JP2013111750A - Printer and colorimetry device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer and a colorimetry device excellent in operability and capable of suitably performing position setting of a colorimetry part according to opening/closing operation of an opening/closing member.SOLUTION: The printer includes exterior members 3-7 capable of covering a printing part 9 and the colorimetry part 12. The exterior members include the opening/closing member 7 movable between an opening position P2 for exposing to the outer space and a closing position P1 for covering the printing part. The colorimetry part exists at a colorimetric position for performing colorimetry of a part printed by the printing part when the opening/closing member is placed at the closing position, and moves to a retreated position retreated from the colorimetric position when the opening/closing member is placed at the opening position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a colorimetric apparatus that include a colorimetric unit that performs colorimetry on an image printed by a print unit.

  In a printing apparatus that forms a color image, even if the same image is printed using the same color material, there may be a difference in the color of the image due to changes in the environment during printing, etc. is there. In particular, in an inkjet printing apparatus, even if printing is performed in the same print mode using the same ink and sheet, a difference occurs in the color of the printed image depending on environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity around the printing apparatus. Sometimes.

  However, in a printing site for producing a commercial print, it is required to always obtain an image having the same color even when printing is performed at different times. Therefore, in the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, before printing an image to be obtained, each color ink is ejected from the print head to print a color patch, and the color patch is read based on the result of reading by the color measuring apparatus. The printer is calibrated. According to this, even if the environment for printing changes, it is possible to print an image with a certain color by calibration based on the color measurement result.

  Further, in a printing apparatus having a colorimeter as in Patent Document 1, the colorimeter is housed inside the main body cover that forms the outer shell of the printing apparatus. In this way, by blocking outside light with the exterior cover, it is possible to avoid the influence of outside light on the color measurement result, and to prevent the hand from touching the movable part, Intrusion of dust can be prevented. The main body cover generally includes a configuration having an opening / closing portion that can be opened / closed at a position separated from the print unit and the colorimetric unit. By opening the open / close section to expose the interior, it is possible to replace the print head in the print section, remove the sheet jammed in the transport path near the print section and the colorimeter, and Work such as maintenance can be easily performed.

JP 2008-281549 A

  However, in the conventional printing apparatus, when performing operations such as removal of a sheet jammed in the sheet conveyance path, maintenance of the printing unit and the color measurement unit, first, the opening / closing part of the main body cover is opened, and then the color measurement device is installed. An operation of retracting from the colorimetric position is required. Further, when the process is finished and returned to the original state, it is necessary to set the colorimetric device to the colorimetric position and then close the opening / closing part of the main body cover. As described above, in the conventional apparatus, when removing a sheet jammed in the conveyance path or performing maintenance of the color measurement device or the print unit, the color measurement to the color measurement position or the retracted position is performed in addition to the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing unit of the main body cover. An operation for moving the apparatus is necessary, and there is a problem that operability is low.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described problems in the prior art, and provides a printing device and a colorimetric device that are excellent in operability and can perform the position setting of the colorimetric unit only by opening / closing the opening / closing member. For the purpose of provision.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, the first aspect of the present invention covers a printing unit that prints on a sheet, a colorimetry unit that performs colorimetry on a portion printed by the printing unit, and the printing unit and the colorimetry unit. And an exterior member that is capable of moving between an open position that opens the print unit to the outside and a closed position that covers the print unit, The colorimetric unit is located at a colorimetric position for performing colorimetry on the portion printed by the print unit when the open / close member is in the closed position, and the colorimetric position when the open / close member is at the open position. It moves to the retreat position which retreated from.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color measuring device including a color measuring unit that performs color measurement of an image printed by a printing unit of the printing device, and the color measuring unit includes an outer shell of the printing device. When the opening / closing member provided in the exterior member is in an open position for opening the print unit to the outside, the opening / closing member is located at a colorimetric position for performing color measurement of a portion printed by the print unit, and the opening / closing member is When it is in the open position, it is moved from the colorimetric position to a retracted position.

  In the present invention, the colorimetric unit moves to the colorimetric position when the open / close member provided on the exterior member is in the open position, and the colorimetric unit moves to the retracted position when it is in the closed position. The position of the colorimetric unit can be set only with this, and good operability can be obtained.

