JP2016049724A - Handy printer and printed material manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a handy printer capable of making prints on a curve surface.SOLUTION: A handy printer includes: a printing part; and a transfer part. The printing part forms an image by causing an ink to adhere to the transfer part. The transfer part transfers the ink adhering thereto by rotation to transfer the image to a medium. A contact area between the transfer part and the medium is narrower than the image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a handy printer and a printed material manufacturing method.

  Conventionally, a handy printer is known as disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, and the like.

JP 2011-73458 A JP 2009-234178 A JP 2013-126664 A

  However, there is no known handy printer that can print on a curved surface.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a handy printer capable of printing on a curved surface.

  A handy printer for achieving the above object includes a printing unit and a transfer unit. The printing unit forms an image by adhering ink to the transfer unit, and the transfer unit conveys the adhering ink by rotation and deposits the image on the medium to transfer the image to the medium. The contact area between the part and the medium is narrower than the image.

  According to the present invention, the contact area between the transfer portion and the medium is narrower than the image to be printed, and the image is transferred to the medium by the rotation of the transfer portion, so that the image can be printed on a curved surface. Note that if the length of the area where the surface of the transfer unit is in contact with the medium in the rotation direction of the transfer unit is shorter than the length of the image to be printed in that direction, the contact area between the transfer unit and the medium Is narrower than the image to be printed.

The schematic diagram which looked at the handy printer by one Embodiment of this invention from the rotating shaft direction of the transfer roller. The typical fragmentary sectional view which looked at the principal part of the handy printer by one Embodiment of this invention from the advancing direction.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the corresponding component in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

1. Configuration A handy printer 1 as an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is an ink jet printer for printing a barcode, date of manufacture, etc. on paper, film, cloth, etc. supported by hand. The handy printer 1 includes a transfer unit including a transfer belt 21, belt support rollers 22 and 23, and a transfer roller 24, a printing unit 11, a cleaning roller 25, and a control unit 41.

  The printing unit 11 is a mechanism that ejects ink by a known inkjet method. The printing unit 11 forms the image G on the surface of the transfer belt 21 by ejecting the ink D from the surface facing the transfer belt 21 and attaching the ink D to the transfer belt 21.

  The belt support rollers 22 and 23 and the transfer roller 24 are cylindrical rotating bodies that support the transfer belt 21 from the inside. The belt support rollers 22 and 23 have their rotational axes fixed to the printing unit 11. Therefore, the belt support rollers 22 and 23 keep the distance between the printing unit 11 and the transfer belt 21 constant. The rotation amounts of the belt support rollers 22 and 23 are detected by a rotary sensor (not shown).

  The transfer roller 24 is supported by a bearing 242 at a position where part of the transfer roller 24 protrudes to the outside of the housing 10. The transfer roller 24 presses the transfer belt 21 against the medium M, thereby causing the ink attached to the surface of the transfer belt 21 to adhere to the medium M. A bearing 242 that supports the rotating shaft 241 of the transfer roller 24 is supported by a link (not shown) so as to be movable relative to the printing unit 11, and is pushed out of the housing 10 by a spring 31. For this reason, the transfer roller 24 follows the unevenness of the medium M and pushes the transfer belt 21 toward the medium M.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the two bearings 242a and 242b may be configured to move at different distances on both sides of the rotating shaft 241, or the two bearings 242a and 242b may move at the same distance. You may comprise. When the two bearings 242a and 242b are configured to move the same distance, the transfer roller 24 moves in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 241. As a result, the transfer roller 24 follows the irregularities on the surface of the medium M in the traveling direction of the handy printer 1. When the two bearings 242a and 242b are configured to be able to move at different distances and are pushed out by the springs 31a and 31b, as shown in FIG. 2, the unevenness of the medium M in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 241 is followed. Thus, the transfer roller 24 is elastically oscillated. As a result, the transfer roller 24 follows the irregularities on the surface of the medium M in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the handy printer 1. If the swinging of the transfer roller 24 is restricted, it is sufficient to provide one spring 31. The transfer roller 24 is made of rubber, urethane foam, or the like. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the contact surface of the transfer roller 24 with the transfer belt 21 is elastically deformed following the unevenness of the medium M in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 241.

  The transfer belt 21 is an endless belt made of a material that elastically deforms following the unevenness of the medium M in the rotation axis direction of the transfer roller 24. The transfer belt 21 has a surface layer that carries ink. Therefore, the transfer belt 21 can convey the ink D ejected from the printing unit 11 and adhered to the surface layer to the area exposed from the housing 10 by rotation.

  The cleaning roller 25 is rotatably supported at a position sandwiching the transfer belt 21 together with the belt support roller 22 and is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 21. The rotation direction of the transfer belt 21 is determined in advance by a ratchet gear or the like, and the belt support roller 22 that is paired with the cleaning roller 25 is located behind the printing unit 11 in the rotation direction of the transfer belt 21.

  The control unit 41 includes a computer having a processor, a main memory, an input / output mechanism, and an external memory. The control unit 41 executes the control program stored in the external storage, thereby acquiring the rotation amounts of the belt support rollers 22 and 23 and causing the printing unit 11 to eject ink in accordance with the rotation of the transfer belt 21. Control. The presence or absence of ink ejection corresponding to the rotation amount of the belt support rollers 22 and 23 is determined by the print data. The print data may be created based on the image data by an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or may be created by the control unit 41. Data transfer from the external device to the control unit 41 can be performed using a communication cable, wireless communication, or removable media. In addition, an operation unit such as a key or a touch pad for inputting characters may be provided in the handy printer 1, and the control unit 41 may create print data from the input characters.

