JP2022149187A - Printer, control method and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer, a control method and a control program which can reduce such a possibility that the quality of a print image is reduced.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a platen; a head; a lamp; a drive mechanism; and a control unit. A printing object is placed on the platen. The head can relatively move in a second direction with respect to the platen. A nozzle surface is provided in the head. The nozzle surface is opposite to the platen in a first direction and discharges ink. The ink is cured with the irradiation of light. The lamp can irradiate a printing object with light. The drive mechanism relatively moves the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head. The control unit acquires a first relative distance between at least one of the nozzle surface and the lamp and at least one of the platen and the printing object (S1), and controls the drive mechanism on the basis of the acquired first relative distance to relatively move the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head (S5, S7).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to printers, control methods, and control programs.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a printer that performs printing by discharging photocurable ink onto a printing object on a platen and irradiating the photocurable ink adhering to the printing object with light to cure the photocurable ink. there is For example, an ink jet printer described in Patent Document 1 includes a table, a recording head, and an ultraviolet irradiation device. A table supports a print object. A nozzle surface is formed in the recording head. The recording head ejects ultraviolet curable ink from the nozzle surface onto the print target on the table. The ultraviolet irradiation device irradiates the ultraviolet curing ink adhering to the object to be printed with ultraviolet rays.

Further, the inkjet printer includes a shaft member, a spring and a movement limiter. The shaft member supports the ultraviolet irradiation device. A recording head is fixed to the shaft member. A spring is wound around the shaft member and biases the ultraviolet irradiation device away from the recording head. The movement restricting portion is provided on one end side of the shaft member. A hole is formed in the movement restricting portion. The shaft member is inserted into the hole when the ultraviolet irradiation device comes into contact with the movement restricting portion. This compresses the spring and changes the distance between the UV irradiation device and the recording head.

JP 2015-9376 A

In the inkjet printer described above, when ultraviolet rays are irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation device, they are reflected by the table or the object to be printed. In this case, the reflected light may hit the nozzle surface. When the reflected light hits the nozzle surface, the ultraviolet curable ink may be cured on the nozzle surface. If the ultraviolet curable ink is cured on the nozzle surface, the ultraviolet curable ink may not be ejected and the quality of the printed image may be degraded.

In the above inkjet printer, the distance between the table and the nozzle surface varies in the first direction, for example, depending on the position of the table. In the first direction, the distance between the print object and the nozzle face varies, for example depending on the position of the table and the height of the top surface of the print object from the table. If the distance between the table and the recording head or the distance between the printing object and the recording head changes, the possibility of reflected light hitting the nozzle surface may change. When the possibility of reflected light impinging on the nozzle surface increases, the possibility of deterioration in the quality of the printed image increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer, control method, and control program that can reduce the possibility of deterioration in the quality of printed images.

A printer according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a platen on which an object to be printed is placed, and nozzles on a surface facing the platen in a first direction for ejecting ink that is cured by being irradiated with light. a head provided with a surface and movable relative to the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a lamp capable of irradiating the print target with light; a driving mechanism for relatively moving in the second direction; and a controller, wherein the controller controls at least one of the nozzle surface and the lamp, and at least one of the platen and the printing object in the first direction. and obtaining a first relative distance between the head and the lamp, and controlling the drive mechanism based on the obtained first relative distance to relatively move the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head. do.

According to the first aspect, the printer can vary the distance between the lamp and the head in the second direction based on the first relative distance. As a result, even if the first relative distance changes, the printer can reduce the possibility that the reflected light hits the nozzle surface. Therefore, the printer can suppress non-ejection of ink by the head. As a result, the printer can reduce the likelihood of poor quality printed images.

The control unit determines whether the acquired first relative distance is less than or equal to or less than a threshold, and controls the driving mechanism when the acquired first relative distance is less than or equal to or less than the threshold. and moving the lamp relative to the head in the second direction, and if the acquired first relative distance is equal to or greater than the threshold value, controlling the driving mechanism to move the lamp. The second direction may be relatively moved away from the head.

In this case, when the first relative distance is relatively large, the printer can reduce the possibility of reflected light hitting the nozzle surface. In addition, when the first relative distance is relatively small, the printer can prevent the distance between the lamp and the head from becoming too large in the second direction. That is, the printer can suppress the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the quality of the printed image deteriorates while suppressing the enlargement of the apparatus and the reduction of the print range.

The control unit determines a second relative distance in the second direction between the lamp and the head according to the obtained first relative distance, and determines the A driving mechanism may be controlled to move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction.

In this case, when the first relative distance is relatively large, the printer can reduce the possibility of reflected light hitting the nozzle surface. In addition, when the first relative distance is relatively small, the printer can prevent the distance between the lamp and the head from becoming too large in the second direction. That is, the printer can suppress the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range. In addition, the printer can control the second relative distance to a fine degree. Therefore, the printer can reduce the possibility of deteriorating the quality of the printed image while suppressing the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the print range.

The printer may include a sensor that detects the first relative distance, and the controller may acquire the first relative distance from the sensor.

In this case, the printer can suppress the occurrence of an error between the actual first relative distance and the acquired first relative distance.

The printer may include a carriage that supports the head, and the sensor may be provided on the carriage.

