JP2015054472A - Printer having ultraviolet ray radiation amount controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which does not generate printing trouble such as set-off and blocking even when a light source on an ultraviolet ray radiation device disposed on the printer is outlived.SOLUTION: The ultraviolet ray radiation device is mounted on the printer. On the printer, an optical sensor measuring a radiation amount of the ultraviolet ray measures the ultraviolet ray radiation amount during printing, and compares the radiation amount with a reference value which was inputted in advance. When the radiation amount is lower than the reference value, the optical sensor is switched to a light source capable of radiating the ultraviolet ray, therefore an ultraviolet ray curable ink can be reliably cured.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing press having an ultraviolet irradiation device, wherein the amount of light irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation device is detected by an optical sensor, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount is controlled so as to maintain a reference value inputted in advance. It is an invention relating to a printing machine having a featured ultraviolet irradiation amount control device.

  As means for drying the printing ink, ultraviolet curable ink that cures the ink film by irradiation of ultraviolet rays is used, and as a printing machine for printing these ultraviolet curable ink, a metal halide lamp, a mercury lamp, etc. Printing presses having an ultraviolet irradiation device having a light source for irradiating ultraviolet rays are widely used.

  UV curable inks cure the least curable areas (ink films) because the amount of UV irradiation required to form a cured film differs due to differences in ink film thickness and ink hue. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to maintain the necessary UV irradiation amount. However, light sources that irradiate ultraviolet rays, such as metal halide lamps and mercury lamps, have a fixed usage time (life) that guarantees a certain amount of irradiation. As the lifetime approaches, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation decreases and ink curing failure occurs. As a result, printing troubles such as set-off and blocking occur.

  In order to prevent printing troubles such as set-off and blocking, it can be handled by setting the irradiation amount necessary for curing the ink film to more than the required amount, but printing is performed by reducing the output from the light source. When trouble occurs, a large amount of waste paper is generated. Therefore, the light source is replaced with a new light source when the life of the light source approaches.

  Accordingly, the applicant of the present invention pays attention to the fact that the weight applied to each printed material varies depending on the amount of printed material stacked in the delivery section of the printing press, and printing trouble such as set-back is likely to occur due to the weight of the laminated paper. In other words, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation is increased for the printed matter located at the bottom of the laminated paper, and the amount of ultraviolet irradiation is reduced for the printed matter located at the top of the laminated paper. An application has been filed for a radiation irradiation device that reduces energy (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, without changing the output of ultraviolet rays, the amount of ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet irradiation device during printing is measured, and when it falls below the reference value entered in advance, the transport speed of the printed matter is slowed down. There has been disclosed a printing unit device that increases ultraviolet irradiation energy to ultraviolet curable ink printed on a material (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The printing unit apparatus of Patent Document 2 cannot dry the UV curable ink when the UV irradiation amount falls below the reference value on the printing press, so the light source such as a metal halide lamp must be replaced each time. Focusing on the high cost of work load and parts replacement, adjusting the transport speed of the printed matter according to the output of the ultraviolet irradiation device, the ultraviolet irradiation device with reduced irradiation amount The UV curable ink is surely cured.

JP 2010-052291 A Japanese Patent No. 5023378

  However, since the radiation irradiation apparatus of Patent Document 1 adjusts the amount of ultraviolet irradiation by the weight of the printed material laminated on the delivery part, if the output of the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus itself is reduced, ink curing failure Therefore, there remains a problem that printing trouble cannot be prevented.

  Moreover, the printing unit apparatus of patent document 2 measures the ultraviolet irradiation amount during printing, and when it becomes below the reference value input previously, generation | occurrence | production of defective hardening of an ink is reduced by reducing the conveyance speed of printed matter. Although this can be prevented in advance, there is a problem that the work efficiency is poor because the work efficiency is remarkably lowered due to a decrease in the printing speed.

