JP2021115798A - Printing device abd printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform printing well by reliably removing ink dripping from an ink dropping blade without adding a driving source.SOLUTION: A height position adjustment unit adjusts a height position so that a tip part of a doctor blade filled with ink and an upper end part of an ink dropping blade coincide or partially overlap each other in a vertical direction. With the height position remaining adjusted, a horizontal driving part drops downward ink sticking to the tip part of the doctor blade by relatively moving a stage in a first horizontal direction so that the tip part of the doctor blade filled with the ink passes through an upper end part of the ink dropping blade.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6E

Description

In the present invention, the plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved with respect to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then the doctor blade is relatively raised from the plate. It relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for causing and retracting.

Many printing techniques have been proposed for printing a pattern formed of ink on a flat plate base material (glass plate, resin film, etc.) or a three-dimensional base material (container, bottle, etc.). For example, in the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, ink is filled in the recesses provided on the plate surface of the intaglio plate corresponding to the above pattern to form an ink pattern (filling step). The ink pattern is received by the transfer roller (acceptance step), and the received ink pattern is further transferred to the base material (transfer process).

JP-A-2018-158499 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-1410113

In the filling step, ink is supplied to the intaglio from a supply unit such as a dispenser. Further, the doctor blade is lowered and the tip portion is pressed against the plate surface of the intaglio plate. In this state, the intaglio moves horizontally. As a result, ink is filled in the recesses on the plate surface of the intaglio plate, and excess ink is scraped off from the plate surface (main filling step). Further, in order to prevent the ink remaining on the intaglio plate after the ink is received by the transfer roller from drying and sticking to the plate surface, the tip of the doctor blade for temporary filling is brought into contact with or close to the plate surface. Ink is temporarily filled (temporary filling step).

When the above-mentioned main filling step and temporary filling step are completed, each doctor blade moves upward and retracts from the intaglio. At this time, the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade may hang down like a curtain. When ink drips, when the doctor blade passes over the intaglio, the ink drops or adheres to the pattern that has been scraped off, causing printing defects. Further, even if the ink does not fall on the intaglio, it may fall inside the device. As a result, the guides and sensors may become dirty, leading to malfunction.

Therefore, as a countermeasure when ink adheres to the doctor blade, for example, as described in Patent Document 2, it has been proposed to add a mechanism for sandwiching the doctor blade between plate-shaped members and dropping the ink on the intaglio. There is. However, in this proposal, it is necessary to add a new drive system for cleaning to the printing apparatus. Further, as the length of the doctor blade becomes longer, the moving distance of the mechanism becomes longer accordingly, so that the mechanism becomes larger and the additional mechanism cost is likely to increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing technique capable of reliably removing ink dripping from a blade and performing printing satisfactorily without adding a drive source.

The first aspect of the present invention is to move the plate held on the upper surface of the stage relative to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then from the plate to the doctor blade. A printing device that relatively raises and retracts the ink, and the ink drop blade that stands above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction, and the stage in the first horizontal direction. The horizontal drive unit that moves relatively, the elevating unit that raises and lowers at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction, and the horizontal drive unit and the elevating part are controlled to drop the ink adhering to the lower end of the doctor blade downward. The control unit is provided with a control unit, and the control unit is provided with an elevating unit so that the lower end of the doctor blade filled with ink and the tip of the ink dropping blade coincide with or partially overlap each other in the vertical direction. With the height position of the ink drop blade adjusted with respect to the blade, the horizontal drive unit makes the stage relative to the first horizontal direction so that the lower end of the doctor blade filled with ink passes through the tip of the ink drop blade. It is characterized by being moved in a targeted manner.

A second aspect of the present invention is a printing method in which the plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved in the first horizontal direction with respect to the doctor blade, and the ink adhering to the plate is transferred to the plate. Adheres to the lower end of the doctor blade filled with ink using the first step of filling and the ink dropping blade erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction. It includes a second step of dropping ink downward, and the second step includes the lower end of the doctor blade and the tip of the ink drop blade, which are filled with ink by raising and lowering at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction. The process of adjusting the height position of the ink drop blade with respect to the doctor blade so that the ink is aligned or partially overlaps in the vertical direction, and the lower end of the doctor blade filled with ink while adjusting the height position is ink. It is characterized by having a step of relatively moving the stage in the first horizontal direction so as to pass through the tip of the drop blade.

A third aspect of the present invention is to move the plate held on the upper surface of the stage relative to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then from the plate. A printing device that raises and retracts the doctor blade relatively, and is erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction, and the upper ends are in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction. An ink drop blade that is elastically deformable in the horizontal direction, a horizontal drive unit that moves the stage relatively in the first horizontal direction, and an elevating unit that raises and lowers at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction are horizontal. It is equipped with a control unit that controls the drive unit and the elevating unit to drop the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade downward, and the tip of the upper end of the ink drop blade is bent in the first horizontal direction. , A state in which the doctor blade filled with ink by relatively moving the stage in the first horizontal direction by the horizontal drive unit is brought into contact with the upper end portion of the ink dropping blade to elastically deform the upper end portion in the second horizontal direction. The feature is that the upper end of the ink removing blade is returned to the first horizontal direction by raising the doctor blade by the elevating part so that the doctor blade filled with ink moves to a position higher than the ink removing blade. There is.

Further, a fourth aspect of the present invention is a printing method, in which the plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved in the first horizontal direction with respect to the doctor blade, and the ink adhering to the plate is transferred to the plate. The first step of filling and the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction are erected above the end of the stage, and the upper end is elastically deformable in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction. The second step of dropping the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade filled with ink using the ink drop blade is provided, and the tip of the upper end of the ink drop blade is bent in the first horizontal direction. In the second step, the stage is relatively moved in the first horizontal direction to bring the doctor blade filled with ink into contact with the upper end portion of the ink dropping blade, and the upper end portion is elastically deformed in the second horizontal direction. It is characterized by having a step of returning the upper end portion of the ink removing blade to the first horizontal direction by raising the doctor blade so that the doctor blade filled with ink moves to a position higher than the ink removing blade. And.