If the sensor is provided on the head, the sensor must be reattached when the head is replaced. Since the sensor is provided on the carriage, there is no need to reattach the sensor when the head is replaced. Since the sensor is provided on the same member as the head, the sensor can easily detect the first relative distance accurately.

The drive mechanism may include a motor and a conversion mechanism that converts rotation of the motor to linearly move the lamp or the head in the second direction.

In this case, since the lamp or head moves linearly, the printer can stabilize the first relative distance.

The motor is provided in one of the head and the lamp, the conversion mechanism is a screw that rotates when driven by the motor, and the screw is a hole formed in the other of the head and the lamp. , may fit into a threaded hole extending in the second direction.

In this case the screw directly supports the head or lamp. Therefore, there is no need for a member for supporting the head or lamp separately from the conversion mechanism. Therefore, the printer has a simple configuration and can move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction.

The motor may be provided on the head, and the screw may fit into the screw hole formed in the lamp.

When the weight of the head is heavier than the weight of the lamp, the operation of the motor is more stable when the motor is attached to the head than when the motor is attached to the lamp. In printers, a motor is provided in the head. Therefore, the printer can stably move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction.

The head may eject, from the nozzle surface, ink that cures when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and the lamp may irradiate the ink ejected from the nozzle surface and adhered to the object to be printed with ultraviolet rays.

In this case, since the ink is cured by ultraviolet rays, the printer can diversify the material of the printing object.

A control method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a platen on which a print target is placed, and a surface facing the platen in a first direction, and ink that is cured by being irradiated with light is ejected. a head provided with a nozzle surface and movable relative to the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a lamp capable of irradiating the print target with light; and a drive mechanism for relatively moving in the second direction, wherein at least one of the nozzle face and the lamp, and at least one of the platen and the object to be printed in the first direction. and controlling the driving mechanism based on the first relative distance obtained by the obtaining process to move the lamp with respect to the head in the second direction. and a movement process for relatively moving the .

The second aspect can produce the same effect as the first aspect.

A control program according to a third aspect of the present invention is a platen on which an object to be printed is placed, and a surface facing the platen in a first direction, and ejects ink that is cured by being irradiated with light. a head provided with a nozzle surface and movable relative to the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a lamp capable of irradiating the print target with light; and a drive mechanism for relatively moving in the second direction in the first direction between at least one of the nozzle face and the lamp and at least one of the platen and the object to be printed. and controlling the driving mechanism based on the first relative distance obtained by the obtaining process to move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction. and a movement process to cause the movement to be performed.

The third aspect can produce the same effect as the first aspect.

1 is a perspective view of a printer 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the printer 1 viewed from the front when the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the printer 1 viewed from the front when the lamp 50 is positioned at the second position; 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printer 1; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of first main processing; 9 is a flowchart of second main processing;

A printer 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The upper, lower, lower left, upper right, lower right, and upper left sides of FIG. 1 are the upper, lower, front, rear, right, and left sides of the printer 1, respectively.

A schematic configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a transport mechanism 6, an elevating mechanism 8, and a platen 5. As shown in FIG. The transport mechanism 6 is provided below the printer 1 and includes a pair of rails 12 . The pair of rails 12 extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in the left-right direction.

The lifting mechanism 8 is provided above the transport mechanism 6 and supported by a pair of rails 12 . The elevating mechanism 8 moves forward and backward along the pair of rails 12 by being driven by a sub-scanning motor 32 (see FIG. 4). The elevating mechanism 8 is vertically expanded and contracted by being driven by an elevating motor 34 (see FIG. 4).

A platen 5 is provided above the lifting mechanism 8 . A platen 5 is a plate and is supported by a lifting mechanism 8 . The platen 5 moves vertically due to the vertical extension and contraction of the elevating mechanism 8 . The platen 5 is moved in the front-rear direction by the movement of the elevating mechanism 8 in the front-rear direction. A printing object M (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is placed on the upper surface of the platen 5 . The object to be printed M is, for example, plate-like or sheet-like, and is made of, for example, cloth, paper, plastic, or metal.

The printer 1 has a pair of rails 11 and a carriage 20 . A pair of rails 11 are provided above the platen 5 . The pair of rails 11 extends in the left-right direction and is arranged in the front-rear direction. The carriage 20 is provided between the pair of rails 11 in the front-rear direction. Carriage 20 is a plate and is supported by a pair of rails 11 . The carriage 20 moves left and right along the pair of rails 11 by being driven by a main scanning motor 31 (see FIG. 4).

A carriage 20 supports the head 10 . Although the number of heads 10 is not limited to a specific number, two heads 10 are mounted on the carriage 20 in the first embodiment. The two heads 10 are rectangular parallelepipeds and are arranged in the front-rear direction. Two heads 10 are fixed to a carriage 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a nozzle surface 101 is formed on the bottom surface of the head 10 . The nozzle surface 101 is located above the platen 5 and faces the platen 5 from above. A plurality of nozzle holes 101 a are formed in the nozzle surface 101 . The head 10 ejects ink downward from a plurality of nozzle holes 101a (see arrow A1). As an example, the ink is a so-called ultraviolet curable ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

Hereinafter, the vertical distance between the nozzle surface 101 and the platen 5 is referred to as "platen distance D0", and the vertical distance between the nozzle surface 101 and the printing object M is referred to as "ejection distance D1". Although the platen distance D0 is not limited to a specific value or a specific range, for example, it is displaced between about 2 mm and 15 mm due to vertical expansion and contraction of the lifting mechanism 8. FIG. The ejection distance D1 is displaced by the platen distance D0 and the thickness of the object M to be printed. The user adjusts the platen distance D0 by expanding or contracting the elevating mechanism 8 according to the thickness of the printing object M so that the ejection distance D1 becomes a target distance, for example.

