JP2010194766A - Liquid jetting recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent adhesion of a recording liquid (offset) to a printing object printed and discharged next, due to undried recording liquid of a printing surface of a printing object printed earlier, when a liquid jetting recording apparatus in which a recording medium is conveyed and supplied in a strip shape from a roll state and is cut after printing carries out continuous printing-out with a greatly high output speed (printing throughput). <P>SOLUTION: A continuous flow type liquid jetting print head 10 has a forming, jetting and printing capability of liquid droplets attaining the time of printing one cut sheet faster than the drying time after printing. A drying means 306 determines a length of a conveyance route of the drying means 306 by considering the drying time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording apparatus in which a recording medium is conveyed and supplied from a roll state in a belt shape, and a large number of nozzles are arranged so as to cover the printing width of the recording medium to perform printing output at high speed. The present invention relates to prevention of show-through by undried ink on a surface to be printed after printing.

  Inkjet printing has become recognized as an excellent product in the field of digitally controlled electronic printing because of its various advantages, such as its non-impact, low noise, and system simplicity. It is. For this reason, inkjet recording devices have been commercially successful in home, office and other areas.

  Conventionally, two techniques have been developed for color inkjet printing: a drop-on-demand type and a continuous flow type. Both technologies provide independent ink supply for each color of ink provided, and ink is supplied through a path formed in the printhead. Each path is provided with a nozzle from which ink droplets are selectively pushed out and deposited on the recording medium. Each technique requires a separate ink supply system for each color ink used in printing. Typically, the three subtractive primary colors, cyan, yellow, and magenta, are used because these colors can produce millions of perceived color combinations.

  In drop-on-demand ink jet printing, ink droplets are generated and collided on a recording medium using a pressure actuator such as a piezo element or the instantaneous expansion force of bubbles due to heat (Patent Documents 1 and 2). 3, 4). By selectively operating the piezo actuator or the heater, ink droplets are formed and discharged, and the ink droplets pass through the space between the print head and the recording medium and reach the recording medium. Formation of an image to be printed is realized by controlling the formation of individual ink droplets while relatively moving the recording medium and the print head.

  In continuous flow ink jet printing, a pressurized ink supply is used to create a continuous stream of ink drops. In a conventional continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus, electrostatic charging devices are used (Patent Document 5). This electrostatic charging device is provided near a point where a filament-shaped ink column is divided into individual ink droplets. The ink droplets are charged and then guided to an appropriate position by a deflection electrode having a large potential difference. . When printing is not performed, the ink drops are deflected into an ink capture mechanism (gutter) and reused or discarded. When printing is performed, the ink droplets are allowed to reach the recording medium without being deflected. Alternatively, the deflected ink droplets may reach the recording medium while the undeflected ink droplets may be collected by the ink capture mechanism. Such a continuous-flow type ink jet recording apparatus is not only faster than a drop-on-demand type apparatus but also capable of forming a high-quality image. There are also disadvantages of high cost and relatively many failures during operation.

  On the other hand, a new continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus system has recently been proposed (Patent Document 6). In this system, a weak heat pulse is periodically applied to an ink column ejected from a nozzle hole by a heater, so that the ink column is separated into droplets and applied at a position spaced from the nozzle. A plurality of droplets are generated in synchronization with the pulse. The droplets are divided into deflected / non-deflected (straight) droplets by heat pulses applied asymmetrically from a heater near the nozzle hole outlet.

  Thereafter, the deflected droplets are changed in flight direction by the gas flow and captured by the collecting means, and the non-deflected (straightly traveling) droplets collide with the recording medium to be printed. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that the non-deflected (straight forward) droplet is changed in flight direction by the gas flow and captured by the collecting means, and the deflected droplet collides with the recording medium to perform printing.

  As described above, inkjet recording apparatuses are widely accepted as serial printers due to various advantages such as non-impact, low noise, and system simplicity, and are used in home, office, and other areas. In the future, the stage of research and development is a page printer type recording device that arranges a large number of nozzles to cover the printing width of the recording medium and performs printing output at high speed. It is moving to. At that time, the problem is drying of the ink on the surface to be printed after printing.

  In other words, when the printed materials are stacked, the undried ink image is disturbed to cause a deterioration in image quality or show-through, thereby reducing the value of the printed material. A page printer type recording apparatus that performs printing output at high speed by arranging a large number of nozzles so as to cover the printing width of such a recording medium has been proposed conceptually for a long time and has a history. For example, the present inventor has also proposed a page printer type recording apparatus in which the heating area is made larger than the width of the printed matter and the heating capacity is provided (Patent Documents 7 and 8).

  However, no proposal for a liquid jet recording apparatus considering output speed (printing throughput) has been made yet.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is a liquid jet recording apparatus in which a recording medium is conveyed and supplied in a strip shape from a roll state and cut after printing. When the output speed (printing throughput) is very fast and continuous printing output is performed, the recording liquid on the printed surface of the printed material printed earlier is then printed and discharged. An object of the present invention is to propose a liquid jet recording apparatus having a novel configuration that prevents the recording liquid from adhering to the printed matter (show-through).

  A second object is to propose a method for determining specific conditions of the configuration of the drying means for preventing the recording liquid from adhering (show-through) in the liquid jet recording apparatus having such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output. It is in.

  A third object is to propose a liquid jet recording head unit that can be suitably used in a liquid jet recording apparatus having such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output.

  A fourth object of the present invention is to propose a recording medium cutting means after printing of a liquid jet recording apparatus having a novel configuration capable of high speed output, in which such a recording medium is conveyed and supplied from a roll state in a band shape. is there.

  A fifth object of the present invention is to propose a characteristic configuration of the recording medium cutting means after printing of the liquid jet recording apparatus capable of high-speed output with such a novel configuration.

  The sixth object is to propose another characteristic configuration of the recording medium cutting means after printing of the liquid jet recording apparatus capable of high-speed output with such a novel configuration.

  A seventh object is to propose yet another characteristic configuration of the recording medium cutting means after printing of the liquid jet recording apparatus capable of high-speed output with such a new configuration.

  In addition, an eighth object is to specifically propose a recording medium that is used in a liquid jet recording apparatus having such a novel configuration and capable of high-speed output, and that enables high-speed output.

  A ninth object is to propose another specific configuration of a recording medium that is used in a liquid jet recording apparatus with such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output and enables high-speed output.

  A tenth object is to propose another more characteristic configuration of a liquid jet recording apparatus having such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output.

  The eleventh object is to propose yet another more characteristic configuration of the liquid jet recording apparatus having such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output.

  A twelfth object is to propose yet another more characteristic configuration of the liquid jet recording apparatus with such a novel configuration capable of high-speed output.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, first, a liquid jet recording head unit having a number of ink jet nozzles that have a length of a print portion and cover a print width of a print medium, and the print portion A recording medium transporting means for transporting the recording medium from a roll state into a strip, a means for drying while transporting the strip-shaped recording medium after printing, and a means for cutting the recording medium after drying into one by one And a post-printing recording medium storage means after cutting, wherein the liquid jet recording head unit has a time for printing one sheet determined by cutting, a drying time after printing In addition to droplet forming, jetting, and printing capabilities with faster capabilities, the means for drying determined the length of the transport path of the means for drying in consideration of the drying time.

  Secondly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, a printing area corresponding to one sheet after cutting of the strip-shaped recording medium after the printing is less than a drying time after one sheet of printing. The length of the transport path was determined so as to exist in the transport path of the means for drying for a long time.

  Thirdly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the liquid jet recording head unit pressurizes ink and continuously jets it from a plurality of ink jet nozzles. Means for separating the tip of the ink column ejected from the ink ejection nozzle into ink droplets, means for deflecting the ink column and the ink droplet at the tip, and ink droplets used for printing are recorded The continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet system has a collecting means for collecting ink droplets that adhere to the body and are not used for printing, and the collecting means applies a gas flow to the flying ink droplets to change the flight direction. It was made to be a collection means to be captured by the collection means.

