JP2002154247A - Ink jet printer and ink jet printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an ink jet printer in which the print object range of a print material of cloth product such as a T shirt, can be leveled or positioned easily with respect to a print mechanism and the scale of the print mechanism can be minimized by limiting the plane area of a print tray to the print object range so that the ink jet printer can be set at a shop. SOLUTION: Under a state where the print object range 2 of a print material 1 is held in planar state while holding other parts of the print material on the inside, the print object range 2 is fixed in a print tray 11 while being positioned. Matching of print position of the print material to an ink jet print mechanism 31 and carriage of the print material are conducted using the print tray.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing method for printing on a printing material formed of a cloth product such as a T-shirt.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, images (including characters and symbols) are applied to cloth products such as T-shirts (for example, clothes as cotton products).
Screen printing, iron printing (transfer printing), and the like are known as methods for printing. In the screen printing, a paste paste colored by mixing a pigment is applied to a material to be printed (object to be printed) through a transparent portion formed in a predetermined pattern on a screen, and the paste is applied by utilizing a bonding force of the paste. This is carried out by a method in which the paste is fixed to the material to be printed. When multi-color printing is performed by this screen printing, over-coating is performed using a plurality of screen plates corresponding to each color.

[0003] On the other hand, the iron print is a method in which an image material is printed on transfer paper by a color toner copying machine or an ink jet printer or the like, and then the printed transfer paper is hot-pressed to a cloth product such as a T-shirt (clothes).
This is carried out by a method of transferring to Also, recently, after directly printing the image on the pre-treated cloth using an inkjet printer, and after performing post-processing on the printed cloth,
A digital textile printing method performed in a process of sewing the cloth to finish clothing (cloth product) such as a T-shirt has also been implemented. Known documents disclosing such a conventional digital textile printing method using ink jet printing include JP-A-7-336466 and JP-A-8-2.
07263 and JP-A-8-207390.

[0004]

However, in the above screen printing, a plurality of special editions corresponding to designs and colors are required, and the production time and cost are required. Not suitable for conversion. There is also a problem in that a large number of man-hours are required for storing and managing plates when printing (copying) the same image on a plurality of cloth products. Furthermore, the screen printing has a technical problem that it is difficult to print a high-definition image material.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned iron printing, since the resin of the transfer paper is adhered to the surface of the printing material in the printing process, there is a technical problem that the printing material loses air permeability and the printing material becomes rough. There is. Especially T
When printing on clothes such as shirts, there is also a technical problem that clothes do not pass through sweat and the comfort becomes poor. Further, there is also a technical problem that the washing fastness of the printing material is deteriorated and the printing material is immediately ragged when washed. The above-mentioned digital textile printing method was devised in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. However, in order to print on a material to be printed such as clothing made of fibers, post-processing such as pre-treatment, color-fixing treatment, washing, etc. And many other processes are required.In addition, due to the difficulty of the processing method and the problem of processing time, it is necessary to sew a printing material printed in a cloth state to produce a cloth product. The digital textile printing method has a technical problem that it is difficult to make it on-demand in a theme park, a tourist spot, or the like.

The present invention solves the above technical problems and provides an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method capable of easily and directly printing a cloth product such as a T-shirt with a small and inexpensive mechanism. To provide. In other words, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily perform flat positioning and positioning of a print target area of a print target material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt with respect to a print mechanism, and to reduce the flat area of a print tray to only the print target area It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing method that can minimize the size of a printing mechanism, have a minimum size and an inexpensive structure, and can be easily placed in a store or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing method capable of eliminating stains due to ink or the like on a printing material by concealing a non-printed portion inside a printing tray. That is. Another object of the present invention is to facilitate mounting of a printing material on a printing tray.
An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method with improved workability. Still another object of the present invention is not only to facilitate on-demand printing by directly printing on a printing material such as a standard T-shirt or the like such as cloth (clothing) by an ink jet printing mechanism. Another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method that can solve the problem of excess stock by performing pretreatment as needed.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printing apparatus having an ink-jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a printing material such as a T-shirt. The printing tray is positioned and mounted on a printing tray in a state where the printing target area of the printing material is held in a planar shape and the other portion of the printing material is included inside the printing tray. The printing position of the printing medium with respect to the ink-jet printing mechanism is adjusted and transported using the above-mentioned method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printing apparatus having an ink-jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a printing material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt. The ink jet printing mechanism is used by using the printing tray by positioning the printing material on a printing tray with the other portion of the printing material dropped to the periphery and mounting the printing material in a state where the other portion of the printing material is dropped to the periphery. Print position adjustment and conveyance of the printing material with respect to the printing medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first or second aspect, at least one of the upper surface and the side surface of the printing tray is provided with an adhesive property by using an adhesive or an adhesive tape or the like, so that the printing material is provided. By lightly holding the printing material on the printing tray, the printing material is prevented from floating on the printing surface formed on the upper surface of the printing tray or displaced during operation, thereby further printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet textile printing apparatus which can prevent the printing material from floating from the printing surface, which is the upper surface of the tray, or prevent the printing material from shifting from the printing surface during operation.

