JP2008023822A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique whereby a storing space inside a printing apparatus is made to have a proper humidity distribution without being rendered a completely constant humidity state, and costs of a humidity conditioning device at the time are reduced as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: The printing apparatus comprises a magazine which stores a printing medium, a conveying unit, an air exhausting fan which forcibly exhausts the air of the storing space formed by a housing wall body to store a printing part and a control unit to the outside, and a humidifier which emits a humid gas into the storing space. A humidity conditioning control means which controls operation of the air exhausting fan and the humidifier includes a first controlling mode continuously driving the air exhausting fan and intermittently driving the humidifier, and a second controlling mode intermittently driving the air exhausting fan and continuously driving the humidifier. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a magazine for storing print media, a transport unit for transporting the print medium from the magazine, a print unit for forming an image on a print medium transported by the transport unit, the transport unit, and the print The present invention relates to a printing apparatus including a control unit that controls the operation of a printing unit, a magazine, a transport unit, a printing unit, and a housing wall that forms a storage space for the control unit.

  In a printing apparatus that prints a high-quality image, a print medium used is also made of a material sensitive to humidity, and it is necessary to consider humidity management inside the printing apparatus. For example, curl characteristics at low humidity are a problem with papers and films having an emulsion layer. Therefore, in photo printers and reader printers that use such papers and films, the humidity in the equipment is always kept at normal humidity. In order to prevent the occurrence of curling of the film, a humidifying device in which a water-absorbing member is stretched and held and the end of the member is immersed in a water / liquid tank, and the member is disposed in the air blower in the apparatus. It has been proposed to be provided in a device (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Also, an image input means for receiving an image input, an image processing means for processing the image, a printer for printing the processing result of the image processing means on paper, and a heat insulation box for housing the printer, and the heat insulation There has also been proposed a printer device that can withstand normal changes in temperature and humidity and can perform normal printing by including a thermal cycle system that keeps the inside of the box within at least one of a predetermined temperature range and a predetermined humidity range ( For example, see Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, a printer unit that creates a print by ejecting ink onto a medium based on image data, a container that stores ink to be supplied to the printer unit, a housing that blocks the printer unit and the container from the external environment, An inkjet printer having an air conditioning unit that maintains the inside of the housing in a predetermined environment and a control device that controls the air conditioning unit according to a signal from a sensor that detects at least one of temperature and humidity inside the housing has also been proposed ( For example, see Patent Document 3). At that time, at least one of a dehumidifier, a humidifier, a heater, and a cooler controlled by a control device is used as an air conditioning unit for keeping the temperature and humidity inside the housing within an allowable range. In order to prevent deterioration of the medium (for example, paper) due to environmental changes, it has also been proposed to store a medium storage unit in a housing.

JP-A-60-107378 (page 2, upper left column, line 5 to upper right column, line 1, FIG. 3) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-001120 (paragraph numbers 0007-0008, FIG. 1) JP 2003-154727 A (paragraph number 0008-0013, FIG. 2)

In the conventional printing apparatus described above, the humidity of the storage space inside the apparatus can be maintained in a desired range. However, the equipment arranged in the storage space of the printing apparatus requires a relatively high humidity (for example, a print medium having a hard glossy surface) or a relatively low humidity (for example, an electronic device). ) And keeping the humidity of the entire storage space constant does not necessarily produce good results. For this purpose, it is conceivable to divide this storage space according to the appropriate humidity range, and prepare humidity control equipment in each partition area, but it is possible to introduce a wall body that separates the storage space or individual humidity control equipment. The introduction of the apparatus increases the complexity of the apparatus and increases the cost, and is unacceptable for a general printing apparatus.
In view of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to make the accommodation space inside the printing apparatus into a completely constant humidity state, instead of making the humidity distribution appropriate, and at the same time reducing the cost of the humidity control mechanism as much as possible. Is to provide.

  A magazine for storing a print medium, a transport unit for transporting the print medium from the magazine, a print unit for forming an image on the print medium transported by the transport unit, and operations of the transport unit and the print unit. In order to solve the above problems, a printing apparatus comprising a control unit for controlling, a magazine, a transport unit, the printing unit, and a housing wall that internally forms a storage space for the control unit. Then, an exhaust fan that forcibly exhausts the air in the storage space to the outside of the housing wall and a humidifier that releases moisture into the storage space are provided, and controls the operation of the exhaust fan and the humidifier. A humidity control means is a first control for continuously driving the exhaust fan and intermittently driving the humidifier. It comprises a chromatography de, and a second control mode for continuously driving the humidifier while intermittently drives the exhaust fan.

