JP4837343B2 - Textile printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a textile printing apparatus having a printing apparatus for printing an image on various recording media such as paper, film, natural or artificial fabric, woven fabric, and non-woven fabric, and particularly to improvement of productivity and image quality.

  When printing clothing fabrics, etc., when printing multiple colors using a flat screen or rotary screen, the image data is divided into each color, and a screen is created for each color and printing is performed for the number of colors. It is repeating. For example, when 24 colors are printed on a fabric, as shown in the process diagram of FIG. 13, a color design of the fabric is created on a workstation or a personal computer (step S1), and the created color design is separated into 24 colors. Is prepared (step S2), and the prepared plate-making film for each color is stored (step S3). When creating a flat screen using this artwork film, a crease is pasted on an aluminum or iron mold for every 24 colors (step S4), a photosensitizer is applied to the crease and dried (step S5), An undercoat film is superimposed on the surface coated with the photosensitive agent and exposed to ultraviolet rays (step S6), and thereafter developed with water and dried to complete a printing screen (steps S7 and S8). Upon entering the printing operation, printing is performed on the supplied original fabric using the screen for the first color, then printing is performed using the screen for each color, and printing is performed using the screen for the 24th color. (Step S9). Thereafter, a steaming process for fixing the color and the dye to the fabric (step S10), washing with water, removing excess glue, and finishing the printing operation (step S11).

  When creating a screen for printing, a large amount of waste water is generated during development. In addition, a large amount of water is required to wash away the color paste containing the dye in the washing step of the printing work, which also causes an increase in waste water. For this reason, it has been a cause of environmental degradation.

  In addition, it is necessary to create a printing film for each color in order to create a screen, and it is necessary to repeat the printing process for each color, each process is complicated, and it is difficult to shorten the delivery time and reduce the cost. Furthermore, in order to prepare for repeat orders from customers, it is necessary to store the original film and screen, which requires not only a large storage space but also a great deal of effort to maintain the quality of the screen. It was.

  In order to improve the disadvantages of the printing method using this screen, as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a printing method using an ink jet method is employed. In this ink jet system, printing is performed by directly ejecting ink droplets of four or more colors, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and several special colors onto the recording medium. By doing so, it is possible to express an equivalent color with a smaller number of colors than screen printing. However, since the ink droplets are directly ejected onto the recording medium, there is a drawback that the formed image is blurred, and pretreatment of the recording medium is indispensable to prevent it. In addition, since many are shuttle type, the printing speed is slow, for example, several meters per hour, and the productivity is low, so that it is not suitable for mass production and causes a cost increase.

  On the other hand, as shown in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4, for example, an electrophotographic printing method has been developed. In the electrophotographic textile printing method, as shown in the process diagram of FIG. 14, image data of each color is created by a workstation or a personal computer (step S21), and the basic four colors of YMCK are used in the printing process as in the ink jet system. The color is reproduced on the recording medium to which the color is supplied, and if it is difficult to reproduce with four colors, a special color is used (step S22). In addition, as in the conventional screen system, all can be featured. Thereafter, a steaming process for fixing the color and the dye to the fabric (step S23), washing with water, removing excess glue, and finishing the printing operation (step S24).

  In this electrophotographic method, a latent image is formed on a photosensitive member and visualized by a dry method or a wet method. For example, a pattern visualized from latent image formation by a wet image forming unit is transferred onto a recording material. As shown in the process explanatory diagram of FIG. 15, the process is performed by supplying a developing solution and a cleaning solution to the photoconductor 18 and rotating the photoconductor 18 at the time of warming up. The latent image is erased by the erase lamp 23. At this time, in many cases, the cleaning solution is also used as a developing solution, and the developing solution stored in the developing solution tank 24 is adhered by the first developing roller 26, the second developing roller 27, and the squeezing roller 28. Then, the developer is sent from the developer tank 24 as a cleaning liquid to the cleaning roller 34 of the cleaning unit 22 to clean the surface of the photosensitive member 18, and the excess developer is recovered in the developer tank 24 by the developer recovery pump 29 and cleaned. The developer recovered in the liquid recovery tank 100 is recovered in the developer tank 24 by the cleaning liquid recovery pump 35.