According to the present invention, the printing tray is formed in an engineered shape, and the printing material is mounted so as to cover the printing tray. A configuration that prevents the seepage of ink to the back side, a configuration that enables continuous printing on the printing material by automatically arranging a plurality of printing trays on which the printing material is mounted, or
A display surface capable of displaying only the print target range as a print material arrangement area, and image input / output means capable of arranging a digital material on the display surface and printing the digital material. By doing
The above object is achieved more efficiently.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printing method for printing an image on a printing material such as a T-shirt using an ink-jet printing mechanism. Using the printing tray, the printing material is positioned and mounted on the printing tray in a state where the area is kept flat and other parts of the printing material are included inside. The printing position of the printing material with respect to the inkjet printing mechanism is adjusted and transported.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment,
A description will be given by taking as an example a case where a cloth product as a material to be printed is a T-shirt which is a cotton product and the T-shirt is printed. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a process for printing an image material on a cloth product (T-shirt) by applying the present invention. In FIG. 1, pretreatment is performed by applying a pretreatment agent to a T-shirt or the like as a material to be printed before applying the dye during printing, for the purpose of preventing ink bleeding and accelerating the reaction of the dye with fabric fibers (such as cotton fibers). Is to be granted. The pre-treatment step includes application of a pre-treatment agent and drying as shown in the figure.

As a method of applying the pretreatment agent, a method of dipping is generally used, but a method of partial application using a spray or a sponge roller may be adopted. As the pretreatment agent, it is preferable to use a material in which at least one of a water repellent and a water-soluble resin contains a nonionic surfactant or an anionic surfactant. The water repellent and the water-soluble resin are used to suppress bleeding of an image and to fix a dye on the surface of a cloth (cloth) to improve coloring, and the nonionic surfactant and the anionic surfactant are used. Is to suppress the liquid medium in the ink from excessively penetrating in the thickness direction of the cloth and to improve the wettability of the dye to the cloth.

After pre-processing the print target area of the print-receiving material (cloth product such as a T-shirt), a predetermined image material is printed (printed) on the print target area by an ink jet printing mechanism. Post-processing is further performed on the printed material to be printed. This post-processing is
As shown in the figure, color fixation, washing, and fix processing (FI
X processing), drying and ironing. The color fixing is a reaction fixing step of a dye. In particular,
As the reaction fixing step, it is generally preferable to carry out a heat coloring process. As the step of the heat color development treatment, a conventional technique, for example, a known method used in a printing process is usually applied as it is. That is, a high-temperature steam method or a thermosol method is used.

The actual processing conditions in the heating color forming process (color fixing) vary depending on the type of cloth to be printed, but when dyeing cotton or silk cloth with ink containing a reactive dye, high-temperature steam is used. The treatment is preferably performed at 100 to 105 degrees Celsius for 5 to 30 minutes by the method. When a polyester fiber cloth is dyed with an ink containing a disperse dye, it is treated at 160 to 180 degrees Celsius for several minutes to several tens of minutes by a high-temperature steam method, or at 190 to 230 degrees Celsius by a thermosol method. The treatment is preferably performed for several seconds to several tens of seconds.

In the washing step in the post-treatment, generally, a method of washing with water (including hot water) and then soaping with an aqueous solution containing a soaping agent or the like is used. However, if the material to be printed is polyester cloth,
After washing with water, a standard method is to perform reduction washing with an aqueous solution containing an alkali agent and hydrosulfide, and then further to wash with water. When the print material is a cotton cloth, washing is performed with water (including hot water), and then soaping is performed with an aqueous solution containing a soaping agent and the like. It is also possible to improve the washing fastness. In the fixing process, a dye fixing agent such as a fixing agent is used to improve washing fastness, and a process of removing excess dye is performed. As the fixing treatment agent, for example, a substance that converts the reactive dye into a poorly water-soluble compound form by binding to a hydrophilic group such as a sulfonic acid group of the reactive dye is used.A specific example of the substance is polyamine. Compounds, dicyandiamide compounds, and quaternary ammonium salt compounds.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a portion to be printed on a T-shirt as an example of a material to be printed (cloth product).
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a T-shirt, and reference numeral 2 denotes a print target range of the T-shirt 1 (a range indicated by a square in the figure). In general, printing on T-shirts 1 (printing of art materials) is mostly performed in a fixed position such as the chest and within a fixed size such as A4 length / A4 width, and these can be almost satisfied. By setting the print target range by position and size, it is possible to respond to most print requests.

