JP2010005959A - Printer and print medium winding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer having a winding tube with a built-in roll sheet that can eliminate to the utmost a non-printed blank part formed from a printing area on a platen upper face to a paper tube of a print medium winding apparatus in setting a print medium, and the print medium winding apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The printer is configured to stick the tip side of the roll sheet 121 pulled out of the winding tube 120 with the built-in roll sheet, to the tip side of the print medium M on a front platen 23 prior to the start of printing and to wind the roll sheet 121 around a winding tube 122 by a tensile force applying means when printing is started to deliver the print medium M to a platen front part. In association with this, a parallel aligning line portion 26 sticking the roll sheet 121 to the print medium M advances in a direction of an arrow mark in Fig.5, and the print medium M is wound around the winding tube 122 together with the roll sheet 121. The print medium can thus be wound without forming the non-printed blank part on the print medium M. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer and a print medium winding device.

  Large printers that print commercial large format advertisements and banners, etc., eject ink fine particles from the nozzles and apply them to the print medium while moving the printer head relative to the print medium. It is an apparatus that prints information such as figures, patterns, and photographs. In the printer as described above, the printing medium supply means for pulling out the printing medium from the printing medium in the form of a roll into a sheet and supplying it to the mounting surface of the platen, and printing on the mounting surface of the platen It is well known that a printing medium take-up device that winds the printing medium fed to the front part of the platen in a roll shape is provided. In this type of printer, an ink droplet is ejected from a plurality of nozzles arranged on the lower surface of the printer head at a predetermined timing while the printer head is running on the platen mounting surface, and the ink droplet is on the platen mounting surface. A predetermined area on the surface of the print medium is landed in a dot shape, and a line diagram or characters for a predetermined width are printed. At the same time, the print medium is gradually sent out, and the sent print medium is taken up into a roll by a print medium take-up device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Printing is performed using a printer having the above-described printing medium supply means for supplying a printing medium before printing onto the platen mounting surface and the printing medium winding device for winding the printed printing medium in a roll shape. When performing printing, it is necessary to set the print medium in advance in the print medium supply means, the platen, and the print medium winding device. First, an unprinted print medium in a roll shape is placed on a paper tube attached to the print medium supply means, and the print medium is drawn out from the print medium supply means into a sheet and passed through the platen placement surface. Thereafter, the print medium is further pulled out, and the leading end side of the print medium is directly joined to the paper tube attached to the print medium winding device with a tape or the like.
JP 2004-322312

  However, in the setting method as described above, since the front end side of the print medium is directly joined to the paper tube mounted on the print medium winding device in advance, the paper tube of the print medium winding device is printed from the printing area on the upper surface of the platen. The print medium in an unprinted state is not printed and is wound up by the print medium winding device with a blank space. Generally, a large-sized printer that prints commercial large format advertisements and banners consumes a large amount of printing media in a short time, resulting in a large amount of printing media being wasted. was there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is possible to eliminate, as much as possible, a non-printed blank portion from the printing area on the platen upper surface formed when setting the printing medium to the paper tube of the printing medium winding device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer and a print medium winding device including a roll sheet built-in winding tube.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printer according to the present invention includes a print medium supply unit (for example, the feed mechanism 3 in the embodiment) capable of supplying a long sheet-like print medium, and a print supplied from the print medium supply unit. A platen having a placement surface for holding a medium; and a printer head that is disposed opposite to the placement surface of the platen and performs printing by discharging ink. The printer head is placed on the placement surface of the platen. A printing unit (for example, the printer head 60, the carriage moving mechanism 50) that prints on the printing medium by ejecting ink while moving relative to the placed printing medium, and placed on the platen placement surface. The print medium is sent from the platen according to printing by the printing means (for example, the medium moving mechanism 30 in the embodiment), and the print medium is sent by the print medium sending means. By taking up the print medium winding apparatus into a roll printing medium (e.g., the take-up mechanism 4 in the embodiment) and a. The printing medium winding device is provided with a winding tube for winding the printing medium sent out by the printing medium feeding means in a roll shape, and one end side is joined to the winding tube so that the winding tube can be taken out. A roll sheet having a length that the leading end reaches the front end of the printing medium fed from the platen by the printing medium feeding means when being fed out from the winding tube, and from the platen by the leading end side of the rolling sheet and the printing medium feeding means. And a print medium connecting means for connecting the leading end side of the print medium sent forward.

