EP3395582B1 - Imprimante et procédé de fonctionnement d'une imprimante - Google Patents

Imprimante et procédé de fonctionnement d'une imprimante Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3395582B1
EP3395582B1 EP18167144.7A EP18167144A EP3395582B1 EP 3395582 B1 EP3395582 B1 EP 3395582B1 EP 18167144 A EP18167144 A EP 18167144A EP 3395582 B1 EP3395582 B1 EP 3395582B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
carriage
scanning direction
sub
recording medium
cycle
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
EP18167144.7A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP3395582A1 (fr
Inventor
Peter F.M. Nacken
Stephan G.W. DERKS
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Production Printing Holding BV
Original Assignee
Oce Holding BV
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Publication of EP3395582A1 publication Critical patent/EP3395582A1/fr
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
    • B41J11/0015—Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing
    • B41J11/002—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
    • B41J11/0021—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation
    • B41J11/00214—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation using UV radiation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J19/00—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms
    • B41J19/14—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms with means for effecting line or character spacing in either direction
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J19/00—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms
    • B41J19/14—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms with means for effecting line or character spacing in either direction
    • B41J19/142—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms with means for effecting line or character spacing in either direction with a reciprocating print head printing in both directions across the paper width
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J19/00—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms
    • B41J19/14—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms with means for effecting line or character spacing in either direction
    • B41J19/142—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms with means for effecting line or character spacing in either direction with a reciprocating print head printing in both directions across the paper width
    • B41J19/145—Dot misalignment correction
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J25/00—Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J25/001—Mechanisms for bodily moving print heads or carriages parallel to the paper surface

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method for operating a printer comprising a first carriage and a second carriage.
  • the invention also relates to a printer comprising a first carriage and a second carriage.
  • the radiation is provided by a suitable source of radiation, such as a UV lamp, e.g. a UV LED lamp.
  • the radiation curable ink can be applied onto the recording medium by at least one print head.
  • a printer that can perform such image forming process may comprise a first carriage and a second carriage. Both the first and second carriage are configured to move in reciprocation in a scanning direction.
  • the first carriage may be e.g. a print head carriage carrying at least one print head for applying droplets of radiation curable ink onto the recording medium.
  • the second carriage may carry a suitable source of radiation for curing the ink.
  • the second carriage may be positioned downstream with regard to the first carriage in a sub scanning direction.
  • the printer can be operated at high speed. In this way, high productivity can be obtained.
  • the speed at which the second carriage can be moved may be limited. This limited speed may limit the overall productivity at which the printer can be operated.
  • EP1810831A1 discloses an inkjet drawing device and a method to form an image on a sheet-like image recording medium relatively transported in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to a main scanning direction by using photocurable ink with an inkjet head moving in the main scanning direction.
  • the device and method cause the inkjet head to eject the photocurable ink as an ink droplet imagewise to perform direct drawing, irradiate the image recording medium with active light by moving a point or substantially point active light source in the main scanning direction and by causing the active light to scan in the main scanning direction at a backward position distant from a position subjected to the drawing by the inkjet head by a predetermined distance toward a sub-scanning transport downstream side of the image recording medium, and curing the photocurable ink ejected onto the image recording medium.
  • the object of the present invention is achieved in a method for operating a printer according to claim 1.
  • the method according to the present invention may show overall higher productivity.
  • a printer is operated.
  • the printer may be an ink-jet printer.
  • An ink-jet printer may in operation form an image onto a recording medium by applying a predetermined pattern of droplets onto the recording medium.
  • the droplets may be droplets of a UV curable ink, preferably a UV curable phase change ink, in particular a UV curable gelling ink.
  • the printer may comprise a first carriage.
  • the first carriage may be configured to move in reciprocation in a scanning direction.
  • the first carriage may carry at least one print head for applying droplets of ink onto the recording medium.
  • an image may be formed onto the recording medium. Only one color of ink may be applied onto the recording medium, thereby forming a monochrome image.
  • a plurality of different colors of ink may be applied onto the recording medium, thereby forming a polychrome image.
  • a polychrome image may be formed by using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK ink.
  • the first carriage may comprise a main carriage and a sub-carriage, wherein the sub-carriage is moveable in at least one of the scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction with respect to the main carriage.
  • the movement may be inaccurate.
  • Such inaccuracies in movement may lead to inaccurate stitching of the adjacent swaths.