As described above, in the first and second aspects of the present invention, the tip end portion of the doctor blade filled with ink and the upper end portion of the ink drop blade erected from the stage coincide with or portion in the vertical direction. The height position of the blade with respect to the doctor blade is adjusted so that the blades overlap with each other. Then, in the state where the height position is adjusted in this way, the lower end of the doctor blade filled with ink passes through the tip of the blade, and the ink adhering to the lower end of the doctor blade at the time of passing passes through the blade. It is scraped off by the tip and dropped downward. Utilizing the configuration (horizontal drive unit and elevating unit) used to fill the plate with the ink adhering to the plate in this way, that is, printing is performed by reliably removing the ink hanging from the blade without adding a drive source. Can be done well.

Further, in the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the doctor blade which has been filled with ink by moving the stage relatively in the first horizontal direction is brought into contact with the upper end portion of the ink dropping blade to bring the upper end portion into contact with the upper end portion. After elastic deformation in the second horizontal direction, the doctor blade filled with ink is relatively raised to a position higher than the ink dropping blade. The upper end of the ink drop blade, which has been elastically deformed in this ascending process, returns to the first horizontal direction while sliding the tip of the ink drop blade against the doctor blade. During this return process, the ink adhering to the lower end of the doctor blade is scraped off by the tip of the blade and dropped downward. Utilizing the configuration (horizontal drive unit and elevating unit) used to fill the plate with the ink adhering to the plate in this way, that is, printing is performed by reliably removing the ink hanging from the blade without adding a drive source. Can be done well.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic configuration example of the printing system equipped with the 1st Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the plate stage unit and the squeegee head. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of a printing system. It is a front view of the squeegee unit equipped with the printing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view of the squeegee head which comprises the squeegee unit. It is a figure which shows typically the main filling operation by the 1st blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the main filling operation by the 1st blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the main filling operation by the 1st blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the main filling operation by the 1st blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after this filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after this filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after this filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the temporary filling operation by the 2nd blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the temporary filling operation by the 2nd blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the temporary filling operation by the 2nd blade mechanism. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after a temporary filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after a temporary filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the ink dropping operation after a temporary filling operation. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in the 2nd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in the 2nd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in the 2nd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ink drop blade in 3rd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in 3rd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in 3rd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the ink drop operation after this filling operation in 3rd Embodiment of the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a printing system equipped with the first embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a plate stage unit and a squeegee head. Further, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printing system. The printing system 100 includes articles having a rotationally symmetric shape around an axis of rotational symmetry parallel to the horizontal direction X, such as glass containers and bottles and resin containers and bottles (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "articles". This is a system for printing an ink pattern corresponding to the recess Pb provided on the plate surface Pa of the recess P with a printing material (ink) on the side surface Ba of the bottle B). Here, in order to show the directions in each figure in a unified manner, the horizontal direction orthogonal to the X direction is defined as the Y direction, and the vertical direction is defined as the Z direction. Further, in each of the following figures, the dotted arrow attached in the vicinity of the component indicates the movement of the component.

The printing system 100 includes two sets of printing devices, that is, a first printing device 101 and a second printing device 102, each of which prints on the side surface Ba of the bottle B with one ink color. These printing devices 101 and 102 are arranged in parallel in the X direction. More specifically, the printing device 102 points in the arrow direction X1 in the X direction when viewed from the printing device 101, and conversely, the printing device 101 points in the arrow direction X2 in the X direction when viewed from the printing device 102. Since the two printing devices 101 and 102 are provided in this way, the printing system 100 can perform two-color printing on the side surface Ba of the bottle B. It is also possible to configure a single-color printing system in which one set of printing devices is provided, or a multi-color printing system in which three or more sets of printing devices are provided.

The first printing device 101 and the second printing device 102 include a plate stage unit 1, a squeegee unit 2, a transfer unit 3, and a temporary curing unit 4, respectively. These units are arranged side by side in the above order from the Y2 direction side to the Y1 direction side. Further, the main curing device 200 is provided on the Y1 direction side of the second printing device 102. The bottle B is circulated by the bottle transfer device 400 while being held by the bottle holding device 300 between the first printing device 101, the second printing device 102, the main curing device 200, and the bottle attachment / detachment station (not shown). Be transported. In the present embodiment, the bottle B is attached to and removed from the bottle holding device 300 by a manual operation by an operator at the bottle attachment / detachment station. On the other hand, in order to automate other operations, the printing system 100 further includes a control device 900 that controls the operation of each of these units.

The first printing device 101 and the second printing device 102 have the same configuration and execute the same printing process as described below. The printing process in the printing system 100 is as follows: (1) Formation of an ink pattern using photocurable ink by the plate stage unit 1 and the squeegee unit 2 (2) Acceptance of the ink pattern by the transfer unit 3 (3) Ink pattern transfer unit 3 Transfer from to the side surface Ba of the bottle B (4) Temporary curing of ink by light irradiation from the temporary curing unit 4.
After executing the single-color printing operation consisting of each of the above steps on the printing devices 101 and 102, respectively, (5) the main curing of the ink by the main curing device 200.
It is completed by executing.

More specifically, the bottle B is attached to and detached from the bottle holding device 300 by a manual operation by an operator at the bottle attachment / detachment station. That is, after the printed bottle B is removed from the bottle holding device 300, the bottle B to be printed is attached to the bottle holding device 300. The bottle B thus attached is rotatably held around the axis of rotational symmetry by the bottle holding device 300, and in that state, is conveyed to the first printing device 101 by the bottle conveying device 400 integrally with the bottle holding device 300. In the first printing device 101, each of the above steps (1) to (4) is executed on the bottle B while the bottle B is rotatably held by the bottle holding device 300. After that, the bottle holding device 300 holding the bottle B is conveyed from the first printing device 101 to the second printing device 102.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate stage unit 1 includes a stage 11 in which an intaglio P for forming an ink pattern is placed and held on an upper surface. In the stage 11, the ink removing blade 51 is erected in the upward direction Z1 from the end on the Y1 direction side. The ink removing blade 51 is a resin thin plate member extending in the upward direction Z1. In this embodiment, the ink removing blade 51 is made of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin piece. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower end of the ink removing blade 51 is pressed against the end surface of the stage 11 on the Y1 direction side. Moreover, the support member 54 is fixed to the stage 11 by a fastening member (not shown) in a state where the lower end portion of the ink removing blade 51 is pressed against the side surface of the stage 11 by the support member 54 via the rubber member 53. In this way, the lower end of the ink removing blade 51 is fixed to the end of the stage 11 on the Y1 direction side, and serves as a fixed end. On the other hand, the upper end portion of the ink removing blade 51 is a free end extending in the upward direction Z1. As described above, the ink removing blade 51 is a cantilever in an upright posture, and the upper end portion of the thin plate-shaped ink removing blade 51 has flexibility in the Y direction. Then, the ink removing blade 51 functions as an ink removing blade for removing the ink adhering to the squeegee unit 2 after the main filling, as will be described in detail later.