2. Operation When the handy printer 1 is moved in a predetermined A direction with the transfer belt 21 in contact with the medium M as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer belt 21 rotates in the B direction. When the transfer belt 21 rotates, the ink D is ejected from the printing unit 11 at a timing corresponding to the rotation amount of the transfer belt 21. The ink D ejected from the printing unit 11 adheres to the transfer belt 21 and forms an image G on the surface of the transfer belt 21. The ink D adhering to the transfer belt 21 is conveyed between the transfer roller 24 and the medium M as the transfer belt 21 rotates. When the ink D reaches the contact area between the transfer belt 21 and the medium M, the ink D moves from the transfer belt 21 pushed by the transfer roller 24 to the medium M. As a result, the image G formed by the ink D on the surface of the transfer belt 21 is transferred to the medium M.

  The ink remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 21 even after the contact area between the transfer belt 21 and the medium M is conveyed between the cleaning roller 25 and the belt support roller 22 as the transfer belt 21 rotates. When the ink remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 21 reaches the contact area between the transfer belt 21 and the cleaning roller 25, the ink moves from the transfer belt 21 to the cleaning roller 25 and is removed from the transfer belt 21.

  The transfer belt 21 supported from the inside by the transfer roller 24 comes into contact with the plane in a linear region. That is, the contact area between the transfer belt 21 and the medium M is narrower than the image G to be printed. Since the transfer roller 24 follows the unevenness of the medium M and pushes the transfer belt 21 toward the medium M, the contact area between the transfer belt 21 and the medium M is narrowed even if the surface of the medium M is a curved surface. There is nothing. Therefore, the entire image G can be transferred to the medium M by rotating the transfer belt 21 while transferring the linear partial region of the image G to the medium M. Thus, even if the surface of the medium M to which the image G is transferred is not flat, the handy printer 1 can print the image G on the medium M.

  Further, the transfer roller 24 is twisted so that the surface of the medium M undulates at a small pitch because the contact surface with the transfer belt 21 elastically deforms following the unevenness of the medium M in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 241. Also, the image G can be printed clearly. Furthermore, when the transfer roller 24 is elastically rotated so as to follow the unevenness of the medium M in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 241, the image G is clearly printed even if the surface of the medium M is twisted so as to wave at a large pitch. can do.

  Since no ink remains on the surface of the transfer belt 21 that passes between the cleaning roller 25 and the transfer belt 21, the printing unit 11 continuously forms an image G longer than the length of the transfer belt 21 on the transfer belt 21. be able to. That is, by moving the handy printer 1 while being pressed against the medium M, it is possible to repeatedly print a predetermined image such as a barcode, a product price, and a manufacturing date.

3. Other Embodiments The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the transfer unit may be configured such that the contact area between the surface of the transfer unit and the medium is narrower than the image to be printed. Specifically, the transfer unit can be configured by only one transfer roller having a cylindrical surface, and the transfer belt can be omitted. Note that it is desirable to flatten a part of the transfer belt by supporting the transfer belt from the inside with two or more rollers. This is because the distance between the printing unit and the transfer belt can be kept constant in the two-dimensional region by adopting a configuration in which ink is sprayed from the printing unit to the flat portion of the transfer belt. The transfer belt may be supported from the inside by four or more rollers, or a flat portion of the transfer belt between the two rollers may be in contact with the medium.

  In addition, it is desirable to configure the transfer roller's rotation shaft to move elastically, but even if the rotation shaft does not move elastically, it is possible for the user to print on a curved surface by moving the handy printer following unevenness It is. In addition, the transfer roller is configured such that the surface is elastically deformed, so that a clear image can be printed on the surface of a medium having small irregularities, but the surface of the transfer roller does not necessarily have to be elastically deformed. For example, the surface of the transfer belt may be elastically deformed by giving the transfer belt a sufficient thickness.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Handy printer, 10 ... Housing, 11 ... Printing part, 21 ... Transfer belt, 22 ... Cleaning roller, 22 ... Belt support roller, 23 ... Belt support roller, 24 ... Transfer roller, 25 ... Cleaning roller, 31a ... Spring , 31b ... spring, 41 ... control unit, 241 ... rotating shaft, 242a ... bearing, 242b ... bearing, D ... ink, G ... image, M ... medium

Claims (8)

A handy printer comprising a printing unit and a transfer unit,
The printing unit forms an image by attaching ink to the transfer unit,
The transfer unit conveys the attached ink by rotation to adhere to the medium, and transfers the image to the medium.
The contact area between the transfer portion and the medium is narrower than the image,
Handy printer. The transfer portion elastically deforms following the unevenness of the medium.
The handy printer according to claim 1. The transfer portion is
A transfer belt on which an image is formed with ink;
A belt support roller for supporting the transfer belt at a position facing the printing unit;
A transfer roller that pushes the transfer belt toward the medium following the unevenness of the medium;
A handy printer according to claim 2, comprising: The contact surface of the transfer roller with the transfer belt is elastically deformed following the irregularities of the medium in the rotation axis direction of the transfer roller.
The handy printer according to claim 3. The transfer belt elastically deforms following the unevenness of the medium in the rotation axis direction of the transfer roller.
The handy printer according to claim 3 or 4. The rotation axis of the transfer roller elastically moves with respect to the printing unit following the unevenness of the medium in the traveling direction of the transfer roller.
The handy printer according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The rotation axis of the transfer roller elastically swings following the irregularities of the medium in the rotation axis direction of the transfer roller.
The handy printer according to claim 6. An image is formed by attaching ink to the transfer part,
Transferring the image to the medium by conveying the ink attached to the transfer part by rotating the transfer part and attaching the ink to the medium;
The contact area between the transfer portion and the medium is narrower than the image,
Printed product manufacturing method.

Images