  The present invention has been created to solve the above-described problems. A light-emitting diode (LED) is used as an optical sensor for measuring the amount of ultraviolet irradiation during printing, and a voltage flowing through the LED depending on the amount of light energy received. When the amount of light is detected and the light energy is below the reference value input in advance, the UV irradiation amount control device that cures the UV curable ink reliably by emitting light from the light emitting diode itself used as an optical sensor. The present invention relates to a printing press having the

  The printing press having the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device of the present invention is a printing press having an ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device that detects the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount on the printing machine and controls the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount not to be below a predetermined amount. The ultraviolet irradiation unit for irradiating the printed material conveyed on the printing machine with ultraviolet rays, the ultraviolet irradiation amount detection unit for detecting the ultraviolet irradiation amount from the ultraviolet irradiation unit by a light emitting diode, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount detection unit. When the UV irradiation amount is below the reference value by the comparison determination unit that compares the detected UV irradiation amount with a reference value stored in advance, and the comparison determination unit, the light emitting diode of the UV irradiation detection unit is used as a light source for the printed matter. It is a printing machine having an ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device characterized by having at least a control unit for instructing ultraviolet ray irradiation.

  In addition, the ultraviolet irradiation amount detection unit in the printing press having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention detects the ultraviolet irradiation amount by changing the voltage amount flowing in the light emitting diode by the irradiation energy of the ultraviolet rays. A printing machine having an irradiation amount control device.

  In addition, the comparison / determination unit in the printing press having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention includes an input unit for inputting a reference value of ultraviolet irradiation amount and various conditions, a light source usage time and an integrated irradiation time in the ultraviolet irradiation unit, etc. A printing machine having an ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device characterized by having a storage unit for storing the above information.

  In addition, the light emitting diode in the printing press having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention emits light energy in the vicinity of the reaction peak of the photopolymerization initiator contained in the ultraviolet curable ink. Is a printing press.

  Furthermore, the control unit in the printing press having the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device of the present invention has a notifying unit for notifying that the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount is equal to or lower than the reference value when the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount is determined to be equal to or lower than the reference value. This is a printing press having an ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device.

  In the printing press having the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device of the present invention, the light emitting diode itself used as an optical sensor emits light when the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount falls below the reference value, and the ink transferred to the printed matter is surely cured. There is an effect that printing troubles such as set-off and blocking can be prevented in advance.

  In addition, unlike the conventional printing machine, it is not necessary to stop the machine at an unscheduled time such as replacing the light source when a printing trouble is found, and it is necessary to stop the printing machine for replacing the light source. Since there is no effect, the work efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, since the light source can be used to the limit even when the life of the light source is near, there is an effect that the cost associated with the replacement of the light source can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the light emitting diode itself used as an optical sensor is switched as an auxiliary light source, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation can be controlled without using an independent optical sensor and auxiliary light source, so that a limited space on the printing press is effectively used. There is an effect that it can be utilized.

The figure which shows the printing machine which has the ultraviolet irradiation amount control apparatus of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the ultraviolet irradiation amount control apparatus of this invention The figure which shows the relationship between the ultraviolet irradiation device and the printing paper which is conveyed Diagram showing the cooling line of the UV irradiation amount control device Block diagram of UV irradiation dose control device Flow chart showing the process of the UV irradiation amount control device

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and includes various other embodiments within the scope of the technical idea described in the scope of claims.

  The printing press (1) having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention is an optical that detects ultraviolet irradiation energy between the ultraviolet light source (H) in the ultraviolet irradiation device (A) and the printing paper (K) being conveyed. It has a sensor. The optical sensor in the present invention uses a light emitting diode (I) (hereinafter referred to as “LED”), and the voltage flowing through the LED (I) changes by receiving ultraviolet irradiation energy from the ultraviolet light source (H). In this way, the ultraviolet irradiation energy emitted from the ultraviolet light source (H) is detected in real time.

  The LED (I) used as an optical sensor supplements the UV irradiation energy for the UV ink with the energy radiated from the LED (I) itself when the UV irradiation energy from the UV light source (H) becomes a predetermined value or less. Since it is necessary to have a configuration, it is possible to use one that emits light energy around 365 nm, which is a wavelength peak in a general ultraviolet light source (H). Preferably, LED (I) which radiates | emits the wavelength match | combined with the reaction peak of the photoinitiator contained in UV ink used at the time of printing can be used, and drying of UV ink can be supplemented reliably.