  • the movement in the transport direction is too small, the adjacent swaths will partly overlap, usually resulting in an undesired dark line in the printed image due to a local excess of a number of printed dots.
  • a gap between the adjacent swaths results, which may be visible as a line with the color of the recording medium, which is usually white. So, usually, a white line becomes visible.
  • a sub-carriage is provided on the carriage, wherein the sub-carriage is moveable relative to the carriage.
  • An inaccuracy in the relative movement in the transport direction of the carriage and the recording medium is then compensable by translating and/or rotating the sub-carriage relative to the carriage in the transport direction.
  • the printer may comprise a second carriage.
  • the second carriage may be configured to move in reciprocation in a scanning direction.
  • the second carriage may carry at least one source of radiation.
  • the second carriage is positioned downstream of the first carriage in a sub-scanning direction, the sub-scanning direction being essentially perpendicular to the scanning direction.
  • the sub-scanning direction may be the paper transport direction, i.e. the direction in which the recording medium is transported through the printer.
  • the first carriage is operated to perform a first cycle in a first amount of time.
  • step i the first carriage is moved in the scanning direction from a first side to a second side at a first speed.
  • a print surface may be present underneath the first carriage.
  • the print surface may extend to an area underneath the second carriage.
  • the print surface may be limited in the scanning direction.
  • the print surface may be limited in the scanning direction at a first side and a second side.
  • the print surface may be configured to hold a recording medium in printing operation.
  • the print surface may be provided with holes for providing an underpressure for fixing the recording medium onto the print surface.
  • the width of the recording medium i.e. the length of the recording medium in the scanning direction, may match the length of the print surface in the scanning direction.
  • the length of the recording medium in the scanning direction may be smaller than the length of the print surface in the scanning direction.
  • the carriage is moved from a first side to a second side in the scanning direction.
  • the first side may be the position at which the first carriage starts the scanning movement
  • the second end may be the position at which the first carriage stops the scanning movement.
  • the position of the first end and second end may be selected such that the first carriage traverses the entire length of the recording medium, to allow the print head mounted on the first carriage to apply droplets of ink over the length of the recording medium, thereby forming an image.
  • the first carriage may be moved at a first speed.
  • the first cycle comprises the step of: In step iii., the position of the sub-carriage with regard to the main carriage is adjusted.
  • step iii. the position of the sub-carriage with regard to the main carriage is adjusted.
  • inaccuracies in the movement of the first carriage and the recording medium may be compensated.
  • adjusting the position of the sub-carriage carrying at least one print head, with respect to the main carriage may result in adjusting the position of the at least one print head carried by the sub-carriage. This may result in accurate positioning of the print heads with respect to the recording medium, which may result in better stitching accuracy, thereby improving print quality.
  • step i the second carriage and the recording medium are moved relative to one another in the scanning direction from the second side to the first side at a second speed.
  • the second carriage is moved, while the recording medium is in a substantially fixed position during step i.
  • the at least one source of radiation irradiates the ink, thereby curing the ink to obtain a robust ink layer.
  • the ink applied onto the recording medium may be uncured before it is irradiated by the source of radiation carried by the second carriage.
  • the ink may be already partially cured ("pinned") before it is irradiated by the source of radiation carried by the second carriage.
  • the speed at which the second carriage can be moved may be limited.
  • a sufficient amount of radiation has to be supplied to the ink.
  • the amount of radiation supplied to the ink depends e.g. on the amount of time that the source of radiation locally irradiates the ink. Hence, the amount of radiation supplied depends on the speed of the carriage. Therefore, the speed of the second carriage with respect to the recording medium may not be too high, because then the ink may not be fully cured. Therefore, the speed of the second carriage may be lower than the speed of the first carriage.
  • the first carriage when moving in the scanning direction, the first carriage may move at a higher speed than the second carriage. As a consequence, the first carriage needs less time to travel from one side to the other than the second carriage. The first carriage may have to wait for the second carriage. However, during this period, the position of the first carriage with respect to the recording medium may be calibrated. Thus, when using the present invention, the speed of the printer can be increased without mitigating the print quality.
  • the first amount of time equals the second amount of time.
  • the at least one print head mounted on the first carriage is configured to apply droplets onto the recording medium, thereby forming an image.
  • the image is build by printing a plurality of swaths.
  • the swaths may be printed adjacent to one another or may partially overlap.
  • the printed image is cured in a plurality of swaths.