  Thereafter, the photosensitive member 18 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 19 while rotating the photosensitive member 18, and a desired pattern is written on the photosensitive member 18 as an electrostatic latent image by the laser light emitted from the writing LED array 20. The developer stored in the developer tank 24 is selectively attached to the photosensitive member 18 on which the electrostatic latent image is written by the first developing roller 26 and the second developing roller 27, and the squeezing roller 28 has a uniform film thickness. To visualize. The image developed on the photosensitive member 18, that is, the toner image, is transferred to the recording medium 7 conveyed by the conveying belt 6 by a transfer roller 37 to which a transfer voltage is applied. On the other hand, excess developer is recovered in the developer tank 24 via the developer recovery pump 29. Further, since the toner transfer rate from the photoconductor 18 to the recording medium 7 is not 100%, some toner remains on the photoconductor 18. If the next latent image formation is formed and developed as it is, an afterimage due to the residual toner is generated. Therefore, the toner on the photoconductor 18 is removed by the cleaning blade 31 and the cleaning roller 34. At this time, the developing solution is sent from the developing solution tank 24 to the cleaning roller 34 as a cleaning solution, and the toner remaining on the photoconductor 18 is collected and removed by the developing solution sent to the cleaning roller 34. The electrostatic latent image remaining on the photoreceptor 18 from which the residual toner has been removed is erased by the erase lamp 23. Further, the developer recovered in the cleaning liquid recovery tank 100 is recovered in the development tank 24 by the cleaning liquid recovery pump 35. In this way, the conveying belt 6 that conveys the recording medium 7 to which the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 18 is transferred is always in contact with the photosensitive member 18.

This electrophotographic image forming process has a very high speed compared to the ink jet method, so that productivity can be improved.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-195576 Japanese Patent No. 2995135 JP-A-5-27474 JP 2005-89886 A

  In this electrophotographic image forming unit, the photosensitive member must be rotated at the time of start-up and standby, so the conveying belt in contact with the photosensitive member must be constantly moved. For this reason, when the recording medium is already set on the conveyance belt at the time of start-up and standby, the recording medium is idle and waste occurs. If the conveyance belt is stopped in order to prevent the waste of the recording medium, there is a high possibility that the photoreceptor and the conveyance belt will rub and damage the photoreceptor when the photoreceptor is rotated during startup and standby. There is a disadvantage of end.

  Further, when the recording medium is widened, if the parallelism between the photosensitive member, the conveyance belt, and the transfer roller is poor, transfer failure and image distortion occur. In particular, in the case of multiple colors, color misregistration results in a significant loss of image quality. Further, uneven transfer pressure in the width direction causes the same problem.

  Further, in the wet image forming unit, a method that also uses a developer as a cleaning liquid is adopted, and the recovered cleaning liquid is collected in a developer tank and used for development. When dust floating in the air or lint generated from the recording medium adheres, it adheres to the photoconductor during image transfer and is collected and mixed with the cleaning liquid in the developer tank. When the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member with the developer is visualized, dust particles mixed in may adhere to the photosensitive member and cause an image defect. In the case of multicolor printing, if the toner of the former image forming unit is reversely transferred to the photoconductor of the latter image forming unit, and the reversely transferred toner is collected in the latter developer tank, color mixing occurs.

This invention is to solve such problems, a paper, film or cloth, textiles, printing apparatus capable of printing a high quality image with good productivity in various recording media such as a nonwoven fabric, the length as well as broadening It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of efficiently forming a high-quality pattern on a scaled fabric, woven fabric or non-woven fabric .