  The printing medium connecting means is composed of surface fasteners provided on the respective leading ends of the roll sheet and the printing medium, and the surface fastener on the leading end side of the roll sheet and the surface fastener on the leading end side of the printing medium may be connected. preferable.

  The print medium winding device according to the present invention includes a platen having a placement surface for holding the print medium, and a print medium sending means for sending the print medium placed on the placement surface of the platen from the platen. Used in a printer to wind up a print medium sent from a print medium sending means. Then, a winding tube for winding the printing medium sent out by the printing medium feeding means into a roll shape, and one end side of which is joined to the winding tube and wound so as to be fed out to the winding tube, are provided and fed out from the winding tube. A roll sheet having a length that allows the leading end side to reach the front end of the printing medium sent from the platen, and a printing medium connecting means for connecting the leading end side of the roll sheet to the leading end of the printing medium sent from the platen. Configured.

In the printer and the print medium winding device according to the present invention, a roll sheet built-in winding tube is mounted on the print medium winding device instead of the conventional paper tube at the time of setting before starting printing, and the roll sheet built-in winding tube The roll sheet is pulled out in the form of a sheet up to the top surface of the platen, and connected to the front end side of the print medium to be printed that passes through the top surface of the platen and the front portion of the platen. It is possible to eliminate as much as possible a blank portion of the print medium that is generated in the region and a wasteful portion, thereby preventing waste of the print medium.

  In the printing medium connecting means, a surface fastener is attached to each of the front end portions of the roll sheet and the printing medium, and the surface fastener of the front end portion of the roll sheet and the front surface fastener of the front end portion of the printing medium are connected, The roll sheet and the print medium can be easily connected.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As an example of a printer to which the present invention is applied (hereinafter referred to as a printer device), a type in which one axis out of two orthogonal axes along the surface to be printed is moved to the print medium and the other axis is moved to the printer head is used. A configuration example applied to a UV curable ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as a printer device) using an ultraviolet curable ink (so-called UV ink) that is cured by being irradiated with the above will be described. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the printer device P of the present embodiment as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the printer device P as viewed from the oblique rear. FIG. First, the overall configuration of the printer apparatus P will be outlined with reference to these drawings. In the following description, directions indicated by arrows F, R, and U added in FIG. 1 will be referred to as “front”, “right”, and “upward”, respectively.

  The printer apparatus P moves the printer head 60 on which a large number of nozzles are formed relative to a sheet-like print medium M such as a vinyl sheet, tarpaulin, or polyester film, which is called a medium, while discharging ink fine particles from the nozzles. It is an apparatus that discharges and prints information such as characters, figures, patterns, and photographs on the surface to be printed. The printer device P is roughly divided into a device main body 1 that performs a printing function, and a feed mechanism that feeds an unprinted print medium M that is provided in front of and behind a support portion 2 that supports the device main body 1 and wound in a roll shape. 3 and a winding mechanism 4 for winding the printing medium M.

  The apparatus main body 1 is formed with a horizontally long window-shaped medium insertion portion 15 through which a printing medium M is inserted in the front and rear intermediate portions of a body 10 forming a casing, and a lower body positioned below the media insertion portion 15. 10L is provided with a platen 20 that supports the print medium M, and a media mechanism 30 that moves the print medium M supported by the platen 20 back and forth. The printer head 60 is mounted on the upper body 10U located above the media insertion portion 15. Is provided, and a carriage moving mechanism 50 for moving the carriage 40 left and right is provided. The apparatus main body 1 includes a printer apparatus P such as a back and forth movement of the print medium M by the medium movement mechanism 30, a right and left movement of the carriage 40 by the carriage movement mechanism 50, ink discharge by the printer head 60, and ink supply by the ink supply apparatus 100. A control unit 80 is provided for controlling the operation of each part, and an operation panel 88 is disposed on the front surface of the apparatus main body 1.

