JP2008018609A - Printer and recording medium drive unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can simply carry out alignment of each color at a printing position and can beautifully print visible information, and to provide a recording medium drive unit. <P>SOLUTION: The printer is equipped with a spindle motor 22 which rotates an optical disc 1 attached removably, and a printing head 31 which is opposed to a label face of the optical disc 1 attached to the spindle motor 22 and can print the visible information such as characters and patterns by ejecting ink droplets to the label face. The printing head 31 has four sets of ejection nozzles by color 45-48 which eject ink of four colors. The four sets of ejection nozzles by color 45-48 are arranged in one array. A head moving mechanism is equipped which moves the printing head 31 in a predetermined direction based on a rotation center position of the optical disc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention rotates a disk-shaped recording medium such as a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable) and a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disc-Rewritable), a semiconductor storage medium, and other printing objects, and the label surface of the rotating printing object The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that ejects ink droplets onto other printing surfaces and prints visible information such as characters and patterns, and a recording medium driving apparatus that rotates a recording medium that shows an example of a printing object.

  As this type of conventional printing apparatus, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a disk label printing apparatus and an information recording apparatus for an optical disk provided with the same. The disk label printing apparatus described in this patent document 1 is arranged so as to be opposed to a disk rotating means for rotating a disk at a predetermined rotational speed and a label printing surface of the disk rotated by the disk rotating means. Inkjet apparatus, data input means for inputting print data such as characters or pictures to be printed, and data for converting the print data input by the data input means into inkjet control data corresponding to the circumferential direction of the disk It is characterized by comprising conversion means and inkjet drive control means for controlling the drive of the inkjet device based on the inkjet control data. "

  According to the disc label printing apparatus having such a configuration, “a printing plate is not required for each label design, so the label design can be easily created and changed for every few or every single label. Can be supplied at low cost on a disc printed with an original design label ”.

  As another example of this type of conventional printing apparatus, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 2. Patent Document 2 describes a printing system that performs printing in a radial direction on a medium that rotates relative to a printing assembly. The radial printing system described in this patent document 2 is a radial printing system that receives an image source consisting of a plurality of image points for an image to be printed on the outer surface of a rotating medium, the plurality of images An image system that converts points into a polar coordinate display format of the image, and a head assembly that is coupled to the image system and outputs the polar coordinate displayed image onto the rotating media. '' It is said.

  According to the radial printing system having such a configuration, “the present invention can perform printing on media of various sizes, shapes, and compositions. That is, the position of the head assembly is related to the related ink on the platter. The head assembly can easily eject ink onto any type of media placed on the associated ink ejection area, for example, according to the present invention. Can be used to print on a CD or CD label. ”

  However, in both cases of the disc label printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 and the radial printing system described in Patent Document 2, the printer has one print head, and the discharge nozzle provided in the print head Ink droplets are ejected, and predetermined visible information is printed on the printing surface of the rotating print object. For this reason, if visible information such as characters and patterns is printed on the printing surface of a rotating print object based on polar coordinate data using this print head, there is a speed difference between the inner and outer circumferences of the print object. There was a problem that it was difficult to do.

  Such a problem will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the ink droplets 3 ejected from the print head 2 of the ink jet printer are applied to the label surface 1a of the optical disc 1 such as a DVD-RW that shows a specific example of the print target. In this example, the print head 2 has 16 discharge nozzles. FIG. 6 shows a state in which a total of 16 ink droplets 3 discharged from each discharge nozzle land on the label surface 1a. Show. The 16 discharge nozzles are arranged in a line in the radial direction of the optical disc 1. Using the print head 2 having such discharge nozzles, the polar surface (Rθ coordinate) system dot pattern is used at the same timing with respect to the label surface 1a of the optical disk 1 rotating at a constant rotational speed (for example, constant angular velocity). FIG. 7 simply shows the ink droplet 3 ejected.

  Here, a polar coordinate (Rθ coordinate) system dot pattern is a reference position (hereinafter referred to as “reference position”) in which each dot representing visible information such as a character or a pattern passes through the polar coordinates (Rθ coordinate), that is, the rotation center O of the optical disc 1. This is expressed by the distance Ri from the rotation center O to each dot and the rotation angle θi from the reference position S with S as the center. According to the dot pattern of this polar coordinate (Rθ coordinate) system, the position Pi (Ri, θi) of each dot can be expressed by the distance Ri from the rotation center O and the rotation angle θi from the reference position S. It is not necessary to perform troublesome conversion calculation as in the case of representing with an axis orthogonal coordinate (XY coordinate), and can be easily calculated.

