JP2022045066A - Head support device of inkjet printer and inkjet printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a head support device of an inkjet printer which can easily adjust a head position, and an inkjet printer system.SOLUTION: A head support device of an inkjet printer comprises: a holding member 16 that holds a head 3 of an inkjet printer 2; a first actuator 17 that moves the holding member 16 in a lateral direction in order to adjust a head position; a second actuator 18 that moves the holding member 16 in a vertical direction; a control device 15 that controls the first actuator 17 and the second actuator 18; and a storage part 15d that can store information about the position of the head 3 adjusted for each object to be printed 6. The control device 15 controls the first actuator 17 and the second actuator 18 on the basis of the information about the position of the head 3 stored in the storage part 15d to adjust the position of the head 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer head support device and an inkjet printer system.

Conventionally, an inkjet printer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-97155

When printing on an object to be printed with an inkjet printer, it is necessary to fix the head to a jig or the like and adjust the head position with respect to the object to be printed, and there is a problem that this adjustment work is very complicated. rice field.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer head support device and an inkjet printer system in which the head position can be easily adjusted.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
The holding member that holds the head of the inkjet printer and
A first actuator that moves the holding member in the left-right direction in order to adjust the head position, and a second actuator that moves the holding member in the up-down direction.
A control device that controls the first actuator and the second actuator,
It has a storage unit that can store information on the head position adjusted for each print object, and has.
The control device controls the first actuator and the second actuator based on the information of the head position stored in the storage unit to adjust the head position. Provide the device.
Further, the present invention
A conveyor for transporting a print target, an inkjet printer for printing on the print target, a head support device for supporting the head of the inkjet printer, and an operation terminal for operating the head support device. Have and
The head support device includes a holding member that holds the head, a first actuator that moves the holding member in the left-right direction in order to adjust the head position, and a second actuator that moves the holding member in the up-down direction. It has a control device for controlling the first actuator and the second actuator, and a storage unit capable of storing information on the head position adjusted for each print object.
The control device provides an inkjet printer system characterized in that the first actuator and the second actuator are controlled to adjust the head position based on the information of the head position stored in the storage unit. do.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inkjet printer head support device and an inkjet printer system in which the head position can be easily adjusted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inkjet printer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An inkjet printer system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an inkjet printer 2, a head support device 5 that supports the head 3 of the inkjet printer 2, and a conveyor 7 that conveys a PET bottle 6 to be printed. It comprises an operation terminal 8 for operating the head support device 5.

The inkjet printer 2 is a so-called industry that prints the expiration date, identification number, etc. by charging, deflecting, and adhering ink particles ejected from a nozzle (not shown) of the head 3 to a PET bottle 6 being conveyed by a conveyor 7. Inkjet printer for.
The inkjet printer 2 includes an inkjet printer main body 11 provided with a touch panel display 9, a head 3 provided with a nozzle, and a cable 12 connecting the inkjet printer main body 11 and the head 3, and these configurations are known.
The objects to be printed by the inkjet printer 2 are not limited to the PET bottle 6, but are various such as glass bottles, cans, plastic containers, paper packs, corrugated cardboard, and wood.

The head support device 5 supports the head 3 of the inkjet printer 2 so that its position can be adjusted, and includes a head adjustment unit 13, a guide adjustment unit 14, a head adjustment unit 13, and a control device 15 that controls the guide adjustment unit 14. ..

The head adjusting unit 13 holds the head 3 in order to appropriately print on the printed area of the PET bottle 6 with the inkjet printer 2, and the vertical position and the horizontal direction of the head 3 (conveying the PET bottle 6). The position in the direction (horizontal direction perpendicular to the paper surface vertical direction in FIG. 1) is adjusted.
The head adjusting unit 13 supports a holding member 16 that holds the head 3, a first actuator 17 that supports the holding member 16, a rotation mechanism 20 that supports the first actuator (horizontal actuator) 17, and a rotation mechanism 20. It is composed of a second actuator (actuator for the vertical direction) 18 and a base 19 that supports the second actuator 18.

