JP2001150753A - Printer for plate-like recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of readily printing an index or the like on a surface of a plate-like recording medium such as a CD-R. SOLUTION: This printer 1 comprises an ink jet printer 2, a medium tray 4 for conveying the medium 3 on which the printing is performed by the printer 2, a medium supplying mechanism 5 and a medium returning mechanism 6. The printer 2 is equipped with an ink jet print head 21 and a tray conveying mechanism that reciprocates the medium tray 4 along a predetermined conveyance path through a printing position of the print head 21. The medium tray 4 on which the medium 3 to be printed is loaded is provided to a side of the medium supply of the printer 2 and the medium tray 4 is conveyed through the print head 21 and then the printing is performed on the medium 3. The medium tray 4 is discharged to a side of a medium tray discharge section 24. After the medium 3 is taken out, the medium tray 4 is returned to the original position. The medium tray 4 on which the medium 3 is loaded is reciprocated, thereby repeating the printing on the medium 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a surface of a compact disk itself, a case surface thereof, a case surface of a floppy (registered trademark) disk or the like (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to simply as a "plate-shaped recording medium"). The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for printing a plate-shaped recording medium suitable for printing information, images, and the like on the contents, recorded contents, and the like.

[0002]

A plate-shaped recording medium, such as a CD-R, is a medium that can be freely recorded by a user, and the surface of the medium changes according to data recording such as company name and product name. Unnecessary characters, designs, etc. are already printed by another method, but can be added,
In view of the large storage capacity, it is convenient to print the title or the like directly on the surface of the case or the surface of the CD-R for the content recorded therein.

[0003] In the case of such new prints, computer software, and the like, which are recorded and known in a large amount and have been recorded in advance, such printing may be performed by the manufacturer in advance.
However, a method of printing desired contents, images, and the like on the user side by a simple operation, and a device embodying the method have not been proposed.

An object of the present invention is to propose a printing method and apparatus capable of easily printing a heading or the like on the surface of a plate-shaped recording medium such as a CD-R or the case surface thereof.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an ink jet type print head and a medium tray for conveying a plate-shaped recording medium such as a compact disk. A method of printing a heading or the like by the print head on the surface of a plate-shaped recording medium conveyed while being placed on a tray is employed. In this way, by printing the plate-shaped recording medium to be printed on the medium tray and conveying it to the printing position, printing on the plate-shaped recording medium can be performed.
An existing inkjet printer can be used almost as it is.

Here, it is desirable that the medium tray is reciprocated in the printer along a transport path passing through the print head. In this way, on one side, the medium before printing is placed on the medium tray one by one, and on the other side, the work of removing the printed plate-shaped recording medium from the medium tray is performed, whereby a large number of sheets are printed. This is convenient because printing can be performed on the surface of the shape recording medium.

[0007] Particularly, in the case of a disk-shaped recording medium such as a CD-R, characters that do not need to be changed for each data record, such as when printing is repeatedly performed or when a company name or product name is recorded.
For example, when a pattern or the like is printed by another method, it is necessary to put the image on the medium tray in a state of being aligned. For this purpose, an index for placing the plate-shaped recording medium in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the medium tray is formed on at least one of the plate-shaped recording medium and the medium tray. In addition, the plate-shaped recording medium may be placed on the medium tray based on the index.

For example, when the plate-shaped recording medium has a disk shape like a CD-R, such an index is provided at one or a plurality of locations along the outer peripheral edge or the center side in the circumferential direction. May be formed.

If a system such as an image reading device and a sensor capable of identifying minute spots can be used, an image pattern on the surface of the plate-like recording medium is read along the circumferential direction, and based on the read information, The plate-shaped recording medium can be placed on the medium tray so as to have a predetermined positional relationship.

A printing apparatus for a plate-like recording medium employing the method of the present invention includes an ink jet print head, a medium tray for transporting a plate-like recording medium such as a compact disk, and the print head. Tray transport mechanism that reciprocates in the printer along a transport path that passes through the printer, a supply mechanism that supplies the plate-shaped recording medium before printing to the medium tray, and collects the plate-shaped recording medium after printing from the medium tray With this device, it is possible to print a heading or the like on the surface of a plate-shaped recording medium conveyed while being placed on the medium tray by the print head.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Overall Configuration) FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a CD-R printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. A printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an ink jet printer 2 installed at a center on an apparatus base 1a and a reciprocating medium tray for conveying a CD-R (hereinafter, simply referred to as a medium) 3 printed by the printer 2. And a medium supply mechanism 5 disposed on the side of the printer 2 to which the medium before printing is supplied.
And a medium recovery mechanism 6 disposed on the side of the printer 2 where the printed medium is discharged.