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit for forming a visible image on an image carrier by electrophotography, a transfer unit for transferring an image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium, and an image carrier separating / contacting means. And the image carrier separating means moves the image carrier in a direction opposite to the transfer unit to separate the image carrier from the transfer unit when the image is not visualized by the image creation unit. The image forming unit has a plurality of printing devices that move the image forming unit in the direction of the transfer unit when the image is visualized according to the color to be printed. A printing apparatus arranged along the recording medium, and a recording medium supply apparatus for supplying a recording medium upstream of the recording medium conveyance means; and an adhesive for applying a fixing adhesive to the recording medium conveyance means The recording medium supply And a printing apparatus for printing the first color, and a recording medium detecting means is provided on the downstream side of each printing apparatus, and a drying apparatus for drying the printed recording medium is provided on the downstream side of each printing apparatus. The printing start timing can be variably controlled independently, and each of the printing apparatuses detects the recording medium by the recording medium detection means and then the image carrier is at a timing when the recording medium comes directly under the image carrier. The image forming unit is moved in the direction of the transfer unit by the body separating / contacting means, and the image carrying body is positioned by the image carrier position adjusting means leaving a slight gap between the image forming body and the transfer unit. The conveying belt is pressed against the printing apparatus by the pressing means.
  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the first aspect, when the image carrier is moved in the direction of the transfer unit by the image carrier separation / contact means, the position of the image forming unit is set on the recording medium. An image carrier position adjusting means is provided which can be independently changed in the transport direction and the orthogonal direction and holds the image carrier of the image forming unit in parallel with the transfer unit.
  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the image forming unit has an independent flow path for the developer connected to the developer tank and a flow path for the cleaning liquid connected to the cleaning liquid tank. It is characterized by having.
  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the third aspect, the image carrier is moved away from the transfer unit by moving the image forming unit in a direction opposite to the transfer unit by the image carrier separating means. The dripping collecting means is moved directly below the image carrier of the image forming unit, and the dripping collecting means is avoided outside the image forming unit before moving the image forming unit in the direction of the transfer unit. It has a dripping prevention means.
  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when the image carrier is moved in the direction of the transfer unit by the image carrier separating means, the position of the image forming unit is conveyed to the recording medium. And an image carrier position adjusting means for independently changing the direction and the orthogonal direction, and holding the image carrier of the image forming unit parallel to the transfer unit.
  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the recording medium conveying means includes a conveying belt wound around a driving roller and a driven roller, and each of the printing apparatuses The conveying belt is stopped when the image forming unit is in a standby state.
  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the transfer unit of the printing apparatus includes a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the conveying belt toward the printing apparatus.
  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the pressurizing means of the transfer unit varies the pressure independently for each printing apparatus.
  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the textile printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the pressurizing means of the transfer unit presses the transport belt toward the printing apparatus, and the transport belt is pushed up by a minute distance. The conveyance belt is curved in a convex shape toward the printing apparatus.

  Further, when the conveying belt is pressed to the printing apparatus side by the pressing unit of the transfer unit, the conveying belt is pushed up by a minute distance to bend the conveying belt convexly toward the printing apparatus.

The textile printing apparatus of the present invention can stably print a high-quality image on a wide recording medium by using the following printing apparatus.
Also provided is a recording medium supply apparatus for supplying a recording medium to the upstream side of the recording medium conveyance means and an adhesive application device for applying a fixing adhesive to the recording medium conveyance means. And a printing apparatus for printing the first color, a recording medium detection means is provided on the downstream side of each printing apparatus, and a drying apparatus for drying the printed recording medium is provided. In contrast, a high-quality image can be printed stably.
Further, since each printing apparatus variably controls the printing start timing independently, printing can be performed according to the conveyance state of the recording pair, and a high-quality image without color misregistration can be stably printed. .
In addition, each printing apparatus moves the image forming unit in the direction of the transfer unit at the timing when the recording medium is detected immediately below the image carrier after the recording medium is detected by the recording medium detection unit. Since the image carrier is not positioned and the conveying belt is not pushed down by the image carrier, leaving a slight gap therebetween, wrinkles are generated on the recording material such as fabric, and serious quality problems such as image quality and color misregistration occur. Can be prevented.
Furthermore, after positioning the image carrier with a slight gap between it and the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt and the recording medium are printed by pressurizing the conveyor belt to the printing device side with the pressing means of the transfer unit. It is possible to prevent a transfer failure due to bending to the opposite side of the apparatus .