The first actuator 17 includes a linear guide 17a and a pulse motor 17b for driving the linear guide 17a.
The linear guide 17a is a known one in which a slider slides on a guide rail extending in the left-right direction, and a holding member 16 is fixed to the slider.
The slider of the linear guide 17a is slid by the driving force of the pulse motor 17b, and the holding member 16 and the head 3 held by the holding member 16 are integrally moved in the left-right direction to adjust the position in the left-right direction of the head 3. be able to.

The rotation mechanism 20 rotatably supports the first actuator 17 in the vertical direction.
By manually rotating the rotation mechanism 20, the user can integrally rotate the first actuator 17, the holding member 16, and the head 3, thereby adjusting the inclination of the head 3, that is, the vertical angle. be able to.

The second actuator 18 includes a linear guide 18a and a pulse motor 18b for driving the linear guide 18a.
The linear guide 18a is a known one in which a slider slides on a guide rail extending in the vertical direction, and a rotation mechanism 20 is fixed to the slider.
The vertical position of the head 3 is moved by sliding the slider of the linear guide 18a by the driving force of the pulse motor 18b to integrally move the rotation mechanism 20, the first actuator 17, the holding member 16 and the head 3 in the vertical direction. Can be adjusted.

The base 19 is provided with a lamp 21, a buzzer 22, and an emergency stop button 23.
The lamp 21 is a signal lamp that indicates the state of the head support device 5, for example, during normal operation, during abnormal occurrence, communication failure, etc., depending on the lighting color. The lamp 21 is preferably provided in a high place so that it can be easily seen from the surroundings.
The buzzer 22 outputs a warning sound when the operation of the head support device 5 starts or when an abnormality occurs.
The emergency stop button 23 is operated by the user to make an emergency stop of the head support device 5.

The conveyor 7 is a straight-moving conveyor that conveys the PET bottle 6 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1.
The conveyor 7 includes a conveyor unit 26 that conveys the PET bottle 6, a pair of left and right guides 29 and 30 provided on the conveyor unit 26, and a base 27 that supports the conveyor unit 26, and these configurations are known.

The guides 29 and 30 regulate the movement of the PET bottle 6 conveyed by the conveyor unit 26 in the left-right direction.
The guides 29 and 30 are composed of a pair of upper and lower parallel rails 31 and 31, respectively. The rails 31 and 31 are made of substantially prismatic members extending in the transport direction (vertical direction on the paper in FIG. 1), and are supported by the rail bracket 32 attached to the side surface of the conveyor portion 26.
The rail bracket 32 of the guide 30 located on the head adjusting portion 13 side is configured to be integrally movable with the guide 30 in the left-right direction by a moving mechanism (not shown), and a third actuator (guide actuator) 33 is attached. Has been done. The position of the rail bracket 32 of the guide 29 located on the opposite side of the head adjusting portion 13 in the left-right direction is fixed.

The guide adjusting unit 14 adjusts the position in the left-right direction of the PET bottle 6 being conveyed by the conveyor 7 in order to appropriately print on the printed area of the PET bottle 6 with the inkjet printer 2. It is composed of guides 29, 30 and a third actuator 33.

The third actuator 33 includes a linear guide 33a and a pulse motor 33b for driving the linear guide 33a.
The linear guide 33a is a known one in which a slider slides on a guide rail extending in the left-right direction, and a rail bracket 32 of a guide 30 located on the head adjusting portion 13 side is fixed to the slider.
The left-right position of the guide 30 can be adjusted by sliding the slider of the linear guide 33a by the driving force of the pulse motor 33b and integrally moving the rail bracket 32 and the rails 31, 31 in the left-right direction. As a result, the position of the guide 30 can be adjusted according to the left-right dimension of the PET bottle 6 conveyed by the conveyor 7.