Therefore, the present invention relates to an ink-jet printing apparatus having an ink-jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a print-receiving material 1 made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt. The printing material 1 is positioned and mounted on a printing tray in a state in which the other portion of the printing material is included inside, and the printing tray is used for the ink jet printing mechanism. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing method configured to perform printing position adjustment and conveyance of a printing material 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the first embodiment of the printing tray and a printing material (T-shirt) mounted on the printing tray in a separated state. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a print-receiving material (T-shirt) is mounted on a printing tray of FIG. 3 and 4, the printing tray 11 according to the first embodiment has a structure in which the lower plate 12 and the upper plate 13 are connected to each other with the support pillars 14 so as to be formed into an overall shape. The upper plate 13 is formed in a flat shape so that the cloth material 1 such as a T-shirt, which is a material to be printed, can be placed and mounted (mounted) on the upper surface thereof. The size of the upper plate 13 (the width of the upper surface)
Is substantially the same as the print target area 2 of the T-shirt 1, so that the upper area of the print tray 11 can be set to a minimum size. If the print target area 2 of the T-shirt 1 is marked (marked by washing and dropping) with a chalk or a sticker or the like, the T-shirt 1 can be easily positioned and mounted on the printing tray 11.

At least one of the upper surface and the side surface of the printing tray 11 (in the illustrated example, the upper plate 13) is entirely or partially coated with an adhesive 15 such as industrial glue or an adhesive tape having a weak adhesive force. Attached) and provided with tackiness.
As a result, the printing medium 1 mounted on the printing tray 11 is lifted from the printing surface formed on the upper surface of the printing tray 11 only by being lightly held on the printing tray 11 and is moved to the inkjet head. The contact is prevented, and the position is prevented from being shifted during operation (during printing).

The printing tray 11 holds the printing target area 2 of the printing material 1 in a flat shape as described above, and also includes the other portion of the printing material 1 inside. The print material 1 is formed as a whole so that it can be positioned and mounted on the printing tray. In other words, the unprinted portions such as the arms 17, neck 18, and hem 19 of the T-shirt (printed material) 1 are included in the pocket 16 of the printing tray 11 so that the printed material 1 is not included.
Is configured so that the flat area of the printing tray 11 on which the ink jet printing mechanism is mounted can be minimized and the inkjet printing mechanism can also be minimized.