  In the first control mode, the exhaust fan that forcibly exhausts the air in the storage space inside the printing apparatus to the outside is continuously driven to increase the air flow between the inside and the outside. Increases humidity. This control mode is suitable when the environmental humidity of the place where the printing device is installed is relatively high, and the storage space is governed by humidity close to the environmental humidity due to the air flow between the inside and outside of the storage space by the exhaust fan. However, the possibility of moisture remaining in the control unit or the like, which is an electronic device, is reduced by the air flow. In some cases, the humidifier may be driven only when a humidity higher than the environmental humidity is required. In the second control mode, the humidifier that releases moisture into the storage space inside the printing apparatus is continuously driven to increase the humidity of the storage space compared to the outside, and the exhaust fan is sometimes driven to drive the inside of the storage space. The air flow will be actively created. This control mode is suitable when the environmental humidity in the place where the printing device is installed is relatively low, and the humidity in the storage space is sufficiently higher than the environmental humidity due to the moisture released continuously from the humidifier. And drying of the print medium is avoided. If the humidity in the storage space increases and moisture may stay in the control unit or the like, the exhaust fan may be driven to create an air flow in the storage space. That is, even if the equipment arranged in the storage space of the printing apparatus is equipped with equipment that prefers to be exposed to moisture or equipment that does not like to be exposed to moisture, the exhaust fan and the humidifier are the first. By adopting a simple control configuration of switching to the control mode or the second control mode and driving, a humidity environment that is satisfactory for both fixtures is created in the storage space.

  In order to make the effect of the air flow in the storage space by the exhaust fan and the moisture release by the humidifier more efficient as described above, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the exhaust fan has It arrange | positions in the vicinity of the said control unit, and the said humidifier is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the said magazine. Furthermore, in order to create a strong air flow around the control unit and avoid moisture retention, it is advantageous if an inlet is provided in a portion of the housing wall close to the control unit.

  In consideration of the current situation that the print medium that dislikes drying is most likely to dry in the transport path of the print medium from the magazine to the print unit, the print medium existing in this transport path is efficiently exposed to the moisture released from the humidifier. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the moisture flow until the moisture discharged from the humidifier is exhausted to the outside by the exhaust fan follows the transport path of the print medium. A humidifier and the exhaust fan are arranged.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
〔overall structure〕
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, two magazine storage portions A and A are arranged in the lower part of the storage space created by the main body housing wall 10, and printing is performed by spraying ink on the upper part of the storage space. The print section B is disposed, the ink storage section C is disposed in the vicinity of the print section B, and a relatively small size paper P (an example of a print medium) is laterally fed to the upper surface of the main body housing wall 10. An ink jet type printing apparatus is configured by arranging a sorting unit 12 to be fed out and a rack plate 13 for receiving a large size paper P.

  In this printing apparatus, as the paper P, a porous ink receiving layer having a large number of fine pores is formed on the surface side of the base on which the resin coat film is formed on the front and back surfaces, so that the surface has a glossy surface. The type is used.

  The two magazine housing portions A and A are arranged in a vertically positioned relationship, and any magazine housing portion A is operated by a sliding operation integrated with the front wall portion 10A constituting a part of the main body housing wall body 10. An openable / closable drawer 15 is provided so that a magazine (hereinafter simply referred to as a magazine) M can be set. As shown in FIG. 3, the magazine M includes a pair of support rollers 2 that support a roll-shaped paper P serving as a print medium, and a pressure-feed type feed roller 3 that presses and conveys the paper P.

  The printing unit B is configured to print an image on the paper P supplied from the magazine housing unit A by spraying ink with the print head H (see FIG. 3). An upper wall portion 10B in which a window portion W made of a transparent resin plate is formed is openable and closable.

  In the ink reservoir C, a plurality of ink cartridges 16 of different hues are exchangeably disposed inside a side wall 10C that can swing and open around an axial center in a vertically oriented posture. Each ink cartridge 16 encloses black (BK), light black (LK), cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (LC), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y) ink. Seven colors are used. Although not shown in the drawing, the ink jet type printing apparatus feeds the ink enclosed in the ink cartridge 16 by air pressure, temporarily stores it in a sub tank (not shown), and then supplies it to the print head H. An ink supply system is provided.

[Conveyance system configuration]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the printing apparatus supplies the paper P from the magazine M to a printing unit B by a supply unit (a type of conveying unit) U1, and the printing unit B uses a print conveying unit ( A type of transport unit) print processing is performed while transporting at U2, and after this printing, the print unit is cut to a print size by a cutter unit U3, and then a switchback unit (a type of transport unit) U4 is connected to a discharge unit ( A type of transport unit) is provided with a transport system that transports the material to U5.