Further, in the stage 11, the blade 52 is erected in the upward direction Z1 from the end portion on the Y2 direction side. Similar to the ink removing blade 51, the lower end of the PET resin blade 52 is fixed to the end of the stage 11 on the Y2 direction side, while the upper end of the blade 52 extends upward Z1. Has been done. Then, the thin plate-shaped blade 52 functions as an ink removing blade for removing the ink adhering to the squeegee unit 2 after temporary filling, as will be described in detail later.

The stage 11 is attached to the base portion 13 via the alignment mechanism 12. An alignment drive unit 12a (FIG. 3) is connected to the alignment mechanism 12, and the stage 11 is moved in the XYZ direction and the rotation direction around the Z axis in response to a control command from the control device 900. In particular, in order to control the height position of the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P mounted on the stage 11, the alignment drive unit 12a moves the stage 11 up and down in the Z direction, and the intaglio mounted on the stage 11 in the vertical direction Z. The plate surface Pa of P is positioned at the scraping height position and the receiving height position. Further, when removing the ink adhering to the squeegee unit 2, the ink removing blades 51 and 52 are positioned at height positions suitable for removing the ink. As described above, the alignment mechanism 12 corresponds to an example of the "elevating portion" of the present invention. As the alignment mechanism 12, for example, a cross roller bearing mechanism can be used.

The base portion 13 is engaged with a guide rail 14 extending in the Y direction on the pedestal of the printing system 100. A base drive unit 13a (FIG. 3) is connected to the base unit 13, and the stage 11 is reciprocated in the Y direction along the guide rail 14 in response to a control command from the control device 900. As described above, the base drive unit 13a corresponds to an example of the "horizontal drive unit" of the present invention. The home position of the base portion 13 is the position closest to the Y2 direction side (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2) in the movable range of the base portion 13.

An alignment camera (not shown) is arranged above the stage 11 when it is positioned at the home position. The alignment camera captures an alignment mark provided on the peripheral edge of the intaglio P or the upper surface of the intaglio P placed on the stage 11, and sends the image data to the control device 900. The control device 900 detects the position of the intaglio P on the stage 11 and operates the alignment mechanism 12 as necessary to adjust the position of the intaglio P to an appropriate position.

A squeegee unit 2 and a transfer unit 3 are provided along a path in which the base portion 13 moves from the home position in the Y1 direction. The squeegee unit 2 includes a nozzle 23 facing the upper surface of the intaglio P mounted on the stage 11 passing directly under the squeegee unit 2. Photocurable ink (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as “ink”) is supplied to the nozzle 23 from the ink supply unit 24 controlled by the control device 900 as an example of the printing material. The supplied ink is ejected from the ejection port provided at the lower end of the nozzle 23, and is applied to the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P.

Photocurable inks are made from pigments as color initiators, polymer materials (including at least one of monomers and oligomers) that form a strong polymer layer by polymerization, and active species produced by chemical changes upon exposure to light. It contains a photopolymerization initiator that promotes the polymerization reaction of the polymer material.

A first blade mechanism 21 that functions for main filling is provided on the Y1 direction side of the nozzle 23, and a second blade mechanism 22 that functions for temporary filling is provided on the Y2 direction side. The doctor blade provided in the first blade mechanism 21 executes the main filling operation, and the doctor blade provided in the second blade mechanism 22 executes the temporary filling operation. By performing these two types of filling operations, ink is filled in the recess Pb provided on the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P while preventing ink sticking, while excess ink other than that is removed to form an ink pattern. .. The configuration and operation of the squeegee unit 2 will be described in detail later.

The intaglio P filled with ink in this way further moves in the Y2 direction and reaches the arrangement position of the transfer unit 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer unit 3 includes a blanket roll 30, a roll rotating portion 33 for rotating the blanket roll 30, and a roll horizontal moving portion 34 for moving the blanket roll 30 in the Y direction (FIG. 3). And have. More specifically, the blanket roll 30 includes, for example, a blanket body 31 which is a metal cylinder and a blanket 32 wound around the surface thereof, and has a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole. The blanket roll 30 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown), and is rotationally driven around the central axis shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1 by the roll rotating portion 33 controlled by the control device 900.

The blanket 32 is made of an elastic resin material, for example, a silicon resin, and can support an ink pattern on its surface. The blanket 32 has a thickness sufficiently larger than the unevenness that may occur on the surface of the bottle B, which is the side surface Ba of the bottle B. As shown in FIG. 2, when the intaglio P placed on the stage 11 passes directly under the blanket roll 30, the surface of the blanket 32 comes into contact with the upper surface of the intaglio P. At this time, the ink filled in the recess of the intaglio P is transferred to the surface of the blanket 32. In this way, the ink pattern on the intaglio P is accepted by the blanket 32.

The ink pattern once received (primary transfer) on the blanket 32 is secondarily transferred to the surface of the bottle B, which is the final transfer body. As described above, the blanket 32 functions as an intermediate transfer body that temporarily supports the ink pattern that is finally transferred to the side surface Ba of the bottle B. In this embodiment, two printing devices 101 and 102 are provided to form two types of ink patterns.