As an example, the platen distance D0 shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the platen distance D0 shown in FIG. The thickness of the printing object M shown in FIG. 2 is thicker than the thickness of the printing object M shown in FIG. Therefore, the ejection distance D1 shown in FIG. 2 is smaller than the ejection distance D1 shown in FIG.

A lamp 50 is provided on the right side of the head 10 . Although the number of lamps 50 is not limited to a specific number, two lamps 50 are provided in the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodiment, the printer 1 has as many lamps 50 as the number of heads 10 . The lamp 50 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes an ultraviolet light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as “UVLED 51”, see FIG. 4).

A light emitting surface 501 is formed on the lower surface of the lamp 50 . The light emitting surface 501 is located above the platen 5 and faces the platen 5 from above. In the first embodiment, the vertical position of the light emitting surface 501 is the same as the vertical position of the nozzle surface 101 . The lamp 50 causes the UVLED 51 to emit light, thereby irradiating ultraviolet rays downward from the light emitting surface 501 (see arrow A2).

Lamp 50 is connected to head 10 by drive mechanism 70 . The drive mechanism 70 includes a drive motor 71 and a conversion mechanism 72, and moves the lamp 50 in the horizontal direction. A drive motor 71 is fixed to the head 10 . The conversion mechanism 72 converts the rotation of the drive motor 71 into a force for linearly moving the lamp 50 . The conversion mechanism 72 is a ball screw 73 as an example. A ball screw 73 is fixed to the output shaft of the drive motor 71 and extends rightward from the drive motor 71 .

A screw hole 55 is formed in the lamp 50 . A screw hole 55 extends rightward from the left side of the lamp 50 . The left surface of the lamp 50 faces the right surface of the head 10 in the left-right direction. A ball screw 73 fits into the threaded hole 55 . Thereby, the drive mechanism 70 connects the lamp 50 with the head 10 . The lamp 50 is driven by the drive mechanism 70 to move between the first position (see FIG. 2) and the second position (see FIG. 3).

Hereinafter, the distance between the lamp 50 and the head 10 in the horizontal direction is referred to as "lamp distance D2". When the lamp 50 is in the second position (see FIG. 3), the lamp distance D2 is greater than when the lamp 50 is in the first position (see FIG. 2).

When the drive motor 71 rotates in one of the rotational directions while the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position (see FIG. 2), the ball screw 73 rotates in one of the rotational directions. As the ball screw 73 rotates, the ramp 50 moves rightward with respect to the head 10 . Thereby, the lamp 50 moves away from the head 10 and moves from the first position (see FIG. 2) to the second position (see FIG. 3).

When the drive motor 71 rotates in the other rotational direction while the lamp 50 is in the second position (see FIG. 3), the ball screw 73 rotates in the other rotational direction. As the ball screw 73 rotates, the ramp 50 moves leftward with respect to the head 10 . As a result, the lamp 50 approaches the head 10 and moves from the second position (see FIG. 3) to the first position (see FIG. 2).

The electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 1 has a control board 40 . A control board 40 is provided with a CPU 41 , a ROM 42 , a RAM 43 and a flash memory 44 . A CPU 41 controls the printer 1 and is electrically connected to a ROM 42 , a RAM 43 and a flash memory 44 .

The ROM 42 stores a control program for the CPU 41 to control the operation of the printer 1, information necessary for the CPU 41 when executing various programs, and the like. The RAM 43 temporarily stores various data used in the control program. The flash memory 44 is non-volatile and stores print data and the like for printing.

Main scanning motor 31 , sub-scanning motor 32 , head driving section 33 , lifting motor 34 , UVLED 51 , driving motor 71 , distance sensor 35 , and operation section 37 are electrically connected to CPU 41 . The main scanning motor 31 , the sub-scanning motor 32 , the head driving section 33 , the lifting motor 34 , the UVLED 51 and the driving motor 71 are driven under the control of the CPU 41 .

The drive motor 71 is provided with an encoder 711 . Encoder 711 detects the rotation angle of drive motor 71 and outputs a detection signal to CPU 41 . Based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 , the CPU 41 can specify the lateral position of the lamp 50 with respect to the head 10 . The head driving unit 33 is a pressure element, a heating element, or the like, and drives the head 10 to eject ink from the nozzle surface 101 .

The operation unit 37 is a touch panel or the like, and outputs information to the CPU 41 according to user's operation. By operating the operation unit 37, the user can input a print instruction or the like for starting printing by the printer 1 to the printer 1. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the distance sensor 35 is an optical sensor and fixed to the carriage 20 . Distance sensor 35 detects ejection distance D1 and outputs a detection signal to CPU 41 . Based on the detection signal from the distance sensor 35, the CPU 41 can specify the ejection distance D1.

In the printer 1 described above, the ultraviolet light emitted from the lamp 50 is reflected by the printing object M (see arrow A3). Light reflected by the printing object M may hit the nozzle surface 101 . The reflection angle of the reflected light from the printing object M varies depending on the size of the ejection distance D1. Therefore, the possibility that the light reflected by the printing object M hits the nozzle surface 101 differs depending on the ejection distance D1.

