JP2004351281A - Coater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such a structure of a coater that can surely perform capping and make its constitution simple for cleaning and capping each of the heads in the coater provided with a plurality of head units having a plurality of inkjet heads. <P>SOLUTION: This inkjet coater is provided with a plurality of coating units which consist of a coating head supporting member fixing a plurality of coating heads and a coating unit supporting member supporting a plurality of the coating head supporting members. The coating unit supporting members are provided with a plurality of screw holes for supporting the coating head supporting members so that they do not move horizontally, the coating head supporting members are provided with through-holes at the positions corresponding to the screw holes installed at the coating unit supporting members, and the coating head supporting members are constituted in such a way to be supported by bolts vertically movably to the coating unit supporting members. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a coating apparatus that applies different colors of ink to a predetermined area on a large substrate using an inkjet head.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a coating apparatus using a conventional inkjet head, since the ink adheres to the head portion and high-precision ink cannot be applied, an apparatus having a mechanism for capping and holding the head when no ink is applied is disclosed in 9-109379. This device has a configuration in which a cap support is provided on a base plate, a plurality of cap storage chambers each having an open top are provided in the cap support, and the cap is held in the cap storage chamber via a spring. Then, when printing is not performed, the plurality of printer heads are moved to the cap position, and the carriage having the plurality of recording heads is brought into contact with the carriage engaging portion provided on the cap support, and the positioning pin is provided. Move the carriage and the cap support together in the lateral direction to a position where When the positioning pin is moved to the positioning pin position, the positioning pin provided on the main body side is raised, and the pin is engaged with the engaging hole provided in the cap support to stop the lateral movement of the carriage and the cap support. . In this state, the carriage is moved to the cap side so that the cap comes into contact with the recording head to cap the recording head.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-109379
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a cap storage chamber having walls on all sides is provided in a cap support, and a lower portion of the cap is supported in the cap storage chamber via a spring. It plays a role so that the position of the cap matches the position of the recording head.
[0005]
In this configuration, since the caps are spring-supported and the walls constituting the room guide the caps, the caps are distorted due to the frictional force between the walls and the caps and cannot be moved, and the caps are applied to the heads. You may not be able to touch. If the cap storage chamber is not formed with high precision, a cap having a misalignment with the recording head is likely to be generated, and there is a possibility that the cap cannot be brought into contact with the head accurately. If capping is not performed correctly, the ejection port portion of the head is exposed to air, causing the ink to stick and causing print defects. Further, when a large number of heads are provided, if a spring is provided for each head, there is a possibility that a cap which cannot be brought into contact with the head may also occur due to a variation in elasticity of the spring, and the number of parts increases, which makes production difficult.
[0006]
Therefore, according to the present invention, when applying ink using a plurality of ink jet heads to a large substrate surface, a plurality of ink jet heads are reliably cleaned in a short time, and a cap member provided corresponding to each head is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of reliably capping the head.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the coating unit comprises a coating head support member to which a plurality of coating heads are fixed, and a coating unit support member to support a plurality of coating head support members. A plurality of screw holes are provided to support the member so as not to move in the horizontal direction, and a through hole is provided in a position corresponding to the screw hole provided in the coating unit support member in the coating head support member. The head support member was configured to be supported by bolts so as to be vertically movable with respect to the coating unit support member.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0009]
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the coating apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the coating unit and the maintenance unit of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an outline of a component configuration of the coating unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a state at the time of capping. FIG. 5 shows a state at the time of capping when the coating unit has another configuration.
[0010]
In FIG. 1, the present apparatus mainly comprises five parts. That is, a loader mechanism 2 for loading the substrate 1 (also referred to as a base material), a positioning unit 3 for adjusting the position of the substrate 1, a coating unit 6 for coating the substrate surface, and the coated substrate 1a. An unloader unit 11 is carried out of the apparatus, and a control unit 14 includes an operation unit 13 for controlling a drive mechanism of each unit of the apparatus.
[0011]
The substrate 1 is machined with predetermined accuracy on the transport surface side (the surface side that comes into contact with the transporting roller or belt). The substrate 1 is machined with a predetermined accuracy (for example, a surface tolerance of about ± 0.5 mm) at one end surface (thickness direction) perpendicular to the transport direction. The thickness of the substrate 1 is 20 to 30 mm, a plurality of application regions are formed on the surface of the substrate, and the application regions are separated by grooves having a depth of about 10 mm. The alignment of the substrate 1 is performed with reference to the machined one end surface.