1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet printing apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a vertical side view which shows roughly the internal structure of the inkjet printing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a color measurement unit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control system in a present Example. It is a perspective view showing the state which moved the opening-and-closing cover shown in FIG. 1 to the open position.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printing apparatus includes a medium supply unit that supplies a sheet. In the medium supply unit 2 of the present embodiment, a roll sheet RS formed by equipping a continuous sheet in a roll shape is set as a sheet to be supplied, and a continuous sheet S is fed therefrom. The inkjet printing apparatus 1 is provided with a resin exterior member that forms an outer shell thereof. The exterior member includes a conveyance guide 6 that constitutes a conveyance path for conveying the sheet S, fixed covers 3, 4, and 5, and an open / close cover 7 (open / close member). Among these, the fixed cover 3 forms the left side of the apparatus, the fixed cover 4 forms the right side of the apparatus, and the fixed cover 5 forms the rear upper surface and the back of the inkjet printing apparatus. The opening / closing cover 7 is held so as to be rotatable about a rotation center shaft 7a, and a closed position P1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) that blocks the space above the conveyance path of the sheet S from the outside; It can be selectively held at the open position P2 (see FIG. 5) that opens to the outside.

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the inkjet printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a conveyance roller pair 8 that conveys a continuous sheet fed from the roll sheet RS is disposed on the upper surface portion of the conveyance guide 6. The conveyance roller pair 8 is capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation by a driving force of a sheet conveyance motor not shown in FIG. 2, and conveys the sheet S in the forward conveyance direction (X1 direction) during normal rotation. During reverse rotation, the sheet S is conveyed in the reverse conveyance direction (X2 direction). In the following description, the roll sheet RS side (left side in FIG. 2) is referred to as a downstream side and a reverse conveyance direction side (right side in FIG. 2) is referred to as an upstream side from an arbitrary point. For convenience of explanation, the forward conveyance direction and the reverse conveyance direction are collectively referred to as a conveyance direction (X direction). In the present embodiment, the conveyance of the sheet in the forward conveyance direction X1 by the conveyance roller pair 8 is intermittently performed.

  On the upstream side of the pair of transport rollers 8, a printing unit is provided that performs printing by discharging ink while performing reciprocal scanning along a direction intersecting the transport direction (a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in FIG. 2). . The print unit 8 includes a carriage that reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction by a carriage motor (not shown), a print head mounted on the carriage, and an ink tank that supplies ink as a color material to the print head (both (Not shown). In the print head, an ejection port array in which ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of colors of ink such as cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. The ink jet printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment forms an image by repeatedly performing a print scan that ejects ink while scanning the print unit 9 and a transport operation that transports the sheet between scans of the print head. This is a so-called serial type ink jet printing apparatus.

  A cutter 10 that cuts the continuous sheet printed by the printing unit 9 is provided on the downstream side of the printing unit 9. The illustrated cutter 10 cuts the continuous sheet S by moving in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction (X direction) by driving of the cutter motor, but other types of cutters may be used. For example, a cutter that cuts by a shear method is also applicable.

  On the other hand, on the inner surface of the opening / closing cover 7, a color measurement device 11 that performs color measurement of an image printed by the printing unit 9 is provided. The color measuring device is used, for example, when measuring a color patch printed by discharging ink of each color from a print head in order to calibrate an ink jet printing device. The color measurement device 11 includes a drying unit (fixing unit) 13 that fixes the ink applied to the sheet S by drying, and a color measurement unit 12 that performs color measurement of a print image dried by the drying unit 13. And are provided.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, when the printing of the color patch on the sheet S is completed in the printing unit 9, the last printed color patch unit is conveyed to the outlet 13 a at the bottom of the drying unit 13. Then, a drying fan (not shown) provided in the drying unit 13 is driven to start blowing in the direction of the arrow, and wind is blown toward the sheet S from the outlet 13a at the lower part of the drying unit 13. Thereafter, the sheet S on which the color patch is printed is conveyed in the reverse direction (X2 direction) during the printing operation. In the meantime, the color patches dried by the blowing from the drying unit 13 are measured in order by the color measuring unit 12.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the color measuring unit 12. The color measurement unit 12 is provided with color measurement bases 13 and 14 that extend in a direction parallel to the scanning direction (Y direction) of the print unit 9. Between the colorimetric bases 13 and 14, a slit 15 extending along the longitudinal direction thereof is interposed. The color measurement unit 12 is provided with a color measurement carriage 16 that can move on the color measurement bases 13 and 14 along the longitudinal direction thereof, and a moving mechanism 25 that moves the color measurement carriage 16.

