JP2005219289A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device which can be applied to bodies to be printed having various surface shapes. <P>SOLUTION: This printing device is equipped with a table 3 on which the body 9 to be printed is mounted, a base plate 5 which is arranged to face the table 3 with an interval, and a plurality of heads 7 which are provided on a surface on the table 3 side of the base plate 5, and jet a paint to the printing body from the distal ends 7a. By jetting the paint from the distal ends 7a of the heads 7 to the body to be printed on the table 3, printing is applied on the surface of the body to be printed. The heads 7 are supported in a manner to be freely advanceable/retractable to/from the table 3, the head distal ends 7a are arranged at a position by placing a proper printing distance to the surface of the body to be printed, and the paint is jetted under this state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus that prints on a surface of a three-dimensional printed material by an inkjet method.

  Conventionally, when printing is performed on the outer surface of a three-dimensional printing medium formed in a columnar shape or a conical shape, a silk screen printing method, an ink jet printing method, or the like is used.

Among these, a printing apparatus used for inkjet printing includes a support member that is rotatably supported and a print head that is movable along the outer surface of a printing medium attached to the support member. It is used. In this case, a printing body formed in a truncated cone shape is attached to the support member, the support member and the printing body are rotated, and the print head is moved toward the outer surface of the printing body. Ink jet printing is performed by spraying paint (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-5-318715

  However, in the conventional printing apparatus, since the movement of the print head is only a linear movement, only a rotating body can be used as the printing body.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that can perform printing on a printing medium having various surface shapes.

A printing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided on a table on which a printing material is placed, a base plate arranged to face the table with a space therebetween, and a surface of the base plate on the table side. A plurality of heads that spray paint toward the printed body from the front end, and sprays the paint from the front end of the head onto the printed body on the table, thereby printing on the surface of the printed body. A printing device,
The head is movably supported toward the table, moved to a position separated from the surface of the printing medium by an appropriate printing distance, and in this state, the paint is jetted.

  A printing apparatus according to a second aspect is the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a maximum height and a printing point height are detected at a portion of the surface of the printing medium facing the head tip. The head tip is moved to the maximum height position when the difference between the maximum height and the printing point height is larger than the appropriate printing distance.

  A printing apparatus according to a third aspect is the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the table is configured to be movable.

  A printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the base plate is configured to be movable.

  A printing apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the surface shape data of the substrate to be printed is captured, and at least the table, the base plate, and the head. It is configured to perform any one of the movements.

  According to the printing apparatus described in claim 1, since printing can be performed by arranging each head at a position along the surface shape of the printing body, the printing body having various surface shapes can also be used. Inkjet printing can be performed. In addition, since the height of each head can be arranged at an appropriate height with respect to each part of the surface of the printing medium, good print quality can be ensured even in the case of a complicated surface shape. In addition, since this invention applies the inkjet printing method, a multi-product and small-quantity production becomes possible without a plate.

  According to the printing apparatus described in claim 2, when the difference between the maximum height and the printing point height is larger than the appropriate printing distance, the head is moved to the maximum height position. Thus, the height of each head can be surely arranged at an appropriate height with respect to the surface. In other words, if the difference between the maximum height and the printing point height is greater than the appropriate printing distance, the head tip will hit the surface of the substrate to be printed if the head tip position is moved to the appropriate printing distance, ensuring an appropriate printing distance. Becomes difficult. Therefore, in the case of such a positional relationship, it is possible to perform printing as good as possible on the printing medium by bringing the head end close to the maximum height position.

  According to the printing apparatus described in claim 3, since the table is configured to be movable, it is possible to perform appropriate printing on a predetermined portion such as a peripheral portion of the printing medium. That is, when the printing medium is large, the paint is difficult to spray on the periphery of the printing medium, but if the table is moved along the surface direction, the printing medium can be arranged near the center of the base plate. Appropriate printing can also be performed on the periphery of the substrate.

  According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the base plate is configured to be movable, the same effect as when the table is moved can be obtained. Further, if both the table and the base plate are configured to be movable, the effect is further enhanced.

  According to the printing apparatus described in claim 5, since the surface shape data (for example, CAD data) of the substrate to be printed is captured in advance and at least one of the table, the base plate, and the head is moved, The head can be smoothly moved along the surface shape of the printed body, and the printing speed can be increased.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The printing apparatus 1 includes a table 3 disposed at a lower portion, a base plate 5 disposed above the table 3 so as to face the table 3, and a plurality of elastically supported on the lower surface side of the base plate 5 The head 7 is provided.

  The table 3 extends along the XY plane, and can be linearly moved in the X, Y, and Z directions by a driving device (not shown). Also, it can rotate around the X axis around the X axis, can rotate around the Y axis around the Y axis, and can rotate around the Z axis around the Z axis. can do. The table 3 is provided with a fixing device for the printing medium (not shown), and the printing medium is securely held by the table 3 through the fixing device.

  Further, the base plate 5 extends along the XY plane and is arranged to face the table 3. Further, it can be linearly moved in the X, Y, and Z directions by a driving device (not shown). Also, it can rotate around the X axis around the X axis, can rotate around the Y axis around the Y axis, and can rotate around the Z axis around the Z axis. can do.

  A plurality of heads 7 projecting toward the table 3 are provided on the lower surface of the base plate 5 in the vertical and horizontal directions. The head 7 is formed in an elongated and substantially rectangular column shape extending in the Z direction, and a paint discharge hole (not shown) is formed at the center of the head tip 7a. The head 7 is configured to be extendable and contractable along the axial direction (Z direction), and is configured to move a predetermined distance in accordance with a control signal from the control device.

  FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the head and the printing medium of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The lower end position of the head 7 is arranged so that the height in the Z direction is substantially the same in the normal state. Further, in the present embodiment, the surface shape of the printing medium 9 is formed in a shape that gently curves upward and rises toward the center.

  A procedure for printing on the surface 9a of the printing medium 9 using the printing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  First, the printing medium 9 is placed on the table 3, and the printing medium 9 is fixed to the table 3 through the fixing device. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the heights of the tips 7a of the heads 7 are all the same in the Z direction.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the base plate 5 or the table 3 is moved so that the head 7 coincides with the printing point of the printing medium 9 in the XY coordinates.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, each head 7 is expanded and contracted to a height position along the surface shape of the printing medium 9. That is, the distance between the front end (lower end) 7a of each head 7 and the surface 9a of the printing medium 9 is substantially the same for all the portions of the surface.

  Then, according to the color information signal in each part of the printing medium 9, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface of the printing medium 9 is satisfactorily ejected from the discharge hole of the tip 7 a of each head 7. Printing can be performed.

  The procedure for adjusting the head tip height will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of the head of the printing apparatus and the surface of the printing medium. As shown in FIG. 5, the surface 9a of the printing medium 9 is curved, and the maximum height portion of the surface 9a is a portion P facing the tip surface (lower end surface) 7a of one head 7. A, a printing point part B, and a minimum height part C. The height at A is H (max), the height at B is H (p), and the height at C is H (min). The distance from the head tip 7a to the printing point part B is L0, the distance between the maximum height part A and the printing point part B is L1, and the appropriate printing distance to the printing point part B is L2.

  First, the heights H (max) and H (p) of the maximum height portion A and the printing point portion B in the portion P facing the front end surface 7a of the head 7 are detected.

  Next, L1 which is the difference between the heights H (max) and H (p) is calculated, and this L1 is compared with the appropriate printing distance L2. If L2 is larger than L1, printing is performed at the head tip position as it is.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when L2 is smaller than L1, the printing distance is too long as it is, so it is necessary to bring the head tip 7a closer to the printing medium 9 side. However, if the head tip 7a is brought close to the position L2, the corner portion 7b of the head tip 7a hits the maximum height portion A, and cannot be approached any further. Therefore, the head tip 7a is brought close to the maximum height portion A, specifically, to the height of H (max) in order to approach the printing medium 9 as much as possible.

  Below, the effect by this embodiment is demonstrated.

  Since a large number of heads 7 are arranged on the base plate 5 and each head 7 is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward, fine printing can also be performed on the surface 9a of the substrate 9 having a complicated three-dimensional shape. . Further, since printing can be performed without a plate, even when the shape of the printing medium 9 is appropriately changed, the shape change can be quickly handled.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Based on the technical thought of this invention, a various deformation | transformation and change are possible.

  For example, the heads 7 are arranged vertically and horizontally on the base plate 5, but may be arranged randomly. In addition, as the printing medium 9, the surface-shaped printing body 9 having the highest central portion and gradually curving toward the peripheral edge has been described. However, the surface shape of the printing body is not particularly limited and may be various. Applicable to various shapes.

  Further, if there is surface shape data of the printing medium 9 such as CAD data, the data can be input in advance, and the movement of the head 7 can be controlled according to the data. Also, when the surface shape data of the printing medium 9 can be detected by a sensor or the like, the head movement can be controlled according to the data.

1 is a perspective view showing a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view schematically showing a head and a printing medium of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the head of the printing apparatus and the printing medium, showing a state after adjusting the height of each head of the printing apparatus. It is a side view which shows roughly the state which is printing on the surface of a to-be-printed body. It is an enlarged side view showing a dimensional relationship between the head of the printing apparatus and the printing medium.

Explanation of symbols

L2 ... Appropriate printing distance 1 ... Printing device 3 ... Table 5 ... Base plate 7 ... Head 7a ... Head tip 9 ... Substrate 9a ... Surface

Claims (5)

A table (3) on which the printing medium (9) is placed, a base plate (5) disposed opposite to the table (3) at an interval, and a table (3) side of the base plate (5) A plurality of heads (7) that are provided on the surface and inject the paint from the tip (7a) toward the printed body (9), and to the printed body (9) on the table (3) A printing apparatus for printing on the surface of the substrate (9) by spraying paint from the tip (7a) of the head (7),
The head (7) is supported so as to be able to advance and retreat toward the table (3), and the head tip (7a) is arranged at a position separated from the surface of the printing medium (9) by an appropriate printing distance. A printing apparatus configured to spray paint.   The maximum height (H (max)) and the printing point height (H (p)) at the facing portion (P) of the head tip (7a) are detected from the surface of the printing body (9). When the difference (L1) between the maximum height (H (max)) and the printing point height (H (p)) is larger than the appropriate printing distance (L2), the head tip (7a) is moved to the maximum height. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is configured to move forward and backward to a position (H (max)).   The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the table (3) is configured to be movable with respect to the base plate (5).   The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base plate (5) is configured to be movable with respect to the table (3). The surface shape data of the printing medium (9) is taken in, and at least one of the table (3), the base plate (5), and the head (7) is moved. The printing apparatus of any one of -4.

Images