[0012]
A plurality of application heads are attached to the head support member 6b so that the ink can be applied to the entire area in the width direction of the substrate 1 in the application unit section 6, and different colors (Y, M, C) are provided for each head support member 6b. , K). Each head support member 6a is unitized, and each unit is applied to an application unit support member 21 so as to apply different color inks and move up and down simultaneously. The control unit 14 controls each coating head and a plurality of discharge ports provided in the coating head to discharge ink by using the machined end face of the substrate 1 as a reference.
[0013]
The loader mechanism unit 2 includes a plurality of carry-in rollers 1R for carrying in the substrate 1 to which ink is applied, and at least one or more carry-in rollers 1R is provided with a drive mechanism. The substrate 1 placed on the loader mechanism 2 is moved onto a transport roller 4R (also referred to as a roller conveyor) of the positioning unit 3.
[0014]
The positioning section 3 includes a plurality of transport rollers 4R for transporting the substrate 1 and positioning guides 4 (4a, 4b) for positioning. A drive mechanism is provided for at least one or more of the plurality of transport rollers 4R. This drive mechanism is controlled based on a command from the control unit 14. One of the positioning guides is a positioning fixed guide 4a, and the other is a movable positioning movable guide 4b movable toward the fixed guide 4a.
[0015]
The positioning unit 3 positions the substrate 1 by applying a driving force to the movable guide 4b and pressing the machined side end surface of the substrate 1 against the fixed guide 4a. Although not shown, a plurality of rollers are provided at contact portions of the fixed guide 4a and the movable guide 4b with the substrate 1 so that resistance is not generated as much as possible in the transport direction of the substrate 1. The positioned substrate 1 is transferred from the transport roller 4R of the positioning unit 3 to the transport belt 12 passing through the coating unit 6 while maintaining the positioned attitude. The conveyor belt 12 includes one or more drive mechanisms (not shown), and controls the application speed by controlling the drive mechanisms. When the substrate 1 moves from the positioning unit 3 to the coating unit unit 6 side, the substrate 1 moves from the roller conveyor 4R to the belt conveyor 12 (may be referred to as a conveyance belt), but the conveyance is performed so that there is almost no speed difference at that time. The speed is adjusted by controlling the drive mechanism of the roller 4R and the transport belt 12.
[0016]
The positioned substrate 1 moves from the roller conveyor 4 </ b> R of the positioning unit 3 onto the belt conveyor 12 passing through the coating unit unit 6. When the substrate 1 is transferred from the roller conveyor 4R to the belt conveyor 12, the positioning guides 4a and 4b are provided to extend over the belt conveyor 12 so that the position of the substrate 1 does not shift.
[0017]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a maintenance unit 5 is provided so as to enter and exit the space between the coating unit 6 and the transport belt 12. In the maintenance unit 5, cap units 7m, 8m, 9m, and 10m are provided on the maintenance unit support member 17 corresponding to the units for each color of the application unit 6 respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the cap unit has a plurality of caps 50 provided on a cap unit support member 5a corresponding to the head of the coating unit 6. Each cap 50 is provided with a seal ring 52 made of an elastic body such as rubber as a seal member and a suction groove 51. The suction groove 51 and the waste liquid tank 90 are connected by a flexible tube 92, and a waste liquid suction pump 91 connected to the waste liquid tank 90 is driven to suck out old ink and cleaning liquid from each head to discharge the waste liquid tank 90. Store in. The maintenance unit 5 is retracted to the side of the transport belt 12 as shown in FIG.
[0018]
The suction groove 51 may be provided for each cap, collected for each unit, and guided from the collected portion to the flexible tube to the waste liquid tank. Furthermore, although the above description has described removing old ink from the head, this cap is also used when filling the head with new ink. A flushing member 80 is provided below the maintenance unit support member 17, and this member is also configured to be movable separately from the maintenance unit support member 17 below the application unit, similarly to the maintenance unit support member 17. It is.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 2, the coating unit 6 includes a plurality of columns 23, a coating unit support member 21, and coating units (7 h, 8 h, 9 h, 10 h) provided on the coating unit support member 21 for each color. ) And a plurality of coating heads 99 provided in each coating unit. That is, a plurality of columns 23 are provided on the gantry 20 to support the coating unit support member 21 so as to straddle the transport belt 12. The application unit support member 21 is attached to the column 23 so as to be vertically movable by a drive mechanism (not shown). The bottom surface of the coating unit support member 21 (more precisely, the discharge surface of each coating head) and the substrate transfer surface of the transfer belt 12 are configured to be able to move in parallel. As a means for recognizing the height (upper limit, lower limit, and origin position) of the coating unit 6, a plurality of photosensors (not shown) are attached to prescribed positions of the support column 23.