  Fourthly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the means for cutting the dried recording medium cuts perpendicularly to a transport direction of the strip-shaped recording medium. I tried to be a means.

  Fifth, in the liquid jet recording apparatus described in the fourth aspect, the cutting means is a cutter having a blade span that covers the width direction of the strip-shaped recording medium.

  Sixthly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the means for cutting the recording medium after drying stops conveying the belt-shaped recording medium, The cutting means is configured to cut while scanning the cutter perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the band-shaped recording medium.

  Seventhly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the means for cutting the recording medium after the drying is performed while the cutter crosses the transport direction of the strip-shaped recording medium. In consideration of the conveyance speed of the band-shaped recording medium, the cutter is traversed with an inclination with respect to the conveyance direction so that the finally cut recording medium has a rectangular shape.

  Eighth, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is made of a particulate material. The recording medium was coated.

  Ninthly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is solidified as a recording liquid. The recording medium was coated with a material.

  Tenthly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the recording liquid solidifying material is applied to the recording medium immediately before printing by a recording liquid solidifying material applying unit provided in the liquid jet recording apparatus. I tried to do it.

  Furthermore, eleventhly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the drying means applies an air flow having a temperature higher than the temperature of the recording medium after the printing to the surface to be printed. It included a means to flow.

  Twelfthly, in the liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the means for drying includes dielectric heating means.

  As an effect of the present invention, according to the first configuration, the printing portion is elongated, and a liquid jet recording head unit having a number of ink jet nozzles covering the printing width of the recording medium, and the printing portion A recording medium transporting means for transporting the recording medium from a roll state into a strip, a means for drying while transporting the strip-shaped recording medium after printing, and a means for cutting the recording medium after drying into one by one And a post-printing recording medium storage means after cutting, wherein the liquid jet recording head unit has a time for printing one sheet determined by cutting, a drying time after printing In addition to the droplet forming, jetting, and printing capabilities with faster capabilities, the drying means determines the length of the transport path of the drying means in consideration of the drying time. Throughput) When the continuous printing output is performed with a liquid jet recording device, the recording surface of the printed matter printed earlier is printed on the back side of the printed matter that is printed and discharged due to undried recording liquid. Can prevent the recording liquid from adhering (show-through), lowering the print quality of the first printed material, or smearing the back of the printed material that is then printed and discharged. There was no.

  According to the second configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the printing area corresponding to one sheet after the strip-shaped recording medium after the printing is cut has a drying time of one sheet after the printing. Since the length of the transport path is determined so that it exists in the transport path of the means for drying for a longer time, the surface to be printed can be surely dried during transport even if continuous printing is performed at high speed. As a result, it is no longer necessary to reduce the print quality of the first printed material, or to contaminate the back of the printed material that is printed and discharged.

  According to the third configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the liquid jet recording head unit pressurizes ink and continuously jets from a plurality of ink jet nozzles; and Means for separating the tip of the ink column ejected from the ink ejection nozzle into ink droplets; means for deflecting the ink column and the ink droplet at the tip of the ink column; It is a continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet system that has a collecting means for collecting ink droplets that are attached and not used for printing, and the collecting means applies a gas flow to the flying ink droplets to change the flight direction and collect the ink droplets. Since it is a collection means that is captured by the means, it is a liquid jet recording apparatus with a novel principle capable of high-speed printing, high-speed and mass throughput. Even if high-speed continuous printing is performed, the surface to be printed can be reliably dried during transportation, which may lead to deterioration in the printing quality due to the recording liquid being undried on the printed material that has been printed earlier. There is no longer any undried recording liquid adhering to the back of the printed matter that is printed and discharged.

  According to the fourth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the means for cutting the recording medium after drying is a cutting means for cutting perpendicularly to the transport direction of the strip-shaped recording medium. Therefore, it was possible to obtain a rectangular recording medium after drying after cutting.

  According to the fifth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the cutting means is a cutter having a blade span that covers the width direction of the band-shaped recording medium. In addition, even if continuous printing is performed at high speed with a liquid jet recording apparatus capable of mass throughput, the recording medium can be instantaneously cut after printing and printing is performed at high speed without interfering with the printing capability of the liquid jet recording apparatus of the present invention. And mass throughput is possible.

  According to the sixth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the means for cutting the recording medium after drying stops transporting the strip-shaped recording medium, and transports the strip-shaped recording medium in the meantime. Since it is a cutting means for cutting while scanning the cutter perpendicularly to the direction, the recording medium after printing and drying after cutting can be surely made rectangular.

  According to the seventh configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the means for cutting the recording medium after drying is a cutting means for cutting while the cutter crosses the transport direction of the strip-shaped recording medium, Taking into account the conveying speed of the band-shaped recording medium, the cutter is traversed with an inclination with respect to the conveying direction so that the finally cut recording medium has a rectangular shape. Since cutting can be performed without stopping the conveyance of the medium, high-speed throughput is possible, and the recording medium after printing and drying after cutting can also be made rectangular.

  According to the eighth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is a recording medium coated with a particulate material. As a result, the recording liquid instantaneously penetrates into the coated fine particle material, and the pixels do not spread more than necessary, enabling high-quality printing. Also, since the recording liquid instantaneously penetrates into the coated fine particle material and the drying is fast, even if continuous printing is performed at a high speed as in the present invention, the recording liquid of the printed matter previously printed is not dried. There has been no deterioration in the printing quality, and no undried recording liquid adheres to the back side of the printed matter that is printed and discharged.

  According to the ninth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is coated with a recording liquid solidifying material. As a result, the recording liquid was solidified immediately after adhering to the recording liquid, so that the pixels did not spread more than necessary and high-quality printing could be performed. Also, since the recording liquid dries and solidifies immediately, even if continuous printing is performed at a high speed as in the present invention, the printing quality of the printed matter that has been printed earlier may be reduced due to undried recording liquid, Next, there was no possibility that an undried recording liquid adhered to the back side of the printed matter that was printed and discharged.

  According to the tenth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the recording liquid solidifying material is applied to the recording medium immediately before printing by the recording liquid solidifying material applying means provided in the liquid jet recording apparatus. Even if various types of recording media are used, printing is performed after the recording liquid solidifying material is applied to the surface of the recording medium. It is now possible to perform high-quality printing. Also, since the recording liquid dries and solidifies immediately, even if continuous printing is performed at a high speed as in the present invention, the printing quality of the printed matter that has been printed earlier may be reduced due to undried recording liquid, Next, there was no possibility that an undried recording liquid adhered to the back side of the printed matter that was printed and discharged.

  According to the eleventh configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, the means for drying includes means for flowing an air flow at a temperature higher than the temperature of the recording medium after the printing on the surface to be printed. As a result, the recording medium after printing can be dried more effectively.

  According to the twelfth configuration, in such a liquid jet recording apparatus, since the drying means includes dielectric heating means, the recording medium after printing can be further effectively dried. I can do it now.