  The supply unit U1 includes a guide body 18 provided in the upper magazine housing portion A and a paper P sent out from the upper magazine M so as to guide the paper P sent out from the lower magazine M upward. And a guide body 19 for guiding the upper side of the upper side. As shown in FIG. 3, the supply unit U <b> 1 includes a first motor D <b> 1 that drives the support roller 2 and the feed roller 3 to feed the paper P from the magazine M and rewind the magazine M. I have.

  The print transport unit U2 includes a pressure-bonded first transport roller 21 disposed on the upstream side of the print head H, and a pressure-bonded second transport roller 22 disposed on the downstream side of the print head H. A guide plate 23 is provided for guiding the back side of the paper P at an intermediate position between the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22. Below the guide plate 23, a negative pressure case 24 that applies a negative pressure to the paper P through a number of through holes formed in the guide plate 23, and air inside the negative pressure case 24 is discharged. And a fan 25 for generating negative pressure.

  The first conveyance roller 21 includes a driven roller 21A for pressure-conveying the paper P, and the second conveyance roller 22 includes a driven roller 22A for pressure-conveying the paper P. A belt drive interlock 26 that synchronously drives the second transport roller 22 is provided. The print transport unit U2 includes a second motor D2 that drives the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 in synchronization.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a carriage 29 is supported by a slider 28 guided by a guide rail 27 arranged in a posture along the main scanning direction (the width direction of the paper P), and the print head is placed on the lower surface side of the carriage 29. Supports H.

  A timing belt type driving belt 31 is wound around a pair of pulleys 30 arranged in the vicinity of both ends of the guide rail 27, and a scanning motor DS for main scanning that drives one pulley 30 is provided. By fixing the carriage 29, the pulley 30 is driven and rotated by the driving force of the scanning motor DS so that the print head H is reciprocated integrally with the carriage 29.

  With such a configuration, when printing an image on the paper P, the paper P is supplied to the printing position by the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22, and a negative pressure is applied from the guide plate 23 to guide the paper P. While the carriage P is attracted to the plate 23 and the plane accuracy of the paper P is increased, the carriage 29 is operated in one direction along the main scanning direction (with operation in the main scanning direction). The image is printed with the print width set by ejecting ink from the print head H onto the paper P in cooperation.

  That is, at the time of printing, after the carriage 29 reaches the operating end, the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22 are driven by the second motor D2 to transport the paper P by a unit transport amount corresponding to the print width. Thereafter, while the carriage 29 is operated in the other direction (reverse direction) along the main scanning direction, the printing operation is performed with the print width in conjunction with this operation, and the printing operation is repeated, so that the paper P is printed. The image is printed.

  3 and 4, the cutter unit U3 includes a fixed blade 35 fixed to a frame (not shown), a movable blade 36, a cutter motor DC that drives the movable blade 36, and the cutter. A crank-type drive mechanism 37 that converts a rotational driving force from the motor DC into a reciprocating operating force, and a pressure-type discharge roller 38 that conveys the paper P that has passed the cutting position of the cutter unit U3. A third motor D3 for driving the discharge roller 38 is provided.

  The switchback unit U4 operates the drive roller 40, an idle-type reversing roller 41 disposed at a position where it is pressed against the driving roller 40, and the reversing roller 41 90 degrees in both forward and reverse directions around the axis of the driving roller 40. And a reversing mechanism. In this switchback unit U4, the paper P fed from the front end side by being conveyed by the discharge roller 38 is further conveyed in a state where it is pressure-bonded by the driving roller 40 and the reverse roller 41, and as indicated by an arrow in FIG. In addition, after the reversing roller 41 is rotated 90 degrees around the axis of the driving roller 40, the driving roller 40 is reversed to feed the paper P from the rear end side to the discharge unit U 5, and the paper P is turned upside down. It is configured to let you. The switchback unit U4 includes a fourth motor D4 that drives the drive roller 40 and a reverse motor DR that reversely operates the reverse roller 41.

  The discharge unit U5 includes a plurality of pressure rollers 45 for transporting the paper P, and the paper P transported by the pressure rollers 45 is placed on either the lateral feed belt 11 or the rack plate 13 above the main body housing wall. A delivery path switching mechanism (not shown) is provided. The discharge unit U5 includes a fifth motor D5 that drives the pressure roller 45.

  The above-described printing unit B, supply unit U1, print transport unit U2, cutter unit U3, switchback unit U4, and discharge unit U5 are controlled by a control unit 50 using a microcomputer as a core member. The control unit 50 is disposed in a storage space created by the main body housing wall 10.