In the present embodiment, if the ejection distance D1 is relatively large and the lamp distance D2 is relatively small, the nozzle surface 101 is more likely to receive reflected light. If the ejection distance D1 is relatively small and the lamp distance D2 is relatively large, the possibility that the nozzle surface 101 is hit by the reflected light is low. On the other hand, when the ejection distance D1 is relatively small and the lamp distance D2 is relatively large, it is necessary to narrow the moving range of the head 10 in the horizontal direction or the printing range of the head 10 because the lamp distance D2 is large. It is necessary to secure a range of movement according to As a result, if the moving range of the head 10 is narrowed, there is a possibility that the printing range of the head 10 will be reduced. may lead to complication.

In the first main process described below, the printer 1 controls the lamp distance D2 according to the ejection distance D1. As a result, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the reflected light from the printing object M hits the nozzle surface 101 while suppressing the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range.

The first main processing will be described with reference to FIG. A user places a print object M on the platen 5 . A user operates the operation unit 37 (see FIG. 4) to input a print instruction to the printer 1 . When a print instruction is input, the CPU 41 reads the control program from the ROM 42 and operates to execute the first main process.

When the first main process is started, the CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 (S1). In S1, the CPU 41 performs test scanning. In test scanning, the CPU 41 drives the sub-scanning motor 32 to move the platen 5 backward to below the movement path of the carriage 20 . In this state, the CPU 41 drives the main scanning motor 31 to move the carriage 20 in the horizontal direction without causing the head 10 to eject ink. As a result, the distance sensor 35 moves above the print object M. As shown in FIG. Distance sensor 35 detects ejection distance D1 and outputs a detection signal to CPU 41 . The CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 based on the detection signal from the distance sensor 35 at one point where the carriage 20 is arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the platen 5 and stores it in the RAM 43 .

The CPU 41 determines whether or not the acquired ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold (S3). The threshold is stored in ROM42. Although the threshold value is not limited to a specific value, for example, it is larger than the lower limit of the platen distance D0 and smaller than the upper limit of the platen distance D0.

If the ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold (S3: YES), the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 to the first position (see FIG. 2) (S5). In S5, the CPU 41 determines based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 whether the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position (see FIG. 2) or the second position (see FIG. 3). The CPU 41 does not drive the drive motor 71 when the lamp 50 is at the first position. When the lamp 50 is positioned at the second position, the CPU 41 rotates the drive motor 71 in the other rotational direction based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 to move the lamp 50 to the first position.

If the ejection distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold (S3: NO), the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 to the second position (see FIG. 3) (S7). In S7, the CPU 41 determines based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 whether the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position (see FIG. 2) or the second position (see FIG. 3). The CPU 41 does not drive the drive motor 71 when the lamp 50 is positioned at the second position. When the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position, the CPU 41 rotates the drive motor 71 in one of the rotation directions based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 to move the lamp 50 to the second position.

The CPU 41 performs print control based on the print data (S9). In printing control, the CPU 41 drives the sub-scanning motor 32 to move the platen 5 backward to below the movement path of the carriage 20 . In the first embodiment, the CPU 41 controls so-called unidirectional printing.

The CPU 41 drives the main scanning motor 31 to move the carriage 20 from right to left. In this case, the CPU 41 drives the head driving unit 33 and the UVLED 51 to cause the head 10 to eject ink from the nozzle surface 101 onto the printing object M on the platen 5 , and to print on the platen 5 with respect to the light emitting surface 501 . The object M is irradiated with ultraviolet rays (see arrow Y1 in FIGS. 2 and 3).

A lamp 50 is positioned to the right of the head 10 . Therefore, when the carriage 20 moves from the right to the left, the ultraviolet rays (see arrow A2 in FIGS. 2 and 3) emitted from the lamp 50 to the object M to be printed are not reflected in the head 10 during scanning. , the ink adhering to the printing object M is irradiated. As a result, the ink on the printing object M is cured.

The CPU 41 drives the main scanning motor 31 to move the carriage 20 from left to right. In this case, the CPU 41 drives only the UVLED 51 out of the head drive unit 33 and the UVLED 51 , does not cause the head 10 to eject ink from the nozzle surface 101 , and does not cause the light emitting surface 501 to irradiate the printing object M on the platen 5 . Ultraviolet rays are irradiated (see arrow Y2 in FIGS. 2 and 3).

When the carriage 20 moves from the left to the right, the ultraviolet rays (see arrow A2 in FIGS. 2 and 3) emitted from the lamp 50 to the object to be printed M are emitted from the object to be printed in the previous scan of the head 10. The ink adhering to M is irradiated. As a result, the integrated amount of ultraviolet rays irradiated to the ink on the printing object M increases.