1 is a schematic diagram and a schematic block diagram of a continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a printing principle by a continuous flow type liquid jet print head according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an ink ejecting nozzle used in the continuous flow type liquid ejecting print head according to the present invention and a heater around it. It is the figure which arranged the said ink ejection nozzle in the array form. It is a figure explaining the ink droplet formation principle by the continuous flow type liquid jet print head concerning the present invention. It is a figure which shows the heat pulse drive example for performing the said ink droplet formation, and the heat pulse drive example for deflection | deviation ink droplet formation. It is a figure which shows the example deflected corresponding to the example of the heat pulse drive for the said deflection | deviation ink droplet formation. It is a figure which shows the flow of the gas flow made to act on the ink droplet by the continuous flow type liquid jet print head which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the principle by which an ink droplet is used for printing or collect | recovered by the continuous flow type multi-nozzle inkjet recording device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the flow of the gas flow made to act on the ink droplet by the continuous flow type liquid jet print head which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the other principle by which an ink droplet is used for printing by the continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording device concerning the present invention, or is collected. It is a figure which shows the further another example of the flow of the gas flow made to act on the ink droplet by the continuous flow type liquid jet print head concerning this invention. It is a figure explaining the mode of gas jet nozzle opening vicinity of the continuous flow type liquid jet print head concerning the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a gas ejection nozzle opening and an ink ejection nozzle opening of a continuous flow type liquid ejection print head according to the present invention are shielded from a surrounding atmosphere of a recording medium by a common means when not printing. It is a figure which shows the structure for performing the prevention of clogging of an ink ejection nozzle opening more completely in addition to the said common means. 1 is a diagram showing a system that actually performs printing using a page printer type recording apparatus that performs high-speed printing output according to the present invention. FIG. It is a figure explaining a mode that a recording medium is conveyed by the said printing system. It is a figure which shows the strip | belt-shaped recording medium printed with the printing system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that the said recording medium was cut | disconnected and it became the cut sheet state of 1 sheet at a time. It is a figure explaining the structure of the recording medium storage means after printing of the printing system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the sorter tray of the recording medium storage means after printing of the printing system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining a mode that the recording medium after a printing is hold | maintained by operation | movement of the sorter tray of the recording medium storage means after a printing of the printing system which concerns on this invention, and a state stored after drying. It is a figure which shows the example which scans a cutter so that the belt-shaped recording medium printed with the printing system concerning this invention may have the velocity vector B which inclines and crosses in a conveyance direction. It is a figure which shows a mode that the cut sheet state of a rectangle is obtained as a result by composition | combination with the speed vector A of a conveyance and the speed vector B of a cutter which inclines and crosses a conveyance direction. It is a figure which shows the example which scans a cutter so that the strip | belt-shaped recording medium printed with the printing system which concerns on this invention makes the inclination angle (theta) with respect to a conveyance direction, and crosses. It is a figure explaining the other example of the means to dry a recording medium with the said printing system.

  The present invention is not a so-called serial printer type ink jet recording apparatus that has been widely used in the world, and has a number of ink ejection nozzles that have a long printing portion and cover the printing width of a recording medium. This is a so-called page printer type ink jet recording apparatus in which a liquid jet recording head unit is fixed and a recording medium is conveyed to the printing portion to perform printing. Here, as a typical example, a continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus will be described. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of the configuration of a continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a continuous flow type liquid jet print head, 250 is a recording medium conveyance roller after printing, 252 is a recording medium conveyance roller before printing, 300 is a recording medium, 400 is a controller, 410 is input data, 412 Is a print head drive circuit, 414 is a recording medium conveyance control circuit, 416 is an ink collection / reuse unit, 418 is an ink supply unit, 420 is a gas flow pressurization unit, 422 is a gas flow pressurization control circuit, and 424 is an ink supply. A control circuit is shown.

  In this example, the continuous flow type liquid jet print head 10 has a large number of nozzles in the recording width direction so as to have a printing capability to cover the recording width of the recording medium 300, and the continuous flow type liquid jet print head. Reference numeral 10 is fixed, and the recording medium 300 is transported and moved in the direction of the arrow indicated by Vp so as to perform high-speed printing.

  FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a print head for explaining the principle of the continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a continuous flow type liquid jet print head, 11 is a print head back plate, 12 is a print head liquid chamber manifold, 14 is a nozzle plate, 24 is a print head support, 42 is an ink inlet, and 50 is a nozzle opening. , 60 is pressurized ink, 87 is recovered ink, 90 is a pressurized gas flow, 91 is a gas supply manifold, 92 is a gas supply path, 93 is a gas injection nozzle plate, 94 is a gas injection nozzle opening, and 95 is a pressurized gas. Inlet, 96 is a gas flow, 97 is a gas supply manifold cover, 98 is a gas flow supply unit, 126 is an ink droplet that is further deflected in the gutter direction by the gas flow, 200 is an ink recovery means, 202 is an ink recovery path, 204 Is a porous member, 206 is a gutter, 208 is an ink collecting / suction part, 210 is a sucked air flow, and 212 is an ink Click and gas flow suction slot, 220 ink suction manifold, 300 denotes a recording medium. Since this figure is a sectional view, in an actual configuration, a plurality of nozzle openings 50 are arranged in the depth direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) in this figure.

  In this example, the pressurized ink 60 introduced into the print head liquid chamber manifold 12 from the ink inlet 42 is ejected from the nozzle opening 50, is divided into ink droplets by means described later, and flies at a speed of Vd. When the ink droplet goes straight as it is, it collides with the recording medium 300 in the front and becomes a printed image.

  On the other hand, the ink droplets deflected in the vertical direction in the figure (the direction in which a plurality of nozzle openings 50 are arranged) by means to be described later without going straight are ejected from the gas ejection nozzle openings 94 at a velocity of Vg. The flow 96 acts to change the direction further downward in the figure, and is collected and collected in the ink and gas flow suction slot 212 or the gutter 206 ahead, and the collected ink 87 is the collected ink 87 in the figure. is there.

  Here, the deflected ink droplets that are not used for printing are further redirected by the gas flow 96 ejected from the gas ejection nozzle opening 94 at a velocity of Vg, and the ink and gas flow suction slot 212 or beyond. However, the ink recovery / suction unit 208 of the present invention causes the suctioned air flow 210 to flow (suck), thereby more reliably recovering the ink.

  Here, conditions for ink droplet ejection are shown. In the continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus suitably applied to the present invention, the pressurized ink 60 is ejected from the nozzle opening 50 at a pressure of 0.2 MPa to 1 MPa, and the velocity of the ink droplet at the time of flight is Vd = 10 m / s to 20 m / s. This pressure and speed are also related to the frequency of applying a heat pulse, which will be described later, and the diameter D of one ink droplet. Generally, a uniform ink droplet can be obtained by setting λd / D = 4-6. can get.

  FIG. 3 is a view of one nozzle opening 50 and its periphery according to the present invention as viewed from the front (right side in FIG. 2). In the figure, 28 is a nozzle right heater lower address electrode, and 29 is a nozzle left heater lower address electrode. , 30 is a nozzle left heater, 36 is a nozzle left heater upper address electrode, 37 is a nozzle right heater upper address electrode, 38 is a nozzle right heater, and 50 is a nozzle opening. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a plurality of nozzle openings 50 are arranged at intervals of Sdn. The interval Sdn is related to the final printing density, and is, for example, 42.3 μm to 10.6 μm (corresponding to the printing density of 600 dpi to 2400 dpi), and the corresponding opening size Dd is φ23 μm to φ5 μm. The In addition, the depth (nozzle part thickness) of this part shall be 20 micrometers-5 micrometers.

  A so-called multi-nozzle plate in which a plurality of such nozzle openings 50 are arranged uses a Si substrate or the like from a common slot serving as an ink inflow portion to an individual nozzle tip, and performs anisotropic etching, isotropic etching, It can be manufactured by combining semiconductor process technologies such as wet etching and dry etching.

  Further, the heater formed around the nozzle opening outlet portion and the address electrode connected to the heater are also combined with a thin film forming technique such as vapor deposition and sputtering, and a photolithography and etching technique to generate a heat generating material such as Ta nitride and Hf boride. It can be formed as an electrode pattern such as a heater / Al having a thin film structure. It should be noted that the ink path of the finally formed nozzle opening and the heater / electrode surface are protected by a thin film of Si oxide or Si nitride so as not to be corroded by the ink.

  FIG. 5 shows the principle of forming ink droplets by the ejection head of a continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus suitably applied to the present invention, where (a) is a state of natural particles, and (b) is a thermal state. The case where stimulation is given and particle formation is shown is shown. In the figure, 14 is a nozzle plate, 30 is a nozzle left heater, 38 is a nozzle right heater, 50 is a nozzle opening, 60 is pressurized ink, 62 is an ink column, 64 is a natural surface wave of the ink column, and 66 is a natural particle. , 70 is the surface wave after thermal stimulation of the ink column, 76 is the ink column cutting position (BOLo is the ink column cutting length at that time) subjected to the thermal stimulation, and 77 is the ink column when natural particles are formed. The cutting position (BOLn is the length of the ink column cut at that time), and 80 is a uniform ink droplet that is granulated by thermal stimulation.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows a method of applying drive voltage pulses to the nozzle left heater 30 and the nozzle right heater 38 in the vicinity of the nozzle opening 50. What is shown as POWER in the figure should be understood as a drive voltage for convenience. FIG. 7 shows the corresponding ink column and the state of deflection of the ink droplets. In the figure, 120 is the straight ink, 122 is the ink droplet deflected toward the nozzle left heater 30 side, and 124 is the nozzle right heater 38. Ink droplets deflected sideways are shown.