[Humidity control mechanism]
In this printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 5, a humidifier 6 is disposed in the vicinity of the magazine housing portion A, and an exhaust fan 7 is attached to a portion of the main body housing wall 10 facing the control unit 50. Yes. The humidifier 6 sends the humidified air (humidity) from the case 6a, the tank 6b for storing water, the transpiration mechanism 6c, and the air from the transpiration mechanism 6c together with the air flow generated by the exhaust fan 6d, and sends it out from the discharge port. It is configured as follows. The transpiration mechanism 6c has a structure in which the water stored in the tank 6b is brought into contact with the heater to send it out as water vapor, or the water stored in the tank 6b is sucked into a mat or the like and vaporized by contacting with air from a fan or the like. The humidifier 6 is controlled by the control unit 50. The humidifier 6 is controlled by the control unit 50. The exhaust fan 7 is a general electric fan attached in a direction for forcibly discharging the air in the storage space created by the main body housing wall 10 to the outside of the housing wall 10, and is also controlled by the control unit 50.

[Control system configuration]
The control unit 50 includes a microprocessor. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 50 includes a transport control unit 51, a print control unit 52, and a humidity control unit 53 constructed by software and / or hardware. I have. Further, the control unit 50 controls the print head H, the supply unit U1, the print transport unit U2, the cutter unit U3, the switchback unit U4, the discharge unit U5, the humidifier 6, and the exhaust fan 7. An output system and an input system for inputting a measurement signal from the humidity sensor 8 as an environmental humidity determining means for checking the environmental humidity are provided. Instead of the humidity sensor 8 as the environmental humidity determining means, the operator determines whether the environment is a high humidity environment or a low humidity (dry) environment, and inputs the determination result to the control unit 50 through an input device such as a key or a switch. May be adopted.

  The humidity control means 53 selects the first control mode in which the exhaust fan 7 is continuously driven and the humidifier 6 is intermittently driven in the case of a high humidity environment through the environmental humidity check by the environmental humidity determining means. In the case of a low humidity environment, it has a function of selecting a second control mode in which the exhaust fan 7 is intermittently driven and the humidifier 6 is continuously driven.

  Such a control mode is selected regardless of the environmental humidity, while keeping the humidity around the transport path of the paper P in the magazine M at a high level, the surroundings of the control unit 50 are well ventilated, and moisture is retained. It is intended to avoid. As a result, the paper P that is pulled out and transported from the magazine M has sufficient humidity, so that the inconvenience of causing fine cracks on the surface even in a transport path that involves a sudden change in direction is eliminated. . In particular, when a high-quality print such as a photographic print is required, a porous type in which a layer of resin or the like for creating a glossy surface is formed on the surface is used as the paper P. Since the surface has a hard surface quality that is liable to cause fine cracks on the surface when the humidity is low, it is very important to feed the paper P to the transport path with sufficient moisture.

  An outline of a control form in the transport control unit 51 can be shown as a flowchart of FIG. That is, when performing the printing process, the paper P stored in the magazine M is pulled out prior to the printing process and is supplied from the supply unit U1 to the print transport unit U2, thereby realizing the printing process (# 101 to ##). 103 steps).

  In this print processing, every time the print head H operates in the main scanning direction, the paper P is conveyed by an amount corresponding to the print width of the print head H, and then the paper P after the print processing is transferred to the cutter unit U3. In the switchback unit U4, the paper P thus cut is sent to the discharge unit U5 with the front and back sides being exchanged, and the discharge unit U5 sends the paper P to the lateral feed belt 11 or the rack plate 13. Discharge (Steps # 104 and # 105).

  After the printing process is performed, when the next printing process is performed before the set time has elapsed, the paper P is supplied to the print transport unit U2 and the printing process is performed as described above. The paper P is cut to the required size in the cutter unit U3, and the paper P cut in this way is sent to the discharge unit U5 with the front and back being switched in the switchback unit U4, and the transverse feed is sent from the discharge unit U5. Control of discharging to the belt 11 or the rack plate 13 is performed. Further, when the set time has not elapsed since the previous print process or when the work is finished, a process of rewinding the paper P to the magazine M is performed (# 106 to # 109). Step).

  By performing such processing, the state in which the paper P is pulled out from the magazine M is prevented from continuing for a long time. When the printing is not continuously performed, the paper P is wound around the magazine M, and the magazine M The humidity of the paper P can be properly maintained inside.