In the printing system 100 configured in this way, the bottle transfer device 400 is controlled by the control device 900, so that the bottle holding device 300 becomes a bottle attachment / detachment station, a first printing device 101, a second printing device 102, and a book. It is circulated and conveyed in the order of the curing device 200. Of these, at the bottle attachment / detachment station, the operator manually attaches / detaches the bottle B to the conveyed bottle holding device 300. That is, when the printed bottle B is attached to the bottle holding device 300, the holding of the bottle B by the bottle holding device 300 is released and the printed bottle B is removed from the bottle holding device 300. On the other hand, when the bottle B before printing is not attached to the bottle holding device 300, the operator carries the bottle B before printing to the bottle holding device 300 and holds the bottle B before printing by the bottle holding device 300. When the bottle B mounting operation is completed in this way and an input to that effect is input to an input device (not shown) such as an operation panel, the control device 900 that receives it inputs the bottle holding device 300 holding the bottle B to the first printing device. It is conveyed to 101 for printing processing.

This printing process is realized by the control device 900 executing a program stored in advance and causing each part of the device to execute a predetermined operation. In this printing process, the intaglio P is carried into the first printing apparatus 101, set on the stage 11, and undergoes alignment adjustment. On the other hand, in the bottle holding device 300 conveyed to the first printing device 101, a motor (not shown) starts operating in response to a drive command from the control device 900, and the bottle B rotates about an axis of rotational symmetry. .. The printing start position of the bottle B is detected during the rotation, and the rotation amount of the bottle B is adjusted based on the detection result, so that the bottle B is positioned so that the printing start position faces the printing device 101. The positioning process may be performed based on an image obtained by photographing the bottle B with a camera in the same manner as the alignment adjustment process of the intaglio P, or the sensor detects a specific part of the bottle B with a sensor. It may be performed based on the detection signal output from. In any case, in the present embodiment, the positioning process of the bottle B with respect to the printing apparatus 101 is automatically performed in parallel with the alignment adjusting process of the intaglio P. Of course, the positioning process of the bottle B may be configured to be performed in parallel with the ink pattern receiving process in the printing apparatus 101 described below.

Subsequently, the stage 11 of the first printing apparatus 101 starts moving in the Y1 direction, the photocurable ink is applied to the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P from the nozzle 23 of the squeegee unit 2, and the doctor blade of the first blade mechanism 21. By scraping off the excess ink, the recess Pb of the plate surface Pa is filled with the ink. As the stage 11 moves further and passes directly under the rotating blanket roll 30, the ink pattern formed on the intaglio P is received on the surface of the blanket 32. After that, the bottle holding device 300 moves in the Y1 direction, and the printing start position of the side surface Ba of the bottle B is pressed against the surface of the blanket 32. As a result, the transfer of the ink pattern from the blanket 32 to the bottle B is started. In this transfer process, the blanket 32 receiving the ink pattern and the bottle B rotate with each other while abutting against each other, so that the ink pattern on the surface of the blanket 32 is sequentially transferred to the bottle B.

Here, the body portion Bb of the bottle B is in contact with the backup roller (not shown), and when the ink pattern reaches the contact position with the backup roller as the bottle B rotates, uncured ink is discharged from the bottle B. It may be transferred to the backup roller. Further, when the bottle B rotates one turn or more, the ink pattern on the side surface Ba of the bottle B may be re-transferred to the blanket 32. These disturb the ink pattern on the side surface Ba of the bottle B and contaminate the blanket 32 and the backup roller with ink.

In order to prevent this problem, a temporary curing treatment is performed by irradiation with a relatively low exposure amount of ultraviolet rays. That is, light (ultraviolet rays) is irradiated from the temporary curing unit 4 toward the surface of the bottle B immediately after the ink pattern is transferred from the blanket 32. As will be described later, the light emitted from the temporary curing unit 4 increases the viscosity of the ink by polymerizing a part of the polymer material contained in the ink, but has a property of not curing the entire ink. It is a thing.

As the viscosity of the ink increases in this way, the adhesiveness to other objects decreases, and when the side surface Ba of the bottle B carrying the ink comes into contact with the backup roller or the blanket 32, the ink may be transferred to these. Be prevented.

When the printing process in the printing device 101 is completed, the bottle holding device 300 is conveyed from the first printing device 101 to the second printing device 102 while holding the bottle B on which the ink pattern is printed. Then, the printing process is performed by the second printing device 102 in the same manner as in the first printing device 101. As a result, another ink pattern by the second printing apparatus 102 is superimposed and printed on the already printed ink pattern. After that, the bottle holding device 300 is conveyed from the second printing device 102 to the main curing device 200 while holding the bottle B on which these ink patterns are printed.

At this point, the ink is not completely cured. In order to completely cure this, the main curing device 200 irradiates the bottle B with light (ultraviolet rays) having a higher output than the temporary curing unit 4. As a result, the ink is completely cured and printing is completed. After that, the bottle holding device 300 is returned from the main curing device 200 to the attachment / detachment station while holding the bottle B. Such a series of operations is repeatedly executed.

Next, after explaining the configuration of the squeegee unit 2 with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the main filling operation by the squeegee unit 2 and the subsequent ink removing operation (FIGS. 6A to 6G) and the temporary filling by the squeegee unit 2 are performed. The operation and the subsequent ink dropping operation will be described.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the squeegee unit mounted on the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is a view of the entire squeegee unit 2 viewed from the Y1 direction side toward the Y2 direction. Further, FIG. 5 is a side view of the squeegee head constituting the squeegee unit, and shows the blade posture when performing the main filling operation as will be described in detail later. The squeegee unit 2 includes a squeegee head 2H and a head elevating portion 2E that raises and lowers the squeegee head 2H in the vertical direction Z.

The squeegee head 2H includes a head body 20, a first blade mechanism 21, a second blade mechanism 22, a nozzle 23, and an ink supply unit 24. On the other hand, the head elevating portion 2E has rails 25 and 25 extending in the vertical direction Z, support plates 26 and 26, air cylinders 27 and 27, and connecting members 28 and 28.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rails 25 and 25 extending in the Z direction are fixedly arranged apart from each other in the X direction at intervals slightly narrower than the size of the head body 20 in the X direction. The head main body 20 is vertically movable in the vertical direction Z along these rails 25 and 25. Support plates 26 and 26 are fixedly arranged on the X1 direction side and the X2 direction side of the head body 20, respectively. An air cylinder 27 is attached to the plane of each of the support plates 26, 26 on the Y1 direction side. Each air cylinder 27 is connected to the head body 20 via a connecting member 28. Then, when each air cylinder 27 moves the connecting member 28 in the Z2 direction in response to a lowering command from the control device 900, the squeegee head 2H has a plate surface Pa of the intaglio P as shown in FIGS. 4, 6A, 7A, and the like. It is positioned directly above. At this time, the stage 11 is positioned so that the plate surface Pa is located at the scraping height position in the vertical direction Z.