  Therefore, visible information to be printed on the label surface 1a can be represented as predetermined print information by a simple image conversion process, and the configuration of the entire printing apparatus can be simplified. In FIG. 6, symbol R1 represents the distance from the rotation center O to the dot located on the innermost periphery of the label surface 1a. The symbol Rn represents the distance from the rotation center O to the dots located on the outermost periphery of the label surface 1a.

  In such a printing apparatus, when visible information is expressed in color, the print head 2 includes, for example, four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). A print head for color printing that can eject four types of ink is used. FIG. 8 shows a general configuration of a printing apparatus having a print head capable of ejecting the four colors of ink.

  The printing apparatus 4 shown in FIG. 8 includes a print head 5 and a head moving mechanism 6 that moves the print head 5 in the radial direction of the optical disk 1. The head moving mechanism 6 has a feed screw shaft 7 that screw-feeds the print head 5 in the axial direction, an electric motor 8 that rotationally drives the feed screw shaft 7, and a guide shaft 9 that guides the print head 5 in the radial direction. is doing. Thus, by driving the electric motor 8 and rotating the feed screw shaft 7 to one side, for example, the print head 5 moves inward in the radial direction (from the solid line state shown in FIG. 8 to the state shown by the two-dot chain line). Can do. Further, the print head 5 can be moved radially outward by rotating the electric motor 8 in the reverse direction.

  In order to eject four types of ink, the print head 5 is provided with a plurality of ejection nozzles 11, 12, 13, and 14 for each color. The plurality of discharge nozzles 11 to 14 are arranged in a line for each color, and four sets of the discharge nozzles 11 to 14 are provided vertically in one print head 5. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the cyan (C) discharge nozzles 11 are arranged in the first row from the left side, the magenta (M) discharge nozzles 12 are arranged in the second row, and the yellow ( The discharge nozzles 13 for Y) are arranged, and the discharge nozzles 14 for black (K) are arranged in the fourth row which is the right end. The arrangement of the plurality of discharge nozzles 11 to 14 in the print head 5 is common in a printer using an orthogonal coordinate system, for example, a printer that performs main scanning by parallel movement of the print head and performs sub-scanning by movement of a print object. Arrangement.

However, when a configuration in which four sets of discharge nozzles 11 to 14 are provided in one print head 5 and the four sets of discharge nozzles 11 to 14 are arranged in four horizontal rows is applied to the printing apparatus 4 shown in FIG. There is a problem that it is difficult to align the positions of the colors in the positions. This is because the optical disk 1 is rotated at a constant rotational speed (constant angular velocity), so that a speed difference occurs between the outer side and the inner side in the radial direction of the optical disk 1, and the position of each color is displaced. That is, when it is assumed that the intervals between the plurality of discharge nozzles 11 to 14 arranged in four rows are very small and the shift of the position of each color is not taken into consideration, the image obtained by the printing apparatus 4 has an image of each color. Deterioration of the printed image occurs due to deviation.
JP-A-5-238005 Special table 2002-512140 gazette

  The problem to be solved is that when a plurality of sets of ejection nozzles are arranged side by side in one print head, the speed difference according to the distance from the center of rotation on the printing surface of the rotating object rotating at a constant angular velocity. And it is difficult to align the positions of the colors at the printing position.

  The printing apparatus according to the present application includes an object rotation mechanism that rotates a print object that is detachably mounted, and a print surface of the print object that is mounted on the object rotation mechanism. And one or more print heads capable of printing visible information such as characters and pictures by ejecting ink droplets. One or two or more print heads have one or two or more discharge nozzles that discharge ink of two or more or one color, and two or more discharge nozzles are arranged in a row, and one or two or more print nozzles are provided. The main feature is that one or two or more head moving mechanisms for moving the print head in a predetermined direction with respect to the rotation center position of the printing object are provided.

  The recording medium driving device of the present application includes an information reading unit that reads information from the recording medium, an object rotating mechanism that rotates a print object provided in the information reading unit, and an object rotating mechanism. One or two or more print heads that face the print surface of the printed object and that can print visible information such as characters and designs by ejecting ink droplets on the print surface and the information reading unit are moved. And a reading unit moving mechanism. One or two or more print heads have one or two or more discharge nozzles that discharge ink of two or more or one color, and the two or more discharge nozzles are arranged in a line to read the information reading unit. One or two or more head movements for moving the print head in a predetermined direction with respect to the print object while moving the print object in a predetermined direction based on the rotation center position of the print object A mechanism is provided.