The size (width) of the upper plate 13 is as follows:
The dimensions may be changed according to the size of the printing material 1 such as a T-shirt for children and a T-shirt for adults. The size of the lower plate 12 may be the same, and the support 14 is provided at a displaced position in the printing tray 11 to make it easy to cover the printing material 1 such as a T-shirt. The material of the printing tray 11 is not particularly limited, and a desired material such as wood, plastic, and metal can be used. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the first embodiment of the printing tray 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the printing tray 11 is made into the above-described working shape, and the printing material (T-shirt) 1 is mounted on the upper plate 13 so as to cover the printing material (T-shirt). Only the front side of 1 is the upper plate 13
May be on the upper side. By doing this,
Even when the printing material is a thin material, it is possible to prevent the ink from seeping out to the back side of the printing material 1 when printing (printing) the image material on the printing material. Further, also in the printing tray 11 shown in FIG. 5, an adhesive 15 as shown in FIG. 3 may be provided.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the printing tray. In FIG. 6, a printing tray 11 according to the second embodiment has walls 21 on its side surfaces, and adhesives 15 made of industrial glue or adhesive tape are applied to the outer surfaces of these walls (attached). )
The side surface of the printing tray 11 is provided with adhesiveness. The printing tray 11 of FIG. 6 differs from the printing tray of FIGS. 3 and 4 (first embodiment) in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other respects, and corresponds to each other. Portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Even with such a configuration, the printing medium 1 is lightly held on the printing tray 11 so that, as in the case of the first embodiment described above, the printing material 1 It is possible to prevent the printing material from floating and being displaced during the operation. In addition, according to the configuration of FIG. 6, it is possible to prevent the printing material 1 from expanding from the side surface to the side surface of the printing tray 11.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the printing tray. In FIG. 7, the printing tray 1
An upper surface of the upper plate 13 is provided with an adhesive portion 15 similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and furthermore, an edge of the upper surface of the lower plate 12 of the printing tray 11 (shown in FIG. 3). In the two opposite sides), a stopper 23 for preventing the protruding of the cloth product 1 such as a T-shirt mounted on the printing tray,
23 are provided. The printing tray of FIG. 7 is different from the first embodiment of FIG. 3 and the second embodiment of FIG. 6 in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other parts.
Corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the fourth embodiment of the printing tray and a printing material (T-shirt) mounted on the printing tray in a separated state. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a print-receiving material (T-shirt) is mounted on a printing tray of FIG. 8 and 9, the printing tray 61 according to the fourth embodiment includes a lower plate 62, a block 63, and side plates 64, 64, 64 around the block 63. With such a configuration, after the print target area 2 of the T-shirt 1 is mounted in accordance with the block 63, it is only necessary to drop the other part into the gap formed by the block 63 and the side plate 64, Since there is no need for inclusion, mounting workability can be improved. In addition, since the side surface of the block 63 can be widened, if the adhesive glue 65 is applied to that portion, there is no fear that the T-shirt 1 is shifted during the printing operation. Also, if a little tension is applied, the T-shirt 1 will not rise and will not hit the inkjet head.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet printing mechanism (printing printer) used in an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 10, the inkjet printing mechanism 31
Prints a desired image material directly on the print material 1. The printing tray 11 (see FIG. 4) on which the printing material 1 such as a T-shirt is mounted is transported through the inkjet printing mechanism 31 by a transport belt 33 installed on a transport table 32. And
In the meantime, a desired range of the printing material 1 positioned and mounted on the printing tray 11 (specifically, the printing tray 1
The printing target range 2) supported in a planar manner on the upper surface of the upper plate 13 of the first printing apparatus 1 is moved to the inkjet printing mechanism 31.
A predetermined image material is printed by the (ink jet head or the dye ink discharged from the ink discharge port).

The ink jet printing mechanism 31 includes:
As shown, it has a substantially gate-shaped print section, and an ink jet unit (not shown) is disposed inside the top beam 31A. The ink jet unit prints an image on a print target area (partial pre-processing unit) 2 of a printing material 1 by discharging ink from a discharge port based on image information. The print unit includes a print head 1 that is reciprocated in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the print material 1 and that is driven by a main scan.
A serial printing type in which an image is formed by alternately repeating line printing and pitch feeding (pitch conveyance) of the printing material 1, and a line type having a predetermined length in the width direction of the printing material 1 There is a line print type in which printing is performed only by pitch feed (sub-scanning) in the transport direction of the print-receiving material 1 using the print head. Known documents that disclose such an ink jet printing mechanism include JP-A-8-207263 and JP-A-8-207390.

Printing tray 1 on which printing material 1 is mounted
The transfer of 1 is performed by the following mechanism. That is, the guide of the printing tray 11 in the width direction with respect to the carrier 32 is formed by the lower plate 12 of the printing tray 11 and the carrier 3.
2 with a width guide (not shown). In addition, the print tray 11 is caught in the transport direction in the lower plate 1 of the print tray 11.
2 is detected by a detection switch (not shown) provided on the transfer table 32. Printing tray 1
1 is detected, the transport table 32 is detected.
Is moved upward until the print target range 2 of the printing material 1 placed on the upper plate 13 of the printing tray 11 contacts an upper surface detection switch (not shown) of the ink jet printing mechanism 31. The gap between the print target area 2 and the inkjet head is adjusted. After performing the gap adjustment, the apparatus enters a print mode in which the dye ink is ejected from the inkjet head to print an image material on a print target area.

As described above, by positioning the printing tray 11 with respect to the ink jet printing mechanism 31, the ink jet printing mechanism 31 (the ink jet head or the discharge port) of the printing material 1 mounted on the printing tray 11 is used. Can be positioned. When printing on the printing material 1 is completed, the transfer table 32
Is lowered to the original standard height, and the printing tray 11 on which the print material 1 is mounted is discharged from the transport base 32.

The ink-jet printing (print head) is constituted by ink-jet means provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. The ink jet means performs printing by discharging ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer.

FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection section of a serial print type ink jet unit. In FIG. 18, the printing material 1
And a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.3 to about 2.0 mm)
A plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port face 81 facing the common liquid chamber 83 and each of the discharge ports 8.
An electrothermal converter (heat-generating resistor or the like) 85 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along the wall surface of each liquid path 84 that communicates with the fluid path 2. The ink jet unit (print head) is mounted on, for example, a main scanning carriage in such a positional relationship that the discharge ports 82 are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 85 is driven (energized) based on the image (print signal) or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid path 84 to boil, and the pressure generated at that time causes the ink from the ejection port 82 to be discharged from the ejection port 82. The ink jet unit which discharges is constituted.

FIG. 11 shows an ink jet printing mechanism 3.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration in which a printing tray 11 is continuously conveyed with respect to FIG. In FIG. 11, a carry-in belt 34 is installed in front of the ink-jet print mechanism 31. By arranging a plurality of printing trays 11 continuously on the carry-in belt 34, the transfer table 32 of the ink-jet print mechanism 31 is arranged. The printing tray 11 is continuously supplied thereon, and thereby, the printing tray 11 is continuously and automatically conveyed through the inkjet printing mechanism 31. According to such a configuration, continuous printing can be automatically performed on a plurality of printing materials (T-shirts and the like) 1.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a method of inputting, printing, and processing files on a printing material to be printed on a printing material by a personal computer. In the ink jet textile printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, a display surface on which only the print target range 2 of the print material 1 can be displayed as a print material arrangement area, a digital image material is arranged on the display surface, and the digital image material is printed. And an image input / output unit capable of performing such operations. That is, in FIG.
The print range frames 42A and 42B corresponding to the print target range 2 are displayed on the respective screens of the displays 41A and 41B, and the image materials 43A and 43B are arranged therein. Therefore, one of the print range frames 42A and 42B is selected and printed. Then, the image material displayed in the selected print range frame among the image materials 43A and 43B is printed in the print target range 2 of the print material (T-shirt or the like) 1 while being displayed in the print range frame. You.

When printing the print information, it is configured to be able to file the image information such as the image material to be printed, the print position, the size of the print, etc. together with the customer order information. According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily realize the duplication of the print on the print material 1 as it is, or the duplication with a partial modification. Therefore, when printing on demand at a sightseeing spot or a theme park, etc., the customer and the print area frame 42A,
By simply arranging and setting images (art materials) while interacting with the user while watching 42B, it is possible to easily and reliably print the art materials desired by the customer.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are diagrams showing the main configuration of an ink jet printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the print material and the holding plate are separated, and FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the print material is attached to the holding plate (print material unit). FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a print material unit (a holding plate to which a print material is attached) is mounted on a printing tray, and FIG. 16 is FIG.
FIG. 17 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a cross section of a printing tray on which a print material unit of No. 5 is mounted in a vertical plane in the left-right direction, and FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view showing a modified example of a print material and a holding plate. It is. In the above-described first embodiment, especially when the pretreatment agent is applied to the processing portion of the printing material 1 by spraying or the like in the preprocessing step, the printing material is attached to a dedicated jig that exposes only the processing portion. 1 and must be applied.
Must be attached to the printing tray 11, and the printing material 1 must be attached to and detached from these two types of jigs, resulting in a double labor. Furthermore, when performing the color fixing process in the post-processing step, it takes time to remove the printing material 1 from the jigs.

The second embodiment is intended to solve such a disadvantage of the first embodiment.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
A flat holding plate 51 set to have a size slightly larger than the size of the print target range 2 of the printing material 1 is used. At the same time, the width of the holding plate 51 is set to a size that can be held by upper surface guides 54C, 55C, 56C, and 57C described later. The holding plate 51 is positioned and applied from the back side of the printing material (T-shirt) 1,
The non-printed portions such as the arms 17, neck 18, and hem 19 of the T-shirt 1 are folded back and clipped to attach the print-receiving material 1 to the holding plate 51, and have a shape (form) as shown in FIG. Fit. Reference numeral 52 in FIG. 14 denotes a printing material unit (T-shirt unit) in a state where the printing material 1 is attached to the holding plate 51. In the printing material unit 52, the upper surface is flat, but the non-printed portion is folded and the back side is uneven. Further, the holding plate 51 is formed of a plate material such as an aluminum plate and has rigidity as well as flatness.