  The platen 20 is provided on the lower body 10L by extending the lower side of the medium insertion portion 15 in the front-rear direction, and as shown in FIG. A main platen 22 formed with a support surface for horizontally supporting the print medium M, a rear platen 21 provided rearward from the main platen 22 and provided on the rear surface side of the body 10, and a front surface of the body 10 extending forward from the main platen 22 The front platen 23 provided on the side is mainly configured. The rear end side of the rear platen 21 and the front end side of the front platen 23 extend downward in a smooth curve, and the print medium M introduced from the feed mechanism 3 to the platen 20 is transferred from the rear platen 21 to the main platen 22 to the front platen 23. The upper surface moves smoothly and is wound up by the winding mechanism 4.

  The support surface of the main platen 22 is formed with a large number of suction holes having a diameter of about several millimeters, and a decompression chamber 25 is provided on the lower side thereof so that the negative pressure can be set. By setting the negative pressure, the print medium M is sucked and held in the print unit so that the position of the print medium M does not shift during processing such as printing or cutting.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the media moving mechanism 30 includes a cylindrical feed roller 31 whose upper peripheral surface is exposed to the platen 20 and extends left and right, and the feed roller 31 is rotationally driven via a timing belt 32. A plurality of roller assemblies 35 each having a pinch roller 36 that is pivotable back and forth are provided above and below the feed roller 31. The roller assembly 35 is configured to be settable to a clamp position for pressing the pinch roller 36 against the feed roller 31 and an unclamp position separated from the feed roller 31. The roller drive motor 33 is rotationally driven in a state where M is sandwiched between the pinch roller 36 and the feed roller 31, whereby the rotation angle of the print medium M (drive control value output from the control unit 80). ) Is transported back and forth with a feed amount according to. In FIG. 3, both the state where the roller assembly 35 is set to the clamp position and the state where it is set to the unclamp position are shown.

  The carriage 40 is supported by a guide rail 45 extending in parallel with the feed roller 31 and attached to the upper body 10U so as to be movable left and right via a slide block (not shown), and is driven by a carriage drive mechanism 50 described later. Is done. The carriage 40 is provided with a printer head 60 that discharges UV ink, and the nozzle surface at the lower end of the head is disposed to face the media support portion of the platen 20 with a predetermined gap therebetween.

  On the left and right sides of the carriage 40, a UV light source is provided for irradiating the UV ink discharged from the printer head 60 onto the printing medium M with ultraviolet light and curing it. The UV light source includes a left UV light source 70L provided at the left end of the carriage 40 and a right UV light source 70R provided at the right side of the carriage 40. These left and right UV light sources 70L and 70R are provided on the carriage 40. The printer head 60 is disposed so as to be sandwiched from the left and right outer sides. The left UV light source 70L and the right light source 70R are configured using a light source that emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength λ = 100 to 380 nm, for example, a UV lamp or a UV-LED. The blinking activity of the left and right UV light sources 70 </ b> L and 70 </ b> R is controlled by the control unit 80 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 40 by the carriage movement mechanism 50 and the ink ejection from the printer head 60.

  The carriage moving mechanism 50 includes a drive pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52 provided on the left and right sides of the body 10 with the guide rail 45 interposed therebetween, a carriage drive motor 53 that drives the drive pulley 51 to rotate, and a drive pulley 51 and a driven pulley 52. And an endless belt-like timing belt 55 wound around the belt. The carriage 40 is connected and fixed to the timing belt 55, and the carriage 40 supported by the guide rail 40 is rotated by the rotation of the carriage drive motor 53 (output from the control unit 80). The platen 20 is moved left and right by a movement amount corresponding to the drive control value.

  The control unit 80 performs arithmetic processing on the operation signal and the like input from the operation panel 88 and the like, an arithmetic processing unit (not shown) that controls the operation of each unit in accordance with the control program, and a display that displays the operating state of the printer device P, etc. A panel and an operation panel 88 provided with operation switches for each part, and the like. The medium moving mechanism 30 moves the print medium M back and forth, the carriage moving mechanism 50 moves the carriage 40 left and right, the ink supply device 100 supplies ink, and the printer head. Ink ejection from each of the 60 nozzles, ink supply by the ink supply device 100, and the like are controlled.