After one reciprocating scan in the horizontal direction of the head 10 is completed a predetermined number of times, the CPU 41 drives the sub-scanning motor 32 to move the platen 5 forward by a predetermined amount. The CPU 41 controls printing on the printing object M on the platen 5 by repeating the scanning of the head 10 in the horizontal direction a predetermined number of times and the movement of the platen 5 forward by a predetermined amount. The predetermined number of times may be once, or may be two or more times. When the printing on the print object M is finished, the CPU 41 finishes the first main process.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the CPU 41 controls the drive mechanism 70 based on the ejection distance D1 to move the lamp 50 relative to the head 10 in the horizontal direction. According to this, the printer 1 can change the distance between the lamp 50 and the head 10 in the horizontal direction based on the ejection distance D1. As a result, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the reflected light hits the nozzle surface 101 even if the ejection distance D1 changes. Therefore, the printer 1 can suppress non-ejection of ink by the head 10 . As a result, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the quality of the printed image will deteriorate.

When the ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold value, the CPU 41 controls the drive mechanism 70 to relatively move the lamp 50 toward the head 10 in the horizontal direction. According to this, when the ejection distance D1 is relatively small, the printer 1 can prevent the distance between the lamp 50 and the head 10 from becoming larger than necessary in the horizontal direction. That is, the printer 1 can suppress the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range. When the ejection distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the CPU 41 controls the drive mechanism 70 to move the lamp 50 away from the head 10 in the horizontal direction. According to this, even when the ejection distance D1 is relatively large, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the reflected light hits the nozzle surface 101 . By reducing the possibility that reflected light hits the nozzle surface 101 , the printer 1 can suppress non-ejection of ink from the head 10 . As a result, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the quality of the printed image will deteriorate. The printer 1 has a relatively simple configuration, and can reduce the possibility of deteriorating the quality of the printed image while suppressing an increase in the size of the device and a reduction in the print range.

The CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 from the distance sensor 35 . According to this, the printer 1 can suppress the occurrence of an error between the actual ejection distance D1 and the acquired ejection distance D1, compared to, for example, the case of acquiring the ejection distance D1 manually input by the user.

A distance sensor 35 is provided on the carriage 20 . If the distance sensor 35 is provided in the head 10, the distance sensor 35 must be reattached when the head 10 is replaced. Since the distance sensor 35 is provided on the carriage 20, there is no need to reattach the distance sensor 35 when the head 10 is replaced. Since the distance sensor 35 is provided on the same member (carriage 20 ) as the head 10 , the distance sensor 35 can more accurately detect the ejection distance D<b>1 than when the distance sensor 35 is provided on a member other than the carriage 20 .

The conversion mechanism 72 converts the rotation of the drive motor 71 to linearly move the lamp 50 in the horizontal direction. According to this, since the lamp 50 moves linearly, the printer 1 can stabilize the ejection distance D1 as compared with, for example, the case where the lamp 50 rotates or meanders.

A drive motor 71 is provided in the head 10 . The ball screw 73 is fitted in the screw hole 55 and rotated by the drive motor 71 . A screw hole 55 is formed in the lamp 50 and extends in the left-right direction. According to this, the ball screw 73 directly supports the ramp 50 . Therefore, a member for supporting the lamp 50 is not required in addition to the conversion mechanism 72 . Therefore, the printer 1 can move the lamp 50 relative to the head 10 in the horizontal direction with a simple configuration.

A drive motor 71 is provided in the head 10 . A threaded hole 55 is provided in the lamp 50 . When the head 10 is heavier than the lamp 50 , it is better to provide the drive motor 71 to the head 10 than to provide the drive motor 71 to the lamp 50 . stabilizes. In the printer 1 , a drive motor 71 is provided in the head 10 . Therefore, the printer 1 can stably move the lamp 50 relative to the head 10 in the horizontal direction.

The head 10 ejects from the nozzle surface 101 ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays. The lamp 50 irradiates the ink ejected from the nozzle surface 101 and adhering to the printing object M with ultraviolet rays. According to this, since the ink is cured by the ultraviolet rays, the printer 1 can diversify the material of the printing object M and the like. That is, the printer 1 can print even on the print target M on which ink is relatively difficult to fix.

A printer 1 according to a second embodiment of the invention will be described. The mechanical configuration and electrical configuration of the printer 1 of the second embodiment are the same as the mechanical configuration and electrical configuration of the printer 1 of the first embodiment, respectively. The printer 1 of the second embodiment differs from the printer 1 of the first embodiment in that it executes a second main process (see FIG. 6) instead of the first main process (see FIG. 5).

The second main processing will be described with reference to FIG. In the second main process, processes equivalent to the first main process are given the same step numbers as the first main process, and description thereof is omitted. When a print instruction is input, the CPU 41 reads the control program from the ROM 42 and operates to execute the second main process.

When the second main process is started, the CPU 41 refers to a distance relationship table (not shown) after the process of S1, and determines the lamp distance D2 based on the ejection distance D1 (S11). The CPU 41 stores the determined ramp distance D2 in the RAM 43 . A distance relation table is stored in the ROM 42 . The distance relationship table defines the size of the lamp distance D2 in association with the size of the discharge distance D1. The distance relation table defines the lamp distance D2 so that the lamp distance D2 increases as the ejection distance D1 increases. In S11, the CPU 41 refers to the distance relationship table to determine the lamp distance D2 corresponding to the ejection distance D1.

The CPU 41 controls the drive mechanism 70 according to the determined lamp distance D2 to move the lamp 50 leftward or rightward (S13). In S13, the CPU 41 controls the drive motor 71 based on the detection signal from the encoder 711 so that the horizontal distance between the head 10 and the lamp 50 becomes the determined lamp distance D2. The CPU 41 performs print control (S9) and ends the second main process.

