orthogonal to the second direction.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an ink jet printer with a cutting head includes a belt conveyor that conveys an object to be processed in a first direction, and the belt conveyor is held by a belt conveyor support that can move up and down. An inkjet head having inkjet nozzles for printing by inkjet and moving in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a cutting head detachably connected to the inkjet head, and a workpiece to be conveyed by a belt conveyor And a sensor for detecting a distance between the inkjet nozzle and the cutting head, and means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down in accordance with the distance detected by the sensor.

  Since the belt conveyor support is moved up and down according to the distance between the workpiece detected by the sensor and the cutting head and the inkjet nozzle, it is not necessary to move up and down the inkjet head provided with the inkjet nozzle as in the prior art. As a result, since there is no member protruding upward, the inkjet printer with a cutting head can be made compact.

  Further, after printing on the object to be processed, cutting can be performed on the apparatus on which the object to be processed is printed. As a result, an inkjet printer with a cutting head with high cutting accuracy can be provided.

  In addition, since printing can be appropriately performed on the printing material conveyed by the belt conveyor, printing and cutting on an arbitrary material can be performed as long as the material can be conveyed by the belt conveyor. Therefore, it is possible to print and cut an iron plate having an uneven portion and a heavy object such as a stone.

  Preferably, the ink jet head is driven by a cutting head.

  More preferably, the cutting head and the ink jet head are detachably provided. When the cutting head operates, the ink jet head is separated.

  More preferably, the means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down includes means for moving up and down with a ball screw.

  More preferably, it includes means for sucking the object to be processed from below the conveying surface of the object, which is provided below the surface of the belt conveyor for conveying the object to be processed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of an inkjet printer with a cutting head according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a top view of the part shown by III-III in FIG. In these drawings, a part of the frame is omitted. 1 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by II in FIG.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head is connected to a belt conveyor 15 that conveys a workpiece 16, an inkjet head 12 that is provided opposite the belt conveyor 15, and the inkjet head 12. Cutting head 60.

  The belt conveyor 15 includes a belt 55 made of a mesh-like material, a drive pulley 56 provided in a direction (X direction, first direction in the figure) in which the workpiece 16 is conveyed, and a driven pulley 57. Including. An intake box 17 for sucking the object 16 to be processed conveyed by the belt conveyor 15 is provided in a portion surrounded by the upper and lower belts of the belt conveyor 15. The intake box 17 is sucked by the exhaust blower 18 through the intake duct 19.

  The cutting head 60 and the inkjet head 12 are provided on the upper frame 22 and are reciprocated along a linear motion rail (tracking means) 21 provided on the upper frame 22 in the Y direction (see FIG. 2) intersecting with the X direction. . The inkjet head 12 and the cutting head 60 are separately attached to the linear motion rail 21 via a linear motion block (not shown).

  The ink-jet head 12 includes a sensor 13 provided on the driven pulley 57 side of the belt conveyor 15 and a plurality of nozzles 14 for each color which are provided facing the belt conveyor 15 and eject printing ink. The cutting head 60 includes a cutter 61 for cutting the workpiece 16 and a solenoid 62 for moving the cutter 61 up and down.

  The cutting head 60 has a cutter holder, and the cutter 61 is held at a predetermined position by the cutter holder. The cutter 61 is normally pulled upward by a coil spring (not shown). When cutting the paper or the like using the cutter 61, the solenoid 62 provided in the cutting head 60 is operated, and the cutter 61 is lowered to the cutting surface against the coil spring by the plunger.

  The cutter 61 is attached to a predetermined attachment portion. The attachment portion includes a swivel knife method, a rotation method, and the like, and an arbitrary cutter such as an ultrasonic cutter or a heat heat cutter is used as well as a normal blade. Can be installed.

  Also, the predetermined holder may be changed from a cutter holder to a pen holder to hold an image creation pen such as an ink pen, a sign pen, a ballpoint pen, or a pencil, and create an image based on a signal of image data. Is possible.

  Next, the connection part between the inkjet head 12 and the cutting head 60 will be described. Referring to FIG. 2, the inkjet head 12 is provided on the linear motion rail 21 so as to be positioned on the right side of the cutting head 60. The magnet 68 fixed to the left side wall of the inkjet head 12 and the magnet 69 fixed to the right side wall of the cutting head 60 are configured so that both can be appropriately connected or detached. Here, two magnets are not used to connect the two, but one of them may be a magnet and the other may be an iron plate or the like.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the inkjet head 12 and the cutting head 60 can be connected or separated depending on whether or not the magnets 68 and 69 are connected.