[0020]
Above the coating unit support member 21, in order from an arrow 60 indicating the transport direction of the transport belt 12, the yellow component coating unit (Y) 7h, the magenta component coating unit (M) 8h, the cyan component coating unit (C) 9h, and the black A component application unit (K) 10h (also referred to as a key color) is provided. A head support member 6a having a plurality of application heads 99 for ejecting inks of the respective colors is attached to each application unit at predetermined intervals. In each coating unit, a plurality of coating heads 99 are provided at predetermined intervals in the width direction so that no joint occurs when the substrate 1 is coated with each color, and the coating heads 99 The outlets are mounted so that they are flush with each other. The head support member 6a has a through hole as shown in FIG. 3 so that when the respective coating units are attached to the coating unit support member 21, the discharge head of the coating head 99 is exposed from the lower surface of the coating unit support member 21. The same number of coating heads 99 are provided. Further, the application head 99 is provided with a plurality of discharge ports. As shown in FIG. 3, the coating unit support member 21 has an opening in which the plurality of coating heads 99 are mounted so that the plurality of coating heads 99 provided on the head support member 6a can be exposed to the substrate 1 side. Have been.
[0021]
In this embodiment, nine application heads 99 are fastened to the application head support member 6a of each application unit with screws so as not to move. The number of the coating heads 99 may be increased or decreased in consideration of the width direction of the coating area of the substrate 1 to be coated and the width that can be coated by one coating head. In the present embodiment, the arrangement of the coating heads 99 is arranged in a staggered arrangement, but may be arranged in a linear arrangement, or may be constituted by only one large line nozzle.
[0022]
Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the coating unit support member 21 has a plate structure, and a plurality of screw holes 45 (four in FIG. 3) are provided to support the coating head support member 6a. . The coating head support member 6a is provided with a through hole 46 at a position matching the screw hole 45. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the application head support member 6 a is attached to the application unit support member 21 and tightened with the bolt 40, the application head support member 6 a can move up and down with respect to the application unit support member 21. Thus, a predetermined gap 1 is provided between the head of the bolt 40 and the coating head supporting member 6b. Further, the coating head support member 6a has a structure in which portions of a plurality of coating head attachment areas are opened as openings. By forming the coating unit support member 21 into a frame structure, it is not necessary to provide an opening. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in which a spring is provided between two washers 42 on the bolt 40.
[0023]
By the way, when a plurality of coating heads 99 are unitized as described above, when the coating head 99 is pushed into the cap 50 and capping is performed, the displacement between the coating head 99 and the cap 50 and the coating unit support member 21 ( Alternatively, if there is an inclination or the like between the head support member 6a) and the maintenance unit 5 (the cap support member 6b), the specific application head 99 can be capped, but the application head 99 that cannot be capped may occur. In particular, a large force is required to push the coating head 99 into the cap 50.
[0024]
In the case of the present embodiment, a force of about 2 kg per head was required. Therefore, when the application head collides with the cap, the cap support member is deformed, so that the cap near the deformed portion cannot be capped. Therefore, in the present invention, the configuration is devised so that a force greater than a predetermined pressing force does not act between the cap and the head. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the head support member is mounted on the coating unit support member. In particular, the portions of the application unit 10h and the maintenance unit 10m are shown. As described above, four or six through holes 46 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the head support member 6a, and the screw holes 45 provided at positions corresponding to the through holes of the application unit support member 21 are provided. It is mounted so as not to move in the horizontal direction but to be able to move 0 to several mm in the vertical direction using the bolts 40 for alignment. That is, the bolt 40 is fastened to the screw hole of the coating unit support member 21 so that a gap of 1 is formed between the head of the bolt 40 and the surface of the coating head support member 6a on the bolt head side. FIG. 4A shows a state before the coating head is capped, and FIG. 4B shows a state where the coating head is capped. The coating unit including the head supporting member 6a and the coating head has a weight of about 2 kg per unit, and the head supporting member 6a has nine coating heads arranged in three rows. In this state, after the coating unit 6 and the maintenance unit 5 are aligned, the coating unit support member 21 is lowered toward the maintenance unit. Until the coating head of the coating unit contacts the cap of the maintenance unit, the coating unit support member 21 and the coating head support member 6a move integrally. When the coating head 99 contacts the cap, a load of the coating unit 6 such as the coating head support member 6a acts between the coating head and the cap. If possible, by vibrating the cap support member in the horizontal direction in this state, it is possible to move the head that hits the O-ring provided around the cap so as to be positioned inside the O-ring. When the coating unit supporting member 21 is further lowered, a gap is formed between the coating head supporting member 6a and the coating unit supporting member 21, and the load of the coating unit 6 is divided by the number of heads per cap. The applied load acts. In this embodiment, since one application unit is provided with nine application heads, a load 1/9 of the application unit is applied to the cap. The load of the coating unit used in the experiment of this embodiment is about 20 kgf, and a load of 2.2 kg per head is received. Due to the weight of the coating unit, the tip of the head is pushed into an annular rubber bush provided around the entrance of the cap portion, and the ink ejection hole portion of the head is blocked from the outside of the cap. For this reason, even if a large force acts on the application unit support member 21, a large force does not act on one cap, and no deformation occurs on the cap support member and the like.