In the second embodiment, the CPU 41 determines the horizontal lamp distance D2 between the lamp 50 and the head 10 according to the ejection distance D1. The CPU 41 controls the driving mechanism 70 according to the determined lamp distance D2 to move the lamp 50 relative to the head 10 in the horizontal direction. According to this, positions corresponding to the ejection distance D1 are continuously provided between the first position and the second position. Therefore, the CPU 41 not only moves the lamp 50 to either the first position or the second position, but also changes the position of the lamp 50 between the first position and the second position in an analog manner according to the discharge distance D1. can be changed to As a result, the printer 1 can control the lamp distance D2 within a fine range. Therefore, the printer 1 can further reduce the possibility that the image quality of the printed image is deteriorated while suppressing the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range.

In the above embodiment, the print target M corresponds to the "print target" of the present invention. The platen 5 corresponds to the "platen" of the present invention. The vertical direction of the printer 1 corresponds to the "first direction" of the invention. The nozzle surface 101 corresponds to the "nozzle surface" of the present invention. The horizontal direction of the printer 1 corresponds to the "second direction" of the invention. The head 10 corresponds to the "head" of the present invention. The lamp 50 corresponds to the "lamp" of the present invention. The drive mechanism 70 corresponds to the "drive mechanism" of the present invention. The CPU 41 corresponds to the "control section" of the present invention. The ejection distance D1 corresponds to the "first relative distance" of the present invention.

The ramp distance D2 corresponds to the "second relative distance" of the present invention. The distance sensor 35 corresponds to the "sensor" of the present invention. The carriage 20 corresponds to the "carriage" of the invention. The drive motor 71 corresponds to the "motor" of the present invention. The conversion mechanism 72 corresponds to the "conversion mechanism" of the present invention. The ball screw 73 corresponds to the "screw" of the present invention. The threaded hole 55 corresponds to the "threaded hole" of the present invention. The process of S1 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the "acquisition process" of the present invention. The process of S5 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the "moving process" of the present invention.

The present invention can be variously modified from the above embodiment. The various modified examples described below can be combined as long as there is no contradiction. In the above embodiment, the lamp 50 is provided on the right side of the head 10 . On the other hand, the lamp 50 may be provided on the left side of the head 10 or may be provided on both the right and left sides of the head 10 . For example, when the lamps 50 are provided on both the left and right sides of the head 10, the printer 1 may perform so-called bi-directional printing. That is, when the carriage 20 moves from right to left, the head 10 scans from right to left while ejecting ink, and when the carriage 20 moves from left to right, the head 10 ejects ink. You may scan from the left to the right while discharging.

In the above embodiment, the head 10 moves in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the head 10 may be a line head. In this case, the head 10 moves relative to the platen 5 in the front-rear direction as the platen 5 moves. Therefore, the ramp 50 is provided at one or both of the rear and front sides of the head 10 . In this case, the printer 1 moves the lamp 50 rearward or forward with a configuration similar to that of the driving mechanism 70 . As an example, when the ramp 50 is provided behind the head 10 , a screw hole 55 is provided on the front surface of the ramp 50 . A ball screw 73 extends rearwardly from drive motor 71 and fits in threaded hole 55 . In this case, when the ball screw 73 is rotated by driving the drive motor 71 , the lamp 50 moves backward or forward with respect to the head 10 .

In the above embodiment, when the carriage 20 moves from left to right, the lamp 50 scans from left to right while irradiating ultraviolet rays. On the other hand, when the carriage 20 moves from left to right, the lamp 50 may scan from left to right without irradiating ultraviolet rays.

In the above embodiment, the printer 1 employs ultraviolet curable ink. On the other hand, the printer 1 may employ ink that is cured by being irradiated with visible light or infrared rays, for example, as long as the ink is cured by being irradiated with light. In this case, lamp 50 emits visible light or infrared light.

In the above embodiment, the vertical position of the light emitting surface 501 is the same as the vertical position of the nozzle surface 101 . On the other hand, the vertical position of the light emitting surface 501 may be above or below the vertical position of the nozzle surface 101 .

In the above embodiment, the platen 5 and the nozzle surface 101 face each other in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the platen 5 and the nozzle surface 101 may face each other in the left-right direction, or may face each other in the front-rear direction. For example, when the platen 5 and the nozzle surface 101 face each other in the horizontal direction or the front-rear direction, the head 10 may move relative to the platen 5 in the vertical direction. In this case, the driving mechanism 70 may move the lamp 50 relative to the head 10 in the vertical direction.

In the above-described embodiment, the head 10 is fixed to the carriage 20 and the lamp 50 moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the head 10 . Alternatively, the lamp 50 may be fixed to the carriage 20 and the head 10 may be connected to the lamp 50 via the drive mechanism 70 . That is, the head 10 may not be fixed to the carriage 20 and may be supported by the carriage 20 via the lamp 50 . In this case, the drive mechanism 70 moves the head 10 laterally with respect to the lamp 50 .

In the above embodiment, the head 10 is provided with the drive motor 71 . Alternatively, the drive motor 71 may be provided on the lamp 50 . In this case, for example, a threaded hole 55 may be formed in the head 10 . The drive motor 71 may be fixed to the carriage 20, for example.