  Further, the printing machine 1 having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention has a determination mechanism for determining whether the ultraviolet irradiation energy from the ultraviolet light source (H) for curing the UV ink printed in each printing unit is an appropriate value. The determination mechanism includes an input unit for inputting a reference value of ultraviolet irradiation amount required for each printing unit and various conditions, a storage unit for storing an accumulated time of the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet light source, and an LED. At least a determination unit that compares and determines the voltage change data detected from (I).

  In addition, when it is determined by the determination mechanism described above that the amount of ultraviolet irradiation is lower than the reference value input in advance, an instruction from the control unit causes the LED (I) to emit light and compensate for the insufficient portion of the ultraviolet energy. Yes.

  Next, a printer (1) having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The printing press (1) (hereinafter referred to as “printing press”) having the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device of the present invention is a printing press (1) having an offset printing unit (D) and an intaglio printing unit (E). In the printing machine (1) shown in FIG. 1, the offset printing unit (D) performs offset printing on the printing paper (K) supplied from the feeder section (F), and the printing paper is printed by the offset-side ultraviolet light source (H1). The film of UV ink formed on the surface of (K) is cured by ultraviolet irradiation energy from the ultraviolet light source (B).

  The printing paper (K) on which the offset printing image line is formed is conveyed to the intaglio printing unit (E), and the intaglio printing image line is applied. The printing paper (K) on which the intaglio printing image line has been applied is irradiated with ultraviolet rays on the surface of the printing paper (K) by the ultraviolet light source (H2) on the intaglio printing side to cure the UV ink. Thereafter, the printing paper (K) is conveyed to the delivery unit (G) and stacked.

  The ultraviolet light source (H1) on the offset side in FIG. 1 cures a relatively low-thickness printed image line formed by the offset printing unit, so if one or two ultraviolet light sources (H) are prepared. Although it is sufficient, the ultraviolet light source (H2) on the intaglio printing side is required to cure the printing image line formed by the intaglio printing with a high film thickness of the printing image line, so that it is required to secure high ultraviolet irradiation energy. . Therefore, the ultraviolet light source (H2) on the intaglio printing side used for curing the intaglio printing image line has a configuration in which a plurality of ultraviolet light sources (H) are arranged in parallel, or the print speed of the printing paper (K) is reduced, thereby reducing the printed matter. It is necessary to set it as the structure where the ultraviolet irradiation energy with respect to 1 becomes high.

  Next, the configuration of the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig.2 (a) shows the state which observed the ultraviolet irradiation amount control apparatus (A) of this invention from the printing surface side, and shows an ultraviolet light source (H), LED (I), and a heat ray cut filter (J). Have. As the ultraviolet light source (H), an electrodeless high pressure mercury lamp, an electroded high pressure mercury lamp, an electrodeless metal halide lamp, an electroded metal halide lamp, a xenon lamp, an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp, a mercury xenon lamp, or the like can be used. Since (H) becomes a high temperature when irradiated with ultraviolet rays and emits heat rays, a heat ray cut filter (J) is provided between the ultraviolet light source (H) and the LED (I). Furthermore, since the LED (I) is easily affected by heat, the influence of temperature on the LED (I) itself can be suppressed by providing a cooling device near the ultraviolet light source (H). The cooling device in the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) will be described later.

  FIG. 2B shows a state in which the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device (A) is observed from the side surface side of the printing press 1. The ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) includes an ultraviolet light source (H) that irradiates the printing paper (K) with ultraviolet rays, and a heat ray cut filter (J) that reflects heat rays to the printing paper (K) and the LED (I). And a reflecting mirror (L) for efficiently irradiating the ultraviolet energy of the ultraviolet light source (H) in the direction of the printing paper (K), and an LED (I) for detecting the ultraviolet irradiation energy. By providing this reflecting mirror (L), the ultraviolet irradiation energy from the ultraviolet light source (H) can be efficiently irradiated to the direction of the printing paper (K). In addition, although LED (I) is provided in the position used as the center of an ultraviolet light source (H) and printing paper (K), it is the position which can fully sense the change of the irradiation energy from an ultraviolet light source (H), and The position is not particularly limited as long as the irradiation energy from the LED (I) can be sufficiently applied to the printing paper (K).