On the contrary, when each air cylinder 27 moves the connecting member 28 in the Z1 direction in response to the ascending command from the control device 900, the squeegee head 2H is moved from the highest position of the blanket roll 30 (hereinafter referred to as "blanket upper limit position"). Is also positioned at a high position (hereinafter referred to as "head rising position"). The distance at which the squeegee head 2H is moved in the vertical direction Z by the head elevating portion 2E in this way is referred to as a "head elevating distance". In the present embodiment, the head elevating unit 2E uses the air cylinders 27 and 27 as the elevating drive source, but other elevating drive sources such as a motor may be used.

The first blade mechanism 21 and the ink supply unit 24 are attached to the Y1 direction side of the head body 20 driven up and down in this way, while the second blade mechanism 22 is attached to the Y2 direction side. Further, at the lower end of the head body 20, four nozzles 23 are arranged in the X direction with the discharge ports facing downward.

The ink supply unit 24 has four syringes 241. In each syringe 241, the upper end is connected to an ink tank (not shown) and the lower end is connected to the nozzle 23 via a tube 242. Therefore, when all the syringes 241 are operated in response to a command from the control device 900 while the stage 11 holding the intaglio P is positioned at the predetermined ink supply position PY13, the ink having a relatively high viscosity (in FIG. 6A). (IK) is discharged downward from the discharge port of the nozzle 23 and is supplied to the plate surface Pa of the intaglio plate P.

The first blade mechanism 21 is provided for so-called main filling, in which the ink supplied to the plate surface Pa is filled in the recess Pb to form an ink pattern, and as will be described later, for temporary filling after the acceptance process. A second blade mechanism 22 is provided. The first blade mechanism 21 and the second blade mechanism 22 have a substantially symmetrical configuration with the head body 20 interposed therebetween. Therefore, in the following, the configuration of the first blade mechanism 21 will be described, and the configuration of the second blade mechanism 22 will be designated with corresponding reference numerals and the description of the configuration will be omitted.

The first blade mechanism 21 has a doctor blade 211 for main filling and a blade elevating portion 212. In FIG. 5, the doctor blade 211 is moved up and down in the vertical direction Z with respect to the head body 20 by the blade elevating portion 212 in a posture in which the tip portion 211a extends diagonally downward to the left (hereinafter referred to as “main filling posture”). That is, in the blade elevating portion 212, the slider 212b is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction Z with respect to the rail 212a attached to the head body 20 on the Y1 direction side. The upper end of the blade support member 212c is fixed to the slider 212b. The blade support member 212c extends in the Z2 direction, and the doctor blade 211 is attached in the Z2 direction from the lower end thereof in the main filling posture. In this way, the blade elevating portion 212 movably supports the doctor blade 211 in the vertical direction Z while maintaining the main filling posture.

Further, the blade elevating part 212 has an air cylinder 212d as a drive source for moving the doctor blade 211 in the vertical direction Z. The air cylinder 212d is fixed to the head body 20 by the cylinder support member 212h with the piston portion 212e facing the Z2 direction. The piston portion 212e is connected to the upper end portion of the blade support member 212c by the connecting member 212f. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the piston portion 212e of the air cylinder 212d extends downward in response to a command from the control device 900, the doctor blade 211 is positioned in the downward position in the main filling posture. The distance that the doctor blade 211 is moved in the vertical direction Z by the air cylinder 212d in this way is referred to as a "blade elevating distance".

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the first blade mechanism 21, switching between the retracted state and the squeegee state is performed according to the raising and lowering of the blade support member 212c by one air cylinder 212d. Further, as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6G, the alignment drive unit 12a, the base drive unit 13a, and the air cylinder 212d are operated in response to an operation command from the control device 900 to perform the main filling operation and thereafter. Ink removal operation is executed.

Further, the second blade mechanism 22 is the same as the first blade mechanism 21. That is, switching between the retracted state and the squeegee state is performed according to the raising and lowering of the blade support member 222c by one air cylinder 222d. Further, as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7F, the alignment drive unit 12a, the base drive unit 13a, and the air cylinder 222d are operated in response to an operation command from the control device 900 to perform a temporary filling operation and thereafter. Ink removal operation is executed.

6A to 6D are diagrams schematically showing the main filling operation by the first blade mechanism. Further, FIGS. 6E to 6G are diagrams schematically showing an ink dropping operation after the main filling operation.

When the printing operation is started in the printing devices 101 and 102, the stage 11 on which the intaglio P is placed is moved to the ink supply position PY13 as shown in FIG. 6A. Further, the stage 11 is lowered so that the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P is located at the scraping height position in the vertical direction Z at the same time as or before and after the stage movement. In the squeegee unit 2, the head elevating portion 2E operates in synchronization with the descent of the stage 11, and the squeegee head 2H is lowered from the head raising position to the head lowering position. Subsequently, the ink IK is ejected from each nozzle 23 and supplied to the plate surface Pa. As a result, an ink reservoir is formed on the plate surface Pa.

When the ink supply is completed, the stage 11 moves from the ink supply position PY13 to the main filling start position PY14 as shown by the arrow M11 in FIG. 6B. As a result, the ink pool is located on the Y1 direction side from the position directly below the doctor blade 211. In the squeegee unit 2, after the movement of the stage 11 to the main filling start position PY14 is completed, the doctor blade 211 for main filling is lowered by the blade elevating portion 212 (arrow M12), and the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 (FIG. 5). Is in contact with the plate surface Pa on the Y2 direction side of the ink pool.