The printing material unit 52 is mounted on a printing tray 53 as shown in FIGS.
15 and 16, the printing tray 53 has a structure in which left and right positioning guides, front and rear positioning guides, and an upper surface guide are provided on the upper surface of a lower plate 58. That is,
Left and right positioning guides 5 are provided at the four corners of the upper surface of the lower plate 58.
4A, 55A, 56A, 57A, front and rear positioning guides 54B, 55B, 56B, 57B, and upper surface guide 54 disposed on the upper end surface of each of the left, right, front and rear positioning guides.
C, 55C, 56C, and 57C are provided. The upper surface guides 54C, 55C, 56C, and 57C are for defining the height position of the printing material unit 52 to be mounted. The print material unit 52 is held elastically between a spring means (compression spring) 59 provided on the lower plate 58 to generate an upward biasing force and each of the upper surface guides 54C, 55C, 56C, 57C. By doing so, it is possible to accurately regulate the height position of the print target range 2 of the printing material 1.

The rear upper surface guides 56C, 57C
Has a structure capable of moving in a retreating direction (retreating direction) in order to avoid interference with the printing material unit 52 to be inserted. When the printing material unit 52 is mounted on the printing tray 53, Move them to escape. After attaching the print material unit 52,
These upper surface guides 56C and 57C are returned to their original positions. Also, the upper surface guide 54C of the printing tray 53,
As described above, an elastic force generating means (not shown) for pushing up the mounted printing material unit (T-shirt unit) 52 with an elastic force is provided below the 55C, 56C, and 57C. After the movable top guides 56C and 57C are returned to their original positions, the printing material unit (T-shirt unit) 5 is
By pressing the upper surface guides 2 against the lower surfaces of the upper surface guides 54C, 55C, 56C, and 57C, the print target range 2 of the print-receiving material 1 can be kept flat and the height position can be regulated.

The upper surface guides 54C, 55C, 5C
6C and 57C are arranged at the outer end portions deviating from the print target area 2 and have a thickness that does not come into contact with the ink jet head (ejection port face) (for example, a thickness smaller than a gap between the ejection port face and the print target area, For example, 0.6mm ~
0.8 mm), and a printing tray 53 to which the print material 1 (print material unit 52) is attached.
With the ink jet printing mechanism 31 as it is
(FIG. 10). FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a modified example of the printing material 1 and the holding plate 51 in the second embodiment described above.
As shown in FIG. 17, only the front side of the printing material (T-shirt) 1 is located above the holding plate 51, and even when the printing material is a thin material, the printing material is printed (printed) on the printing material. At this time, the ink may be prevented from seeping out to the back side of the printing material 1. FIG.
Other parts of the second embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 17 have substantially the same configuration as that of the above-described first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the embodiment described above, the following functions and effects can be obtained. First, it is possible to easily perform flat positioning and positioning of the printing material 1 made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt with respect to the inkjet printing mechanism (inkjet printer) 31. In addition, the flat area of the printing trays 11 and 53 can be reduced to a minimum area corresponding to only the print target area 2 of the printing material 1, and the printing mechanism (printer) itself can be reduced in size and inexpensive. And the textile printing apparatus itself can be easily installed in a store or the like. In addition, since the material to be printed 1 can be directly printed on clothing on a standard cloth product (clothing or the like) such as a T-shirt, for example, not only the on-demand operation can be easily performed, but also pre-processing may be performed as needed. It is possible to easily respond to each customer's request without increasing the stock amount, and it becomes unnecessary to have excess stock.

Since the non-printed portion of the printing material 1 is included inside the printing trays 11 and 53, it is possible to effectively prevent the printing material 1 from being stained by ink or the like. Further, since the non-printed portion of the printing material 1 is dropped into the gap formed by the block 63 and the side plate 64, the mounting workability can be improved. Also,
At least one of the upper surface and the side surface of the printing tray 11 is provided with an adhesive with an industrial glue or an adhesive tape to lightly hold a cloth material such as a T-shirt as a printing material. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the print target range 2 of the printing material 1 from rising from the surface or being displaced during work (during printing). Further, since the printing material 1 is mounted on the printing tray 11 having a construction shape so as to cover the printing material 1, even if the printing material is a bandage-like garment such as a T-shirt and the material is thin, the ink is printed on the printing material 1. Can be effectively prevented from oozing out to the back side of the object.