  • step iii of the first cycle is performed during step i of the second cycle.
  • the printer may be operated in a productive way.
  • the first cycle further comprises: iv. pausing the first carriage.
  • step iii there may be no substantive movement of the first carriage in the scanning direction; i.e. the first carriage does not yet start a subsequent swath.
  • the first carriage may wait to compensate for the higher speed of the first carriage in step i of the first cycle, compared to the speed of the second carriage in step i of the second cycle.
  • the position of the first carriage with regard to the recording medium may be calibrated. When moving the recording medium and first carriage with respect to one another, inaccuracies may occur. It is important that the print head is accurately positioned with respect to the recording medium, because inaccurate positioning may result in poor print quality.
  • step iii the relative position of the print head carried by the first carriage and the recording medium is checked and if necessary, adjusted. Optionally, a number of dots may be printed for use in the calibration process.
  • a print may be built in a plurality of swaths.
  • a subsequent swath may be performed.
  • the first carriage moves in an opposite direction in the scanning direction, with regard to the first swath.
  • the second carriage preferably moves in an opposite direction in the scanning direction, with regard to the first swath.
  • position markers are applied onto the recording medium.
  • additional droplets may be applied.
  • Such droplets may form position markers.
  • the position markers may be detected by suitable detection means. Based on the detected position of the position markers, the relative position of the position markers and the first carriage may be determined.
  • suitable position markers are markers provided with yellow ink in thin lines. Such yellow thin lines are essentially invisible to the human vision when normally viewing the printed image due to the limited contrast to a white recording medium. Of course, if the recording medium is not white, a different color may be selected such that a contrast with the recording medium is limited.
  • a commonly known sensor unit may be applied in the inkjet printing assembly for optically detecting such a position marker, wherein the contrast between recording medium and position marker may be enhanced either by the optical system or in image processing.
  • any other kind of position marker may be employed instead.
  • a part of the second swath may be already printed in the first swath and its position may be detected during printing of the complete second swath.
  • Other suitable methods and markers are well known in the art and it is deemed within the ambit of the skilled person to select such a method and marker for detecting a position of the first swath.
  • the position of the sub-carriage is adjusted based on the position of the position markers.
  • step i of the second cycle the second carriage is moved from the second side to the first side.
  • the first carriage and the second carriage are both moving in the scanning direction, then they are moving in opposite direction.
  • Both the first carriage and the second carriage have a certain weight.
  • the at least one print head is configured to eject droplets of a radiation-curable gelling ink onto a recording medium.
  • Radiation-curable gelling inks such as UV-curable gelling inks
  • Gelling ink may be kept in a reservoir of the print head at elevated temperature. At elevated temperatures, the UV-curable gelling inks are liquid and can be suitably jetted.
  • the ink droplets When applied onto the recording medium, the ink droplets may cool down. Due to the decrease in temperature, the viscosity of the ink droplets may increase, thereby preventing color bleed. There may be a certain time interval between applying the ink onto the recording medium and curing the ink onto the recording medium.
  • the uncured ink droplets may be sufficiently stable to allow formation of an image having good image quality.
  • Fig. 1A shows an ink jet printing assembly 3.
  • the ink jet printing assembly 3 comprises supporting means for supporting an image receiving medium 2.
  • the supporting means are shown in Fig. 1A as a flat surface 1, but alternatively, the supporting means may be a platen, for example a rotatable drum that is rotatable around an axis.
  • the supporting means may be optionally provided with suction holes for holding the image receiving medium in a fixed position with respect to the supporting means.
  • the ink jet printing assembly 3 comprises print heads 4a - 4d, mounted on a scanning print carriage 5.
  • the scanning print carriage 5 is guided by suitable guiding means 6 to move in reciprocation in the main scanning direction X.
  • Each print head 4a - 4d comprises an orifice surface 9, which orifice surface 9 is provided with at least one orifice 8, as is shown in Fig. 1B .
  • the print heads 4a - 4d are configured to eject droplets of marking material onto the image receiving medium 2.
  • the image receiving medium 2 may be a medium in web or in sheet form and may be composed of e.g. paper, cardboard, label stock, coated paper, plastic or textile. Alternatively, the image receiving medium 2 may also be an intermediate member, endless or not. Examples of endless members, which may be moved cyclically, are a belt or a drum. The image receiving medium 2 is moved in the sub-scanning direction Y over the flat surface 1 along four print heads 4a - 4d provided with a fluid marking material.