When the main filling preparation is completed in this way, as shown by the arrow M13 in FIG. 6C, the stage 11 is moved from the main filling start position PY14 to the main filling completion position PY12 by the base drive unit 13a. That is, the doctor blade 211 is moved relative to the intaglio P in the Y1 direction while the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 is pressed against the plate surface Pa, so that the ink IK on the plate surface Pa is scraped off and provided on the plate surface Pa. The recess Pb (FIG. 1) is filled with ink IK. As a result, an ink pattern is formed on the intaglio P (main filling operation).

Further, after the filling of the ink IK is completed, the first blade mechanism 21 is switched from the squeegee state to the retracted state by the air cylinder 212d. That is, as shown in FIG. 6D, the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 separates from the plate surface Pa in the upward direction Z1 (arrow M14). In the present embodiment, since the ink IK having a relatively high viscosity is used, stringing of the ink IK may occur. If the printing process is continued while the stringing is generated, the peripheral configuration of the doctor blade 211 may be contaminated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ink dropping operation shown in FIGS. 6E and 6F is executed.

Corresponding to the doctor blade 211 rising in the upward direction Z1 when the main filling operation is completed, the stage 11 is raised in the Z1 direction as shown by the white arrow M15 in FIG. 6E. As a result, as shown in the partially enlarged view in FIG. 6E, the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 immediately after the main filling is separated from the ink drop blade 51 in the Y2 direction, but the tip of the doctor blade 211 in the vertical direction Z. The portion 211a and the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 partially overlap each other. Here, it is desirable that the overlap amount L is set to, for example, 2 mm or less. Further, the overlap amount L may be set to zero, that is, the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 and the upper end portion 51a of the ink drop blade 51 may coincide with each other in the vertical direction Z.

When the height position adjustment of the ink dropping blade 51 with respect to the doctor blade 211 is completed, the stage 11 is ink-dropped from the main filling completion position PY12 by the base drive unit 13a while the height position adjustment is maintained as shown in FIG. 6F. Move to position PY11 (arrow M16). During this movement, the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 passes through the upper end portion 51a while contacting the upper end portion 51a of the ink drop blade 51. The ink IK that hangs down from the tip end portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 during this passage is sheared by the upper end portion 51a of the ink drop blade 51 and is dropped in the downward direction Z2. The dropped ink IK is dropped onto the end region Pa1 (FIG. 6E) in the Y1 direction of the plate surface Pa, integrated with the residual ink pushed to the end region Pa1 by the main filling, and stays there. Further, in the present embodiment, since the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 has flexibility, the upper end portion 51a is temporarily in contact with the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 during the passage. After bending in the Y1 direction, it returns to its original position after releasing contact with the tip portion 211a. Therefore, ink shearing by the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 can be reliably performed.

When the drooping of the ink IK from the doctor blade 211 is removed in this way, the stage 11 is lowered to the receiving height position suitable for the receiving process by the alignment driving unit 12a as shown in FIG. 6G (arrow M17). Following that, the acceptance process and the transfer process are executed, but the temporary filling operation is executed independently of the transfer process.

7A to 7C are diagrams schematically showing a temporary filling operation by the second blade mechanism. Further, FIGS. 7D to 7F are diagrams schematically showing an ink dropping operation after the temporary filling operation. As shown in FIG. 7A, the stage 11 is moved in the Y1 direction by the base drive unit 13a and positioned at the temporary filling start position PY21. This "temporary filling start position PY21" means the position of the stage 11 when the end region Pa1 of the plate surface Pa is located directly below the doctor blade 221 for temporary filling. On the other hand, in the squeegee unit 2, the squeegee head 2H is lowered from the head rising position to the head lowering position, and after the positioning of the stage 11 to the temporary filling start position PY21 is completed, the temporary filling blade elevating portion 222 is used for temporary filling. Doctor blade 221 is lowered (arrow M21). As a result, the tip portion 221a (FIG. 5) of the doctor blade 221 comes into contact with the end region Pa1 (FIG. 6E) of the plate surface Pa.

When the temporary filling preparation is completed in this way, as shown by the arrow M22 in FIG. 7B, the stage 11 is moved from the temporary filling start position PY21 to the temporary filling completion position PY22 by the base drive unit 13a. That is, the doctor blade 221 is moved relative to the intaglio P in the Y2 direction while the tip portion 221a (FIG. 5) of the doctor blade 221 is pressed against the plate surface Pa, so that the ink IK on the plate surface Pa is moved to the recess Pb (FIG. 5). Ink IK is sent into 1) to prevent the ink IK remaining in the recess Pb from drying and sticking (temporary filling operation).

Further, after the temporary filling of the ink IK is completed, the second blade mechanism 22 is switched from the squeegee state to the retracted state by the air cylinder 222d. That is, as shown in FIG. 7C, the tip portion 221a of the doctor blade 221 is separated from the plate surface Pa in the upward direction Z1 (arrow M23). At this time, stringing of ink IK may occur. If the printing process is continued while the stringing is generated, the peripheral configuration of the doctor blade 221 may be contaminated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ink removing operation from the doctor blade 221 is executed in the same manner as the ink removing operation (FIGS. 6E and 6F) after the main filling operation (FIGS. 7D and 7E). That is, corresponding to the doctor blade 221 rising in the upward direction Z1 when the temporary filling operation is completed, the stage 11 is raised in the Z1 direction by the alignment drive unit 12a as shown by the white arrow M24 in FIG. 7D. As a result, as shown in the partially enlarged view in FIG. 7D, the tip portion 221a of the doctor blade 221 immediately after the temporary filling is separated from the ink drop blade 52 in the Y1 direction, but the tip of the doctor blade 221 is separated from the ink drop blade 52 in the vertical direction Z. The portion 221a and the upper end portion 52a of the ink removing blade 52 partially overlap each other. Here, the overlap amount L may be set to the same value as the main filling operation or may be different, and is preferably set to, for example, 2 mm or less. Further, the overlap amount L may be set to zero, that is, the tip portion 221a of the doctor blade 221 and the upper end portion 52a of the ink drop blade 52 may coincide with each other in the vertical direction Z.