  Although not shown in the flowchart, the print control unit 52 activates the scanning motor DS, and realizes a process of forming an image on the paper P by ejecting ink from the print head H in synchronization with this operation. To do.

  The humidity control routine in the humidity control means 53 is started or restarted at predetermined time intervals including when the printing apparatus is turned on. This humidity control routine is shown in FIG. 8, but first the environmental humidity is checked (# 01). As a result of the environmental humidity check, if the current environmental humidity is within the appropriate range and it is not necessary to perform humidity control using the humidifier 6 and the exhaust fan 7 (# 02 Yes branch), the inside of the housing wall 10 Therefore, normal temperature control exhaust fan control for driving the exhaust fan 7 is performed (# 03).

  When the environmental humidity is outside the appropriate range and is on the high humidity side, the first control mode in which the exhaust fan 7 is continuously driven and the humidifier 6 is intermittently driven is selected. That is, as long as the exhaust fan 7 is driven (# 10) and the printing apparatus continues to execute the printing process (Yes in # 11), the humidifier 6 is driven and the printing apparatus is waiting for the printing process. (# 11 No branch), the humidifier 6 is stopped (# 13). As a result, when the paper P is pulled out along the conveyance path for performing the printing process, moisture is positively applied, and the inconvenience of passing through the print conveyance unit U2 in which there is no sufficient dampness and the direction change curve is generated. Is avoided. Since the humidifier 6 is stopped when waiting for the printing process, the humidity in the storage space is not increased more than necessary. Further, since the exhaust fan 7 continues to be driven, it is possible to prevent air from being generated in the accommodation space and moisture from staying in the control unit 50.

  When the environmental humidity is outside the proper range and on the low humidity (dry) side, the second control mode in which the exhaust fan 7 is driven intermittently and the humidifier 6 is continuously driven is selected. That is, the humidifier 6 is driven in order to eliminate the dry state in the accommodation space (# 20), and then the preset pause time for intermittent driving of the exhaust fan 7 is counted, and after the pause time has elapsed. (# 21 Yes branch), the exhaust fan 7 is driven (# 22). The driving of the exhaust fan 7 lasts for a preset driving time. After the driving time has elapsed (# 23 Yes branch), the exhaust fan 7 is stopped (# 24), jumps to step # 21 again, and the next time Pause time begins. As a result, in an environment that is easy to dry, moisture is continuously released from the humidifier 6 to increase the humidity of the storage space, and the exhaust fan 7 is sometimes driven, so that air flows around the control unit 50. This prevents moisture from staying in the control unit 50.

  In the above-described embodiment, the intermittent drive of the exhaust fan 7 in the second control mode is defined by the preset pause time and drive time, but the exhaust fan 7 is driven only during the printing process driven by the motor or the like. Such intermittent control may be employed. The intermittent driving of the exhaust fan 7 may be controlled not only to drive and pause, but also to intermittently drive between low speed rotation and high speed rotation by changing the rotation speed of the fan.

Perspective view showing the entire printing device FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a part of the printing apparatus according to FIG. 1 is opened. Schematic diagram showing the paper transport system of the printing apparatus according to FIG. The perspective view which shows the conveyance structure of the paper of a printing part Schematic showing the arrangement of the humidifier and exhaust fan in the storage space Block diagram of control system Flow chart showing transport control Flow chart showing drive control of exhaust fan and humidifier

Explanation of symbols

6: Humidifier 7: Exhaust fan 8: Humidity sensor 10: Housing wall body 50: Control unit 53: Humidity control part B Print part P Print medium (paper)
H Printhead U1 supply unit (conveyance unit)
U2 Print transport unit (transport unit)

Claims (4)

A magazine for storing a print medium, a transport unit for transporting the print medium from the magazine, a print unit for forming an image on the print medium transported by the transport unit, and operations of the transport unit and the print unit. In a printing apparatus comprising: a control unit for controlling; a housing wall that forms a storage space for the magazine, the transport unit, the printing unit, and the control unit;
An exhaust fan for forcibly discharging the air in the storage space to the outside of the housing wall, and a humidifier for releasing moisture into the storage space,
Humidity control means for controlling the operations of the exhaust fan and the humidifier continuously drives the exhaust fan and intermittently drives the humidifier, and intermittently drives the exhaust fan. And a second control mode for continuously driving the humidifier. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust fan is disposed in the vicinity of the control unit, and the humidifier is disposed in the vicinity of the magazine. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air inlet is provided in a portion of the housing wall that is close to the control unit. The humidifier and the exhaust fan are arranged so that the flow of moisture until the moisture discharged from the humidifier is discharged to the outside by the exhaust fan is along the transport path of the print medium. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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