JP2005014343A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer capable of beautifully printing on a matter to be printed having protrusions and recesses in which the entirety can be made compact while prolonging the lifetime. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet printer 10 comprises a belt conveyor 15 for carrying a matter 16 to be printed, an inkjet head 12 having inkjet nozzles 14 for printing on the matter 16 to be printed, and a sensor 13 for detecting the interval between the matter 16 to be printed being carried on the belt conveyor 15 and the inkjet nozzle 14. Depending on the interval detected by the sensor 13, a ball screw 36 for adjusting the height of a belt conveyor supporting frame 34 is rotated to move up and down thus adjusting the height of the belt conveyor 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more particularly to an ink jet printer capable of printing on a printed material having irregularities.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional inkjet printer that performs printing on an object having an uneven portion is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below. There, for example, an ink jet printer for printing a textile product is disclosed as an object having an uneven portion. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional inkjet printer disclosed in Patent Document 1. In FIG.
[0003]
Referring to FIG. 10, an inkjet printer 110 for textile products includes a printer head 101, a head frame 104 that supports the printer head 101, a roller frame 102 that can be positioned up and down, and a receiving roller that sandwiches a fabric or pallet 105. And a feed roller 108 including a roller 103 and a roller 106. In the conventional inkjet printer 110 for textile products, the interval between the tip of the printer head 101 and the object to be dyed is performed by raising and lowering the head frame 104 by an elevator mechanism (not shown).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-19093 (FIG. 1 and related explanation)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Ink jet printers that print on textiles have been configured as described above, as a conventional product having uneven portions. In Document 1, the ink jet head portion is moved upward depending on the position of the substrate. When the ink jet head portion is moved upward, there is a problem that the head portion protrudes upward when printing on a large substrate and cannot be made compact.
Further, as a conventional ink jet printer, a method is known in which a head is moved up and down to print on an uneven printed material. The inkjet head is connected to a cable for sending an ink discharge command to the ink head and a tube for supplying ink. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, as the ink head 111 is moved up and down, scanning is performed while constantly changing the bending radius of the ink tube and the ink cable 112, and fatigue of the tube and the cable 112 is accelerated. As a result, there is a problem that the life of the ink jet printer is short.
[0006]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the problems as described above, and is to provide an inkjet printer that can print neatly on a printed material having irregularities, can be made compact as a whole, and has a long life. Objective.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An ink jet printer according to the present invention includes a belt conveyor that conveys a substrate, and the belt conveyor is held by a belt conveyor support that can move up and down, and includes an ink jet head that includes ink jet nozzles for printing on the substrate by ink jet. And a sensor for detecting an interval between the printed material conveyed by the belt conveyor and the inkjet nozzle, and means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down in accordance with the interval detected by the sensor.
[0008]
Since the belt conveyor support is moved up and down in accordance with the interval between the printing medium detected by the sensor and the inkjet nozzle, it is not necessary to move up and down the inkjet head provided with the inkjet nozzle as in the prior art. As a result, since there is no member protruding upward, the inkjet printer can be made compact.
[0009]
Moreover, since it can print appropriately with respect to the to-be-printed material conveyed by the belt conveyor, as long as it is a thing which can be conveyed with a belt conveyor, printing of arbitrary things is possible. Therefore, it is possible to print an iron plate having an uneven portion or a heavy object such as a stone.
[0010]
Further, since it is not necessary to move the ink tube, cable, etc. to the ink jet head simultaneously with the ink jet head, the life of the ink jet printer is extended.
[0011]
The belt conveyor support may be moved up and down with a ball screw or moved up and down with a rack and pinion mechanism.
[0012]
Preferably, the belt conveyor includes a means that is provided below the surface of the belt conveyor that conveys the printed material and sucks the printed material from below the conveying surface of the printed material.
[0013]
Since the object to be printed is sucked from the lower surface of the belt conveyor, even an object with unevenness during conveyance, such as a textile product, can be conveyed in a flat state as much as possible, and more appropriate printing can be performed.
[0014]
More preferably, the inkjet printer has a vertical movement mechanism for moving the belt conveyor support up and down, and the vertical movement mechanism includes a height adjusting mechanism for moving the belt conveyor support up and down, and a belt conveyor support. And a guide member that guides the ink jet head in a direction perpendicular to the inkjet head.
[0015]
Since the belt conveyor is moved up and down while being guided, it is possible to move up and down vertically with respect to the inkjet head.
[0016]
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ink jet printer includes an ink jet head which is movable up and down and has a cylindrical holding means for holding a cylindrical substrate and an inkjet nozzle for printing on the substrate with an ink jet. And a sensor for detecting a distance between the printed material held by the cylindrical holding means and the ink jet nozzle, and a means for moving the cylindrical holding means up and down in accordance with the interval detected by the sensor.