  FIG. 6A shows the same drive pulse applied to the left and right heaters 30 and 38, and the state of FIG. 5B is created by thermal stimulation without breaking the symmetry of the ink columns on the left and right. That is, a standing wave is generated on the surface of the ink column instead of the unstable state as in the case of natural particles in FIG. 5A, and uniform ink droplets 80 are formed. The ink columns and ink droplets go straight without breaking the left-right symmetry.

  The drive pulse at this time is applied at a frequency of about 100 kHz to 300 kHz, and the heating energy per pulse is 0.1 μJ to 10 μJ, and ink droplets are formed corresponding to the frequency of the heat drive pulse. That is, 1 × 10 5 to 3 × 10 5 ink droplets can be formed per second per nozzle.

  In FIG. 6B, an energy pulse Pd higher than the normal energy pulse Ps is applied to the nozzle right heater 38. As a result, the left and right symmetry of the ink column and the ink droplet is lost, and the ink column and the ink droplet are deflected toward the nozzle left heater 30 as shown in FIG. 7A (122).

  In FIG. 6C, an energy pulse Pd higher than the normal energy pulse Ps is applied to the nozzle left heater 30. As a result, the left and right symmetry of the ink column and the ink droplet is lost, and the ink column and the ink droplet are deflected toward the nozzle right heater 38 as shown in FIG. 7B (124).

  In the present invention, as described above, it is possible to selectively form straight ink droplets and deflected ink droplets. Next, means for making the straight ink droplets and deflected ink droplets into printing droplets and non-printing droplets will be described. .

  FIG. 8 shows a plurality of nozzle openings and heaters as viewed from the right side of FIG. 2 and a state in which a gas flow 96 is ejected from the gas injection nozzle openings 94. Note that ink columns and ink droplets are not shown.

The ink column ejected from the nozzle opening in the figure becomes a straight ink droplet or a deflected ink droplet by thermal stimulation as described above. Now, the deflected ink droplets pass through the gas stream 96 shown in FIG. 8 during flight. Thereby, the deflected ink droplet is further bent in the direction of Vg in FIG. 8 and is directed toward the ink and gas flow suction slot 212 shown in FIG. Recovered ink.
On the other hand, since the straight ink droplet travels straight away from the gas flow 96, it travels straight without being affected by the gas flow 96 so that it does not contact the gutter member above the gutter 206 shown in FIG. It flies, collides with the recording medium 300, is used as a printing droplet, and printing is performed.

  FIG. 9 shows the above state in a state where FIG. 2 is looked down from above. In the figure, 82 (black circle) is a straight ink drop (printing drop), 84 (white circle) is an ink drop deflected by a thermal effect, and 86 is a further gutter direction by a gas flow after being deflected by a thermal effect. Ink droplets to be deflected are shown. This example shows a case where all non-printed droplets are deflected to the left (84) and dropped into the gutter 206 by the gas flow 96 to be collected.

  FIG. 10 shows another example of a continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus suitably applied to the present invention. In the case of FIG. 8, the gas injection nozzle openings 94 are provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the nozzle openings 50, but in the example of FIG. 10, the gas injection nozzle openings 94 are one with respect to the nozzle openings 50. It arranges every other.

As described above, according to the present invention, the symmetry of the ink column can be broken and deflected by the left and right heaters. If the ink column and ink droplets in the nozzle opening 50j + 1 are deflected toward the nozzle right heater 38j and deflected toward the nozzle left heater 38j + 1, both ink droplets can act between both ink droplet rows. The gas flow 96 (the central gas flow in FIG. 10) ejected from the injection nozzle opening 94 (the central gas injection nozzle opening in FIG. 10) can be dropped into the gutter 206 and recovered.
FIG. 11 shows the situation in this case in a state where FIG. 2 is looked down from the top, following FIG. In the figure, 82 (black circle) is a straight ink drop (printing drop), 84 (white circle) is an ink drop deflected by a thermal effect, and 86 is a further gutter direction by a gas flow after being deflected by a thermal effect. Ink droplets to be deflected are shown. In this example, unlike the case of FIG. 9, the non-printing droplets are deflected to the left or right (84), and the gutter 206 is caused by one gas flow 96 corresponding to two ink droplet rows in common. It is dropped and collected.

  FIG. 12 shows still another example. In this case, the gas injection nozzle openings 94 are provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the nozzle openings 50, and, unlike FIG. 8, go straight from each nozzle (50j-1, 50j, 50j + 1, 50j + 2, 50j + 3, etc.). A gas ejection nozzle opening 94 is arranged at a position corresponding to the position directly above the ink droplet row (in the case of FIG. 8, the ink droplets deflected by thermal stimulation with a half-pitch deviation from each straight ink droplet row. A gas injection nozzle opening 94 is disposed at a position corresponding to the position directly above the passageway).

  In this case, the straight ink droplets are deflected and collected in the gutter direction by the gas flow 96, and the ink droplets deflected by the thermal stimulation fly without being affected by the gas flow 96 and jump over the gutter 206. Then, it collides with the recording medium 300, is used as a printing droplet, and printing is performed.

  Still another example will be described. In each of the above three examples, the pulse width of the heater driving waveform in FIG. 6 is made constant to form a uniform ink droplet 80 that is atomized by thermal stimulation as shown in FIG. In this example, the ink droplets 80 are used as printing droplets or collected in the gutter 206.

  Unlike these examples, for example, by changing the pulse width or the pulse interval of the heater driving waveform in FIG. 6, the mass of ink cut from the ink column to the ink droplet is changed, that is, the size of the ink droplet. It is also possible to perform printing by deflecting ink droplets by forming a plurality of ink droplets having different (mass) and applying a gas flow to the ink droplets of different sizes and sizes. . That is, ink droplets with a small mass are greatly deflected by the influence of the gas flow, and ink droplets with a large mass are hardly affected by the gas flow and can be kept almost straight without being deflected too much. it can. Therefore, small ink droplets can be deflected and collected in the gutter, and recording can be performed by causing large ink droplets to collide with the recording medium 300.

  Although it has been described here that ink droplets having a large mass can be maintained in a substantially straight state, the ink column itself is also slightly affected by the gas flow, and thus is microscopically deflected. . That is, in this example, the ink column is not deflected by thermal stimulation, but the ink column is microscopically deflected by the gas flow.

  In this case, the flowing gas flow can be made to flow from the gas injection nozzle opening 94 corresponding to the nozzle opening 50 as in the case of the above three examples. On the other hand, in this example, the amount of deflection of the ink flow is changed depending on the mass of the ink droplet. Therefore, even if a common gas flow is applied to all the ink droplets, the mass of the ink droplet is small or large. Thus, the amount of deflection can be controlled, and large ink droplets can be used for printing by moving them almost straight, while small ink droplets can be largely deflected for gutter recovery. Therefore, a common gas flow may be applied to all ink droplets from a common slit-like opening without using the independent gas ejection nozzle opening 94.

  The printing principle of the novel continuous-flow multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention has been described with reference to four examples. Next, a more characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described.

  In the present invention, in any of the above principles, the important factor that determines the printed / non-printed droplet (collected ink droplet) is the heating by the heater that destroys the symmetry of the ink column, or half-forcedly. It is a gas flow 96 that acts to drop ink drops in the direction of the gutter 206.

  In particular, the gas flow 96 needs to be made to flow with high accuracy, without impeding the flight of the ink droplets used for printing, and reliably hitting non-printing droplets.