The control device 15 controls the head adjusting unit 13 and the guide adjusting unit 14 based on an instruction from the operation terminal 8.
The control device 15 includes a driver 15a for driving the actuators 17, 18 and 33 of the head adjustment unit 13 and the guide adjustment unit 14, a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 15b for controlling the driver 15a, and an operation terminal 8. It includes a communication unit 15c that performs wireless communication, a storage unit (for example, an SD memory card) 15d that stores various information, a detection unit 15e, and a power supply circuit 15f that supplies power from the power supply 36 to each unit. Such a control device 15 can be configured by a single board computer, whereby the cost can be reduced.

The control device 15 is connected to the power supply 36 of 100v via a cable. The control device 15 is also connected to a computer 37 in a control room that monitors and manages a production line including an inkjet printer 2 and a conveyor 7.

The detection unit 15e detects an emergency stop signal from the computer 37 in the control room or the emergency stop button 23. The control unit 15b can make an emergency stop of the head support device 5 based on the emergency stop signal detected by the detection unit 15e. Further, an instruction signal for causing the control device 15 to ignore the instruction from the operation terminal 8 is input to the detection unit 15e from the computer 37 in the control room while the production line is in operation. This makes it possible to prevent the head support device 5 from operating even if the user erroneously operates the operation terminal 8 while the inkjet printer 2 or the conveyor 7 is operating.

The operation terminal 8 is a controller for the user to operate the head support device 5.
The operation terminal 8 includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 8a, a storage unit 8b for storing various information, a communication unit 8c for wireless communication with the control device 15, and a touch panel display 8d which is a display unit and an input unit. There is.

The storage unit 8b stores an application program (hereinafter referred to as "operation application") for operating the head adjustment unit 13 and the guide adjustment unit 14 of the head support device 5.
Specifically, the operation application includes information such as the type and size of the print object, an instruction to move the head 3 in the up / down / left / right direction, an instruction to move the guide 30 in the left / right direction, and the optimum adjustment information described later for the print object. Touch panel display 8d of the operation terminal 8 for the user to input an operation screen for inputting a save instruction, a selection instruction of the head support device 5 when operating a plurality of head support devices 5, an emergency stop instruction of the head support device 5, and the like. It is to be displayed on.

The control unit 8a executes the operation application stored in the storage unit 8b.
The communication unit 8c of the operation terminal 8 and the communication unit 15c of the control device 15 can transmit and receive signals by wireless communication, and Bluetooth (registered trademark) is adopted as the communication method. The communication method is not limited to this, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or the like may be used, and the operation terminal 8 and the control device 15 may be connected by a cable for wired communication.

In this embodiment, a smartphone is used as the operation terminal 8. Not limited to this, a tablet terminal, a notebook computer, or the like may be used as the operation terminal 8. A dedicated controller for operating the head support device 5 may be prepared as the operation terminal 8, but the cost of the head support device 5 and the inkjet printer system 1 can be reduced by using a smartphone or a tablet terminal. ..

In the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, the user operates the touch panel display 8d of the operation terminal 8 to activate the operation application, and inputs an instruction to raise the head 3 of the inkjet printer 2, for example. A signal based on this instruction is transmitted by wireless communication from the communication unit 8c of the operation terminal 8 to the communication unit 15c of the control device 15, and the control unit 15b of the control device 15 controls the driver 15a. As a result, the driver 15a drives the pulse motor 18b of the second actuator 18, so that the linear guide 18a slides upward and the head 3 rises. Similarly, the user operates the operation application of the operation terminal 8 to move the head 3 in the up / down / left / right direction, and moves the guide 30 of the conveyor 7 in the left / right direction to move the head 3 in the up / down / left / right direction and the guide. The left-right position of 30, that is, the left-right position of the PET bottle 6 can be adjusted. As a result, the head 3 can be appropriately aligned with the printed area of the PET bottle 6, for example, the ring portion 6b below the cap 6a of the PET bottle 6 (referred to as "optimal adjustment state"), and the PET bottle 6 can be aligned. On the other hand, it becomes possible to print appropriately. The inclination of the head 3, that is, the vertical angle is adjusted in advance by the user by operating the rotation mechanism 20 to an optimum angle.