  • a scanning print carriage 5 carries the four print heads 4a - 4d and may be moved in reciprocation in the main scanning direction X parallel to the platen 1, such as to enable scanning of the image receiving medium 2 in the main scanning direction X. Only four print heads 4a - 4d are depicted for demonstrating the invention. In practice an arbitrary number of print heads may be employed. In any case, at least one print head 4a - 4d per color of marking material is placed on the scanning print carriage 5. For example, for a black-and-white printer, at least one print head 4a - 4d, usually containing black marking material is present. Alternatively, a black-and-white printer may comprise a white marking material, which is to be applied on a black image-receiving medium 2.
  • At least one print head 4a - 4d for each of the colors usually black, cyan, magenta and yellow is present.
  • black marking material is used more frequently in comparison to differently colored marking material. Therefore, more print heads 4a - 4d containing black marking material may be provided on the scanning print carriage 5 compared to print heads 4a - 4d containing marking material in any of the other colors.
  • the print head 4a - 4d containing black marking material may be larger than any of the print heads 4a - 4d, containing a differently colored marking material.
  • the carriage 5 is guided by guiding means 6.
  • These guiding means 6 may be a rod as depicted in Fig. 1A . Although only one rod 6 is depicted in Fig. 1A , a plurality of rods may be used to guide the carriage 5 carrying the print heads 4.
  • the rod may be driven by suitable driving means (not shown).
  • the carriage 5 may be guided by other guiding means, such as an arm being able to move the carriage 5.
  • Another alternative is to move the image receiving material 2 in the main scanning direction X.
  • multiple print heads 4a - 4d may be placed on the print carriage adjacent to each other such that the orifices 8 of the respective print heads 4a - 4d are positioned in a staggered configuration instead of in-line. For instance, this may be done to increase the print resolution or to enlarge the effective print area, which may be addressed in a single scan in the main scanning direction X.
  • the image dots are formed by ejecting droplets of marking material from the orifices 8.
  • the ink jet printing assembly 3 may further comprise curing means 11a, 11b.
  • a scanning print carriage 12 carries the two curing means 11a, 11b and may be moved in reciprocation in the main scanning direction X parallel to the platen 1, such as to enable scanning of the image receiving medium 2 in the main scanning direction X.
  • more than two curing means may be applied.
  • the first curing means 11a may emit a first beam of UV radiation, the first beam having a first intensity.
  • the first curing means 11a may be configured to provide the radiation for the pre-curing step.
  • the second curing means 11b may emit a second beam of radiation, the second beam of radiation having a second intensity.
  • the second curing means 11b may be configured to provide the radiation for the post-curing step.
  • the carriage 12 is guided by guiding means 7.
  • These guiding means 7 may be a rod as depicted in Fig. 1A . Although only one rod 7 is depicted in Fig. 1A , a plurality of rods may be used to guide the carriage 12 carrying the print heads 11.
  • the rod 7 may be driven by suitable driving means (not shown).
  • the carriage 12 may be guided by other guiding means, such as an arm being able to move the carriage 12.
  • the curing means may be energy sources, such as actinic radiation sources, accelerated particle sources or heaters. Examples of actinic radiation sources are UV radiation sources or visible light sources. UV radiation sources are preferred, because they are particularly suited to cure UV curable inks by inducing a polymerization reaction in such inks.
  • the first curing means 11a and the second curing means 11b are positioned parallel to one another in the sub scanning direction Y.
  • the first curing means 11a and the second curing means 11b may be the same type of energy source or may be different type of energy source.
  • the wavelength of the radiated emitted by the two respective curing means 11a, 11b may differ or may be the same.
  • the first and second curing means are depicted as distinct devices. However, alternatively, only one source of UV radiation emitting a spectrum of radiation may be used, together with at least two distinct filters. Each filter may absorb a part of the spectrum, thereby providing two beams of radiation, each one having intensity different from the other.
  • the flat surface 1, the temperature control means, the carriage 5, the print heads 4a - 4d, the carriage 12 and the first and second curing means 11a, 11b are controlled by suitable controlling means 10.
  • Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a first example of the method according to the invention.
  • a printer 3 is provided.
  • the printer 3 comprises a flat surface 1 that carries a recording medium 2.
  • the printer further comprises a first carriage 5 that carries a number of print heads (not shown).
  • the carriage 5 is connected to guide rail 6.
  • the printer further comprises the second carriage 12.