  Therefore, the gas ejection nozzle opening 94 used in the present invention has a nozzle shape that has the same size and the same accuracy as the nozzle opening 50 that ejects ink. Therefore, such a gas ejection nozzle opening 94 can also be manufactured with a Si substrate or the like by a technique similar to the so-called multi-nozzle plate in which the nozzle openings 50 of the ink ejection nozzles are arrayed as described above. In consideration of the above-mentioned printing density equivalent to 600 dpi to 2400 dpi, the opening size Dg is set to φ25 μm to φ8 μm. In addition, the depth (nozzle part thickness) of this part shall be 30 micrometers-5 micrometers. A plurality of such gas ejection nozzle openings 94 are arranged in a direction parallel to the array row of the nozzle openings 50, similarly to the arrangement of the plurality of nozzle openings 50 of the ink ejection nozzles. Take.

  More importantly, after forming a highly accurate shape, the gas is allowed to flow in a stable manner so as to reliably hit the non-printed droplets. As described above, the continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention has a high ink droplet formation frequency and is a method suitable for high speed printing, high speed throughput, and mass printing. And is used in a situation where paper dust such as cellulose powder of paper and fine particle powder such as calcium carbonate which is a coating material constantly flies. In addition to paper dust such as cellulose and fine particle powder generated from recording media such as paper, fibrous foreign matter, particulate foreign matter, etc. are floating in the air, and the fine particles as in the present invention are present. If it adheres to the periphery of the gas injection nozzle opening 94, it will cause a disturbance of good injection of the gas flow.

  In addition, this region is a region where minute ink droplets are constantly flying, and the moisture in the ink may increase the ambient humidity of the surroundings. It creates a situation where it easily adheres to the periphery of the injection nozzle opening 94.

  FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the gas injection nozzle opening shown in FIG. In the figure, 94 is a gas injection nozzle opening, 100 is cellulose, 101 is a fine particle powder, 102 is a fibrous foreign matter, and 103 is a particulate foreign matter. These may be floating alone, aggregating and floating together, or may be attached around the gas injection nozzle opening 94.

  In this way, when foreign matter adheres to the periphery of the gas jet nozzle opening 94 and disturbs good jetting of the gas flow, the gas flow does not accurately hit the ink droplets, and the non-printing droplets (collected ink) are used. If this is not possible, the unnecessary ink droplets collide and adhere to the recording medium 300, causing a reduction in image quality.

  Alternatively, the flow direction of the gas flow may be disturbed, and the gas flow may act so as to prevent the printed droplets from flying well, causing a reduction in image quality.

  Furthermore, the opening itself of the gas injection nozzle opening 94 may be completely closed, which may cause a state in which even a gas flow cannot be injected. In such a case, of course, the image quality is poor.

  It is considered that such a gas injection nozzle opening 94 is less likely to cause such foreign matter to adhere to the blockage if the gas flow is constantly ejected therefrom, but the printing operation is stopped. When the ejection of the gas flow is stopped, the foreign matter easily adheres to the opening of the gas injection nozzle opening 94.

  In the present invention, in order to overcome such a situation, the gas injection nozzle opening 94 is shielded from the ambient atmosphere of the recording medium during non-printing. In addition, even in the case of the common slit-like opening as described above instead of the independent gas injection nozzle opening 94, the problem of foreign matter adhesion occurs to some extent, so that the gas injection described below is performed. The nozzle cap means 110 is similarly applied and has its effect.

  FIG. 14 shows an example. In this example, a plurality of gas ejection nozzle openings 94 and a plurality of ink ejection nozzle openings 50 arranged in the same manner are simultaneously passed through an airtight maintaining elastic member 115 made of fluorine rubber having high chemical resistance. The gas-jet nozzle / ink-jet nozzle common cap means 114 is used to shield paper dust such as cellulose and fine particle powder, and the ambient atmosphere of the recording medium in which fibrous or particulate foreign matters are floating. is there.

  FIG. 15 shows still another example. In this example, in addition to the configuration of FIG. 14, an ink ejection nozzle cap means 112 is further provided to prevent clogging of the nozzle opening 50 of the ink ejection nozzle more completely. It is.

  The configuration for allowing the gas flow 96 to flow with high accuracy by shielding the vicinity of the gas injection nozzle opening 94 from the ambient atmosphere of the recording medium has been described above, but it is preferably applied to the present invention. The ink used in the continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus will be briefly supplemented. As the ink used in the present invention, conventionally known various ink-jet inks can be used as they are.

The ink is usually composed of a recording agent that forms a printed image with a liquid medium and an additive that is added to obtain desired characteristics. The viscosity of the ink is selected while appropriately selecting the type and composition ratio of the liquid medium and the additive. ^{5 × 10- 4 ~3 × 10 -2} Pa · s (20 ℃), Assuming the surface tension such that a ^{1 × 10 -2 ~6 × 10 -2} N / m (20 ℃), the The ink droplet formation conditions of the invention are almost satisfied.

  The continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention differs from the continuous flow type ink jet recording apparatus using conventional electrostatic charging devices in that the principle of ink droplet formation or the principle of deflecting flight is different. There is no restriction that it is water-soluble or ink conductivity is required. That is, any ink that is aqueous, non-aqueous, soluble, conductive, or insulating can be suitably used as long as it satisfies the aforementioned viscosity or surface tension.

  Further, an ink known as a so-called UV ink (ultraviolet curable ink) containing an ultraviolet curing reaction initiator can also be suitably used. In the case of this ink, since the ink can be instantly cured by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation as described later, it is a preferable ink for an apparatus having a high-speed throughput capability as in the present invention.

  In addition, any dye or pigment can be used as long as the recording agent is in the range of 0.2 wt% to 10 wt% in the ink so that a desired recording density can be obtained.

  In the above, a continuous flow type multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus has been described as a typical example of a page printer type recording apparatus that performs printing output at high speed, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this method. Similarly, in the drop-on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4 above, a liquid jet recording head unit provided with a number of ink jet nozzles covering the print width of a recording medium The page printer type ink jet recording apparatus that fixes the head unit and conveys the recording medium to the printing portion to perform printing is also not as fast as the continuous flow type, but also at high speed It is possible to perform printing output and is preferably applied to the present invention.

  Next, more characteristic points of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 16 and 17 show an example of a system that actually performs printing using a page printer type recording apparatus that performs printing output at a high speed as described above.

  In the figure, 301 is a printing means, 302 is a conveying means, and 310 is a recording medium storage means after printing. For example, the printing unit 301 may arrange 2000 to 12000 nozzles so as to cover the printing width of the recording medium 300 with an ejection head of the principle such as the continuous flow type liquid ejection print head 10 shown in FIG. Alternatively, a plurality of small continuous flow type liquid jet print heads 10 are arranged so as to cover the printing width of the recording medium 300 so as to obtain such a number of nozzles. It is fixed and printed by moving the recording medium. As described above, it may be a printing head unit constituted by a liquid jet print head based on a drop-on-demand ink jet principle.

  Usually, four sets of such printing head units are provided so as to eject four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black. Alternatively, aiming for higher quality printing, magenta or cyan dark ink or light ink may be added, or the printing head unit may be increased to eject other colors as necessary. Depending on the number of inks, there may be 6 to 10 sets.

  The printed recording medium 300 (shown by a one-dotted line in FIG. 17) is driven by a pre-cutting conveyance roller 304 and a post-cutting conveyance roller 305, and is conveyed by a conveyance belt 303 that moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. It is transported in a continuous state. On the way, it is dried by the drying means 306, or cut by the cutting means 309 from the belt-like continuous body one by one.

  In addition, although the example which blows the warm air by the combination of the heater 307 and the fan 308 to the printed ink surface was shown as the drying means 306, it is not necessarily limited to this means, Thermal radiation is used, Dielectric heating may be used. Further, the arrangement position of the drying means 306 is not limited to the position before being cut by the cutting means 309 as shown in the figure, and may be placed before and after cutting. Or it is good also as a drying means which made it the cover structure which covers the conveyance means 302 whole including the cutting means 309, and let high temperature air flow through the whole inside of this cover, and was made into the high temperature atmosphere.