  For example, when printing on the printing medium M based on the printing program read into the control unit 80, the forward / backward movement of the printing medium by the medium moving mechanism 30 and the left / right movement of the carriage 40 by the carriage moving mechanism 50 are combined. The print medium M and the printer head 60 are moved relative to each other, and ink is ejected from each printer head 60 to the print medium M, and a UV light source positioned behind the carriage 40 in the movement direction (for example, the left UV light source 70L when the carriage moves to the right). ) Is lit, and information according to the printing program is printed.

  Next, the roll sheet built-in winding tube 120 in the winding mechanism 4 described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, the winding mechanism 4 includes a supporting unit 110, a roll sheet built-in winding tube 120, a tension applying unit (not shown), and the like.

  The roll sheet built-in winding tube 120 includes a roll sheet 121 using a nylon material and a paper winding tube 122 for winding the printing medium M in a roll shape. The roll sheet 121 wound around the winding tube 122 is pulled up from the winding tube 122 in the direction of the front platen 23 at the time of setting before printing and is attached to the print medium M. The length reaches the front of the main platen 22 to which the print medium is sent, and as shown in FIG. 6, a parallel alignment line 26 b and a hook-and-loop fastener 29 are attached to the tip of the roll sheet 121. Has been.

  The support means 110 includes a rotating shaft 112 that rotates integrally with the winding tube 122, and a bearing portion 113 that supports both ends of the rotating shaft 112 so as to be rotatable and detachable. At the time of setting before printing, the outer diameter of the rotating shaft 112 is the same as the inner diameter of the winding tube 122, and the outer side of the rotating shaft 112 and the winding tube 122 are rotated so that the rotating shaft 112 and the winding tube 122 rotate as a unit. The inside is in close contact.

  The tension applying means (not shown) applies a required tension to the print medium M and the roll sheet that have been drawn from the platen 20, and an electric motor (not shown) that rotates the rotating shaft 112. Further, it is composed of a torque limiter (not shown) as torque control means for applying a required torque in the rotating direction of the winding tube 122, and is sent to the front part of the platen 20, and the tension of the print medium M and the roll sheet 121 is zero. When this happens, the roll sheet 121 and the print medium M can be wound around the winding tube 122 in a roll while applying the required tension.

  Moreover, the winding method of the printing medium M using this roll sheet | seat built-in winding pipe | tube 120 is demonstrated using FIG. 5, FIG. First, at the initial setting stage, the print medium M is set in the delivery mechanism 3, and then a parallel alignment line 26 a is drawn on the front end of the print medium M in a roll shape before drawing, and a surface fastener 28 is pasted. To wear.

  After the surface fastener 28 is attached to the front end of the print medium M as described above, the front end of the roll sheet 121 is pulled up in the direction of the main platen 23, and as shown in FIG. The line 26a and the line 26b for parallel alignment on the roll sheet 121 are overlapped. Thereafter, the surface fastener 28 on the print medium M and the surface fastener 29 on the roll sheet that have been pasted together are pasted together so that the front end of the print medium M and the front end of the roll sheet 121 are parallel to each other.

  When printing is started after the above setting is completed, drawing on the print medium M above the main platen 22 starts, and the print medium M on which drawing has been completed is sent to the front part of the platen 20. At that time, a rotation start torque for rotating the winding tube 122 in the winding direction of the roll sheet 121 is applied by a tension applying means (not shown) in the winding mechanism 4, and the roll sheet 121 is moved around the winding tube 122. It begins to be wound up. Thus, every time the print medium M for which drawing has been completed is sent, torque is applied in the rotational direction by a tension applying means (not shown), and the roll sheet 121 is gradually wound around the winding tube 122. To go.

  As described above, when the winding of the roll sheet 121 proceeds, the parallel alignment line portion 26 where the roll sheet 121 and the printing medium M are adhered moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The print medium M that has been drawn is also wound around the winding tube 122. The print medium M thus drawn can be wound around the winding tube 122 by being guided to the roll sheet 121 drawn out from the roll sheet winding tube 120. However, in the setting before printing, the print medium M is printed. By pulling out the leading end portion to the front platen 23 and drawing from the leading end portion of the print medium M, the print medium M can be wound up without creating a blank portion that is not depicted.