When the image is not transferred to the recording medium, the image forming unit is moved in the opposite direction to the transfer unit to move the image carrier away from the transfer unit , and when the image is recorded on the recording medium, the image forming unit is transferred to the transfer unit. By moving in this direction, even when the image carrier rotates during standby, friction does not occur between the transfer unit and the recording medium, and the image carrier can be prevented from being damaged.

Further, when the image carrier is moved in the direction of the transfer unit , the position of the image forming unit is independently changed in the conveyance direction of the recording medium and the direction orthogonal thereto, and the image carrier of the image formation unit is moved relative to the conveyance belt. By holding them parallel to each other, when printing on a wide recording medium, a uniform pressure is applied in the width direction to prevent the recording medium being conveyed from twisting and to prevent distortion. Images can be printed.

  In addition, an image forming unit that forms a visible image on an image carrier using a wet electrophotographic method has an independent flow path for the developer connected to the developer tank and a flow path for the cleaning liquid connected to the cleaning liquid tank. Therefore, even if dust or lint adheres to the image carrier, it can be collected in the cleaning liquid tank by the cleaning means, and the image is deteriorated by preventing dust and the like from entering the developing liquid in the developing liquid tank. Can be prevented. Also, when printing multiple colors, even if the toner in the former image forming unit is reversely transferred to the image carrier of the latter image forming unit, the reversely transferred toner is collected in the cleaning liquid tank. It is possible to prevent the developer from mixing colors.

Further, when the image carrier is separated from the transfer unit , the liquid dripping means is moved directly under the image carrier of the image forming unit to collect the liquid dripping, so that the recording medium is contaminated by the liquid dripping. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, the conveyance belt of the recording medium conveyance means is stopped when the image forming unit of each printing apparatus is in the standby state, so that the image carrier can be prevented from being damaged even when the image carrier rotates during standby. In addition, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being wasted.

  In addition, the transfer unit of the printing apparatus is provided with a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the conveying belt toward the printing apparatus, and the pressure is varied independently for each printing apparatus, so that the recording medium and the image carrier are kept at an appropriate pressure. It can be contacted, and a high-quality image without color misregistration can be printed stably.

  In addition, when the conveying belt is pressed against the printing apparatus by the pressure unit of the transfer unit, the recording medium is stably stabilized by pushing the conveying belt by a small distance and curving the conveying belt convexly toward the printing apparatus. It is possible to stably carry out high-quality printing without color misregistration on the recording medium being conveyed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a textile printing apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the textile printing apparatus 1 includes a yellow (Y) printing apparatus 2a, a magenta (M) printing apparatus 2b, a cyan (C) printing apparatus 2c, and a black (K) printing apparatus 2d, and color reproducibility. Printing apparatuses 2e, 2f, and 2g for special colors are arranged sequentially along a non-conductive transport belt 6 wound around a drive pulley 4 and a driven pulley 5 that are rotated by a belt drive motor 3. . A recording medium supply device 8 for supplying the recording medium 7 and an adhesive application device 9 for applying a fixing adhesive to the conveyance belt 6 are arranged on the upstream side of the conveyance belt 6. A recording medium detection means 10 is disposed between the devices 2a. Further, drying devices 11 a to 11 g are provided on the downstream side of the printing devices 2 a to 2 g, and a belt cleaning device 12 is provided below the conveyance belt 6.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g use, for example, a wet image forming unit 13, a transfer unit 14, a photoconductor position adjusting unit 15, a photoconductor separating / contacting unit 16, and a liquid using an electrophotographic system. It has a drooling prevention means 17.

  The image forming unit 13 includes a charger 19, a writing LED array 20, a developing unit 21, a cleaning unit 22, and an erasing lamp 23 arranged around the photosensitive member 18, and supplies a developing solution to the developing unit 21 during warm-up. At the same time, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning means 22 to rotate the photoconductor 18 to collect the toner remaining on the photoconductor 18 by the previous printing, and the previously formed electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 18 is obtained. Erase with the erase lamp 23. When printing, the photosensitive member 18 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 19, and a desired pattern is written on the photosensitive member 18 as an electrostatic latent image by the laser light emitted from the writing LED array 20. The latent image is visualized by the developing means 21. The toner image visualized on the photosensitive member 18 is transferred to the recording medium 7 conveyed by the conveying belt 6 by the transfer unit 14, and the toner remaining on the photosensitive member 18 is collected by the cleaning means 22. The electrostatic latent image remaining on the removed photoreceptor 18 is erased by the erasing lamp 23.