By automatically arranging a plurality of printing trays on which a cloth material such as a T-shirt as a printing material is mounted, continuous printing on the printing material becomes possible. In addition, if the printing material 1 pre-processed is mounted on a printing tray, the efficiency of printing (printing) the printing material at a store or the like can be improved without performing the above continuous printing. Can be planned. In this case, in response to a print request for a special portion of the printing material, a printing tray having a shape that is individually tailored to those portions and sizes may be prepared. In addition, since digital printing is performed using an inkjet printing mechanism (inkjet printer), it is also possible to print a non-plate digital painting material on the spot, thereby making on-demand printing easier. Further, it can also exhibit features such as high-definition printing, which is a feature of ink-jet printing, and good texture at the time of finishing and good washing fastness due to printing.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the application of the pretreatment agent in the pretreatment is also performed in the printing material unit (T).
The spray application can be performed in the state of the shirt unit 52, and the fixing and coloring in the post-processing can be performed in the same shape. Therefore, the efficiency of the entire printing process including the conveyance of the printing material is improved. be able to.
Also, according to the second embodiment, the clothes such as the T-shirt can be easily placed on the inkjet printing mechanism 31 and the printing tray 53 can be easily positioned.
Can be minimized only in the print target range 2, the inkjet printing mechanism (inkjet printer) itself can be made inexpensive with a minimum size, and can be easily placed in stores and the like. .

Thus, according to each of the above embodiments,
Easily build an inkjet printing system that can print high-definition digital painting materials that are comfortable and have high washing fastness on fabric products such as T-shirts (clothing) in a plateless and on-demand configuration with a small and inexpensive configuration. Not only can it respond to requests for original prints, but it can also create new demand for prints such as T-shirts for commemorative goods at sightseeing spots and theme parks.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention (claim 1), in an ink jet printing apparatus having an ink jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a printing material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt, By holding the printing target area in a printing tray while holding the printing target area of the printing target material in a planar shape and including other parts of the printing target material inside, the printing target material is printed. Since the printing position of the printing material with respect to the ink jet printing mechanism is adjusted and transported by using a tray, the printing material of a printing material such as a T-shirt or the like is flattened or positioned with respect to the printing mechanism. Can be easily performed, and the flat area of the printing tray can be minimized only to the printing target area. Can, the printing mechanism can be inexpensive construction with a minimum size, ink-jet printing apparatus is provided which can be placed easily in a store or the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet printing apparatus having an ink jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a print material such as a T-shirt or the like, a print target area of the print material is held in a plane. The printing material is positioned on the printing tray with the other portions of the printing material dropped around and mounted on the printing tray, and the printing material is used for the inkjet printing mechanism using the printing tray. The print position adjustment and conveyance are performed, so that it is possible to easily perform the plane setting and positioning of the print target area of the print target material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt with respect to the print mechanism, and the flat area of the print tray. Can be minimized only in the printing range, and the printing mechanism can be It can be a valence structure, ink-jet printing apparatus is provided which can be placed easily in a store or the like.

According to the third to sixth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the above structure, at least one of the upper surface and the side surface of the printing tray is provided with an adhesive property by using an adhesive or an adhesive tape, so that the printing material is provided. A structure for preventing floating of the printing material with respect to a printing surface formed on an upper surface of the printing tray and a positional shift during operation by holding the printing tray lightly on the printing tray, and forming the printing tray in a work shape. A configuration in which the printing material is mounted so as to cover the printing tray to prevent the ink from seeping out to the back side of the printing material, and a plurality of printing trays to which the printing material is mounted are provided. A configuration in which continuous printing on the printing material is enabled by automatically arranging the printing materials, or only the printing target range is displayed as a printing material arrangement area. And an image input / output means capable of arranging a digital painting material on the display surface and printing the digital painting material, so that the inkjet can achieve the above-mentioned effects more efficiently. A printing device is provided.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet printing method for printing an image on a print material such as a T-shirt or the like by an ink jet printing mechanism, the print target area of the print material is made flat. By positioning and mounting the print material on a printing tray while holding and holding other parts of the print material inside, the printing tray is used for the ink jet printing mechanism. Since the printing position of the printing material is adjusted and transported, the printing material, such as a T-shirt, can be easily flattened or positioned with respect to the printing mechanism in the printing range of the printing material. Print area can be minimized only for the print target area, and the printing mechanism is minimized. Can be a less expensive structure of wood, ink-jet printing process which can be placed easily in the store or the like is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the entire printing process of an inkjet printing apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a T-shirt as an example of a printing material to be printed and printed by the present invention, and a print target area thereof.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a printing tray used in the first embodiment of the ink jet textile printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied and a printing material separated therefrom.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the printing medium of FIG. 3 is mounted on the printing tray of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the printing tray in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the printing tray used in the first embodiment of the ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the printing tray used in the first embodiment of the ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the printing tray used in the first embodiment of the ink jet textile printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and a material to be printed separated.