The printer 2 includes an ink jet print head 21 and a tray transport mechanism (not shown) that reciprocates the medium tray 4 along a preset transport path via a print position of the print head 21. Have.
The printer 2 employs a commonly used ink jet printer as it is, and a tray guide member that defines a printing position so that printing is performed on the surface of a medium conveyed on the medium tray 4. It is sufficient to adjust the distance between the print head and the like. Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration of the printer itself is omitted in this specification.

In FIG. 1, a front side of the printer 2 is a medium supply side, and a tray installation section 23 for installing a reciprocating medium tray 4 on which a medium 3 before printing is placed is formed. When the reciprocating medium tray 4 is set in the tray setting section 23 and a tray transport mechanism (not shown) is driven, the reciprocating medium tray 4 is fed in a horizontal direction toward the print head 21, and Predetermined printing is performed on the surface of the medium 3 placed thereon. On the medium discharge side of the printer 2, a discharge section 24 of the medium tray 4 is formed. The medium tray 4 on which the medium 3 printed by the print head 21 is moved to the discharge unit 24 after passing through the print head 21.

Here, the tray transport mechanism of the present embodiment is configured to reciprocate the reciprocating medium tray 4. Such a reciprocating mechanism can be constructed using a known drive mechanism. Therefore, the medium tray 4 passes through the print position of the print head 21 from the tray installation section 23, reaches the discharge section 24 on the opposite side, and then again passes through the print position to the tray installation section on the near side. 2
Return to 3.

Next, the configuration of the medium supply mechanism 5 will be described.
The medium supply mechanism 5 includes a medium storage unit 51 that stores the media 3 before printing in a vertically stacked state, and a drive 52 that writes preset information on the medium 3 stored therein. And a medium transfer device 7 for transferring the medium along a predetermined path. The medium storage unit 51 and the driver 52 are arranged on both sides of the tray installation unit 23 of the printer 2.

The medium 3 is transported by the medium moving tool 7 in the following path. First, the uppermost medium 3 loaded in the medium storage unit 51 is first moved by the medium
And is delivered to the drive 52. The medium 3 on which the information has been recorded in the drive 52 is again transported by the medium transport device 7 to the tray installation section 23 of the printer 2.
Tray mounting part 42 of the reciprocating medium tray 4 installed in the
(See FIG. 2). Thereafter, the medium transporting tool 7 moves to the medium storage section again, and stands by in a state where the medium 3 processed by the drive can be transported.

On the other hand, the side of the medium collection mechanism 6 is a medium collection unit 61 for collecting non-defective products from the printed medium 3.
And a defective product collection unit 62 for collecting defective products, and a medium transporting tool 8 for transporting the printed medium 3 along a predetermined route. Medium collection unit 61 and defective product collection unit 62
Is disposed on one side of the tray discharge section 24 of the printer 2. These recovery units 61 and 62 may be arranged on both sides of the tray discharge unit 24 of the printer 2. Next, the configuration of each part will be described in more detail.

(Medium Tray) FIGS. 2A and 2B show a reciprocating medium tray 4. As shown in this figure, the reciprocating medium tray 4 is composed of a tray main body 41 made of a thin rectangular plate.
And a shallow circular groove 42 formed at an appropriate position on the surface.
And a circular projection 43 formed at the center of the circular groove 42. The circular groove 42 is a mounting portion of the medium 3, and the inner diameter thereof is set slightly larger than the diameter of the medium 3. In addition, the convex portion 43 at the center is set to a size that fits into the center hole of the medium 3 just. As the material of the tray body 41, plastic, cardboard, or the like can be used, but basically any material may be used. Also,
The shape of the medium mounting portion 42 is not limited to a circular groove as long as the structure allows the medium 3 to be mounted without shifting from front to back and left and right.

Although the tray 4 of this embodiment has a two-layer structure, it is needless to say that the tray 4 may be integrally formed of a synthetic resin or the like.

(Medium Storage Unit) FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the medium storage unit 51 of this embodiment. The medium storage unit 51 includes a base 511 and a columnar pole 512 attached to the upper surface thereof.
And an elevating plate 513 through which the pole 512 passes,
It is installed on this lifting plate 513 and the pole 5
12 has a circular bottom plate 514 passing through the center. A pole 512 protruding from the circular bottom plate 514
Are stored in a stacked state with the medium 3 inserted from above.