  The color measuring carriage 16 includes a base 17, a color measuring sensor 18, four rollers 19, and a belt presser 20. The base 17 is provided with four rotatable rollers 19 that are supported on the colorimetric bases 13 and 14 by the rotation of the four rollers. The moving mechanism 25 includes a colorimetric drive motor 21, a drive pulley 22 that rotates integrally with the rotation shaft of the colorimetric drive motor 21, an idler pulley 23, and a timing belt (drive) that spans the pulleys 22 and 23. Belt). A part of the timing belt 24 is connected to a belt presser 20 provided on the base 17.

  The colorimetric drive motor 21 can rotate in both forward and reverse directions. When the colorimetric drive motor 21 rotates in the forward direction, the drive belt 24 moves linearly via the drive pulley 22. Thereby, the colorimetric carriage 16 connected via the drive belt 24 and the belt presser 20 also performs linear motion in the same direction. At this time, the color measurement sensor 18 held by the color measurement carriage 16 performs color measurement of the color patch formed in the width direction of the sheet S. The colorimetric sensor 18 has a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit (not shown). The light projecting unit irradiates light from between the slits 15 to the color patch, and performs colorimetry by receiving light that has passed through the slit 15 from the color patch by the light receiving unit. When the color measurement of all the color patches is completed, the sheet S is transported in the forward transport direction X1 as in the printing operation, cut by the cutter 10, and then discharged out of the apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control system in the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the CPU 51 performs processing such as calculation and discrimination and control of the entire inkjet printing apparatus including printing, drying, and colorimetry according to a control program stored in the ROM 52. The CPU 51 receives print data, print mode setting information, and the like from the host computer 53 via the input interface 54. Further, the CPU 51 writes print data and other data to the RAM 55 and reads data from the RAM 55. The CPU 51 controls each unit based on print data from the host computer 53, print mode information, colorimetric data from the colorimetric sensor 18, output signals from the cover sensor (opening / closing detection means) 61, and the like. For example, the CPU 51 controls the sheet conveyance motor 56, the carriage motor 57, the print head 58, the cutter motor 59, the colorimetric drive motor 21, the drying fan 60, and the like. The cover sensor 61 outputs an on signal (opening signal) only when the open / close cover 7 is in the open position shown in FIG. 5, and outputs an off signal in other states.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover 7 is rotated by approximately 90 ° about the rotation center shaft 7a. As described above, the open / close cover 7 is integrally provided with the color measuring unit 12 and the drying unit 13. For this reason, the upper space of the conveyance path of the sheet S can be opened only by performing an operation of moving from the closed position P1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the open position P2 shown in FIG. Therefore, when the print head or the ink tank is replaced, or when the work such as the removal of the sheet S jammed in the print unit 9 or the color measurement unit 12 is performed, the color measurement unit 12 is simply moved by rotating the opening / closing cover 7. It can be moved to a retreat position that does not interfere with work, and workability is greatly improved. Further, after the maintenance work as described above is completed, the color measuring unit 12 can be moved to the color measuring position by moving the open / close cover 7 from the open position P1 to the closed position P2, and quickly. The printing operation can be resumed. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing cover not only functions as a lid that opens and closes the internal space, but also as a moving mechanism that moves the color measuring unit 12 from the color measuring position to the retracted position. Function. For this reason, in addition to the improvement in workability as described above, the configuration for installing the colorimetric unit 12 can be simplified, and the configuration can be made inexpensively. The open / close cover 7 is configured to block the internal space of the ink jet printing apparatus from the outside in the closed position, thereby suppressing the intrusion of external light into the inside. For this reason, it can be avoided that external light is irradiated to the color measurement unit during color measurement and the color measurement result is not affected. Further, when the opening / closing cover 7 is in the closed position, it is possible to prevent the user's hand or the like from coming into contact with the movable part inside the apparatus.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the opening / closing cover 7 moves to the open position, an opening signal is output from the cover sensor 61, and the CPU 51 that receives the signal controls the carriage motor 57 to move the carriage to the center of the moving path. It is designed to move. According to this, the replacement work of the ink tank and the print head can be performed more easily.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the open / close cover 7, the color measuring unit 12, and the drying unit 13 have been described by taking an example in which the open / close cover integrally rotates around the rotation center axis 7 a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other movements can be performed. For example, the open / close cover may be configured to be slidable downstream, and the color measuring device may be moved together with the open / close cover. In this case, the slide may be parallel movement along a planar movement path, but may be parallel movement along a curved movement path, and the movement path of the opening / closing member can be set as appropriate. .