  The developing means 21 includes a developer supply port 25 connected to the developer tank 24, a first developer roller 26, a second developer roller 27, a squeeze roller 28, and a developer discharge port 30 connected to the developer recovery pump 29. The developer stored in the developer tank 24 is supplied from the developer supply port 25 to the first developing roller 26 and is attached to the photoconductor 18 by the first developing roller 26 and the second developing roller 27, and the squeezing roller A uniform film thickness is visualized at 28, and the excess developer is recovered from the developer outlet 30 to the developer tank 24 via the developer recovery pump 29. The cleaning means 22 has a cleaning liquid supply port 33 connected to the cleaning blade 31 and the cleaning liquid tank 32, a cleaning liquid discharge port 36 connected to the cleaning roller 34 and the cleaning liquid recovery pump 35, and is formed on the photoconductor 18. The toner remaining on the photoreceptor 18 after the transferred toner image is transferred to the recording medium 7 is removed by the cleaning blade 31 and the cleaning roller 34. At this time, the cleaning liquid is sent from the cleaning liquid tank 32 to the cleaning roller 34, the toner remaining on the photoconductor 18 is recovered by the cleaning liquid sent to the cleaning roller 34, and the recovered cleaning liquid is discharged to the cleaning liquid discharge port. The liquid is recovered from 36 to the cleaning liquid tank 32 via the cleaning liquid recovery pump 35.