The elevating plate 513 can be moved up and down along a slide rail 515 mounted vertically to the base 511. Further, it is moved up and down by a gear motor 517 via a transmission mechanism 516 composed of a timing belt and a pulley. The lifting range of the lifting plate 513 is defined by a lower limit sensor 518 and an upper limit sensor 519 installed on the slide rail 515.

Further, a media sensor 520 is arranged on the side of the upper end side of the pole 512. When the medium is sucked upward by the transfer tool, the next medium rises by one sheet.
It is used for always moving the position of the medium to a predetermined location, and when the medium 3 stored in the medium storage unit 51 runs out, it is detected. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, a groove 514a is formed in the upper surface of the circular bottom plate 514 in the diameter direction thereof, and this groove coincides with the passage of the detection light of the media sensor 519. . When the medium 3 is on the bottom plate 514, the light for detection of the sensor 520 is reflected by the medium 3, so that the presence of the medium 3 is detected. However, the medium 3 is placed on the bottom plate 514.
When the bottom plate 514 rises to the height position of the media sensor 520 in a state where there is no light, the reflected light cannot be obtained because the detection light beam passes through the groove 514a.
This detects that the medium 3 has run out.

(Medium Collection Unit) Next, FIG. 4 shows the structure of the medium collection unit 61. The medium recovery unit 61 includes a cartridge-type medium storage tube 611 made of a transparent synthetic resin material such as an acrylic plate, and an outer box 612 to which the medium storage tube 611 is detachably mounted. The medium storage tube 611 includes a transparent cylindrical tube 613 made of a transparent synthetic resin material such as an acrylic plate, and a bottom plate 614 is attached to a lower side thereof. From the center of the bottom plate, along the cylinder center axis. A pole 615 extends. This pole 615
Plate 6 with a pole through hole formed at the center on the upper end side
16 has been inserted. The floating plate 616 is on a conical coil spring 617 arranged on the outer periphery of the pole. Therefore, each time one medium 3 enters the floating plate 616, the weight of the coil spring 617 increases.
Falls as it shrinks.

Here, the lower end surface of the pole 615 is
4 and is exposed from the back surface of the bottom plate 614. As shown in FIG. 4B, a positioning hole 615a is formed in the lower end surface.

An outer box 612 in which the medium storage tube 611 of this configuration is detachably mounted is provided inside a rectangular outer frame 618, a plurality of, for example, four tube guides 619 having a tapered upper end. Are arranged concentrically. In these cylinder guides 619, a medium storage cylinder 611 is provided.
Can be detachably mounted from above. At the center of the bottom plate of the outer box 612, a positioning stud 620 that can be inserted into a positioning hole 615a formed in the lower end surface of the pole of the medium storage cylinder 611 is arranged. Also,
A fullness detection sensor 621 is arranged at the upper end of the outer box 612, and can detect that the medium storage cylinder 611 is full with the medium 3.

In the medium recovery section 61 having this configuration, when the medium storage tube 611 is full of the medium 3, the medium storage tube 611 can be pulled out of the outer box 612 and collected together with the tube. After taking out a full tube, an empty tube may be attached. The full tube can be taken to another location after collection and used in the next step. Also, the positioning stud 62
0 and the cylinder guide 619, the medium storage cylinder 61
Even if 1 is inserted from above randomly, it is automatically positioned and mounted. Therefore, the mounting operation can be easily performed. The configuration of the defective product collection unit 62 is the same.

(Medium Transfer Tool) FIG. 5 shows the structure of the medium transfer tool 7. The medium transfer tool 7 is configured using a generally used blower (blower). That is, the medium transfer device 7 includes a blower body 71 having a built-in propeller, an air suction port 72 opened in its casing, and a blower port 7 also opened in the casing.
3 is provided.

A cylindrical tube 74 is attached to the air suction port 72. At the circular opening end of the cylinder 74, a perforated rotary plate 75 is arranged coaxially. This rotating plate 75 is connected to an output shaft of a motor 76 disposed inside the cylinder 74. An optical sensor 77 is attached to a position on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 74 that can move from the outer peripheral edge to the inner peripheral edge of the rotating plate 75. The optical sensor 77 detects the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the rotating plate 75 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 74 or the side of the medium 3 adsorbed to the rotating plate 75 by equivalent to a transparent rotating plate.

