JP4547973B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an industrial ink jet recording apparatus used in a production line or the like.

  As an embodiment of the prior art, a configuration is disclosed in which identification information is added to a print head or an ink cartridge to detect coincidence / mismatch (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 4).

  In addition, a configuration is disclosed in which the outer shape is the same so that print cartridges having different ink colors with a print head can be mounted on the same cartridge holder (see, for example, Patent Document 5).

  In addition, regarding the attachment / detachment of the capping unit, which is the head maintenance unit, a configuration is disclosed in which maintenance means detachably mounted on the print head surface is disclosed, but reference is made to attachment / detachment from the ink jet printing unit main body. No (see, for example, Patent Document 6).

JP 2001-270092 A

JP 2002-254611 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-6440 JP 2001-96760 A Japanese Patent No. 3377829 JP 2002-59568 A

  In particular, in the case of an industrial inkjet recording apparatus, it is required to print on various media, and accordingly, it is necessary to cope with various ink colors, ink types, printing widths, and the like.

  However, with the configuration described above, it is not possible to replace print head units with different print widths. In addition, when print head units having different print widths are loaded, there is a problem in that print head maintenance for recovering non-ejection and beam bending cannot be performed.

  In addition, if the ink color or ink type changes, the purge unit that contacts the print head section must be replaced, and the ink before the replacement in the print head section will adhere to the nozzle section of the print head, causing color mixing, ink solidification, etc. This causes the bending of the beam and the like to deteriorate the printing quality, or in the worst case, the nozzle portion becomes clogged with the solidified ink and causes non-ejection.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate such disadvantages of the prior art, and to provide a purge unit corresponding to a print head corresponding to various ink colors and ink type print widths. It is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus.

To achieve this object, a recording medium conveying unit that conveys a recording medium, a print head unit that includes a print head and an ink supply unit, a table unit that mounts the print head unit, and the table unit that records the table An X-axis transport unit that moves in a direction orthogonal to the medium transport direction, a Z-axis transport unit that moves the table unit in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium transport direction, and a purge unit that faces the print head, In an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet printing unit mounted at a position facing the recording medium transport unit, a first unit detection for discriminating the ink color, ink type, and print width type of the print head unit on the table portion the provided parts, and i of the purge unit in the ink jet printing unit Click color, ink type, the second unit detection unit for discriminating the type of the print width of the corresponding print head unit provided, ink color of the print head unit for printing on the recording medium, ink type, printing width is changed In this case, the purge unit identified by the first unit detection unit and the purge unit identified by the second unit detection unit and corresponding to the ink color, ink type, and print width of the print unit. And is mounted .

  Further, the print head and the purge unit in the print head unit can be added in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction.

  The print head unit and the purge unit may be detachable.

  Further, when the print head unit and the purge unit are exchanged, the print head unit and the purge unit are integrated and detachable.

  The ink supply unit may include negative pressure holding means for holding the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing.

  Further, the ink supply unit is constituted by a negative pressure holding means for holding the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing and a large capacity ink tank.

  The ink tank may be detachable as a degassing ink bag.

  Further, the ink supply system is made of a material that does not easily transmit oxygen.

  Further, the print head unit is provided with a head drive connector, a negative pressure control signal cable connector, and a negative pressure control hose connector, and a connector for connecting the connector to the table portion on which the print head unit is mounted, The connector portion is connected by being loaded into a table portion on which the print head unit is mounted.

  Further, the ink jet printing unit is provided above the recording medium transport unit in the vertical direction.

  Further, the inkjet printing unit is mounted on a U-shaped frame movable in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, the table unit on which the print head unit is mounted is provided with the first unit detection unit for determining the type of the print head unit, and the second unit detection unit for determining the type of the purge unit is an inkjet printing unit. It is possible to provide an inexpensive inkjet recording apparatus with high versatility and reliability.

  Further, the print width can be increased or decreased by adding the print head and the purge unit in the print head unit in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction.

  Further, since the print head unit and the purge unit are detachable, the versatility and the cost are reduced.

  In addition, when replacing the print head unit and the purge unit, the print head unit and the purge unit are integrated and detachable, so that the capping at the time of storing the print head unit can also be used and the cost is low and the reliability is improved. .

