JP2001310455A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate managing of a temperature by efficiently warming a printing medium so that an image can be deformed and a predetermined color can be represented. SOLUTION: In this ink jet printer, a printing unit having an ink jet head of which the ejection face faces downward is attached being slidable in a direction of axis X and a plate is disposed at a position in opposition to the ejection face of the ink jet head in such a manner that the printing medium can be sequentially moved in a direction of axis Y perpendicular to the axis X by each one line. A roller set consisting of a combination of a guide roller for guiding the printing medium and a pinch roller is provided to each of the front and rear portions of the plate in the moving direction of the printing medium such that the printing medium is brought into intimate contact with the upper face of the plate and a heater is attached to the inner section of the plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus in which the ejection surface of an ink jet head is mounted downward.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ink jet printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 3, a printing unit 101 in which a coating surface of an ink jet head 100 is mounted vertically is movably mounted while sequentially discharging different color inks in a Z-axis direction. The plate 102 is disposed at a position facing the ejection surface of the inkjet head 100, and the upper surface of the plate 102 is
03 is arranged so as to be sequentially movable by one line in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the Z-axis, and the ink applied to the print medium 103 is dried and solidified using the dryer 104. Reference numeral 105 denotes a suction tube for sucking the print medium 103 onto the plate 102.

[0003]

In the above prior art, when a resinous sheet (such as a polyvinyl chloride sheet) is used as a print medium, the ink does not penetrate, and the ink is dripped before drying in a vertical application method. There was a problem. In particular, when a large print medium is used, the print medium is sucked into a plate to maintain flatness, and the drier 10 is used.
4 was used, but the air of the dryer caused turbulence of air between the inkjet head 100 and the print medium 103, and ink was attached to a position shifted from a target position, and an image was not formed. There is a possibility that the color may be distorted or a predetermined color may not be output.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a printing unit having a discharge surface of an ink jet head mounted downward is slidably mounted in the X-axis direction. A plate is disposed at a position facing the surface, and the upper surface of the plate is disposed so that the print medium can sequentially move by one line in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis. Before and after, a roller set composed of a combination of a guide roller for guiding the print medium and a pinch roller is disposed so that the print medium is in close contact with the upper surface of the plate, and a heater is mounted inside the plate.

[0005]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a (red, blue, yellow, black) ink jet head, and a printing unit 2 having a discharge surface mounted downward is slidably mounted in the horizontal X-axis direction so that the height can be adjusted in the vertical direction. Numeral 3 is a plate horizontally disposed facing the ink-jet head 1, and the upper surface of the plate 4
It slides in the axial direction. Before and after the plate 3, a roller set 7A composed of a combination of a guide roller 5 for guiding the print medium 4 and a pinch roller 6,
7B, the upper surface of the plate 3 is disposed above the two roller sets 7A, 7B, so that the print medium 4 comes into close contact with the upper surface of the plate 3. A heater 12 is mounted on the back side of the plate 3 so as to heat the plate 3 to an arbitrarily set temperature. 8 is a supply roller of the print medium 4, 9 is a take-up roller, 10 is a tension roller,
11 is a guide roller. In this embodiment, a temperature controller for controlling the temperature of the heater 12 is provided, and the temperature of the plate 3 can be adjusted substantially by the temperature controller. By adjusting the temperature of the plate 3, the temperature can be set to a temperature suitable for the material of the print medium 4.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the printing medium 4 from being stretched or deteriorated due to excessive heating. Further, by adjusting the temperature of the plate 3, the drying speed of the ink to be used can be set to a state adapted to the ink.

Next, the operation will be described. When the printing unit 2 moves in the X-axis direction while ejecting ink according to a command (signal) of the control device, printing for one line is performed on the printing medium 4 and thereafter, the printing medium 4 is moved by a predetermined pitch in the Y-axis direction. And the next one line is printed. Print medium 4
The ink applied to is dried and fixed by the heat of the plate 3 and then passes through the roller sets 7A and 7B. In this manner, the four colors of red, blue, yellow, and black are sequentially applied to the upper surface of each line, and the four composite colors are applied to the print medium 4.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a printing unit having a discharge surface of an ink jet head mounted downward is slidably mounted in the X-axis direction, and a plate is disposed at a position facing the discharge surface of the ink jet head. A guide roller for guiding the print medium before and after the plate in the direction of movement of the print medium, the print medium being disposed so that the print medium can sequentially move by one line in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis; A roller set consisting of a combination of pinch rollers is arranged so that the print medium is in close contact with the upper surface of the plate, and a heater is installed inside the plate, so the print medium is in close contact with the upper surface of the plate, and the flatness is improved. Images without distortion can be printed. Further, the printing medium can be heated evenly, and the temperature can be easily controlled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal structure of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the internal structure of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet head 2 Printing unit 3 Plate 4 Print medium 5 Guide roller 6 Pinch roller 7A, 7B Roller set 8 Supply roller 9 Take-up roller 10 Tension roller 11 Guide roller 12 Heater

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit having a discharge surface of an ink jet head mounted downward so as to be slidable in the X-axis direction, a plate disposed at a position facing the discharge surface of the ink jet head, and an upper surface of the plate being a print medium. Are arranged so as to be able to sequentially move by one line in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis, and a combination of a guide roller for guiding the print medium and a pinch roller before and after the plate in the direction of movement of the print medium. An ink jet printing apparatus comprising: a roller set having a print medium disposed in close contact with a top surface of a plate; and a heater mounted inside the plate.