  In the above embodiment, the color measuring device is fixed to the inner surface of the opening / closing cover, and the opening / closing cover and the color measuring device move integrally. However, the color measuring device is moved to a moving member different from the opening / closing cover. It is also possible to attach it. In this case, the moving member is configured to move in conjunction with the opening / closing cover. That is, when the open / close cover is in the closed position, the moving member holds the color measuring device in the color measuring position, and when the open / close cover is moved to the open position, the color measuring device is moved from the color measuring position to the retracted position. In this manner, the moving member is interlocked with the opening / closing member. According to this, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained, and the material, strength, design, etc. of the moving member can be determined regardless of the design of the opening / closing cover, and the design of the opening / closing cover is simplified. Is possible. That is, when the color measuring device is attached to the opening / closing cover as in the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing cover is required to consider the function as the exterior material, that is, the appearance, and to be strong enough to hold the moving member. On the other hand, if the opening / closing member and the moving member are configured as separate members as described above, the requirements for the opening / closing cover can be simplified, and the design and manufacture can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the color measurement device includes the color measurement unit and the drying unit has been described. However, a color measurement device that does not include the drying unit may be used.

  Furthermore, in the above description, a so-called serial type ink jet printing apparatus in which the print head is moved in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a serial type ink jet printing apparatus. For example, a so-called full line in which a long print head extending over a range equal to or larger than the sheet width (distance in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction) is fixed and printing is performed on continuously conveyed sheets. The present invention is also applicable to a type of inkjet printing apparatus.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to an ink jet printing apparatus, but can be applied to a thermal transfer printing apparatus, an electrophotographic printing apparatus, and the like. In an electrophotographic printing apparatus, a fixing roller that heats and presses a toner image formed on a sheet corresponds to a fixing unit. As described above, the printing method of the printing unit is not particularly limited as long as the printing apparatus includes the exterior member that accommodates the printing unit and the color measurement unit.

1 Inkjet printing device (printing device)
1A Print part 3 Exterior cover (exterior member)
7 Open / close cover (open / close member)
11 Color measuring device 11a Moving arm (moving member)
11b Rotation center axis 12 Color measuring unit 13 Drying unit (fixing unit)
16 Color measurement carriage 18 Color measurement sensor 19 Roll 21 Color measurement drive motor 24 Drive belt P1 Closed position P2 Open position PA Color measurement position PB Retraction position S Sheet (sheet)

Claims (10)

A print section for printing on a sheet;
A colorimetric unit that performs colorimetry on a portion printed by the print unit;
An exterior member capable of covering the print unit and the colorimetric unit;
The exterior member includes an opening / closing member that is movable between an open position that opens the print unit to the outside and a closed position that covers the print unit,
The colorimetric unit is located at a colorimetric position where the sheet printed by the print unit is measured when the open / close member is in the closed position, and the colorimetric unit is located when the open / close member is in the open position. A printing apparatus that moves from a position to a retracted position.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color measurement unit is held on an inner surface of the opening / closing member and moves together with the opening / closing member.   The colorimetric unit is held by a moving member interlocked with the opening / closing member, and the moving member holds the colorimetric unit at the colorimetric position when the opening / closing member is in the closed position, and the opening / closing member is The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the colorimetric unit is held in the retracted position when in the open position.   3. The opening / closing member is held so as to be rotatable about a rotation center axis, and the colorimetric unit rotates about the rotation center axis together with the opening / closing member. Printing device.   The said opening / closing member is supported by the said exterior member so that a parallel movement can be performed between the said open position and the said closed position, and the said colorimetry part moves in parallel with the said opening / closing member. The printing apparatus as described in. The printing unit forms a color patch by discharging a plurality of colors of ink onto a sheet conveyed by the conveying unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color measurement unit performs color measurement of the color patch.   The color measurement unit includes a color measurement carriage that reciprocates along a direction that intersects the sheet conveyance direction, and a color measurement sensor that is held by the color measurement carriage. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein color measurement of the color patch is performed. A fixing unit for fixing the color material printed on the sheet by the printing unit to the sheet;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing unit moves together with the printing unit according to opening / closing of an opening / closing member. The printing unit performs printing by discharging ink onto the sheet,
The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the fixing unit is a drying unit that dries the ink discharged to the sheet. A color measurement device including a color measurement unit that performs color measurement of an image printed by a printing unit of a printing device,
The colorimetric unit is configured to perform colorimetry of a portion printed by the print unit when an opening / closing member provided on an exterior member forming an outer shell of the printing apparatus is in an open position that opens the print unit to the outside. A colorimetric apparatus that is located at a colorimetric position to be moved and moves from the colorimetric position to a retracted position when the opening / closing member is in the open position.

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