On the other hand, an opening / closing lid 78 for opening / closing the ventilation opening 73 is attached. When the opening / closing lid 78 is open, the medium transfer tool 7 functions, and the air sucked from the air suction port 72 is discharged from the blower port 73. Therefore, the air suction port 7 of the medium transfer device 7
When the rotating plate 75 attached to the medium 2 is brought into contact with or close to the surface of the medium 3, the medium 3 is attracted to the rotating plate 75 by a suction force of air. On the contrary,
When the air outlet 73 is closed with the opening / closing lid 78, the suction operation of the air is blocked.
Falls from there.

Therefore, the medium transfer tool 7 having this configuration is moved along a predetermined transport path (shown by a thick line in FIG. 1), and the medium 3 and the rotating plate 75 are coaxial at each position. What is necessary is just to set so that it may confront in a state. In this way, the unprinted media 3 stored in the medium storage unit 51 are sucked one by one from the top, transferred to the drive 52 side, and
The medium 3 can be accurately set for the 2a. Further, the recorded medium 3 received by the drive 52 can be accurately set on the medium setting section 42 of the medium tray 4 of the printer 2.

Here, in the present embodiment, the medium transfer tool 7 has the sensor 77 as described above. An index detected by this sensor is formed on each medium 3. That is, one index 31 for alignment is formed in the circumferential direction on the circumference from the outer peripheral edge to the inner peripheral edge of the medium 3 (see FIG. 2). This index may be printed or formed by cutting out a part of the medium 3. In any case, the position of the index 31 in the radial direction is set to be a position that can be detected by the sensor 77.

For example, after receiving the medium 3 from the drive 52, the medium transfer tool 7 drives the motor 76 to rotate the rotating plate 75 on which the medium 3 is adsorbed, and
The index 31 attached to is searched. The rotation plate 75 is stopped at the rotation position where this index is detected by the sensor 77. If the medium 3 is set in the medium setting section 42 of the medium tray 4 in this state, the medium 3 can always be set in the medium tray 4 in the same direction.

Therefore, for example, when performing multiple overprints on the same medium 3 or when printing has been performed on the medium 3 in advance, the direction of the medium 3 is kept constant at each printing. There are advantages such as that printing can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the rotating plate 7 is
5 is attached so that the medium 3 is adsorbed here. However, when the alignment of the medium 3 is unnecessary, the rotating plate and the sensor may be omitted, and the medium 3 may be attached to the air suction port and adsorbed on the annular end surface of the cylindrical cylinder 74.

The medium transfer device 7 does not employ the suction transfer method as in the present embodiment, but includes other transfer devices, for example,
It is also possible to adopt a mechanism that transports the medium 3 while sandwiching it from above and below. Alternatively, a mechanism that inserts a claw or the like that can be opened and closed into a hole in the center of the medium and a mechanism that causes the outer periphery of the medium to be phased may be adopted.

Further, in this embodiment, an index 31 is formed on the medium 3 in order to detect the rotational angle position of the medium 3. Instead, for example, if an image reading device is mounted, the surface of the medium 3 is read in the circumferential direction in advance, the read image pattern is stored, and the rotational angle position of the medium 3 is determined based on the stored information. It may be specified.

On the other hand, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is provided with the drive 52. However, when only printing is performed on the surface of the medium 3 without writing information on the medium 3,
The drive 52 becomes unnecessary. Also, the defective product collection unit 62
Also, if the defective product is manually removed or the drive is not provided, it is not necessary to install the drive.

Further, the medium supply mechanism 5 and the medium recovery mechanism 6 can be omitted. In this case, the medium may be manually loaded on the medium tray 4 on one side of the printer 2 and the printed medium may be similarly manually removed on the other side.

Next, the formation position of the index 31 will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the CD-R 300 has a chucking portion 3 having a central hole 301 at the center.
02 on the outer periphery, an annular recording surface 303 on the back side.
Are formed. The back surface of the chucking portion is a portion where recording is not possible because the printing coating is not applied. The chucking unit 30
Between the recording surface 303 and the recording surface 303, there is formed a thin ring-shaped portion 304 that cannot be subjected to inkjet printing. Further, the outer peripheral edge 305 is a transparent edge.