  According to the printing apparatus and the recording medium driving apparatus of the present application, a single print head is provided with a number (or set) of ejection nozzles corresponding to the number of ink colors, or the number of printings corresponding to the number of ink colors. Each head is provided with one (or a plurality of) discharge nozzles. In one print head, the number (or set) of discharge nozzles corresponding to the number of ink colors is arranged in a row at the reference position, and in two or more print heads, each discharge nozzle is in each print head. It is arranged at the reference position. As a result, when any print head is moved to the use position, the discharge nozzle is always located at the reference position. Therefore, each color can be easily aligned at the print position, and the visible information can be stored. It can be printed neatly.

  One or two or more print heads are provided with one or two or more discharge nozzles that discharge ink of two or more or one color, and the two or more discharge nozzles are arranged in a row, and one or two or more print heads are arranged. One or more head moving mechanisms are provided for moving in a predetermined direction based on the rotational center position of the print object. As a result, a printing apparatus and a recording medium driving apparatus capable of easily aligning each color at the printing position and printing visible information neatly are realized with a simple structure.

  1 to 5 show examples of embodiments of the present invention. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the print head, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a third example of the print head.

  First, a first embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an optical disc apparatus showing a specific example of a recording medium driving apparatus provided with a printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the same. The optical disk device 20 shown in FIGS. 1 to 2 newly records (writes) a data signal on the information recording surface of the optical disk 1 such as a CD-R or DVD-RW, which shows a specific example of a print object. Or a recording and / or reproducing unit for reproducing (reading out) a pre-recorded data signal, and a label surface (main surface) of the optical disc 1 showing a specific example of the printed surface, such as visible characters and pictures. And a printing unit that prints information.

  However, the printing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the optical disk apparatus 20 capable of recording / reproducing the information signal shown in this embodiment, but an optical disk recorder, an optical disk player, an optical disk imaging apparatus, Recording of information signals using a disk-shaped recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk recorder, a magneto-optical disk player, a magneto-optical disk imaging device, a magnetic disk recorder, a magnetic disk player, a magnetic disk imaging device, etc. The present invention can be applied to various disk recording and / or reproducing apparatuses that perform reproduction. Further, the printing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the disk device, and the printing object is detachably mounted on the object rotation mechanism and is driven to rotate, and the printing object is rotated on the printing surface of the rotating printing object. The present invention can be applied to various electronic devices capable of printing visible information for displaying a title, a description, and other information in a visible state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, the recording and / or reproducing unit of the optical disc apparatus 20 includes a tray 21, a spindle motor 22, an optical pickup 24, a slide member 25, a pair of first guide shafts 26A, 26B and the like. The tray 21 is made of a flat rectangular plate-like member having a disc storage portion 27 that is a circular recess on which the optical disc 1 is placed. A disc storage portion 27 is provided at a position biased to one side of the upper surface of the tray 21 in the longitudinal direction, which is one flat surface. Further, the tray 21 is provided with a notch 28 for avoiding contact with the spindle motor 22, the slide member 25, and the like.

  One end of the cutout portion 28 of the tray 21 is opened at one short side in the longitudinal direction, and the other end extends along the longitudinal direction and reaches the central portion of the disc storage portion 27. The tray 21 can be moved in the longitudinal direction, which is a planar direction, by a tray moving mechanism (not shown). As a result, the tray 21 has a disk mounting position with a disk mounting section for recording and / or reproducing information signals with the optical disk 1 mounted or empty, and a disk discharge position for projecting out from the apparatus housing. And can be selectively transported. An object rotation mechanism for rotating the print object is disposed in the disk mounting unit.

  The spindle motor 22 shows a specific example of an object rotation mechanism that rotationally drives the optical disk 1 that is a print object. The tray 21 can be moved toward and away from the spindle motor 22 by the operation of the tray moving mechanism. The spindle motor 22 is fixed to a motor base (not shown), and the spindle motor 22 relatively moves along the notch portion 28 by operating the tray moving mechanism to convey the tray 21. When the tray 21 comes closest to the spindle motor 22, the spindle motor 22 is positioned at the substantially central portion of the disk storage portion 28.

  A turntable 29 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the spindle motor 22, and the optical disk 1 is detachably mounted on the turntable 29. In the disc mounting portion, the motor base is raised by a lifting mechanism (not shown), whereby the disc fitting portion 29a of the turntable 29 is fitted into the center hole 1b of the optical disc 1 and the optical disc 1 is removed from the disc storage portion 27 in a predetermined manner. Can be lifted by a distance.