In the above embodiment, conversion mechanism 72 includes ball screw 73 . On the other hand, the conversion mechanism 72 may include, for example, a trapezoidal screw instead of the ball screw 73, or may include, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism. In the embodiment described above, the drive mechanism 70 includes a drive motor 71 . On the other hand, instead of the drive motor 71, the drive mechanism 70 may include, for example, a cylinder. In this case, the drive mechanism 70 can omit the conversion mechanism 72 .

In the above embodiment, the CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 in S1. Alternatively, the CPU 41 may acquire the platen distance D0. For example, the distance sensor 35 may detect the platen distance D0. The platen distance D0 may be the distance between the light emitting surface 501 and the platen 5 in the vertical direction. The ejection distance D1 may be the distance between the light emitting surface 501 and the printing object M in the vertical direction. In the first embodiment, when acquiring the platen distance D0, the CPU 41 determines in S3 whether the acquired platen distance D0 is less than a threshold. In the second embodiment, when acquiring the platen distance D0, the CPU 41 determines the lamp distance D2 based on the acquired platen distance D0 in S11.

In the above embodiments, the distance sensor 35 is an optical sensor. On the other hand, the distance sensor 35 may be an image sensor, a switch sensor, or the like. For example, the elevator motor 34 may be provided with an encoder. The CPU 41 determines the vertical position of the platen 5 based on the detection signal from the encoder, and specifies the distance between the platen 5 and the nozzle surface 101 or the distance between the platen 5 and the light emitting surface 501 in the vertical direction. may

In the above embodiment, the method of obtaining the ejection distance D1 by the CPU 41 can be changed as appropriate. The user may operate the operation unit 37 to manually input the ejection distance D1 to the printer 1 . In this case, the CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 via the operation section 37. FIG. A user may operate the external device to manually input the ejection distance D1 to the external device. In this case, the user operates the external device or the operation unit 37 to cause the printer 1 and the external device to communicate with each other. The CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 from the external device through communication. When the CPU 41 obtains the manually input ejection distance D1, the printer 1 may omit the distance sensor 35 . Therefore, the printer 1 can suppress the enlargement of the device, and can acquire the ejection distance D1 with a simple configuration.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 41 controls the driving motor 71 based on the detection signal from the encoder 711, thereby controlling the ramp distance D2. In contrast, the printer 1 may be provided with an origin sensor, for example. The origin sensor detects the origin of the drive motor 71 or the origin of the relative position of the lamp 50 to the head 10 in the horizontal direction. The CPU 41 may control the driving motor 71 and the lamp distance D2 based on the origin detected by the origin sensor.

In the above embodiment, the distance sensor 35 is provided on the carriage 20 . On the other hand, the distance sensor 35 may be provided on the head 10 , the lamp 50 , or the platen 5 . That is, the distance sensor 35 may be provided at any position as long as it can detect the ejection distance D1.

In the above embodiment, head 10 is heavier than lamp 50 . Alternatively, the lamp 50 may be heavier than the head 10 , or the head 10 may have the same weight as the lamp 50 .

In the first embodiment, in S3, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold. Alternatively, the CPU 41 may determine whether or not the ejection distance D1 is equal to or less than the threshold. If the ejection distance D1 is less than or equal to the threshold, the CPU 41 may control the drive mechanism 70 to move the lamp 50 leftward by a certain amount. When the ejection distance D1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the CPU 41 may control the drive mechanism 70 to move the lamp 50 rightward by a certain amount.

A position on the print object M corresponding to one scan of the head 10, that is, a line on the print object M to which ink is applied by one scan of the head 10 is called a "target line". In the first embodiment, the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 to the first position or the second position in S5 or S7 before print control (S9). On the other hand, during print control, the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 to the first position or the second position based on the ejection distance D1 in the target line each time before scanning the head 10 in the horizontal direction a predetermined number of times. You can move it. In the second embodiment, the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 horizontally so that the distance between the head 10 and the lamp 50 in the horizontal direction becomes the determined lamp distance D2 in S11 before the print control (S9). move to On the other hand, during print control, the CPU 41 calculates the distance between the head 10 and the lamp 50 in the horizontal direction based on the ejection distance D1 in the target line each time before scanning the head 10 in the horizontal direction a predetermined number of times. The lamp 50 may be moved in the left-right direction so that the distance of is equal to the determined lamp distance D2. In these cases, during print control, the CPU 41 may perform test scanning on the target line each time before scanning the head 10 in the horizontal direction a predetermined number of times, or in S1, test scanning on all target lines. may be performed.

In the first embodiment, the threshold was stored in ROM 42 . In contrast, the threshold may be stored in flash memory 44 and changeable by the user. The CPU 41 may acquire the threshold value from an external device and store it in the RAM 43 .

In the second embodiment, the distance relation table was stored in the ROM42. On the other hand, the distance relation table may be stored in flash memory 44 and changeable by the user. The CPU 41 may acquire the distance relation table from an external device and store it in the RAM 43 . The CPU 41 can appropriately change the method of determining the ramp distance D2 in S11. For example, in S11, the CPU 41 may substitute the discharge distance D1 into the formula to calculate the lamp distance D2. The equations are stored in ROM 42, flash memory 44, or RAM 43.