When the height position adjustment of the ink dropping blade 52 with respect to the doctor blade 221 is completed, the stage 11 is ink-dropped from the temporary filling completion position PY22 by the base drive unit 13a while the height position adjustment is maintained as shown in FIG. 7E. Move to position PY23 (arrow M25). During this movement, the tip portion 221a of the doctor blade 221 passes through the upper end portion 52a while contacting the upper end portion 52a of the ink drop blade 52. The ink IK that hangs down from the tip end portion 221a of the doctor blade 221 during this passage is sheared by the upper end portion 52a of the ink drop blade 52 and is dropped in the downward direction Z2. The dropped ink IK is dropped on the end region Pa2 (FIG. 7D) in the Y2 direction of the plate surface Pa, integrated with the residual ink pushed to the end region Pa2 by temporary filling, and stays there.

When the drooping ink IK from the doctor blade 221 is removed in this way, the stage 11 is lowered to a height position suitable for ink supply by the alignment drive unit 12a as shown in FIG. 7F (arrow M26). Subsequently, the ink supply operation and the main filling operation are executed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the control device 900 controls the alignment drive unit 12a and the base drive unit 13a to execute the ink IK filling operation (main filling operation, temporary filling operation). Further, the ink removing blades 51 and 52 are provided on the stage 11, and after the ink IK filling operation (main filling operation, temporary filling operation), the ink is removed by raising and lowering the stage 11 by the alignment drive unit 12a and horizontally moving by the base drive unit 13a. The operation is being performed. Therefore, the ink IK hanging from the doctor blades 211 and 221 can be reliably removed and printing can be performed satisfactorily without adding a dedicated drive source for performing the ink dropping operation.

8A to 8C are diagrams schematically showing an ink dropping operation after the main filling operation in the second embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, the first blade mechanism 21 for executing the main filling is arranged on the Y1 direction side with respect to the nozzle 23, and the second blade mechanism 22 for executing the temporary filling is arranged on the Y2 direction side with respect to the nozzle 23. It is arranged. These arrangements may be reversed to perform the main filling operation and the temporary filling operation (second embodiment). Also in this second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C, the ink removing blade 51 is erected from the end of the stage 11 on the Y1 direction side, and the main filling is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The ink removal operation after the operation may be executed. Further, the ink removing blade 52 may be erected from the end of the stage 11 on the Y2 direction side, and the ink removing operation after the temporary filling operation may be executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Also in this second embodiment, the ink IK hanging from the doctor blades 211 and 221 can be reliably removed and printing can be performed satisfactorily without adding a dedicated drive source for executing the ink dropping operation.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink removing blade according to a third embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. Further, FIGS. 10A to 10C are diagrams schematically showing an ink dropping operation after the main filling operation in the third embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. The major difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment is the shapes of the upper ends 51a and 52a of the ink removing blades 51 and 52 and the ink removing operation. The other configurations are basically the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, the tips of the upper ends 51a and 52a of the ink removing blades 51 and 52 are bent in the Y2 direction and the Y1 direction, respectively, when viewed from the side in the X direction. When the main filling operation is completed, for example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the doctor blade 211 is separated from the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 in the Y2 direction. Therefore, in order to bring the tip of the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 into contact with the doctor blade 211, the stage 11 is moved in the Y2 direction by the base drive portion 13a (arrow M31). Further, in the present embodiment, even after the tip of the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 comes into contact with the doctor blade 211, the stage 11 continues to move, and as shown in FIG. 10B, the upper end portion 51a of the ink removing blade 51 Elastically deforms in the Y1 direction.

Subsequently, the air cylinder 212d switches the first blade mechanism 21 from the squeegee state to the retracted state. That is, as shown in FIG. 10C, the tip portion 211a of the doctor blade 211 separates from the plate surface Pa in the upward direction Z1 (arrow M32). As the doctor blade 211 rises, the ink removing blade 51 returns in the Y2 direction while sliding the tip of the upper end portion 51a along the inclined surface of the tip of the doctor blade 211 (arrow M33). The residual ink adhering to the doctor blade 211 in this moving process is scraped off by the ink removing blade 51.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the alignment drive unit 12a, the base drive unit 13a, and the air cylinder 212d are operated in response to the operation command from the control device 900 to perform the main filling operation and the subsequent ink dropping operation. Is executed. Further, the ink removing blade 52 whose upper end portion 52a is bent toward the Y1 direction is erected from the end portion of the stage 11 on the Y2 direction side, and the ink removing operation after the temporary filling operation is executed in the same manner as described above. May be good. Also in this third embodiment, the ink IK hanging from the doctor blades 211 and 221 is surely removed when shifting from the squeegee state to the retracted state without adding a dedicated drive source to execute the ink dropping operation. Printing can be performed well.

As described above, in any of the first to third embodiments, the present filling and the temporary filling are examples of "filling the plate with ink adhering to the plate" of the present invention. In the main filling operation and the ink dropping operation after the main filling, the Y2 direction and the Y1 direction correspond to the "first horizontal direction" and the "second horizontal direction" of the present invention, respectively. On the other hand, in the temporary filling operation and the ink dropping operation after the temporary filling, the Y1 direction and the Y2 direction correspond to the "first horizontal direction" and the "second horizontal direction" of the present invention, respectively. Further, the control device 900 corresponds to an example of the "control unit" of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the scraped ink IK is dropped onto the end regions Pa1 and Pa2 and integrated into the ink sump. Therefore, if the amount of ink accumulated increases, ink leakage may occur in the width direction X. Considering this point, a plate-shaped lateral leakage prevention member may be erected from the stage 11 adjacent to the ink removing blades 51 and 52 in the width direction X. By adding the lateral leakage prevention member in this way, the ink staying in the end regions Pa1 and Pa2 of the plate surface Pa of the intaglio P held on the upper surface of the stage 11 is surrounded from the width direction X, and ink leakage is effective. Can be prevented.