  As described above, in the printer device P and the take-up mechanism 4 according to the present invention, the roll sheet 121 is attached to the print medium M on the front platen 23 at the time of setting before printing. Since the print medium M is transferred to the winding tube 122 side by the winding mechanism 4 after the start of drawing, winding can be performed without creating a blank portion that is not drawn on the print medium M. In addition, since the roll sheet built-in winding tube 120 can be set each time immediately before printing is started, it is possible to reduce the waste of the printing medium M by creating a blank portion and use the printing medium M effectively. .

  In the above-described embodiment, even when the unprinted printing medium M set in the feeding mechanism 3 is cut halfway without being used up by one printing, the roll sheet built-in winding tube 120 is set every time cutting is performed. By correcting this, it is possible to reduce the print medium that wastes blank portions for each printing.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the hook-and-loop fasteners 28 and 29 are used when the roll sheet 121 and the printing medium M are attached at the initial setting stage before printing. Printing may be started after stopping directly with tape or the like so that the alignment lines 26a and 26b overlap.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a roll-shaped print medium is set in the delivery mechanism 3 as the unprinted print medium M has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the delivery mechanism 3 is not used. In the case where the printing medium is wound up in a roll shape, the printing medium winding device according to the present invention can be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied, the configuration example applied to the UV curable inkjet printer of the uniaxial printing medium movement type and the uniaxial printer head movement type has been described. Inkjet printers such as biaxial printer head moving type ink jet printers and biaxial printing medium moving type ink jet printers can also be applied, and other types of inks such as dyes and pigments can be used. The present invention can be applied to the used ink jet printer.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a printer apparatus as an application example of the present invention from an oblique front. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the printer device from an oblique rear side. It is a front view which shows the principal part structure of the apparatus main body in the said printer apparatus. It is a perspective view of a printing medium winding device provided with a roll sheet winding tube. It is a schematic sectional side view of the said printer apparatus seen in the V arrow direction in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the state at the time of sticking a roll sheet on a printing medium.

Explanation of symbols

M Print media P Printer device (inkjet printer)
1 Device body (main body member)
10 body 20 platen (21 rear platen, 22 main platen, 23 front platen)
30 Media moving mechanism (printing medium sending means)
50 Carriage moving mechanism (printing means)
60 Printer head (printing means)
80 Control unit (printing means)
120 Roll sheet built-in winding pipe 121 Roll sheet 122 Winding pipe

Claims (3)

Print medium supply means capable of supplying a long sheet-like print medium;
A platen having a mounting surface for holding the print medium supplied from the print medium supply means;
A printer head disposed opposite to the platen mounting surface for performing ink ejection to perform printing, and moving the printer head relative to a print medium mounted on the platen mounting surface; Printing means for performing ink ejection and printing on the print medium;
Print medium sending means for sending a print medium placed on the placement surface of the platen from the platen in response to printing by the printing means;
A printer comprising a print medium winding device for winding the print medium sent by the print medium sending means into a roll,
The print medium winding device is
A winding tube for winding the printing medium sent out by the printing medium sending means into a roll;
One end side is joined to the winding tube and wound around the winding tube so as to be able to be fed out, and the leading end of the printing medium fed from the platen by the printing medium feeding means when fed out from the winding tube A roll sheet having a length to reach
A printer comprising: a front end side of the roll sheet; and a print medium connecting unit that connects the front end side of the print medium fed forward from the platen by the print medium sending unit.   The printing medium connecting means is composed of a hook-and-loop fastener provided on the leading end side of each of the roll sheet and the printing medium, and the hook-and-loop fastener on the leading end side of the roll sheet is connected to the hook-and-loop fastener on the leading end side of the printing medium. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is configured as described above. Used in a printer having a platen having a placement surface for holding a print medium and a print medium delivery means for delivering the print medium placed on the placement surface of the platen from the platen, and sending the print medium A print medium take-up device for taking up the print medium sent from the means,
A winding tube for winding the print medium sent out by the print medium sending means into a roll;
One end side is joined to the winding tube and wound so as to be able to be fed out to the winding tube. The rolled sheet,
A print medium winding device comprising: a print medium connecting means for connecting a front end side of the roll sheet to a front end of the print medium sent from the platen.

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