In the above embodiment, at the start of the first main process or the second main process, the lamp 50 may be positioned at the first position, the second position, or the first position and the second position. may be located between For example, the CPU 41 may move the lamp 50 to the first position at the end of print control to end the first main process or the second main process. In this case, the lamp 50 is positioned at the first position at the start of the first main process or the second main process. Therefore, for example, in the first embodiment, the CPU 41 can execute print control without moving the lamp 50 when the ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold. Therefore, in this case, the printer 1 can shorten the time from acquisition of the print instruction to print control.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 41 acquires the ejection distance D1 at one point where the carriage 20 is arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the platen 5 in S1. On the other hand, the CPU 41 may acquire the ejection distance D1 at a plurality of points. In this case, the CPU 41 stores in the RAM 43 as the ejection distance D1 one of the average value, the median value, the minimum value, the maximum value, etc. among the plurality of acquired ejection distances D1.

For example, when the lamp distance D2 is constant, the possibility that the nozzle surface 101 is exposed to reflected light may increase as the discharge distance D1 decreases. In this case, in the first embodiment, the CPU 41 moves the lamp 50 to the second position when the ejection distance D1 is less than the threshold, and moves the lamp 50 to the first position when the ejection distance D1 is greater than or equal to the threshold. You may let In the second embodiment, the CPU 41 may determine the lamp distance D2 such that the lamp distance D2 increases as the discharge distance D1 decreases. That is, in the above embodiment, the CPU 41 may move the lamp 50 closer to the head 10 when the ejection distance D1 is relatively large, and move the lamp 50 away from the head 10 when the ejection distance D1 is relatively small.

According to this, when the ejection distance D1 is relatively large, the printer 1 can prevent the distance between the lamp 50 and the head 10 from becoming larger than necessary in the horizontal direction. That is, the printer 1 can suppress the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range. Even when the ejection distance D1 is relatively small, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the nozzle surface 101 is exposed to reflected light. Therefore, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that the quality of the printed image deteriorates while suppressing the enlargement of the device and the reduction of the printing range.

1 Printer 5 Platen 10 Head 20 Carriage 35 Distance sensor 41 CPU
50 lamp 55 screw hole 70 drive mechanism 71 drive motor 72 conversion mechanism 73 ball screw 101 nozzle surface

Claims (11)

a platen on which an object to be printed is placed;
A surface facing the platen in a first direction, provided with a nozzle surface for ejecting ink that is cured by being irradiated with light, and facing the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction. a movable head;
a lamp capable of irradiating the object to be printed with light;
a driving mechanism that relatively moves the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head;
a control unit;
with
The control unit
obtaining a first relative distance between at least one of the nozzle face and the lamp and at least one of the platen and the object to be printed in the first direction;
A printer, wherein the drive mechanism is controlled based on the obtained first relative distance to move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction. The control unit
Determining whether the obtained first relative distance is less than or equal to a threshold,
if the acquired first relative distance is less than the threshold value or equal to or less than the threshold value, controlling the driving mechanism to relatively move the lamp in the second direction in a direction to approach the head;
When the acquired first relative distance is equal to or greater than the threshold value or a value greater than the threshold value, controlling the driving mechanism to relatively move the lamp away from the head in the second direction. Item 1. The printer according to Item 1. The control unit
determining a second relative distance in the second direction between the lamp and the head according to the obtained first relative distance;
2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is controlled to move the lamp relative to the head in the second direction according to the determined second relative distance. A sensor that detects the first relative distance,
The control unit
4. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first relative distance is obtained from said sensor. A carriage that supports the head,
5. The printer of claim 4, wherein the sensor is provided on the carriage. The drive mechanism is
a motor;
a conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the motor to linearly move the lamp or the head in the second direction;
6. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: the motor is provided in one of the head and the lamp;
The conversion mechanism is a screw rotated by driving the motor,
7. The printer according to claim 6, wherein said screw is fitted in a threaded hole formed in the other of said head and said lamp and extending in said second direction. The motor is provided in the head,
8. The printer of claim 7, wherein said screw fits into said threaded hole formed in said ramp. The head ejects from the nozzle surface ink that cures when irradiated with ultraviolet rays,
9. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the lamp irradiates the ink ejected from the nozzle surface and adhering to the object to be printed with ultraviolet rays. a platen on which an object to be printed is placed;
A surface facing the platen in a first direction, provided with a nozzle surface for ejecting ink that is cured by being irradiated with light, and facing the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction. a movable head;
a lamp capable of irradiating the object to be printed with light;
a driving mechanism that relatively moves the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head;
A printer control method comprising
obtaining a first relative distance between at least one of the nozzle face and the lamp and at least one of the platen and the object to be printed in the first direction;
a movement process for controlling the drive mechanism based on the first relative distance acquired by the acquisition process to relatively move the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head;
A control method characterized by executing a platen on which an object to be printed is placed;
A surface facing the platen in a first direction, provided with a nozzle surface for ejecting ink that is cured by being irradiated with light, and facing the platen in a second direction intersecting the first direction. a movable head;
a lamp capable of irradiating the object to be printed with light;
a driving mechanism that relatively moves the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head;
on a printer computer equipped with
obtaining a first relative distance between at least one of the nozzle face and the lamp and at least one of the platen and the object to be printed in the first direction;
a movement process for controlling the drive mechanism based on the first relative distance acquired by the acquisition process to relatively move the lamp in the second direction with respect to the head;
A control program characterized by executing

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