  The disc fitting portion 29a of the turntable 29 is provided with a plurality of lock claws (generally three) that are detachably engaged with the center hole 1b and can lock the optical disc 1 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. ing. The periphery of the center hole 1b of the optical disk 1 is pressed against the turntable 29 by the plurality of lock claws. This prevents the optical disk 1 from coming out of the turntable 29. As a result, the optical disk 1 can be rotated integrally with the turntable 29, and the optical disk 1 is rotated at a constant rotational speed (constant angular velocity) by rotating the spindle motor 22.

  Further, by moving the lifting mechanism in the reverse direction to lower the motor base, the disk fitting portion 29a of the turntable 29 is pulled out from the center hole 1b of the optical disk 1 downward. Then, the optical disc 1 is placed on the disc storage portion 27 by the downward movement of the turntable 29. In this state, by operating the tray moving mechanism, the tray 21 moves in a direction away from the spindle motor 22, and the front portion of the tray 21 protrudes from the apparatus housing by a predetermined amount. As a result, the front portion of the disc storage portion 27 is exposed, and the optical disc 1 can be taken out.

  The optical pickup 24 is a specific example of an information reading unit that reads information from the optical disc 1 that is an information recording medium. The optical pickup 24 records (writes) an information signal by irradiating the information recording surface of the optical disc 1 with a laser beam, or receives a return laser beam reflected from the information recording surface and records it on the information recording surface in advance. The reproduced information signal is reproduced (read). The optical pickup 24 irradiates a light source such as a laser diode that emits laser light, a beam splitter that deflects laser light incident from the light source, and irradiates the information recording surface from the objective lens with the deflected laser light. Are provided with a two-axis actuator to which the laser beam is incident and a photodetector such as a photodiode for reading information from the laser beam returned through the two-axis actuator.

  The optical pickup 24 is mounted on the slide member 25 and is moved integrally with the slide member 25. The slide member 25 is guided by two guide shafts 26A and 26b arranged in parallel to the moving direction of the tray 21. The two guide shafts 26A and 26b penetrate the slide member 25 so as to be slidable. The slide member 25 can be moved in the radial direction of the optical disc 1 by a reading unit moving mechanism (pickup moving mechanism) (not shown). ing. During the movement of the slide member 25, information signal recording and / or reproduction operations are performed on the information recording surface of the optical disc 1 by the optical pickup 24.

  An optical disc 1 as an information recording medium is, for example, a disc-shaped DVD-RW having a diameter of 12 cm, and a central hole 1b having a diameter of about 15 to 16 mm is provided at the center. A disc fitting portion 29a of the turntable 29 is detachably fitted into the center hole 1b. One surface (main surface) of the optical disc 1 is an information recording surface on which information signals can be recorded. The other surface (main surface) of the optical disc 1 serves as a label surface for displaying information recorded in advance on the information recording surface, contents of newly recorded information, and the like. On the label surface, desired information is printed as visible information by a printing unit described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing unit includes a print head 31, four ink cartridges 32, 33, 34, 35, a head cap 36, a suction pump 37, a waste ink absorber 38, Two second guide shafts 39A and 39B, a shaft support member 41, a blade 42, and the like are provided. A printing apparatus is configured by the print head 31, the head moving mechanism, and the object rotating mechanism. The print head 31 prints visible information on the label surface of the optical disc 1 and is arranged so as to be movable in the disc radial direction above the disc mounting portion on which the optical disc 1 is set.

  Two second guide shafts 39A and 39B that are parallel to each other are slidably inserted into the print head 31. The print head 31 guided by the two second guide shafts 39A and 39B is movable in the radial direction of the optical disc 1 by a head moving mechanism (not shown). One end of the two second guide shafts 39A, 39B in the axial direction is fixed to a shaft support member 41 extending in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the tray 21 moves. The other end of the two second guide shafts 39A and 39B in the axial direction extends to the opposite side to the direction in which the tray 21 moves. The print head 31 is configured to retract.

  A head cap 36 that is attached to the nozzle surface of the print head 31 is provided at the standby position of the print head 31. The head cap 36 prevents the ink contained in the print head 31 from drying and prevents foreign matters such as dust and dirt from adhering to the nozzle surface. The head cap 36 includes a porous layer, and has a function of temporarily holding the ink ejected by the print head 31 by dummy. Further, the head cap 36 is provided with a valve mechanism that can be adjusted so that the internal space becomes atmospheric pressure during dummy ejection.