According to the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, the inkjet printer 2 can appropriately print the PET bottle 6 being conveyed by the conveyor 7 with the head 3 held by the head support device 5. Further, in the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, complicated adjustment work of the head 3 position and the guide 30 position, which is manually performed by the user in the conventional inkjet printer, can be easily performed by operating the operation terminal 8. Can be done.

Further, in the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user adjusts the vertical / horizontal position of the head 3 and the horizontal position of the guide 30 as described above, the user operates the operation application of the operation terminal 8. Enter the instruction to save the information on the position of the head 3 in the optimum adjustment state and the information on the position of the guide 30 (referred to as "optimal adjustment information"). A signal based on this instruction is transmitted by wireless communication from the communication unit 8c of the operation terminal 8 to the communication unit 15c of the control device 15, and the control unit 15b of the control device 15 is a linear guide of the actuators 17, 18 and 33 in the optimum adjustment state. The slide amounts of 17a, 18a, and 33a are stored in the storage unit 15d as the optimum adjustment information of the PET bottle 6.

As described above, the optimum adjustment information of the PET bottle 6 is stored in the storage unit 15d of the control device 15, and the inkjet printer system 1 is used for printing objects other than the PET bottle 6, such as PET bottles having different sizes and shapes. After printing, when printing to the PET bottle 6 again, the user operates the operation application of the operation terminal 8 to input an instruction to restore the optimum adjustment state of the PET bottle 6. This instruction is transmitted from the communication unit 8c of the operation terminal 8 to the communication unit 15c of the control device 15 by wireless communication, and the control unit 15b of the control device 15 reads the optimum adjustment information of the PET bottle 6 from the storage unit 15d and obtains the information. The driver 15a is controlled based on the above. As a result, the driver 15a drives the actuators 17, 18 and 33 to adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of the head 3 and the horizontal and horizontal positions of the guide 30, and the optimum adjustment state of the PET bottle 6 is restored.

In the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, the vertical and horizontal positions of the head 3 and the horizontal and horizontal positions of the guide 30 are adjusted for each different type of print object, and the optimum adjustment information is stored in the storage unit 15d of the control device 15. By saving, each time the print target is changed, the optimum adjustment state can be restored based on the changed optimum adjustment information of the print target.
Therefore, every time the print target is changed, the user can perform the position adjustment work of the head 3 and the guide 30 by one-touch operation of the operation terminal 8 without requiring a skilled adjustment technique, so that the configuration is inexpensive. However, the time required for mold change work can be significantly reduced. It is also possible to contribute to an increase in the production amount of the production line by shortening the time for the mold change work. The mold change work refers to the preparation and setting work of each part of the inkjet printer system 1 including the position adjustment of the head 3 and the guide 30 according to the print target when the print target is changed.

Further, conventionally, since the position adjustment work of the head 3 and the guide 30 is performed manually by the user, there is a problem that the adjustment varies every time the print target is changed. However, the inkjet according to the present embodiment has a problem. The printer system 1 can eliminate this and maintain the quality.

Further, a plurality of sets of the inkjet printer 2, the head support device 5, and the conveyor 7 of the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment may be prepared, and each set of the head support device 5 may be operated by a common operation terminal 8. If the position adjustment work of the head 3 and the guide 30 is performed for each head support device 5 and the optimum adjustment information is stored in the storage unit 15d of the control device 15 for each print target, one operation terminal 8 is used during the mold change work. Since each head support device 5 can be operated to restore the optimum adjustment state, the mold change work can be significantly shortened. In this case, it is preferable that the usage status of each head support device 5 is displayed on the operation screen of the operation application displayed on the touch panel display 8d of the operation terminal 8. Specifically, on the operation screen, "inoperable" is displayed for the head support device 5 being operated by another user or the head support device 5 being operated on the production line, or the head support device 5 is currently selected by each head support device 5. It is preferable to display the type of product (name of the object to be printed) or display error information or the like. As a result, the user can appropriately operate each head support device 5 while grasping the usage status of each head support device 5, and can prevent the occurrence of erroneous operation.