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the printing paper (K) is conveyed in the printing machine (1) having the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device (A) of the present invention, and printing is performed in the printing machine (1). Immediately after the printing paper (K) is conveyed by the conveying section (M), the printing paper (K) is irradiated with ultraviolet rays by an ultraviolet light source (H), and the heat ray cut filter (J) is placed on the printing paper (K) side. The provided LED (I) detects the amount of ultraviolet light applied to the printing paper (K) by a change in the voltage flowing through the LED (I), and compares it with a reference value input in advance by a determination mechanism (not shown). In this case, the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays is determined, and when it is determined to be equal to or less than the reference value, the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays is controlled by causing the LED (I) to emit light by the support of the control mechanism.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of cooling the heat from the ultraviolet light source (H) generated during the ultraviolet irradiation in the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A). The ultraviolet light source (H) in the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) is in a state where heat is easily accumulated by being sandwiched between the heat ray cut filter (J) and the reflecting mirror (L) provided in the direction of the printing paper (K). It has become. Therefore, a gap for releasing heat is provided at the center of the reflecting mirror (L), and further, cooling by air cooling from the direction of the reflecting mirror (L) can release the heat accumulated near the ultraviolet light source (H). The temperature rise in the above ultraviolet irradiation amount control apparatus (A) can be suppressed.

  Moreover, although the temperature of printing paper (K) may rise by the heat ray (infrared rays) from an ultraviolet light source (H), visible rays and infrared rays other than ultraviolet rays are reflected by using a heat ray cut filter (J). Yes. Therefore, by installing the UV irradiation amount control device (A) equipped with the LED (I) between the printing paper (K) and the UV light source (H) or the heat ray cut filter (J), it is affected by the temperature rise caused by the heat rays. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently measure the ultraviolet irradiation amount.

  Also, since the effective irradiation distance is different between the ultraviolet light source (H) and the LED (I), the LED (I) having an effective irradiation distance shorter than the ultraviolet light source (H) depends on the work compared to the ultraviolet light source (H). The closer one can effectively irradiate ultraviolet rays. About the irradiation angle at the time of LED (I) light emission, the irradiation intensity for the reduced amount is reinforced by providing an angle that overlaps with the irradiation range in the conventional ultraviolet light source (H), and is more effective. It is also possible to perform typical irradiation.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an instruction system in the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) of the present invention. The ultraviolet irradiation mechanism for irradiating ultraviolet rays, the detection mechanism for detecting the ultraviolet irradiation amount, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount as a reference value. And a control mechanism for controlling all the mechanisms described above.

  The ultraviolet irradiation amount control apparatus (A) of the present invention inputs various conditions such as printing conditions such as printing speed and ink used, and a reference value of the ultraviolet irradiation amount, to the input unit of the determination mechanism. Various conditions input at the input unit of the determination mechanism are stored in the storage unit of the determination mechanism. In this state, the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) is ready for operation.

  At the start of printing, the control mechanism instructs the ultraviolet irradiation mechanism to irradiate ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source (H) and start cooling to the cooling unit, and starts irradiation from the ultraviolet light source (H). At the timing of this ultraviolet irradiation, the ultraviolet irradiation amount is detected by the LED (I) of the detection mechanism. For the detection of the ultraviolet irradiation amount, the voltage amount flowing through the LED (I) is detected by the voltage detection unit, the voltage data is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit of the control mechanism, and the received ultraviolet ray irradiation amount is received by the arithmetic processing unit of the control mechanism. Perform the conversion process. The converted detection data is transmitted to the determination mechanism.

  The determination mechanism that has received the detection data determines the reference value and the detection data stored in the storage unit by the determination unit, stores and displays the determination result, and transmits the determination result to the storage unit of the control mechanism.

  The control mechanism that has received the determination result instructs the detection mechanism to continue the voltage detection when the determination result is within the reference value. When the determination result is equal to or less than the reference value, the LED (I) of the detection mechanism is instructed to emit light, and the instructed LED (I) emits light to the printing paper (K). Further, in order to inform the printing operator that the value has fallen below the reference value, an instruction is given to the notification unit.