9 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the printing material in FIG. 8 is mounted on the printing tray in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink jet printing mechanism (printing printer) used in an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

11 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration in which a printing tray is automatically and continuously conveyed to the inkjet printing mechanism in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 shows input of a textile printing material to be printed on a printing material,
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method of processing printing and files by a personal computer.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a printing material and a holding plate are separated in a second embodiment of the ink jet textile printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

14 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of a printing material unit in which the printing material shown in FIG. 13 is attached to the holding plate shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the printing material unit of FIG. 14 is mounted on a printing tray in the second embodiment of the ink jet textile printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

16 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a printing tray on which the print material unit of FIG. 15 is mounted, which is cut along a vertical plane in the left-right direction.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view showing, in a separated state, a modified example of a print-receiving material and a holding plate in a second embodiment of the ink-jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink ejection unit of a serial print type inkjet unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 To-be-printed material (cloth products, such as a T-shirt) 2 Printable range 11 Printing tray 12 Lower plate 13 Upper plate 14 Prop 15 Adhesive material 16 Pocket 17 T-shirt arm 18 T-shirt neck 19 T-shirt hem Unit 21 Wall Unit 23 Stopper Unit 31 Inkjet Printing Mechanism (Inkjet Printer) 32 Carrier 33 Transfer Belt 34 Carry In Belt 41 Display 42 Print Range Frame 43 Painting Material 51 Holding Plate 52 Printer Material Unit (T-Shirt Unit) 53 Printing Tray 61 Printing tray 62 Lower plate 63 Block 64 Side plate 65 Adhesive glue 81 Discharge port surface 82 Discharge port 84 Liquid path 85 Electrothermal converter

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Kobayashi 1248 Shimokagemori, Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture Inside Canon Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shoji 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Atsushi Aoki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Cloth 3-30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (Reference) 2C056 EA23 EA24 FA03 FB03 HA12 HA29 2C059 AA16 DD03 DD13 DD29 3F101 LA07 LB11 4H057 AA02 AA03 DA01 DA32 EA11 FA30 FA31 GA06 GA15 GA17 HA09

Claims (9)

[Claims] An ink-jet printing apparatus having an ink-jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a printing material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt, wherein the printing target area of the printing material is held in a flat shape and the printing material is printed. By positioning and mounting the printing material on a printing tray in a state in which other parts are included inside, the printing position of the printing material with respect to the inkjet printing mechanism is adjusted using the printing tray, and An ink jet printing apparatus characterized by carrying. 2. An ink-jet printing apparatus having an ink-jet printing mechanism capable of printing on a printing material made of a cloth product such as a T-shirt. By positioning and mounting the printing material on the printing tray with the other parts dropped to the periphery, the printing position of the printing material with respect to the inkjet printing mechanism is adjusted and transported using the printing tray. An inkjet printing apparatus characterized by performing. 3. The printing tray by imparting adhesiveness to at least one of the upper surface and the side surface of the printing tray with a glue, an adhesive tape or the like, and holding the printing material lightly on the printing tray. The ink jet textile printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing material is prevented from floating with respect to a printing surface formed on an upper surface of the printing material, and is prevented from being misaligned during operation. 4. The printing tray is formed in an engineering shape.
The inkjet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the printing material is mounted so as to cover the printing tray, thereby preventing ink from seeping out to the back side of the printing material. Printing equipment. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of printing trays on which the printing material is mounted are arranged and automatically conveyed, thereby enabling continuous printing on the printing material. The ink-jet printing apparatus as described in the above. 6. A display surface capable of displaying only the print target range as a print material arrangement area, and image input / output means capable of arranging a digital material on the display surface and printing the digital material. The inkjet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: 7. The inkjet printing mechanism according to claim 7,
The ink jet printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an ink jet unit including an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for discharging ink. 8. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 7, wherein the ink-jet means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer. apparatus. 9. An ink jet printing mechanism, wherein T
An ink jet printing method for printing and printing an image on a print material made of a cloth product such as a shirt, wherein a print target area of the print material is held in a flat shape and other portions of the print material are included inside. Positioning the printing material on a printing tray in a state and mounting the printing material on the printing tray, thereby performing printing position alignment and conveyance of the printing material with respect to the inkjet printing mechanism using the printing tray. Printing method.