In the inkjet printer system 1 according to the present embodiment, the rotation mechanism 20 of the head support device 5 is combined with a pulse motor to form a fourth actuator, and the operation of the fourth actuator is controlled by the control device 15. May be good. As a result, the tilt of the head 3, that is, the vertical angle can be adjusted by the operation terminal 8, and the adjusted angle information is stored in the storage unit 15d as the optimum adjustment information, so that the head can be restored to the optimum adjustment state described above. The inclination of 3 can also be restored.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the head support device 5 can easily adjust the position of the head 3 in spite of having a simple and inexpensive configuration, and can significantly shorten the mold change work. , The inkjet printer system 1 can be realized. In particular, by adopting a smartphone or tablet terminal in which the operation application is installed in the operation terminal 8, the convenience of the head support device 5 can be effectively enhanced. Specifically, the head support device 5 can be easily operated with a smartphone or a tablet terminal to easily adjust the head 3 position and the guide 30 position in a short time. Further, the head support device 5 can be remotely controlled by a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

1 Inkjet printer system 2 Inkjet printer 3 Inkjet printer head 5 Head support device 6 PET bottle (printing object)
7 Conveyor 8 Operation terminal 13 Head adjustment unit 14 Guide adjustment unit 15 Control device 15a Driver 15b Control unit 15d Storage unit 16 Holding member 17 First actuator (horizontal actuator)
18 Second actuator (actuator for vertical direction)
20 Rotation mechanism 26 Conveyor unit 29, 30 Guide 33 Third actuator (guide actuator)
37 Control room computer

Claims (9)

The holding member that holds the head of the inkjet printer and
A first actuator that moves the holding member in the left-right direction in order to adjust the head position, and a second actuator that moves the holding member in the up-down direction.
A control device that controls the first actuator and the second actuator,
It has a storage unit that can store information on the head position adjusted for each print object, and has.
The control device controls the first actuator and the second actuator based on the information of the head position stored in the storage unit to adjust the head position. Device. It has a third actuator that moves the guide of the conveyor that conveys the object to be printed in the left-right direction.
The control device controls the third actuator,
The storage unit can store information on the guide position adjusted for each print object.
The head support of the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the third actuator based on the information of the guide position stored in the storage unit to adjust the guide position. Device. The head support device for an inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the head support device has at least one of a lamp and a buzzer indicating an operating state of the head support device. The head support device for an inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an emergency stop button for urgently stopping the operation of the head support device. A conveyor for transporting a print target, an inkjet printer for printing on the print target, a head support device for supporting the head of the inkjet printer, and an operation terminal for operating the head support device. Have and
The head support device includes a holding member that holds the head, a first actuator that moves the holding member in the left-right direction in order to adjust the head position, and a second actuator that moves the holding member in the up-down direction. It has a control device for controlling the first actuator and the second actuator, and a storage unit capable of storing information on the head position adjusted for each print object.
The control device is an inkjet printer system characterized in that the first actuator and the second actuator are controlled based on the information of the head position stored in the storage unit to adjust the head position. The head support device has a third actuator that moves a guide for guiding the print object on the conveyor in the left-right direction.
The control device controls the third actuator,
The storage unit can store information on the guide position adjusted for each print object.
The inkjet printer system according to claim 5, wherein the control device controls the third actuator based on the information of the guide position stored in the storage unit to adjust the guide position. It has a plurality of sets of the inkjet printer, the conveyor, and the head support device.
The inkjet printer system according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of head support devices are operated by a common operation terminal. The inkjet printer system according to claim 7, wherein information on the usage status of the plurality of head support devices is displayed on a common display unit of the operation terminal. The inkjet printer system according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the operation terminal is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook computer.

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