  A plurality of ejection nozzles 44 for ejecting ink are provided on the nozzle surface 31a of the print head 31 facing the label surface. The plurality of ejection nozzles 44 are arranged in a line in the direction in which the print head 31 moves. Further, the plurality of discharge nozzles 44 are color-specific discharge nozzles corresponding to the color of the ink used for printing, and are arranged in order for each color. In this embodiment, four types of ink, that is, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) inks are used as inks used for printing. For this reason, the plurality of discharge nozzles 44 includes four types of color-specific discharge nozzles, that is, a color-specific discharge nozzle 45 for cyan, a color-specific discharge nozzle 46 for magenta, a color-specific discharge nozzle 47 for yellow, and a color for black. Separate discharge nozzles 48 are provided.

  In this embodiment, three sets of discharge nozzles 45 to 48 for each color are configured, and four sets of discharge nozzles 45 to 48 for each color are arranged in a line at substantially the same interval. The number of the four sets of discharge nozzles is not limited to the number of this embodiment, and each of them may be two or less, or may be four or more. Further, in this embodiment, the order of arrangement of the four sets of the color-specific discharge nozzles 45 to 48 is, in order from the spindle motor 22, the cyan color-specific discharge nozzle 45, the magenta color-specific discharge nozzle 46, and the yellow color-specific. The discharge nozzle 47 and the black color discharge nozzle 48 are arranged. However, the color arrangement order is not limited to that of this embodiment, and it is needless to say that the colors can be arranged in any order.

  The print head 31 is individually connected to four ink cartridges 32, 33, 34, and 35 via connection pipes 32a, 33a, 34a, and 35a, respectively. The print head 31 is configured to eject ink droplets from the respective color ejection nozzles 45 to 48 at, for example, an ink ejection frequency of 8.4 KHz by an inkjet method. In this inkjet system, each color ink is ejected as fine droplets from the color-specific ejection nozzles 45 to 48, and the droplets adhere to a printing surface such as a label surface or paper.

  The four ink cartridges 32, 33, 34, and 35 individually supply predetermined colors to the print head 31. Each of the ink cartridges 32 to 35 is a container made of a resin-made cylinder, and contains a porous material such as sponge or ceramic. Ink is stored by the capillary phenomenon of the porous material. Each of the ink cartridges 32 to 35 is attachable / detachable with a connecting cap. Therefore, when the ink runs out, each ink cartridge 32 to 35 can be easily replaced.

  The print head 31 has a head cap 36 attached to the nozzle surface 31a at the standby position during printing standby, and is detached from the head cap 36 during printing. A suction pump 37 is connected to the head cap 36 via a connecting tube 51. The suction pump 37 applies a negative pressure to the space inside the head cap 36 when the head cap 36 is attached to the print head 31, and sucks ink remaining in the print head 31 and the head cap 36. Has the function of

  A waste ink absorber 38 is connected to the suction pump 37 via a connecting tube 52. The waste ink absorber 38 discards the ink sucked by the suction pump 37. A blade 42 is disposed between the print position of the print head 31 and the standby position. When the print head 31 moves from the printing position to the standby position, the blade 42 has a function of wiping the nozzle surface 31a and removing foreign matters, ink, and the like attached to the nozzle surface 31a. It is possible to select whether or not to wipe the nozzle surface 31a by moving the blade 42 up and down.

  It should be noted that the moving area of the print head 31 is preferably provided on a radius passing through the rotation center of the optical disk 1 as shown in this embodiment, as well as a position offset in the tangential direction from the rotation center of the optical disk 1 ( Therefore, it is of course possible to set the moving area so as to move in the tangential direction.

  The operation of the optical disc apparatus 20 having such a configuration is as follows, for example. First, a recording and / or reproducing unit for recording / reproducing information on the optical disc 1 will be described, and then a printing unit will be described.

  First, the optical disk 1 is mounted on the disk mounting portion. For this, the tray 21 is moved to the disk ejection position to expose the disk storage portion 27, and the optical disk 1 is placed in the disk storage portion 27. Next, the eject operation button is pressed or the tray is lightly pressed to operate the tray moving mechanism to move the tray to the disk mounting position. By detecting the movement of the tray by the position sensor, the lifting mechanism for loading the disk is operated, and the spindle motor 22 is pushed up.

  As a result, the disc fitting portion 29a of the turntable 29 is fitted into the center hole 1b of the optical disc 1, and the optical disc 1 is lifted by a predetermined amount by the turntable 29. At this time, the optical disk 1 is fitted and held on the turntable 29, whereby the loading of the optical disk 1 is completed.