Further, when UV ink (ultraviolet curable ink) is used as described above, the drying means 306 has an emission wavelength peak of 350 to 420 nm and a maximum illuminance on the surface of the recording medium of 10 to 10. The ink can be instantaneously cured using an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation light source such as a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode (LD) that generates ultraviolet light of 1,000 mW / cm ² . Moreover, ultraviolet LED and ultraviolet LD can also be used.

  Further, as another active energy source, a mercury lamp, a metal halide lamp, a gas / solid laser or the like may be used.

  These drying means and curing means are not only used alone, but it is desirable to dry ink more effectively and quickly by combining plural or plural kinds of means.

  Further, the conveying means 302 is not limited to the configuration in which the conveying means 302 is conveyed in one direction as shown in the figure, and the conveying path is folded or bent by increasing the conveying time or conveying distance so that the drying can be sufficiently performed. May be. In this regard, the heating capacity, heating method, installation location, number of heating means, and the like of the drying means 306, the conveyance time or the conveyance distance are printed as described later in consideration of drying of the ink on the printing surface. Even if the ink on the printing surface of the recording medium 300 after copying dries and is brought into contact with each other, it is determined so that a drying time can be ensured so that no show-through occurs. In this way, even if the recording medium 300 after printing is in contact with each other (without an air layer) and stacked and stored, the recording surface of the lower recording medium 300 is placed on the back surface of the upper recording medium 300. There is no occurrence of show-through due to undried ink, or poor image quality due to contact with another recording medium 300 on which the undried ink image is laminated.

  In the drawing, the cutting means 309 is shown as an example in which the cutter moves in the direction of the arrow (up and down), but in this case, the cutter having a blade span that covers the width direction of the strip-shaped recording medium 300 is moved up and down, This is an example of cutting vertically.

  However, it does not necessarily have to be cut in this way. The conveyance of the belt-like recording medium 300 is temporarily stopped, and a knife-like cutter is scanned perpendicularly to the conveyance direction of the belt-like recording medium 300 in the meantime. It may be cut. This will be described later.

  18 and 19 show the recording medium 300 before and after cutting. As shown in FIG. 19, the printing unit 301 prints out a continuous belt having a width of, for example, 297 mm as shown in FIG. 18 and is transported by the transport belt 303. As shown in FIG. The state of being cut into a printed material of 210 mm × 297 mm) is schematically shown.

  20A and 20B show the structure of the post-printing recording medium storage unit 310. FIG. Usually, the recording medium 300 after printing and drying is stored in a stack on the storage tray 313.

  In the case of sorting after printing and drying, the paper is sent in the direction of the sorter tray 317. The portion of the recording medium 300 that has been transported from the transport means 302 and cut into individual sheets is printed after the printing. For example, an entrance sensor 311 configured to include a photo interrupter, a storage unit conveyance roller 312 for conveying the recording medium 300 in the direction of the sorter tray 317, and the recording medium 300 are detected. A switching guide plate 314 that switches to the sorter tray 317 direction or the storage tray 313 direction and discharges, an exit sensor (light emission) 315a provided near the switching guide plate 314, a tray sensor (light emission) 316a, and the sensors 315a and 316a. The exit sensor (light reception) 315b provided on the upper part of the recording medium storage means 310 after printing The number of tray sensors (light reception) 316b and the number corresponding to the number of sorter trays 317 (here, 10) are installed, and the driven rollers convey the recording medium 300 along the driven guide plate 318 to the entrance of each sorter tray 317. 319 and a discharge roller 320. Further, as shown in FIG. 20 (b), a deflection claw 321 that changes in order to discharge the recording medium 300 conveyed from the recording medium traveling direction indicated by the arrow, that is, the lower direction, to the desired sorter tray 317 is provided. Have.

  FIGS. 21 and 22 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the sorter tray 317 of the post-printing recording medium storage unit 310. FIG. 21A is a view of a state in which the recording medium 300 after being cut and dried one by one is stored in the sorter tray 317 as viewed from above. In this example, since the sorter tray 317 is described as having 10 stages, the number of recording media 300 after printing and drying is ten.

  As shown in FIG. 21B, the sorter tray 317 is configured such that a supporting arm for stacking and holding the recording media 300 can be moved in the direction of the arrow as necessary. The states of FIGS. 21A and 21B are states in which the distance between both arms is narrow and the recording medium 300 can be supported. The state shown in FIG. 21C is a state in which the distance between both arms is widened and the recording medium 300 is not held. In this case, the ten recording media 300 that have been supported are placed in the lower receiving tray 313. To fall.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The cut recording medium 300 after being distributed and stored in each sorter tray 317 by the deflection claw 321 and stored after drying is stored in each sorter tray 317 as shown in FIG. FIG. 22 schematically shows a view of the sorter tray 317 shown in FIG. 21 from the left side. For convenience of drawing, the dimensions (scales) do not match (however, the number of steps is the same as FIG. 20). 10 steps). After the printing operation is completed, the recording medium 300 stored in each sorter tray 317 increases the distance between both arms of the sorter tray 317 as shown in FIG. 22B, and the ten recording media 300 are accommodated below. It falls to the tray 313.

  Next, more characteristic points of the present invention will be described. As described above, the present invention is a page printer type recording apparatus that performs printing output at high speed.

  For example, the liquid jet recording head unit applied to the present invention may be a continuous flow multi-nozzle ink jet recording apparatus as described above, or a drop-on-demand ink jet recording apparatus. When the number of copies is set to cover the number, the liquid jet recording head unit is fixed, and the recording medium is transported and printed, the A4 size is converted to A4 size, and at least about 50 sheets per minute, In the case of a large estimate, it is possible to print about 3000 sheets per minute at maximum. In other words, there is an ink droplet formation capability (ink droplet formation frequency of one nozzle × number of nozzles) that fills up that many recording media with ink droplets.

  Here, the number of sheets means A4 size conversion, and does not mean that the maximum number of sheets in the A4 size cut sheet state can be obtained in a maximum of 3000 sheets in A4 size. This means that the printing ability is sufficient, and when there is an actual cut paper state, there is a process of cutting with the cutting means 309, so that the number of printed sheets obtained per minute becomes smaller.

  The problem that must be solved here is that the printing speed is fast, so that ink drying after printing cannot keep up with it. For example, in the case of a system that actually prints using the page printer type recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the recording medium printed on the storage tray 313 of the recording medium storage means 310 after printing is the following. If the ink on the printing surface is in an undried state when stacked next, the dried ink may adhere to the back surface of the recording medium to be stacked on top, resulting in poor see-through, or an imprinted printing surface. The image quality may be deteriorated due to the contact of the recording medium.

  These are not problematic as long as they are sufficiently dried and the next printing is performed and the recording media after drying are superposed. However, as described above, the present invention is a page printer type recording apparatus having the capability of performing high-speed printing output, and waits for the undried ink to dry at the expense of this high-speed printing output capability. It's a waste to do the next printing, that is, the low-speed printing output.

  In view of this point, the present invention has the ability to form, eject, and print droplets having the ability to print an area corresponding to one sheet after cutting of the recording medium 300 faster than the drying time after printing. Further, in a page printer type recording apparatus that performs high-speed printing output, the recording medium 300 after printing printed by the printing means 301 is sufficiently transferred by the drying means 306 while being conveyed by the conveyance means 302. The conveyance path is lengthened so that it can be dried quickly. The length is determined in consideration of the drying time so as to exist in the transport path until it is sufficiently dried, that is, longer than the drying time.

  In other words, in consideration of the drying time for one sheet when the recording medium 300 after printing is cut, the recording medium 300 is transported without going to the storage tray 313 until the printing surface becomes dry. The length of the conveyance path and the heating capacity of the drying means 306 are determined so that they exist in the path and are dried. Here, this heating capacity does not only refer to one capacity of the drying means 306 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, but when a plurality of drying means 306 are arranged at various locations in the conveyance path, It means the total heating capacity.