  Next, the control process of the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, as STEP 1, a printing condition such as a ticket type to be printed, a design, an ink, printing conditions such as a printing speed and an ultraviolet irradiation amount, and a reference value for the ultraviolet irradiation amount are input. Next, as STEP 2, the operation of the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device (A) is started simultaneously with the start of printing. At the start of operation, the ultraviolet light source (H) is turned on and the cooling device is operated in the ultraviolet irradiation mechanism.

  Next, in STEP 3, in order to detect the ultraviolet irradiation amount, the voltage amount flowing through the LED (I) is detected by the voltage detection unit as the detection of the ultraviolet irradiation amount by the LED (I), and the detection voltage is transmitted to the control mechanism. The transmitted detection voltage is calculated to the ultraviolet irradiation amount in the arithmetic processing unit of the control mechanism, and transmitted to the determination mechanism.

  Based on the transmitted ultraviolet irradiation amount, the ultraviolet irradiation amount is determined in STEP 4. In the comparison determination, the reference value of the ultraviolet irradiation amount stored in the storage unit of the determination mechanism is compared with the detected ultraviolet irradiation amount, and the determination result is transmitted to the control mechanism. At this time, if the determination result is within the reference value, the process returns to STEP 3 which is voltage detection as STEP 5 and the voltage detection is continued.

  If the determination result is less than the reference value, the LED (I) itself used for detecting the UV irradiation amount is detected as STEP 6 to emit auxiliary UV light, and at the same time, the UV irradiation amount to the printing operator from the notification unit in STEP 7 It is informed that the value is below the reference value, and in STEP 8, the printing operator decides when to stop the printing press, and the ultraviolet light source (H) is replaced.

  As described above, even when the life of the ultraviolet light source (H) is near, it is not necessary to replace the ultraviolet light source (H) in advance, so that resources can be used effectively and damaged paper due to poor ink curing. Can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the replacement time of the ultraviolet light source (H) can be determined by the timing of the printing operator, replacement work considering the balance between the light source on the intaglio side and the light source on the offset side, or an auxiliary light source considering the number of prints, etc. Since it is possible to respond flexibly, such as the continuation of operation, it is possible to suppress useless work due to sudden stoppage of printing.

1 Printer A UV irradiation dose control device
D Offset printing section
E Intaglio printing section
F Feeder section
G Delivery Department
H, H1, H2 Ultraviolet light source I Light-emitting diode (LED)
J Heat cut filter
K printing paper
L reflector
M transport section

Claims (5)

A printing machine having an ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device that detects the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount on a printing machine and controls the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount so that the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount does not become a certain amount or less,
The ultraviolet irradiation amount control device includes an ultraviolet light source that irradiates ultraviolet rays to a printed material conveyed on the printing machine, and an ultraviolet irradiation mechanism that includes a cooling unit that cools heat from the ultraviolet light source,
An ultraviolet irradiation amount detection mechanism for detecting an ultraviolet irradiation amount from the ultraviolet irradiation unit by a light emitting diode;
A determination mechanism that compares the ultraviolet irradiation amount detected by the ultraviolet irradiation amount detection unit with a reference value stored in advance.
When the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount becomes equal to or less than a reference value by the comparison / determination unit, the control unit has at least a control mechanism that instructs the ultraviolet ray irradiation to the printed matter using the light emitting diode in the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount detection unit as a light source. A printing machine having an ultraviolet irradiation amount control device.   2. The printing press having an ultraviolet irradiation amount control device according to claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet irradiation amount detecting mechanism detects the ultraviolet irradiation amount by changing a voltage amount flowing in the light emitting diode according to ultraviolet irradiation energy. .   The comparison / determination unit includes an input unit that inputs a reference value of ultraviolet irradiation amount and various conditions, and a storage unit that stores information such as a use time of a light source and an integrated irradiation time in the ultraviolet irradiation unit. A printing machine comprising the ultraviolet ray irradiation amount control device according to claim 1.   4. The ultraviolet irradiation amount control device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting diode emits light energy near a reaction peak of a photopolymerization initiator contained in an ultraviolet curable ink. 5. Having a printing press.   The said control part has a alerting | reporting part which alert | reports that it became below the reference value, when the ultraviolet irradiation amount was determined to be below a reference value by the said comparison determination part, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. A printing machine comprising the ultraviolet irradiation amount control device according to one item.

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