  At the same time or before and after, the slide member 25 is brought close to the spindle motor 22 by the operation of the pickup moving mechanism, and the optical pickup 24 is opposed to the inner peripheral side of the information recording surface provided on one surface (lower surface) of the optical disc 1. The From this state, the spindle motor 22 is driven to rotate the optical disk 1 together with the turntable 29, whereby the information signal can be recorded (written) or reproduced (read) by the optical pickup 24, and recorded or reproduced. Is executed.

  Thereafter, when the optical disk 1 is taken out, for example, an eject operation button is pressed. As a result, the elevating mechanism is actuated to lower the spindle motor 22, the disc fitting portion 29 a of the turntable 29 is pulled out from the center hole 1 b of the optical disc 1, and the optical disc 1 is placed on the disc storage portion 27 of the tray 21. The Next, the tray 21 is moved in a direction away from the spindle motor 22 by the action of the tray moving mechanism, and the whole or a part of the disk storage unit 27 is exposed to the outside of the apparatus housing. As a result, the optical disk 1 placed in the disk storage unit 27 can be taken out manually, and can be replaced with a new optical disk.

  Next, a case where visible information is printed on the label surface of the optical disc 1 by the printing unit will be described. Although not shown, the printing unit includes a printing control unit, an ink ejection driving circuit, a mechanism unit driving circuit, and the like. The print control unit receives the label information to be printed on the label surface and generates a control signal by performing necessary polar coordinate conversion based on the input information, and outputs the control signal to the ink ejection drive circuit and the mechanism unit drive circuit. Output to.

  The ink ejection drive circuit drives the print head 31 to eject four colors of ink at predetermined positions to form visible information on the label surface. This ink discharge drive circuit can be constituted by, for example, an electrode pair, is deformed by a potential difference generated based on a control signal input from the print control unit, and discharges ink by pressing an ink tank (not shown). In addition to this, for example, the ink discharge drive circuit can be configured by using a system that utilizes expansion of ink by heat. Furthermore, the ink discharge drive circuit is not limited to these methods, and other ink discharge methods can be applied.

  The mechanism unit drive circuit drives and controls the print head 31, the suction pump 37, the blade 42, and a head moving mechanism (not shown) based on a control signal supplied from the print control unit. As the head moving mechanism, for example, a feed screw shaft that penetrates the print head 31, an electric motor that rotationally drives the feed screw shaft, and a slidably engaged with the feed screw shaft while being fixed to the print head 31. Can be constituted by a feed nut. Thus, by driving the electric motor to rotate the feed screw shaft and moving the feed nut engaged with the feed screw shaft in the axial direction of the feed screw shaft, the two second guide shafts 39A, 39B The print head 31 can be moved in the radial direction of the optical disk 1 along the line.

  Using the print head 31 that is controlled to move in this way, ink droplets of a predetermined color are ejected toward the label surface at a predetermined position according to the label information to be printed. The printing state in this case is as shown in FIG. 6, and a predetermined number of dots are ejected at a predetermined printing position where the print head 31 reciprocates, and printing is performed for each column. The order of printing the four colors of ink is arbitrary, but for example, it can be launched in the following order.

  The 1 launches the first color at all the required positions, then the second color at all the required positions, and the third and fourth as well at all the required positions. Like that. For example, first, cyan ink is ejected to the required position using the cyan color-specific ejection nozzles 45, and second magenta ink is ejected to the required position using the magenta color-specific ejection nozzle 46. Third, the yellow color-specific discharge nozzles 47 are used to eject all yellow ink at the required positions, and the fourth color is used for the black color-specific discharge nozzles 48 to place all black ink at the required positions. Make it come out.

  Second, a necessary color is ejected for each dot or a plurality of dots (3 dots in this embodiment) from the inside or the outside in the radial direction of the optical disc 1. For example, the first 3 dots (which may be 1, 2 or 4 or more) eject cyan ink droplets using the cyan color-specific discharge nozzle 45 and the next 3 dots (1, 2 or 4 or more). May eject magenta ink droplets using the magenta color-specific discharge nozzles 46. The next three dots (which may be 1, 2 or 4 or more) eject yellow ink droplets using the yellow color-specific discharge nozzle 47, and the next 3 dots (1, 2 or 4 or more). In this case, a black ink droplet is ejected by using the black color-specific ejection nozzle 48.