  The cutting head 60 is driven by the wire 87, and the inkjet head 12 is moved following the cutting. The wire 87 is driven via a drive pulley 91 by a motor 90 provided at one end of the upper frame 22 of the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head. The other end side of the wire 87 is supported by a driven pulley 92. In FIG. 3, the driven pulley 92 is omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 2, in the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head, a capping device 94 is provided for maintaining ink in the inkjet nozzle 14 when the inkjet head 12 is not used. When the workpiece 16 printed by the inkjet head 12 is cut by the cutter 61 provided on the cutting head 60, the inkjet head 12 is separated from the cutting head 60 and held at the position of the capping device 94. . The inkjet head 12 is separated from the cutting head 60 as follows. The inkjet head 12 is moved to the capping position by the cutting head 60. In this state, the end of the inkjet head 12 on the capping device 94 side is locked by a locking portion (not shown) provided at the end of the linear motion rail 21 on the capping device 94 side. In this state, the cutting head 60 is moved away from the inkjet head 12 by moving the cutting head 60 toward the driven pulley 92 with the wire 87. Conversely, in order to connect the cutting head 60 and the inkjet head 12, the locking portion described above is unlocked, the magnet 69 on the cutting head 60 side and the magnet 68 on the inkjet head 12 side are connected, The inkjet head 12 is moved by the cutting head 60.

  2 and 3, the capping device 94 is provided at a position away from the belt conveyor 15 so as not to hinder the movement of the cutting head 60 that moves alone.

  When the inkjet head 12 is held at the capping position, in FIG. 2, the inkjet head 12 is moved to the right end by the cutting head 60, so that the right end of the inkjet head 12 is moved to the right end of the capping device 94. It abuts against the attached stopper 100. When the ink jet head 12 reaches this position, a metal fitting 89 that is swingably attached to the capping device 94 rises vertically upward to cap the nozzle 14 of the ink jet head 12.

  Next, a state where the nozzles of the inkjet head 12 are engaged with the capping device 94 and are in the capping position will be described. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a capping state of the inkjet nozzle 14 and the capping device 94 in this state. The inkjet head 12 has black ink nozzles and color ink nozzles, and each is maintained separately by a black ink capping unit 95 and a color ink capping unit 96. The black ink capping unit 95 and the color ink capping unit 96 are connected to the pump 98 through separate tubes 97a and 97b, respectively, and the discharged ink is sucked by the pump 98 and predetermined maintenance is performed.

  The belt conveyor 15 has its driving pulley 56 and driven pulley 57 supported by the belt conveyor support frame 34, and the driving pulley 56 is driven by a motor (not shown).

  4 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by IV-IV in FIG. However, the capping device 94 and the wire 87 are omitted here.

  The frame 20 of the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head will be described with reference to FIGS. The frame of the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head includes a lower base 29, an upper frame 22, and a first pillar 23 and a second pillar 24 that connect the upper frame 22 and the lower base 29. The upper frame 22 holds the cutting head 60 and the inkjet head 12.

  The lower base 29 is a molded part integrally formed by casting or aluminum die casting. In the vicinity of the corner of the lower base 29, four holes for inserting the guide rods 37a to 37d are provided. At the center of the guide rods 37a to 37d, there is a step 84 that changes from a thick part to a detail. The detail is fitted into the hole, and the lower base 29 is fixed by sandwiching the lower base 29 with a nut 86 through a washer 85. Has been.

  Below the lower base 29, support legs 38a to 38d capable of height adjustment for horizontally installing the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head are provided.

  6 and 7 are arrow views of a portion indicated by VI-VI and VII-VII in FIG. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a block 74 is fixed to the belt conveyor support frame 34 in which a ball screw bush 71 is fixed at the center. A ball screw shaft 70 is rotatably engaged with the ball screw bush 71. The ball screw shaft 70 is rotatably attached to a member 76 formed in a U shape through a bearing. A motor 73 for rotating the ball screw shaft 70 is attached to the U-shaped member 76. By rotating the ball screw shaft 70 by the motor 73, the belt conveyor support frame 34 moves up and down. In addition, the thick portions of the guide rods 37a to 37d are slidably inserted into the ball bush bearings 75 that are pressure-bonded to the guide holes 65a to 65d so that the belt conveyor support frame 34 moves vertically to the printer head 12. Is done.

  Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 10 with a cutting head according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the workpiece 16 is placed on the belt conveyor 15 and conveyed to the cutting head 60 and the inkjet head 12 side. At this time, the sensor 13 provided on the driven pulley 57 side of the belt conveyor 15 detects the shape (unevenness) of the workpiece 16 being conveyed. The detected unevenness data is sent to the control device 80. The control device 80 adjusts the interval between the ball screw shaft 70 and the motor 73 by rotating the ball screw shaft 70 so that the interval between the inkjet nozzle 14 of the inkjet head 10 and the workpiece 16 is optimized according to the unevenness of the workpiece 16. To do. The inkjet head 12 is moved by the cutting head 60 as described above.

  At this time, when the object to be treated 16 is a textile product (for example, cloth, shirt, etc.), the exhaust blower 18 is driven to suck the textile product through the intake box 17 so that the surface becomes as flat as possible. To. In this case, the optimum distance between the inkjet head 12 and the object to be processed 16 varies depending on the object to be processed 16, but is approximately 2 mm to 5 mm.

  When the printing on the object 16 to be processed by the inkjet head 12 is completed, the cutting head 60 transports the inkjet head 12 to the position of the capping device 94 described above, where the inkjet head 12 is separated. The cutting head 60 lightened in this way cuts the graphic printed by the inkjet head 12 alone. At this time, a predetermined cutting line may be printed by the inkjet head 12 and cut by the cutting head 60 along the printing line.

  In the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head according to this embodiment, since the workpiece 16 is conveyed by the belt conveyor 15, desired printing is performed on metal such as an iron plate having unevenness, a stone engraving, or the like. Is possible.

  Further, when cutting using the cutting head 60, it is not necessary to move the inkjet head 12, so that the wire, ink tube, cable, etc. are not damaged or deteriorated, and the life can be extended.

  In this embodiment, the belt of the belt conveyor 15 is meshed to print a textile product. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a solid belt having a strength corresponding to the weight of the heavy article is not limited to this. May be used.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to the thing of embodiment shown in figure. Various modifications and variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment within the same range or equivalent range as the present invention.

  The inkjet printer with a cutting head according to the present invention moves the belt conveyor support up and down in accordance with the distance between the workpiece detected by the sensor and the cutting head and the inkjet nozzle, so there is no member protruding upward, Since an apparatus with high cutting accuracy can be provided, it is advantageously used as a printing and cutting apparatus.

It is a front view which shows the state which partially omitted the flame | frame of the inkjet printer with a cutting head concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of an inkjet printer with a cutting head. It is a top view of an inkjet printer with a cutting head. It is a front view of an inkjet printer with a cutting head. It is a figure which shows the detail of a capping apparatus. It is an arrow view of the part shown by VI-VI of FIG. It is an arrow view of the part shown by VII-VII of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inkjet printer, 12 Inkjet head, 13 Sensor, 14 Inkjet nozzle, 15 Belt conveyor, 16 Processed object, 17 Intake box, 18 Exhaust blower, 20 frame, 21 Linear motion rail, 22 Upper frame, 29 Lower base, 36, 45 Height adjusting ball screw, 37, 46 guide rod, 41 chuck, 42 center, 43 rotating body support frame, 60 cutting head, 61 cutter, 62 solenoid, 68, 69 magnet, 87 wire, 94 capping device.

Claims (6)

A cutting head movable in the second direction by the track means;
An inkjet head detachably connected to the cutting head and movable in the second direction;
An inkjet printer with a cutting head, provided with a fixing base capable of fixing an object to be processed on a plane and movable in a first direction orthogonal to the second direction. Including a belt conveyor for conveying an object to be processed in a first direction;
The belt conveyor is held by a belt conveyor support that can move up and down,
An inkjet head having an inkjet nozzle for printing on the workpiece by inkjet, and movable in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
A cutting head detachably connected to the inkjet head;
A sensor for detecting a distance between the workpiece conveyed by the belt conveyor and the inkjet nozzle and the cutting head;
An inkjet printer with a cutting head, including means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down according to an interval detected by the sensor. The inkjet printer with a cutting head according to claim 2, wherein the inkjet head is driven by the cutting head. The ink jet printer with a cutting head according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the cutting head and the ink jet head are detachably provided, and the ink jet head is separated when the cutting head operates. The inkjet head-equipped inkjet printer according to claim 2, wherein the means for vertically moving the belt conveyor support includes means for vertically moving with a ball screw. 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a unit that is provided below a surface of the belt conveyor that conveys the object to be processed and sucks the object to be processed from below the conveying surface of the object to be processed. Inkjet printer with cutting head.

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