  • the second carriage 12 carries a source of radiation for curing the ink (not shown).
  • the second carriage 12 is connected to guide rail 7.
  • the second carriage 12 is positioned above the printed part of the medium 2b.
  • the source of radiation irradiates the ink, thereby curing the ink.
  • the second carriage is moving in direction B towards the first side 14a.
  • the first carriage 5 is positioned at first side 14a. The first carriage 5 has not yet moved in direction A.
  • Fig. 2B the first carriage and the second carriage 12 have moved compared to the situation shown in Fig. 2A .
  • the first carriage has moved in direction A and is positioned at the second end 14b.
  • the second carriage 12 has moved in direction B, which is opposite to direction A, and is positioned at the first end 14a.
  • the first carriage 5 has travelled a greater distance than the second carriage 12.
  • both the first 5 and second carriage 12 have finished the swath.
  • the first carriage 5 and the second carriage 12 are moved with regard to the recording medium.
  • this is done by moving the recording medium in direction C, which is essentially perpendicular to both directions A and B.
  • Fig. 2D the first carriage 5 is in the same position as in the situation shown in Fig. 2C .
  • the second carriage 12 is moving in the direction B'. This is a direction opposite the direction B, in which the second carriage 12 moved in the situation shown in Fig. 2A .
  • the cured portion 2c of the recording medium extends over an area downstream of the second carriage 12 with regard to the recording medium transport direction (direction C) and the area of the present swath of the second carriage 12 that was already traversed by the second carriage 12.
  • Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a second example of the method according to the invention.
  • the second carriage 12 is positioned above the printed part of the recording medium 2b.
  • the first carriage 5 is positioned at the first side 14a.
  • the second carriage 12 is positioned at the first side 14a
  • the first carriage 5 is positioned at the second side 14b.
  • Part of the recording medium 2 has been provided with ink and has become part of the printed part of the recording medium 2b.
  • Part of the printed part of the recording medium 2b has been cured and has become part of the cured part of the image 2c.
  • the first carriage 5 has travelled a greater distance than the second carriage 12.
  • the first carriage 5 has travelled at higher speed than the second carriage 12.
  • Fig. 3C the recording medium 3 has been moved in the recording medium transport direction C and the second carriage 12 has moved in direction B'.
  • the first carriage 5 is still positioned at the second side 14b.
  • Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of a third example according to the present invention.
  • both the first carriage 5 and the second carriage 12 are positioned at the second end 14b.
  • first carriage 5, as well as the second carriage 12 will move in direction A.
  • the first carriage 5 may start moving in direction A only after the second carriage 12 has started moving in direction A.
  • the first carriage 5 and the second carriage 12 may move in a direction opposite to direction A.
  • the sub-carriage 51 supports - in this embodiment - two optical sensor units 40, one on either side of the array of print heads such that at least one optical sensor unit 40 is available upstream of the array of print heads 4 during printing.
  • the scanning printing assembly is configured to print only when the carriage 5 is moving in one direction, it suffices to have a single optical sensor unit 40 upstream of the print heads 4.
  • only one, or more optical sensor units 40 may be provided as well, for example in order to improve a detection accuracy.
  • the optical sensor units may be arranged on the carriage 5 or a sensor unit 40 may be supported directly on the guide beam 16.
  • the sensor unit 40 may be moveably supported or a sensor unit 40 extending over the full width of the guide beam 16 (in particular in the Y-axis direction as defined in Fig. 1C ) may be statically arranged thereon.
  • An advantage of providing the sensor units 40 on the sub-carriage 51 is the fact that a position of the sensor units 40 is directly coupled to a position of the print heads 4, which ensures that a detection of a position of a first swath by the sensor units 40 is easily coupled and related to the position of the print heads 4.
  • the sensor units 40 are not restricted to optical sensor units, although optical sensor units 40 may be deemed most apparently suitable kind of sensor units. However, any other kind of sensor capable of detecting a position of a previous swath is contemplated as well.
  • first swath 101 and a second swath 102 are depicted by three dashed lines: a first swath trailing edge 101a, a first swath leading edge 101b and a second swath leading edge 102b.
  • a second swath trailing edge coincides with the first swath leading edge 101b and is thus not separately indicated in Fig. 5 .
  • the first swath 101 may be presumed to have been printed in a previous scanning movement of the carriage 5.
  • the second swath 102 is being printed adjacent to the first swath 101.