Therefore, the central chucking section 302
If the surface is marked in advance by silk printing, this can be used as an index. Alternatively, data may be printed on this portion using dots or a large number of lines. Of course, as shown in FIG. 6B, an index may be formed on the transparent outer peripheral portion 305, or data consisting of dots or line segments may be printed in this portion in advance in the circumferential direction by silk printing. You may keep it. Further, any of silk printing and ink jet printing may be performed on the recording surface 303.

(Other Embodiments) An example different from the medium transport method shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In the case of the above example, the medium 3 is transported using a tray. Instead, as shown in FIG.
The medium may be transported by the transport belt 200 by arranging the print belt 202 around the print position 202 inside the print belt 201. In this case, a shallow groove is formed on the surface of the transport belt, and the medium may be placed on the groove. (The grooves are similar to those formed in the medium tray described above.)

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Desired printing can easily be performed on the surface of a plate-shaped recording medium such as a CD-R.

That is, in the present invention, the plate-shaped recording medium to be printed is placed on the medium tray and transported to the printing position, so that printing on the plate-shaped recording medium can be performed almost as it is using an existing ink jet printer. You can do it.

Further, since the medium tray is reciprocated in the printer along the transport path passing through the print head, the medium before printing is placed on the medium tray one by one on one side. On the other side, the work of removing the printed plate-shaped recording medium from the medium tray is convenient because it is possible to perform printing on the surface of a large number of plate-shaped recording media.

Further, since at least one of the plate-shaped recording medium and the medium tray is provided with an index for placing the plate-shaped recording medium in a predetermined positional relationship with the medium tray, an index is formed. On the basis of the index, the plate-shaped recording medium can be put on the medium tray while being aligned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views showing examples of a reciprocating medium tray used in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 2C and 2D are used in the apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of an individual medium tray.

3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams showing the configuration of a medium supply unit used in the apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a schematic configuration diagram, FIG. 3B is a plan view of a circular bottom plate, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of the part cut | disconnected by the line.

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing a configuration of a medium recovery unit used in the apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG.
(B) is an explanatory diagram showing a positioning hole at the lower end of the pole, (C) is a configuration diagram showing the outer box, and (D) is an explanatory diagram showing the upper end portion of the cylinder guide.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory views showing the configuration of a medium transfer tool used in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a position of an index attached to a medium.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another example of the medium transport mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 printing device 2 inkjet printer 3 plate recording medium 31 index 4 medium tray 42 medium mounting unit 5 medium supply mechanism 51 medium storage unit 52 driver 6 medium collection mechanism 61 medium collection unit 62 defective product collection unit 7, 8 medium transfer tool 71 Blower body 72 Air suction port 73 Blower port 74 Tube 75 Rotating plate 76 Rotary drive source 77 Sensor 78 Opening / closing lid

Claims (6)

[Claims] An ink jet print head and a medium tray for transporting a plate-shaped recording medium such as a compact disk, and a surface of the plate-shaped recording medium conveyed while being mounted on the medium tray, A printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium, wherein a heading or the like is printed by the print head. 2. The medium tray according to claim 1, wherein:
A printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium, wherein the printing medium is reciprocated along a transport path passing through the print head. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plate-shaped recording medium and the medium tray includes:
An index for placing the plate-shaped recording medium in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the medium tray is formed, and the plate-shaped recording medium is placed on the medium tray based on the index. Printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium. 4. The plate-shaped recording medium according to claim 3, wherein the plate-shaped recording medium has a disk shape, and the index is formed at at least one position along a circumferential direction thereof, and the plate-shaped recording medium is formed based on the index. A printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium, wherein a recording medium is placed on the medium tray so as to have a predetermined positional relationship. 5. The medium according to claim 3, wherein an already printed image pattern or index on the surface of the plate-shaped recording medium is read in the circumferential direction, and based on the read result, the plate-shaped recording medium is moved to the medium tray. A printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium, wherein the printing medium is placed so as to have a predetermined positional relationship. 6. An ink jet print head, a medium tray for conveying a plate-shaped recording medium such as a compact disk, and the medium tray is reciprocated in the printer along a conveyance path passing through the print head. A tray transport mechanism, a supply mechanism for supplying the plate-shaped recording medium before printing to the medium tray, and a collection mechanism for collecting the plate-shaped recording medium after printing from the medium tray; A printing apparatus for a plate-shaped recording medium, wherein a heading or the like is printed by the print head on the surface of the plate-shaped recording medium conveyed in a state.