Further, in order to adjust the height position of the intaglio P with respect to the ink removing blades 51 and 52 with respect to the doctor blades 211 and 221 in the vertical direction Z, a configuration different from the above embodiment may be used. good. For example, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, only the blade elevating part 212, 222 and the head elevating part 2E may function as the "elevating part" of the present invention together with the alignment drive part 12a. For example, in the third embodiment, only the alignment drive unit 12a may function as the "elevation unit" of the present invention together with the blade elevating unit 212, 222 and the head elevating unit 2E.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a squeegee device having a blade elevating part 212, 222 and a head elevating part 2E and capable of raising and lowering the doctor blades 211 and 221 in two stages. The range is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a device that raises and lowers the doctor blades 211 and 221 only by the blade raising and lowering portions 212 and 222, and a device that raises and lowers only one doctor blade.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a printing device that performs main filling and temporary filling, but it is also applied to a printing device that performs only main filling and a squeegee device equipped in the printing device. The present invention can be applied. Further, the present invention is not limited to printing using an intaglio plate, and the present invention can be applied to other printing devices, that is, a printing device that fills a plate with ink by a doctor blade and prints. ..

Further, although the present invention is applied to a printing apparatus for printing an ink pattern on a bottle B, the present invention is also applied to a printing technique using another three-dimensional base material and a flat plate base material (glass plate, resin film, etc.) as a transfer target. can do.

Further, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a printing apparatus using the blanket roll 30 as an intermediate transfer body, but the present invention can also be applied to other printing apparatus.

In the present invention, the plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved with respect to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then the doctor blade is relatively raised from the plate. It can be applied to all printing technologies for letting and evacuating.

11 ... Stage 12a ... Alignment drive unit (elevating unit)
13a ... Base drive unit (horizontal drive unit)
21 ... 1st blade mechanism 22 ... 2nd blade mechanism 23 ... Nozzles 212d, 222d ... Air cylinder (elevating part)
51, 52 ... Ink removing blades 51a, 52a ... Upper end (of ink removing blade) 101, 102 ... Printing device 211,221 ... Doctor blades 211a, 221a ... (Doctor blade) tip 212, 222 ... Blade elevating part ( Lifting part)
900 ... Control device (control unit)
IK ... Ink P ... Intaglio Pa ... Plate surface Pa1, Pa2 ... Edge area X ... Width direction Y1 ... First horizontal direction (second horizontal direction)
Y2 ... 2nd horizontal direction (1st horizontal direction)
Z ... Vertical direction

Claims (8)

The plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved with respect to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then the doctor blade is relatively raised from the plate. It is a printing device that allows and saves
An ink drop blade erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction,
A horizontal drive unit that moves the stage relatively in the first horizontal direction, and
An elevating part that elevates and lowers at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction.
A control unit that controls the horizontal drive unit and the elevating unit to drop the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade downward is provided.
The control unit
The ink for the doctor blade in the vertical direction by the elevating portion so that the tip end portion of the doctor blade filled with the ink and the upper end portion of the ink drop blade coincide with or partially overlap in the vertical direction. With the height position of the drop blade adjusted
The stage is relatively moved in the first horizontal direction by the horizontal drive unit so that the tip end portion of the doctor blade filled with the ink passes through the upper end portion of the ink drop blade. Printing device. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.
A printing device in which the lower end of the ink removing blade is a fixed end fixed to the stage, while the upper end of the ink removing blade is a free end. The printing apparatus according to claim 2.
A printing device in which the upper end portion of the ink removing blade is flexible, bends in the second horizontal direction when it comes into contact with the doctor blade, and returns to its original state when the contact with the doctor blade is released. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.
The ink removing blade is a printing device which is a thin plate member extended vertically upward. The plate held on the upper surface of the stage is relatively moved with respect to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with ink adhering to the plate, and then the doctor blade is relatively raised from the plate. It is a printing device that allows and saves
An ink drop blade that is erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction and whose upper end is elastically deformable in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction. When,
A horizontal drive unit that moves the stage relatively in the first horizontal direction, and
An elevating part that elevates and lowers at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction.
A control unit that controls the horizontal drive unit and the elevating unit to drop the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade downward is provided.
The tip of the upper end portion of the ink removing blade is bent in the first horizontal direction.
The control unit
The horizontal drive unit moves the stage relatively in the first horizontal direction to bring the doctor blade filled with the ink into contact with the upper end portion of the ink dropping blade, and the upper end portion is brought into contact with the second upper end portion. With elastic deformation in the horizontal direction
By raising the doctor blade by the elevating part so that the doctor blade filled with the ink moves to a position higher than the ink removing blade, the upper end portion of the ink removing blade is moved in the first horizontal direction. A printing device characterized by returning to. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
Of the surface of the plate, which is erected from the stage adjacent to the ink removing blade in the vertical direction, the first horizontal direction, and the width direction orthogonal to the second horizontal direction, and is held on the upper surface of the stage. A printing apparatus including a lateral leakage prevention member that surrounds the ink staying in the end region in the second horizontal direction from the width direction. The first step of moving the plate held on the upper surface of the stage relative to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with the ink adhering to the plate.
The ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade filled with the ink using an ink dropping blade erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction. It has a second step of dropping it downwards,
The second step is
The tip of the doctor blade filled with the ink by raising and lowering at least one of the doctor blade and the stage in the vertical direction and the upper end of the ink removing blade are aligned or partially overlapped in the vertical direction. In addition to the process of adjusting the height position of the ink removing blade with respect to the doctor blade,
A step of relatively moving the stage in the first horizontal direction so that the tip of the doctor blade filled with the ink passes through the upper end of the ink dropping blade while adjusting the height position. A printing method characterized by having and. The first step of moving the plate held on the upper surface of the stage relative to the doctor blade in the first horizontal direction to fill the plate with the ink adhering to the plate.
An ink drop blade that is erected above the end of the stage in the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction and whose upper end is elastically deformable in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction. A second step of dropping the ink adhering to the tip of the doctor blade filled with the ink using the ink is provided.
The tip of the upper end portion of the ink removing blade is bent in the first horizontal direction.
The second step is
The stage is moved relatively in the first horizontal direction to bring the doctor blade filled with the ink into contact with the upper end portion of the ink removing blade, and the upper end portion is elastically deformed in the second horizontal direction. And the process of making
A step of returning the upper end portion of the ink removing blade to the first horizontal direction by raising the doctor blade so that the doctor blade filled with the ink moves to a position higher than the ink removing blade. A printing method characterized by having.

Images