[0026]
With this configuration, when the head is capped, a large force does not act locally on the coating head support member, the deformation of the coating head support member is prevented, and the head can be reliably capped. it can.
[0027]
Next, a modified example of the configuration in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 is different from FIG. 4 in that two washers 42 are provided on the head side of a bolt 40 used to connect between the coating head support member and the coating unit support member, and a coil spring 41 is formed between the washers 42 as an elastic body. Is provided. By providing the coil spring 41 in this manner, when the load of the coating unit 6 including the coating head support member 6a and the like is small, the force applied to the coating head and the cap can be reduced not only by the load of the coating unit but also by the elastic body. A force for lowering the coating unit support member 21 can be applied. In addition, in the support state between the coating head support member and the coating unit support member, the movement between the members is less likely to occur, and the accuracy of alignment with the maintenance unit is improved. In addition, with this configuration, the coating unit can be made of a lightweight member such as aluminum, and the weight of the device can be reduced.
[0028]
In FIG. 5, the coil spring 41 is provided on the head side of the bolt. However, it goes without saying that an elastic body such as synthetic rubber can be used instead of the coil spring 41.
[0029]
Next, FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention. 6 differs from FIG. 1 in that the supply system for supplying ink to the application head is changed.
That is, FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the ink tank is installed below the position of the application head and is pumped using a pneumatic pump. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the ink tanks 7b, 8b, 9b, and 10b are installed so as to be higher than the position of the coating head. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the ink supply hole to the ink tank and the ink outflow hole to the head were set so as to face the direction of gravity so that the ink flowed out by its own weight.
[0030]
In the case of this configuration, the pneumatic pump required in FIG. 1 can be eliminated, and the number of parts of the device can be reduced. Further, power consumption for supplying ink can be reduced as compared with the configuration of FIG. Further, since no air pressure is supplied to the ink bottle, air is not mixed into the ink and no bubbles are generated.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, maintenance such as filling, wiping, and capping is performed on a plurality of application heads by one maintenance unit. Accordingly, maintenance can be performed in a short time, maintenance of the maintenance unit itself can be easily performed, and the ejection characteristics of the plurality of inkjet heads can be stabilized.
[0032]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a coating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a coating unit of the coating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a coating unit of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an example of an operation description when the coating unit of the present invention is combined with a maintenance unit.
FIG. 5 is another example of another example of the coating unit support portion of the present invention when the unit is combined with a maintenance unit.
FIG. 6 is an overall configuration of another embodiment of the application unit of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of ink supply.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... board | substrate, 2 ... loader mechanism part, 3 ... positioning part, 4 positioning guide, 5 ... maintenance unit, 6 ... coating unit, 7 ... wiping mechanism part, 11 ... unloader mechanism part, 12 ... transport belt, 13 ... control device , 14 control unit, 17 maintenance unit support member, 18 guide, 20 stand, 21 head support member, 26 trigger sensor, 30 cleaning liquid bottle, 99 coating head.

Claims (3)

A coating unit comprising a loader mechanism for loading the substrate, a positioning unit for aligning the substrate, and a plurality of ink ejection heads for coating the substrate surface with a plurality of different colors of ink, and having a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate. Unit, an unloader unit that unloads the coated substrate out of the apparatus, and a coating apparatus including a control unit that controls each unit,
The coating unit includes a coating head support member that fixes a plurality of coating heads and a coating unit support member that supports the coating head support members. The coating unit support member has the coating head support member in a horizontal direction. A plurality of screw holes are provided to support the coating head so as not to move, and the coating head support member has a through hole at a position corresponding to the screw hole provided in the coating unit support member. A coating apparatus, wherein the member is supported by bolts so as to be vertically movable with respect to the coating unit support member. The coating device according to claim 1,
An application apparatus, wherein an elastic body is provided between a head of the bolt and an application head support member. The coating device according to claim 1,
An application apparatus, wherein an ink tank for supplying ink to the application head is provided at a position higher than the height of the application head, so that the ink in the tank can be supplied to the application head by its own weight.

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