  Such a launching operation is repeated from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side (or from the outer circumference side to the inner circumference side) of the optical disc 1, and when one row is finished, the next row is printed in the same manner. By applying such a printing procedure to the entire printing area of the label surface, it is possible to print clear visible information on the label surface.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printing unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 3, the head drive mechanism 61 for moving the print head 31 includes a feed screw shaft 62, an electric motor 63, and a guide shaft 64. The feed screw shaft 62 is configured as a rotating shaft of the electric motor 63, and the feed screw shaft 62 penetrates the print head 31 in a rotatable manner. The print head 31 also passes through a guide shaft 64 disposed in parallel with the feed screw shaft 62, and between the two shafts, four sets of color-specific discharge nozzles 45 to 48 are substantially arranged so as to be parallel to these shafts. They are arranged in a line at the same interval. In this embodiment, four sets of color-specific discharge nozzles 45 to 48 are formed in one print head 31 and these color-specific discharge nozzles 45 to 48 are arranged in a line, so printing is always performed. The ink droplets of all colors can be ejected on one straight line set as the position.

  In addition, forming the four sets of the color-specific discharge nozzles 45 to 48 in one print head 31 can increase the accuracy of the positional relationship. Therefore, the accuracy of the printing position where the ink droplets are attached can be made extremely high. Further, since only one head moving mechanism for moving one print head 31 is required, there is no possibility of increasing the cost due to an increase in the number of parts. In addition, an increase in the installation space of the printing unit can be minimized as compared with the case where a plurality of print heads are used.

  4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present invention. 4 and 5, the same parts as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. The second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 has four print heads 71, 72, 73 that are the same number as the number of inks used for printing (in this embodiment, four types of ink are used). , 74 are provided. Each of the print heads 71, 72, 73, 74 is provided with a plurality of (four in this embodiment) discharge nozzles 45, 46, 47, 48 for each color in a row. The four print heads 71 to 74 are arranged in one row, and a feed screw shaft 62 and a guide shaft 64 that are parallel to each other are penetrated in common.

  In this embodiment, the four print heads 71 to 74 are arranged as a cyan print head 71, a magenta print head 72, a yellow print head 73, and a black print head 74 in order from the side closer to the electric motor 63. ing. In this embodiment, all of the four print heads 71 to 74 need to move from the inner peripheral end to the outer peripheral end in the radial direction of the optical disc 1. Therefore, the feed screw shaft 62 and the guide shaft 64 are formed to be sufficiently longer than the diameter of the optical disc 1, and the four print heads 71 to 74 move on the one feed screw shaft 62, so that the four color inks are discharged. All are configured to be printable. The discharge nozzles 45 to 48 for each color of the four print heads 71 to 74 are set on the same straight line, and ink droplets of each color can be ejected on one straight line set as a printing position.

  In the case of this embodiment, at the time of printing, the four print heads 71 to 74 always move in conjunction with each other. In addition, the lengths of the feed screw shaft 62 and the guide shaft 64 are longer than in the first embodiment described above, but the number of parts is not increased because the head moving mechanism 61 is one. . In addition, the four print heads 71 to 74 can be individually replaced, and even when ink clogging occurs, it is possible to individually cope with each of the print heads 71 to 74.

  The third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 has four print heads 71, 72, 73 that are the same number as the number of inks used for printing (in this embodiment, four types of ink are used). , 74 and four head moving mechanisms 81, 82, 83, 84 for individually moving the print heads 71-74. The four print heads 71 to 74 are the same as those in the second embodiment, and the four head moving mechanisms 81 to 84 have the same configuration as the head moving mechanism 61.

  The number of print heads is not limited to this example. In general, subtractive three primary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are used as ink colors. For example, red (R) and green (G (secondary colors) of cyan, magenta, and yellow are used as ink colors. ) And blue (B) are also used, and of course, three print heads may be used. Alternatively, six print heads may be used in combination of three inks of dark, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and three light inks. Furthermore, the number of print heads may be configured to use two selected colors, or may be configured to use four or more added specific colors. Still further, the number of print heads may be two or more for each color.

  The four print heads 71, 72, 73, 74 are arranged at equal intervals (90 degrees in this embodiment) in the rotation direction that is the circumferential direction of the optical disk 1. In this example, four printing positions are set, and ink droplets of each color are ejected on one straight line at each printing position. Further, in the four head moving mechanisms 81 to 84, the electric motors 63 are disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk, and on the inner side in the radial direction, one ends of the feed screw shaft 62 and the guide shaft 64 that are parallel to each other are provided. Each is opposed. As a result, the four print heads 71 to 74 are individually driven and controlled. Therefore, it is possible to eject ink droplets of four colors at the same time.