  In addition, the ink supply unit has negative pressure holding means for holding the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing, so that the ink supply unit is made up of a minimum number of parts and is made compact, thereby increasing versatility and cost. Become.

  In addition, since the ink supply unit includes negative pressure holding means for holding the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing and a large-capacity ink tank, negative pressure control and ink supply are facilitated.

  Further, since the ink tank can be attached and detached as a degassing ink bag, ink replenishment can be facilitated, and a state in which no bubbles remain in the ink supply path can be maintained, so that ink ejection is stable and reliability is improved.

  Further, by configuring the ink supply system with a material that does not easily transmit oxygen, it is possible to maintain a state in which no bubbles remain in the ink supply path, so that ink ejection is stable and reliability is improved.

  Further, the print head unit is provided with a head drive connector, a negative pressure control signal cable connector, and a negative pressure control hose connector, and a connector for connecting the connector is provided on a table portion on which the print head unit is mounted. When the connector portion is connected to the table portion on which the print head unit is mounted, the print head unit can be easily replaced.

  Further, since the ink jet printing unit is provided on the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the recording medium transport unit, versatility of attachment to the recording medium transport unit is expanded.

  In addition, since the inkjet printing unit is mounted on a U-shaped frame movable in the vertical direction, versatility of attachment to the recording medium transport unit is expanded.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The overall schematic configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a recording medium conveyance unit 1 and an inkjet printing unit 2.

  The recording medium transport unit 1 includes a recording medium transport unit frame 1-a and a vacuum belt 1-b, a vacuum belt transport mechanism (not shown), a vacuum generation mechanism, and the like.

  The ink jet printing unit 2 includes a plurality of rows of print heads (not shown) arranged obliquely with respect to the recording medium conveyance direction for ejecting ink droplets, and a print head unit 3 including an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the print heads. An X-axis transport unit 4 that includes a first unit detection unit (not shown) for identifying the type of the print head unit 3 and moves the print head unit 3 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium, the print head A Z-axis transport unit 5 that moves in the vertical direction and includes a table unit 5-a on which the unit 3 is mounted, a purge unit 6 that corresponds to the print head array that removes air mixed in the print head, and the type of the purge unit A second unit detection unit (not shown) is provided near the purge unit mounting unit. , Has a configuration including the components in the ink jet printing unit frame on 2-a.

  During the printing operation, the print head unit 3 can be moved onto the recording medium conveyance unit 1 by the X-axis conveyance unit 4, and the recording medium and the print head can be moved to a predetermined distance by the Z-axis conveyance unit 5 for printing. . The purge unit 6 includes a pump (not shown) and a capping unit that remove air mixed in the print head.

  Next, the head maintenance operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The print head unit 3 is stopped by the X-axis transport unit 4 over the capping unit (not shown) of the purge unit 6, and the print head (not shown) is pressed against the capping unit by the Z-axis transport unit 5 and mixed into the print head by the pump. Remove air.

  Further, as shown above, a plurality of print heads (not shown) in the print head unit 3 are arranged obliquely with respect to the recording medium conveyance direction as described above, and as shown in FIG. 2, a table portion on which the print head unit 3 is mounted. 5-a is free in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction, and the purge unit 6 is also installed on the inkjet printing unit frame 2-a as described above. And the purge unit 6 can be added in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction, and the print width can be increased or decreased.

  Further, by positioning the print head unit and the purge unit with a positioning pin (not shown) or the like and easily detachable with a screw (not shown), the versatility is high and the cost is low.

  In addition, when replacing the print head unit and the purge unit, the print head unit and the purge unit are integrated with a screw or the like (not shown) so that they can be attached and detached. In addition, reliability is improved.

  In addition, the ink supply unit has a negative pressure holding means (not shown) that holds the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing, so the versatility is expanded by making the ink supply unit compact and compact. And cheaper.

  Also, the negative pressure control and the ink supply are easy because the ink supply unit is composed of a negative pressure holding means (not shown) that holds the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing and a large-capacity ink tank (not shown). It becomes.