  Next, other features of the present invention will be described. As described above, in the present invention, the recording medium 300 is conveyed and printed as a belt-like continuous body so as not to waste the high-speed printing capability. After that, the sheet is cut to form a cut sheet. As described above, the conveyance of the band-shaped recording medium 300 is temporarily stopped, and a knife-shaped cutter is scanned perpendicularly to the conveyance direction of the band-shaped recording medium 300 in the meantime. In addition to the cutting method, a method of cutting without temporarily stopping the conveyance of the band-shaped recording medium 300 will be described here.

  In the present invention, the post-printing recording medium 300 in the cut sheet state as shown in FIG. 19 is finally used. As described above, the recording medium 300 after printing in the cut sheet state temporarily stops the conveyance of the band-shaped recording medium 300 and cuts between them, so that the printing in the rectangular cut sheet state can be performed without any problem. A post-recording medium 300 is obtained. However, in order to obtain a higher printing throughput, a method of cutting without stopping the conveyance of the band-shaped recording medium 300 is desired.

  In view of this point, the present invention proposes a method of cutting without stopping the conveyance of the strip-shaped recording medium 300 even during cutting. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram thereof.

  For example, the post-printing recording medium 300 that flows from the printing unit 301 of the page printer type recording apparatus shown in FIG. The cutter is scanned so as to have a velocity vector B that traverses the medium 300 in a direction that is inclined. The velocity vectors A and B are set to a size (speed) such that the recording medium 300 to be finally cut by combining them is a rectangle, and an inclination angle in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 300. As a result, the post-printing recording medium 300 finally obtained becomes a rectangular cut sheet as shown in FIG.

  Take an example. Now, as shown in FIG. 25, it is assumed that the A4 size width (297 mm) band-shaped recording medium 300 is conveyed by the conveying means 302 at a printing speed of 1000 sheets per minute (1000 ppm, print-per-minute). The case where the cutter is scanned at an angle θ from the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and the time from the start to the end of the strip-shaped recording medium 300 is 0.02 s will be described.

The strip-shaped recording medium 300 has a length of 210 mm in the A4 short direction at a printing speed of 1000 ppm, so in one second,
1000 × 210/60 = 3500 (mm)
Be transported. Since the time from the start to the end of cutting of the band-shaped recording medium 300 is 0.02 s, the cutting end portion of the band-shaped recording medium 300 is between the start of cutting and the end of the band-shaped recording medium 300.
3500 × 0.02 = 70 (mm)
proceed.

Therefore, the angle θ when scanning the cutter with an angle θ from the direction perpendicular to the transport direction is
tan θ = 70/297
Than,
θ ≒ 13.26 °
It becomes.

  In other words, under the above conditions, if the cutter is scanned and cut at an angle θ of 13.26 ° from the direction perpendicular to the transport direction, the strip-shaped recording medium 300 can be cut without stopping transport. The rectangular A4-sized post-printing recording medium 300 can be obtained.

  In this condition, the number of cutters is one, and it is sufficient to return the cutter to the original position immediately after cutting and perform the second and subsequent cuts. However, if printing is performed at a higher speed, the cutter is returned. Before starting the cut of the second and subsequent sheets, the second sheet will be transported. In that case, if necessary, a plurality of cutters may be stacked so that cutting can be started independently. That's fine.

  In this way, when the cutter is scanned at an angle θ inclined in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 300, a rectangular post-printing recording medium 300 can be obtained without stopping the conveyance of the recording medium 300 during cutting. The high-speed printing capability of the invention can be used effectively without wasting it.

  Next, other features of the present invention will be described. A typical example of the recording medium used in the present invention is paper. In the definition of orthodox paper, “paper is the one in which plant fibers are suspended in water and then sprinkled with water and tangled thinly and flatly”, but the main points are represented by grass, wood, bamboo, etc. It is an aggregate of fibers obtained by decomposing plants. The raw material of paper, regardless of whether it is Western paper or Japanese paper, is a material having a characteristic property of cellulose fiber, and paper can be obtained by processing it with a unique technique called papermaking technology to make it thin.

  Cellulose fibers used here are wood fibers having a length of 1 mm to 3 mm, a width of 20 μm to 40 μm, and a thickness of 3 μm to 6 μm in the case of paper. In general paper, about 10 to 100 are laminated in layers. . By adopting such a configuration, paper is extremely porous, and the characteristic of a smooth material having high affinity that cellulose fibers have is obtained. Japanese paper is a paper using the same cellulose fiber, but unlike wood fiber, it is a relatively elongated fiber (width 5 μm to 20 μm, length 3 mm to 7 mm) called a bast fiber, and its molecular structure is somewhat different. It has different characteristics and can be distinguished from hand-made or machine-made Japanese paper. The paper is formed by overlapping cellulose fibers in this way, and there is a gap formed by overlapping the fibers.

  The definition of paper is as described above, but paper with cellulose fibers simply overlapping is so-called base paper, and what is actually used is to increase opacity, whiteness, smoothness, air permeability, etc. Furthermore, between these fibers, filler particles having a particle diameter of about 0.2 μm to 10 μm such as talc, clay, calcium carbonate, and titanium dioxide are filled in the gaps between the fibers.

The recording medium used in the present invention is kaolin (Al ₂ O) on the recording liquid adhering surface (paper surface) of a base material in which talc, clay, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide or the like is filled between the base paper or fibers. _{3 · 2SiO 2 · 2H 2 O} ), calcium carbonate (CaCO _3), satin white _{(3CaO · Al 2 O 3 ·} 3CaSO 4 · 31~32H 2 O) particulate material having a particle diameter of about 0.5μm~1μm such Is a recording medium coated with a coating liquid in which the binder is dispersed together with a binder such as latex or starch. The fine particle material referred to in the present invention refers to these materials, and is applied to the surface of the base paper as the base material so as to have ink absorption performance.

The above is an explanation of orthodox paper, which is one of the recording media. However, a kaolin (Al ₂ O ₃ .2SiO ₂ .2H) as described above using a resin sheet such as a polyethylene film as a base material such as an OHP sheet. ₂ O), calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ), satin white (3CaO.Al ₂ O ₃ .3CaSO ₄ .31-32H ₂ O) and other particles having a particle diameter of about 0.5 μm to 1 μm are bound to a binder such as latex or starch. A recording medium coated with a coating solution dispersed together with the coating liquid is also preferably used.

Further, a paper produced using a synthetic resin called a so-called synthetic paper as a main raw material is used as a base material, and kaolin (Al ₂ O ₃ .2SiO ₂ .2H ₂ O) and calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ) as described above are formed on the surface thereof. , Coated with a coating liquid in which particles with a particle diameter of about 0.5 μm to 1 μm, such as satin white (3CaO.Al ₂ O ₃ .3CaSO ₄ .31-32H ₂ O), are dispersed together with a binder such as latex and starch What used the thing as the recording medium is also used suitably.

  In any case, such a recording medium is used in order to speed up ink absorption and drying so that it can be suitably used in a page printer type recording apparatus having the capability of performing printing output at high speed as in the present invention. Such a fine particle material is coated on the recording liquid adhering surface.

  Next, still another feature of the present invention will be described. The above-described recording medium is very effective for a page printer type recording apparatus having a high-speed printing output capability, which is a feature of the present invention, but in order to utilize this capability more effectively, the recording medium Further high speed drying of the ink above is desired.

  In view of this point, in the present invention, in addition to the penetration and drying of the ink coloring material on the recording medium, the dye or pigment coloring material in the ink immediately insolubilizes and solidifies on the recording medium after the ink adheres, We studied a technology that could prevent ink pixels from bleeding or spreading and promoting ink drying.