  • a swath width corresponds to a width of the print heads 4 and in this example perfectly straight swaths 101 and 102 are printed accurately adjacent to each other.
  • the sensor units 40 may be employed to detect the first swath leading edge 101b after the guide beam 6 has stepped in the first beam direction X1 (or the second beam direction X2, mutatis mutandis ). Based on the detected first swath leading edge 101b, the sub-carriage 51 may be moved in the first sub-carriage direction X3 or the second sub-carriage direction X4 to correct for any inaccuracy of the step-wise movement of the guide beam 6. This method is shown in Figs. 7A and 7B in more detail.
  • the first swath 101 has been applied.
  • the first swath 101 is shown as straight, while in practice the first swath 101 may be slanted and/or curved.
  • the print heads 4 applied also an array of position markers 60 just next to the first swath leading edge 101b.
  • the sensor unit 40 optically senses the area next to the first swath leading edge 101b to detect the position of the position markers 60.
  • an image signal may be generated by the sensor unit 40 and the image signal may be supplied to an image processor, which may be incorporated in a control unit (not shown).
  • the control unit may determine a suitable amount of translation and a suitable amount of rotation which amounts are deemed to minimize any print artifacts.
  • Numerous (mathematical) methods are available and known to the skilled person for determining (e.g. calculating) such suitable amounts. Such method may be relatively simple. For example, a difference in position between the just detected position marker 60 and a previously detected position marker 60 may be used to determine the amounts. Alternatively, more complex methods may be applied. For example, a number of previously detected position markers 60 may be taken into account.
  • the method may take the position of such one hundred position markers 60 into account.
  • the center of rotation Rz is offset from the sensor unit 40, although the sensor unit 40 detects the position of the position markers 60 and thus the amount of correction needed is determined at the location of the sensor unit 40.
  • the rotation introduces an amount of translation at the location of the sensor unit 40. In order to enable correction of such translation, it is advantage to first determine the amount of rotation and then determining an amount of translation, thereby taking into account/correcting the amount of translation introduced by the amount of rotation.
  • any selected method is preferably adapted to ensure smooth transitions at the positions where the sub-carriage is translated and/or rotated by any amount. Exception to this preference is envisaged at the start of the scanning movement for the second swath.
  • any deviation from an expected position may be directly compensated by a translation, since such a deviation may be deemed attributable to an inaccurate step-wise movement of the guide beam 16 or recording medium transport step.
  • Such inaccurate step may be directly and immediately compensated by a corrective translation without rotation, provided that the detection is performed before any dots of the second swath 102 have been applied otherwise the sudden stepping of the sub-carriage 51 may become visible as a print artifact.
  • a number of position markers 60 along the scanning direction or in other words a number of position markers 60 per unit length in the scanning direction may be selected depending on different requirements. For example, it may be contemplated that a high number of position markers 60 will increase the accuracy. On the other hand, a lower number of position markers 60 will reduce the required computation power. Further, the more position markers are actually printed, the higher the chance that the position markers 60 may become visible in the resulting printed image.
  • Fig. 7A shows the sub-carriage 51 in a centered position with respect to the carriage 5.
  • the sub-carriage 51 has not yet been moved relative to the carriage 5 and is scanning in a scanning direction A' for applying the second swath 102.
  • the first carriage 5 and the recording medium 2 have been moved relative to one another in direction C (step b).
  • the step made was larger than intended. Consequently, the print heads 4 are positioned such that a second swath trailing edge 102a does not coincide with the first swath leading edge 101b.
  • a gap remains between the first swath 101 and the second swath 102.
  • the gap will appear as a white stripe in the resulting printed image and hence will be considered a print artifact.
  • a shorter step of the guide beam 6 would have resulted in the first swath 101 and the second swath 102 partly overlapping (not shown), which will be visible as a dark stripe, which is likewise considered to be a print artifact.
  • the sub-carriage 51 is moved in the second sub-carriage direction X4 - compared to the situation as illustrated in Fig. 3A - with an amount suitable to let the second swath trailing edge 102a and the first swath leading 101b coincide such that the first swath 101 and the second swath 102 are adjacent and no stripe will become visible in the resulting printed image.
  • the sub carriage 51 is moved with regard to the main carriage in a direction X3,.
  • the sub-carriage may be translated in a direction perpendicular to direction X3 and or rotated.
  • plurality is defined as two or more than two.
  • another is defined as at least a second or more.
  • the terms including and/or having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language).