  In addition, since the ink tank (not shown) can be attached and detached as a degassing ink bag, ink replenishment can be facilitated, and a state where no bubbles remain in the ink supply path can be maintained, so that ink ejection is stable and reliable. improves.

  In addition, by configuring the ink supply system with a material that does not allow oxygen to permeate, such as metal pipes and resin tubes (not shown), it is possible to maintain a state where no bubbles remain in the ink supply path, so that ink ejection is stable and reliable. improves.

  The print head unit 3 is provided with a head drive connector, a negative pressure control signal cable connector, and a negative pressure control hose connector (not shown), and the connector is connected to the table portion 5-a on which the print head unit 3 is mounted. By providing a connector and loading it in the table portion 5-a on which the print head unit 3 is mounted, the replacement operation of the print head unit 3 is facilitated by connecting the connector portion.

  Further, since the ink jet printing unit 2 is provided on the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the recording medium conveyance unit 1, versatility of attachment to the recording medium conveyance unit 1 is expanded.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the versatility of attachment to the recording medium transport unit 1 is expanded by mounting the inkjet printing unit 2 on a U-shaped frame 7 movable in the vertical direction.

  By adopting the configuration described above, the purge units corresponding to the ink color, ink type, print width, etc. of the print head unit corresponding to various ink colors, ink types, and print widths become one-to-one correspondence, and the ink colors・ Even if the ink type changes, beam bending due to color mixing, ink solidification, etc. can occur, reducing print quality, and in the worst case, the nozzle can be prevented from clogging and non-ejection due to solidified ink. In addition, it is possible to maintain a print head that recovers non-ejection, beam bending, and the like, and it is possible to provide an inexpensive inkjet recording apparatus with high versatility and high reliability that can be easily adapted to various printing applications.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing an embodiment according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a state in which a print head unit and a print head maintenance unit are removed according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a print head maintenance state of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing an embodiment according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 is a recording medium conveyance unit, 1-a is a vacuum belt, 1-b is a recording medium conveyance unit frame, 2 is an inkjet printing unit, 2-a is an inkjet printing unit frame, 3 is a print head unit, 4 is an X-axis conveyance , 5 is a Z-axis transport unit, 5-a is a table, 6 is a print head maintenance unit, and 7 is a frame.

Claims (11)

A recording medium conveying unit that conveys a recording medium, a print head unit including a print head and an ink supply unit, a table unit on which the print head unit is mounted, and a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveying direction. An X-axis transport unit that moves in the vertical direction, a Z-axis transport unit that moves the table portion in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium transport direction, and a purge unit that faces the print head, and faces the recording medium transport unit. In an inkjet recording apparatus having an inkjet printing unit mounted at a position,
The table unit is provided with a first unit detection unit for determining the ink color, ink type, and print width type of the print head unit, and the ink jet printing unit has the ink color and ink type corresponding to the purge unit. A second unit detection unit for determining the type of print width of the print head unit is provided , and when the ink color, ink type, and print width of the print head unit printed on the recording medium change, the first unit The print head unit identified by the detection unit and the purge unit identified by the second unit detection unit and corresponding to the ink color, ink type, and print width of the print unit are mounted. An inkjet recording apparatus.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head and the purge unit in the print head unit can be added in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head unit and the purge unit are detachable.   4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the print head unit and the purge unit are exchanged, the print head unit and the purge unit are integrated and detachable. 5. .   5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply unit includes a negative pressure holding unit that holds a meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing. 6.   6. The ink supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply unit includes negative pressure holding means for holding the meniscus of the print head at a negative pressure suitable for printing and a large capacity ink tank. The ink jet recording apparatus described.   7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink tank is detachable as a degassing ink bag.   8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply system is made of a material that does not easily transmit oxygen.   The print head unit is provided with a head drive connector, a negative pressure control signal cable connector, and a negative pressure control hose connector portion, and a connector for connecting the connector is provided on a table portion on which the print head unit is mounted. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connector portion is connected by being loaded on a table portion on which the unit is mounted.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet printing unit is provided above the recording medium transport unit in a vertical direction.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet printing unit is mounted on a U-shaped frame movable in a vertical direction.

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