  Specifically, for example, after applying a liquid having a basic polymer on a recording medium, or after applying a liquid containing an organic compound having two or more cationic groups per molecule on a recording medium It can be realized by recording with an ink containing an anionic dye or the like. In addition, even if an acidic liquid containing succinic acid is attached or a liquid composition containing a nonionic substance is applied in advance, the coloring material in the ink is insolubilized, and pixels are more than necessary on the recording medium. It is effective to prevent spreading and blurring.

  Such a recording liquid (ink) solidifying material (treatment liquid) is prepared and used as a recording medium preliminarily applied (coated) to a recording medium composed of the base material and the recording liquid adhesion surface. Alternatively, it may be applied to the surface to be printed by a recording liquid solidifying material applying means such as a roller coat member immediately before printing. Further, as the applying means, it is also a good method to use the ink jet principle of the present invention. In other words, a head unit that ejects and applies such processing liquid may be disposed next to the ink ejecting head unit, and the processing liquid may be ejected and applied before printing with ink.

  In any case, in the present invention, by using a recording medium coated with such a recording liquid solidifying material, pixels are prevented from spreading or bleeding more than necessary on the recording medium, and ink drying is promoted. It is possible to extract the high-speed printing capability of the recording apparatus of the present invention more effectively.

  Next, still another feature of the present invention will be described. As described above, in the present invention, as the drying unit 306, an example in which warm air by the combination of the heater 307 and the fan 308 is blown to the printed ink surface is shown. Preferably, the airflow is higher than the temperature of the recording medium 300 after printing. More specifically, hot air of 50 ° C. to 100 ° C. produced by a combination of a heater and a fan is caused to flow so as to strike the surface of the printed ink on the recording medium 300 after each printing.

  In addition, a cover is provided in an area enclosed by a one-dot chain line rectangle in FIG. 26, and the entire conveying means 302 including the cutting means 309 is covered, and the temperature inside the recording medium 300 after printing is higher in the entire cover. It is more effective to use a drying means in which warm air of 50 ° C. to 100 ° C. is flown and the surroundings are in a high temperature atmosphere. In this case, it is possible to perform the drying more efficiently by using a dielectric heating means capable of heating from the inside of the ink moisture and performing the dielectric heating in the cover.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Continuous flow type liquid jet print head 11 Print head back plate 12 Print head liquid chamber manifold 14 Nozzle plate 24 Print head support 28 Nozzle right heater lower address electrode 29 Nozzle left heater lower address electrode 30 Nozzle left heater 36 Nozzle left heater Address electrode 37 Nozzle right heater upper address electrode 38 Nozzle right heater 42 Ink inlet 50 Nozzle opening 60 Pressurized ink 62 Ink column 64 Natural surface wave of ink column 66 Non-uniform ink droplet due to natural particles 70 After thermal stimulation of ink column Surface wave of ink 76 Ink column cutting position under thermal stimulation 77 Ink column cutting position during natural particle formation 80 Uniform ink droplets converted into particles under thermal stimulation 82 Straight ink droplets 84 Ink droplets deflected by thermal effect 86 fever Ink drops that are deflected by the gas flow and further deflected in the gutter direction by the gas flow 87 Collected ink 90 Pressurized gas flow 91 Gas supply manifold 92 Gas supply path 93 Gas injection nozzle plate 94 Gas injection nozzle opening 95 Pressurized gas flow Inlet 96 Gas flow 97 Gas supply manifold cover 98 Gas flow supply unit 100 Cellulose 101 Particulate powder 102 Fibrous foreign matter 103 Particulate foreign matter 112 Ink jet nozzle cap means 113 Airtight maintenance elastic member 114 Gas jet nozzle / ink jet nozzle common cap Means 115 Airtight maintaining elastic member 120 Straight ink 122 Ink droplet deflected toward the nozzle left heater 30 side 124 Ink droplet deflected toward the nozzle right side heater side 126 Further deflected in the gutter direction by the gas flow Ink Drops 200 Ink Recovery Means 202 Ink Recovery Path 204 Porous Member 206 Gutter 208 Ink Recovery Suction Unit 210 Suctioned Air Flow 212 Ink and Gas Flow Suction Slot 220 Ink Suction Manifold 250 Printed Recording Medium Conveying Roller 252 Printing Pre-recording medium conveying roller 300 Recording medium 301 Printing means 302 Conveying means 303 Conveying belt 304 Pre-cutting conveying roller 305 Post-cutting conveying roller 306 Drying means 307 Heater 308 Fan 309 Cutting means 310 Post-printing recording medium storage means 311 Entrance sensor 312 Storage means Conveying roller 313 Storage tray 314 Switching guide plate 315a Exit sensor (light emission)
315b Outlet sensor (light reception)
316a Tray sensor (light emission)
316b Tray sensor (light reception)
317 sorter tray 318 driven guide plate 319 driven roller 320 discharge roller 321 deflection claw 400 controller 410 input data 412 print head drive circuit 414 recording medium conveyance control circuit 416 ink recovery / reuse unit 418 ink supply unit 420 gas flow pressurizing unit 422 Gas flow pressurization control circuit 424 Ink supply control circuit

US Pat. No. 3,683,212 U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,120 US Pat. No. 3,946,398 U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,129 US Pat. No. 3,373,437 US Pat. No. 7,413,293 US Pat. No. 7,108,365 JP 2003-072059 A

Claims (12)

  A liquid jet recording head unit having a number of ink jet nozzles that extend the length of a print portion and cover the print width of the print medium, and a print medium that transports the print medium from a roll state to a belt shape to the print portion Conveying means; means for drying while conveying the strip-shaped recording medium after printing; means for cutting the recording medium after drying into one sheet; and recording medium storage means after printing after cutting The liquid jet recording head unit includes: a liquid jet recording head unit configured to form, eject, and print liquid droplets having a capability of time for printing one sheet determined by cutting faster than a drying time after printing. A liquid jet recording apparatus having a copying capability and wherein the drying means determines a length of a conveyance path of the drying means in consideration of a drying time.   The printing area corresponding to one sheet after the strip-shaped recording medium after the printing is cut is present in the conveying path of the drying means for a longer time than the drying time after the printing for one sheet. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the transport path is determined.   The liquid jet recording head unit separates ink droplets from a multi-nozzle ink jet head that pressurizes ink and jets continuously from a plurality of ink jet nozzles, and an ink column ejected from the ink jet nozzles. A means for deflecting the ink column and the ink droplet at the tip thereof, and a collecting means for collecting the ink droplet not used for printing by attaching the ink droplet used for printing to the recording medium. 3. The flow type multi-nozzle ink jet method, wherein the recovery means is a recovery means that applies a gas flow to the flying ink droplets to change the flight direction and capture the captured ink in the recovery means. The liquid jet recording apparatus described in 1.   The liquid jet recording according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for cutting the recording medium after drying is a cutting means for cutting perpendicularly to a conveyance direction of the strip-shaped recording medium. apparatus.   5. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cutting means is a cutter having a blade span that covers a width direction of the strip-shaped recording medium.   The means for cutting the recording medium after drying is a cutting means for stopping the conveyance of the belt-shaped recording medium and cutting while scanning the cutter perpendicularly to the conveyance direction of the belt-shaped recording medium. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The means for cutting the recording medium after drying is a cutting means for cutting while the cutter crosses the transport direction of the strip-shaped recording medium, and is finally cut in consideration of the transport speed of the strip-shaped recording medium 4. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter traverses with an inclination with respect to a conveyance direction so that the recording medium has a rectangular shape. 5.   8. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is a recording medium coated with a particulate material. Liquid jet recording apparatus.   8. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium includes a base material and a recording liquid adhesion surface, and the recording liquid adhesion surface is a recording medium coated with a recording liquid solidifying material. The liquid jet recording apparatus described.   The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recording liquid solidifying material is applied to the recording medium immediately before printing by a recording liquid solidifying material applying unit provided in the liquid jet recording apparatus.   11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying means includes a means for causing an air flow having a temperature higher than a temperature of the recording medium after the printing to flow on a surface to be printed. 11. Liquid jet recording apparatus.   The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying unit includes a dielectric heating unit.

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