  • coupled is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)

Claims (10)

  1. Procédé de fonctionnement d'une imprimante, l'imprimante étant configurée pour produire une impression dans une pluralité de passes, l'imprimante comprenant un premier chariot configuré pour se déplacer en va-et-vient dans une direction de balayage, le premier chariot comprenant un chariot principal et un sous-chariot, dans lequel le sous-chariot peut être déplacé dans au moins l'une de la direction de balayage et de la sous-direction de balayage par rapport au chariot principal, le sous-chariot acheminant au moins une tête d'impression et un second chariot configuré pour se déplacer en va-et-vient dans la direction de balayage, dans lequel le second chariot achemine au moins une source de rayonnement pour durcir une encre, dans lequel le second chariot est positionné en aval du premier chariot dans une sous-direction de balayage, la direction de sous-balayage étant sensiblement perpendiculaire à la direction de balayage, le procédé comprenant les étapes consistant à :
    a. faire fonctionner le premier chariot pour effectuer un premier cycle dans une première période de temps, le premier cycle comprenant :
    i. le déplacement du premier chariot dans la direction de balayage d'un premier côté à un second côté à une première vitesse, formant ainsi une partie d'une image sur une zone du support d'enregistrement ;
    ii. le déplacement du premier chariot et d'un support d'enregistrement l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la sous-direction de balayage ;
    iii. l'ajustement de la position du sous-chariot par rapport au chariot principal ;
    b. faire fonctionner le second chariot pour effectuer un second cycle dans une seconde période de temps, le second cycle comprenant :
    i. le déplacement du second chariot et du support d'enregistrement l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la direction de balayage d'un premier du premier côté et du second côté à l'autre du premier côté et du second côté à une seconde vitesse, la au moins une source de rayonnement irradiant l'encre ;
    ii. le déplacement du second chariot et du support d'enregistrement l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la sous-direction de balayage,
    dans lequel la première vitesse est supérieure à la seconde vitesse,
    dans lequel la première période de temps est égale à la seconde période de temps et
    dans lequel l'étape ii du premier cycle et l'étape ii du second cycle sont effectuées simultanément.
  2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'étape iii du premier cycle est effectuée au cours de l'étape i du second cycle.
  3. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le premier cycle comprend en outre :
    iv. la mise en pause du premier chariot.
  4. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le premier cycle comprend en outre :
    v. le déplacement du premier chariot dans la direction de balayage du second côté au premier côté à la première vitesse ;
    vi. le déplacement du premier chariot et d'un support d'enregistrement l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la sous-direction de balayage.
  5. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel, à l'étape i du premier cycle, des repères de position sont appliqués sur le support d'enregistrement.
  6. Procédé selon la revendication 5, dans lequel la position du sous-chariot est ajustée sur la base de la position des repères de position.
  7. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel, à l'étape i du second cycle, le second chariot est déplacé du second côté au premier côté.
  8. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel la au moins une tête d'impression est configurée pour éjecter les gouttelettes d'une encre de gélification durcissable par un rayonnement sur un support d'enregistrement.
  9. Procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le premier chariot transporte une pluralité de têtes d'impression.
  10. Imprimante comprenant un premier chariot configuré pour se déplacer en va-et-vient dans une direction de balayage et un second chariot configuré pour se déplacer en va-et-vient dans la direction de balayage, dans laquelle le second chariot est positionné en aval du premier chariot dans une sous-direction de balayage, la sous-direction de balayage étant sensiblement perpendiculaire à la direction de balayage, l'imprimante comprenant en outre une unité de commande configurée pour commander le premier chariot et le second chariot conformément au procédé selon la revendication 1.
EP18167144.7A 2017-04-25 2018-04-13 Imprimante et procédé de fonctionnement d'une imprimante Active EP3395582B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

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EP3395582B1 true EP3395582B1 (fr) 2019-11-06

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Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH05238004A (ja) * 1992-02-26 1993-09-17 Canon Inc 記録方法及び装置及びその記録物
EP0693382B1 (fr) * 1994-07-18 1998-08-26 Océ-Technologies B.V. Imprimante avec une tête d'impression mobile
JP2007190770A (ja) * 2006-01-18 2007-08-02 Fujifilm Corp インクジェット描画装置および方法
US9073362B2 (en) * 2013-08-27 2015-07-07 Oce-Technologies B.V. Inkjet printer assembly using a gelling UV curable ink

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
None *

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