[0017]
According to the interval detected by the sensor, the cylinder holding means is moved up and down to adjust the interval between the inkjet nozzles and printing is performed, so that appropriate printing can be performed on the cylindrical printed matter.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a top view of the part shown by III-III. In these drawings, a part of the frame is omitted. 1 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by II in FIG. 3, and the left to the center of FIG. 1 represent a surface passing through a guide rod 37c and a height adjusting ball screw 36 described later. Yes.
[0019]
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the inkjet printer 10 includes a belt conveyor 15 that conveys a printing material, and an inkjet head 12 that is provided to face the belt conveyor 15.
[0020]
The belt conveyor 15 includes a belt 55 made of a mesh-like material, a drive pulley 56 provided on a side (in the direction of the arrow in the figure) on which the printing material 16 is conveyed, and a driven pulley 57. An air intake box 17 for sucking the printing material 16 conveyed by the belt conveyor 15 is provided in a portion surrounded by the upper and lower belts of the belt conveyor 15. The intake box 17 is sucked by the exhaust blower 18 through the intake duct 19.
[0021]
The inkjet head 12 is provided on the upper frame 22, and is reciprocated along a guide rail 21 provided on the upper frame 22 in a direction crossing the length direction of the belt conveyor 15. The ink-jet head 12 includes a sensor 13 provided on the driven pulley 57 side of the belt conveyor 15 and a plurality of nozzles 14 for each color which are provided facing the belt conveyor 15 and eject printing ink.
[0022]
The belt conveyor 15 has its driving pulley 56 and driven pulley 57 supported by the belt conveyor support frame 34, and the driving pulley 56 is driven by a motor (not shown).
[0023]
4 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by IV-IV in FIG. The frame 20 of the inkjet printer 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. The inkjet printer 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped frame, and includes an upper frame, a lower base 29, and a plurality of columns connecting the upper frame and the lower base 29.
[0024]
The upper frame includes an upper frame 22 that holds the inkjet head 12, and first and second upper side frames 27 and 28 that are connected to both ends of the upper frame 22 and extend toward the driven pulley 57.
[0025]
The lower base 29 is a molded part integrally formed by casting or aluminum die casting. In the vicinity of the corner of the lower base 29, four holes for inserting the guide rods 37a to 37d are provided. At the center of the guide rods 37a to 37d, there is a step 84 that changes from a thick part to a detail. The detail is fitted into the hole, and the lower base 29 is fixed by sandwiching the lower base 29 with a nut 86 through a washer 85. Has been.
[0026]
Below the lower base 29, support legs 38a to 38d capable of height adjustment for horizontally installing the inkjet printer 10 are provided.
[0027]
The upper frame portion and the lower base 29 are the first pillar 23 and the second pillar 24, the driven pulley side ends of the first and second upper side frames 27 and 28, and the lower base 29 is the fourth pillar 26 and the second pillar 24. Each of the three pillars 25 is connected and fixed.
[0028]
5 and 6 are arrow views of a portion indicated by VV and VI-VI in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a block 74 in which a ball screw bush 71 is fixed by a screw is fixed to the belt conveyor support frame 34 at the center. A ball screw shaft 70 is rotatably engaged with the ball screw bush 71. The ball screw shaft 70 is rotatably attached to a member 76 formed in a U shape through a bearing. A motor 73 for rotating the ball screw shaft 70 is attached to the U-shaped member 76. By rotating the ball screw shaft 70 by the motor 73, the belt conveyor support frame 34 moves up and down. In addition, the thick portions of the guide rods 37a to 37d are slidably inserted into the ball bush bearings 75 that are pressure-bonded to the guide holes 65a to 65d so that the belt conveyor support frame 34 moves vertically to the printer head 12. Is done.
[0029]
Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0030]
First, the printing material 16 is placed on the belt conveyor 15 and conveyed to the inkjet head side. At this time, the sensor 13 provided on the driven pulley 57 side of the belt conveyor 15 of the inkjet head 12 detects the shape (unevenness) of the printed material 16 being conveyed. The detected unevenness data is sent to the control device 80. The control device 80 rotates the ball screw shaft 70 with the motor 73 to adjust the distance between the inkjet nozzle 14 of the inkjet head 10 and the printed material 16 in accordance with the unevenness of the printed material 16.
[0031]
At this time, when the substrate 16 is a textile product (for example, a cloth or a shirt), the exhaust blower 18 is driven to suck the textile product through the air intake box 17 so that the surface is as flat as possible. To do. In this case, the optimum distance between the inkjet head 12 and the printing material 16 varies depending on the printing material 16, but is approximately 2 mm to 5 mm.
[0032]
In addition, in the inkjet printer 10 according to this embodiment, the printed material 16 is conveyed by the belt conveyor 15, so that desired printing can be performed on metal such as an iron plate having irregularities, a stone engraving, or the like. .