  In this embodiment, simultaneous printing is possible with the four print heads 71, 72, 73, 74, so that printing efficiency can be improved. Further, since the four print heads 71 to 74 can be individually replaced, there is an advantage that management / maintenance relating to clogging of the discharge nozzles 45 to 48 is easy.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the print object is rotated, and the print head having one or more discharge nozzles for discharging ink droplets is moved in the radial direction to print the print object. When printing on the surface, one print position is set for one print head, and the ejected ink droplets are arranged on the radius of 1. Therefore, the ink droplets are reliably aligned on the radius. Can be done. Therefore, the visible information to be printed can be printed neatly.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a DVD-RW is used as a recording medium has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a printing apparatus using a recording medium of another recording method using a magneto-optical disk or a magnetic disk. is there. Further, the printing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the disk recording / reproducing apparatus described above, and a disk drive apparatus, an imaging apparatus, a personal computer, an electronic dictionary, a DVD player that can use this type of printing apparatus. It can be applied to car navigation and other various electronic devices.

1 is a plan view of an optical disc apparatus showing a first embodiment of a recording medium driving apparatus equipped with a printing apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a front view of an optical disc apparatus showing a first embodiment of a recording medium driving apparatus provided with a printing apparatus of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the 1st Example of the recording-medium drive device provided with the printing apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the 2nd Example of the recording medium drive device provided with the printing apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the 3rd Example of the recording-medium drive device provided with the printing apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the expected state of printing by a printing apparatus. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing completion state by the printing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional printing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical disk (printing object), 1a ... Label surface, 20 ... Optical disk apparatus (recording medium drive device), 21 ... Tray, 22 ... Spindle motor (object rotating mechanism), 24 ... Optical pick-up (information reading part), 25 ... Slide member, 26A, 26B ... Guide shaft, 27 ... Disc storage part, 28 ... Notch part, 29 ... Turntable, 29a ... Disc fitting part, 31, 71, 72, 73, 74 ... Print head, 31a ... Nozzle surface, 32, 33, 34, 35 ... Ink cartridge, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 ... Discharge nozzle, 61, 81, 82, 83, 84 ... Head moving mechanism, 62 ... Feed screw shaft, 63 ... Electric motor, 64 ... guide shaft

Claims (7)

An object rotation mechanism for rotating a print object to be detachably mounted;
One or more print heads that are opposed to the printing surface of the printing object mounted on the object rotation mechanism and that can print visible information such as characters and pictures by ejecting ink droplets onto the printing surface And comprising
The one or two or more print heads have one or two or more discharge nozzles that discharge two or more or one color ink, and the two or more discharge nozzles are arranged in a line,
A printing apparatus comprising: one or more head moving mechanisms for moving the one or more print heads in a predetermined direction with reference to a rotation center position of the print object. The two or more print heads comprise the same number of color print heads as the number of colors of the ink,
The same number of color print heads as the number of ink colors are arranged in a row in the radial direction,
2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the same number of color print heads as the number of colors of the ink are moved in conjunction with one head moving mechanism. The one print head has the same number of discharge nozzles by color as the number of colors of the ink,
The same number of color discharge nozzles as the number of ink colors are arranged in a row in the radial direction,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one print head is moved by one head moving mechanism. The two or more print heads comprise the same number of color print heads as the number of colors of the ink,
The same number of color print heads as the number of colors of the ink are arranged at appropriate intervals in the rotation direction of the print object,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the same number of color print heads as the number of ink colors are individually moved by the same number of head moving mechanisms as the number of ink colors. The two or more print heads include four color-specific print heads in which the ink colors correspond to magenta, cyan, yellow, and black,
The four color-specific print heads are arranged at equal intervals in the rotation direction,
The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the four color-specific print heads are individually moved by the four head moving mechanisms.   The head moving mechanism includes a feed screw shaft screwed into the print head, an electric motor that rotationally drives the feed screw shaft, and a guide shaft that guides the print head in the radial direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. An information reading unit for reading information from a recording medium;
An object rotation mechanism for rotating a print object provided in the information reading unit;
One or more print heads that are opposed to the printing surface of the printing object mounted on the object rotation mechanism and that can print visible information such as characters and pictures by ejecting ink droplets onto the printing surface When,
A reading unit moving mechanism for moving the information reading unit,
The one or two or more print heads have one or two or more discharge nozzles that discharge two or more or one color ink, and the two or more discharge nozzles are arranged in a line,
The information reading unit is moved by the reading unit moving mechanism in a predetermined direction with respect to the rotation center position of the print object, and the one or more print heads are moved with respect to the print object. One or two or more head moving mechanisms for moving in the direction are provided.

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