[0033]
In addition, since there is no need to move the ink jet head, wire, ink tube, cable, etc. at the same time as the ink jet head, the wire, ink tube, cable, etc. are not damaged or deteriorated, and the life of the ink jet printer can be extended.
[0034]
In this embodiment, the belt of the belt conveyor 15 is meshed to print a textile product. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a solid belt having a strength corresponding to the weight of the heavy article is not limited to this. May be used.
[0035]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another embodiment. 7A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 of the previous embodiment, FIG. 7B is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4, and FIGS. 7C and 7D are FIGS. ) Is an arrow view of a portion indicated by CC and DD in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the height of the belt conveyor 15 is adjusted using a rack and pinion mechanism 50 provided outside the belt conveyor support frame 34 instead of the height adjusting ball screw 36. Do.
[0036]
That is, in this embodiment, a bearing housing 81 provided with a radial bearing 80 is rotatably fixed to the first pillar 23 and the fourth pillar 26 and the second pillar 24 and the third pillar 25 with screws. A shaft 53 having a pinion gear 52 fitted thereto is rotatably fitted in the bearing housing 81. The rack gear 51 provided on the side walls 34 a and 34 b of the belt conveyor support frame 34 and the pinion gear 52 provided on the shaft 53 are engaged. The belt conveyor support frame 34 is moved up and down by rotating these pinion gears 52 by a motor (not shown) connected to the shaft 53. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the previous embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.
[0037]
Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is cylindrical and is held by a center and a chuck similar to those for mounting the workpiece on a lathe. The center and chuck are provided instead of the belt conveyor.
[0038]
8 and 9 are diagrams showing this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 in this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a view taken in the direction of arrow IX-IX in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a cylindrical substrate 40 is held by a center 42 and a chuck 41 and printed by the inkjet head 12 as in the previous embodiment. The rotating body support frame 43 that holds the center 42 and the chuck 41 is adjusted in height by the height adjusting ball screw 45 and the guide rods 46a and 46b, as in the previous embodiment. However, unlike the previous embodiment, only one set of these is provided on a straight line.
[0039]
In this embodiment, the mounting position of the sensor 13 is different from the previous embodiment. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the sensor 13 is provided in the axial direction of the cylindrical substrate 40. This is performed when the cylindrical substrate 40 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. By controlling in this way, a powder such as anodized is mixed with ink in a steel pipe or the like, and printing by an ink jet printer becomes possible.
[0040]
Since points other than the above are the same as those of the previous embodiment, description thereof is omitted. In addition, raising / lowering of the rotary body support frame 43 is good also as a rack and pinion mechanism shown in FIG.
[0041]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to the thing of embodiment shown in figure. Various modifications and variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment within the same range or equivalent range as the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a part of a frame of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention is omitted.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the ink jet printer.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ink jet printer.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the ink jet printer.
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a portion below the belt conveyor of the inkjet printer.
6 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by VI-VI in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a conventional inkjet printer.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a connection relationship between an ink head, an ink tube, and an ink cable in a conventional inkjet printer.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 inkjet printer, 12 inkjet head, 13 sensor, 14 inkjet nozzle, 15 belt conveyor, 16 substrate, 17 intake box, 18 exhaust blower, 20 frame, 21 guide rail, 22 upper frame, 29 lower base, 36, 45 high Adjusting ball screw, 37, 46 Guide rod, 41 Chuck, 42 Center, 43 Rotating body support frame.

Claims (6)

Including a belt conveyor for conveying the substrate,
The belt conveyor is held by a belt conveyor support that can move up and down,
Including an inkjet head having an inkjet nozzle for inkjet printing on the substrate;
A sensor for detecting a distance between the printing material conveyed by the belt conveyor and the inkjet nozzle;
Means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down in accordance with the interval detected by the sensor. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving up and down the belt conveyor support includes means for moving up and down with a ball screw. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving the belt conveyor support up and down includes a means for moving up and down by a rack and pinion mechanism. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a unit that is provided below a surface of the belt conveyor that conveys the printed material and sucks the printed material from below the conveying surface of the printed material. The inkjet printer has a vertical movement mechanism for moving the belt conveyor support up and down,
The vertical movement mechanism includes a height adjustment mechanism for moving the belt conveyor support up and down, and a guide member for guiding the belt conveyor support in a direction perpendicular to the inkjet head. An inkjet printer according to any one of the above. A cylindrical holding means that can move up and down and holds a cylindrical substrate;
Including an inkjet head having an inkjet nozzle for inkjet printing on the substrate;
A sensor for detecting a distance between the printing object held by the cylindrical holding means and the inkjet nozzle;
Means for moving the cylindrical holding means up and down according to the interval detected by the sensor.

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