  As shown in the side view of FIG. 3, the transfer unit 14 has both ends of the transfer roller 37 held rotatably on a pressure shaft 38 a of a pressure mechanism 38 via a bearing. The pressurizing mechanism 38 has a cylinder, and the transfer roller 37 is brought into contact with the conveying belt 6 with a uniform applied pressure by a fluid supplied from the pressure generating device 39 via the control valve 40.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4, the photoconductor position adjusting unit 15 includes a unit drive mechanism unit 41 and a unit drive control unit 42. As shown in FIG. 3, the unit drive mechanism 41 has a bearing 44 that fits with a unit support shaft 43 provided on the left and right side surfaces of the image forming unit 13, and the height of the conveyance belt 6 at the tip. A unit holding part 46 provided with a position sensor 45 to be detected and an elevating mechanism 47 for moving the left and right unit holding parts 46 up and down individually are provided. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4, the unit drive control unit 42 includes a reference position setting unit 48, a determination unit 49, and a unit position control unit 50. In the reference position setting unit 48, a reference position, for example, a height between the unit holding unit 46 and the conveyance belt 6 necessary for aligning the photosensitive member 18 with the conveyance belt 6 at the time of image formation is set in advance. The determination unit 49 inputs a signal indicating the position with respect to the conveyor belt 6 measured by the left and right position sensors 45, compares the determination result with the reference position set in the reference position setting unit 48, and determines the determination result as a unit position control unit 50. Output to. The unit position control unit 50 controls the elevating mechanism 47 of the left and right unit drive mechanism units 41 according to the input error to move the unit holding unit 46 in the vertical direction, and repeats this process until the error becomes zero. When the error becomes zero, the driving of the elevating mechanism 47 is stopped and the photosensitive member 18 of the image forming unit 13 is held in parallel with the transport belt 6. Here, when the recording medium 7 is directly conveyed between the photosensitive member 18 and the transfer roller 37 of the transfer unit 14 and printing is performed on the recording medium 7 without using the conveyance belt 6, the position sensor 45 is used for the transfer roller 37. The photosensitive member 18 may be held parallel to the transfer roller 37 so as to detect the position and the left and right heights.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the photosensitive member separation / contact means 16 has an upper and lower roller 51 attached to a unit support shaft 43 provided on the left and right side surfaces of the image forming unit 13, and an inclined surface that engages with the upper and lower rollers 51. For example, it includes a vertical movement means 52 made of a guide plate or a cam, and a separation drive means 53 provided with, for example, a screw feed mechanism 53a and a slide table 53b for moving the vertical movement means 52 forward and backward. When the image forming unit 13 is stopped, as shown in FIG. 5A, the vertical movement means 52 is advanced to the forward end by the contact / separation driving means 53, and the upper part of the inclined surface of the vertical movement means 52 is moved to the upper and lower rollers 51. The image forming unit 13 is raised by a predetermined distance, and the photosensitive member 18 is disposed at the rising end separated from the conveying belt 6 by a predetermined distance. When the image forming unit 13 enters a standby state and the flows of the developing solution and the cleaning solution supplied to the photosensitive member 18 by the developing unit 21 and the cleaning unit 22 become stable, as shown in FIG. By means 53, the vertical movement means 52 is moved backward by a predetermined distance, the middle of the inclined surface of the vertical movement means 52 is moved to the position of the vertical roller 51, the image forming unit 13 is lowered by a certain distance, and the photosensitive member 18 is conveyed. Hold at a position slightly away from the belt 6. When printing by the image forming unit 13, as shown in FIG. 5C, the vertical movement means 52 is moved back to the retracted end by the separation drive means 53, and the lower part of the inclined surface of the vertical movement means 52 is moved to the upper and lower rollers 51. The image forming unit 13 is lowered by a predetermined distance, and the photosensitive member 18 is disposed at the lower end where the photosensitive member 18 is brought into contact with the conveying belt 6.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the dripping prevention means 17 has a dripping recovery tank 54 and a tank moving mechanism 55 provided with, for example, a screw feed mechanism. The dripping recovery tank 54 is configured such that when the image forming unit 13 is stopped, the image forming unit 13 is moved to the rising end by the photoconductor separating means 16 and the photoconductor 18 is separated from the transport belt 6 by a predetermined distance. The tank is moved forward by the tank moving mechanism 55 and moved to a forward end just below the photosensitive member 18 and held until the image forming unit 13 enters a standby state as shown in FIG. When the image forming unit 13 enters a standby state, the developing solution and the cleaning solution are supplied, and the photosensitive member 18, the first developing roller 26, the second developing roller 27, the squeezing roller 28, and the cleaning roller 34 start to rotate with a slight delay. At this time, there is a possibility that the developer droops at the lower end of the photoconductor 18. The dripping developer is collected in a dripping collection tank 54. When the flow of the developer and the cleaning liquid is stabilized, the dripping recovery tank 54 is moved backward by the tank moving mechanism 55, and the dripping recovery tank 54 is removed from the image forming unit 13 as shown in FIG. 6B. Is reached, the image forming unit 13 is lowered to the standby position by the photosensitive member attaching / detaching means 16, and this state is maintained until printing is started. When the printing is completed, the dripping recovery tank 54 is returned to the initial position shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the belt cleaning device 12 of the textile printing apparatus 1 includes a cleaning liquid tank 58 mounted on a carriage 57 having a caster 56 that moves in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the transport belt 6, and an upper side of the cleaning liquid tank 58. A plurality of rotating brushes 59 that partially enter the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 58, a brush drive motor 60 that rotates the rotating brush 59, a pulley attached to the drive shaft of the brush driving motor 60, and the rotating brush 59 A drive belt 61 wound around the pulley, a washing means 62 provided on the downstream side of the rotating brush 59, a draining means 63 provided on the downstream side of the washing means 62, and a downstream side of the draining means 63. The drying means 64 and the rotating brush 59, the draining means 63, and the drying means 64 are provided to face each other and sandwich the conveying belt 6 therebetween. It has a backup roller 65, used when wash off like Guzu dust and yarn adhering to the conveyor belt 6.

  An operation when an image is printed on the recording material 7 such as a clothing material by the textile printing apparatus 1 will be described.

  When the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g of the textile printing apparatus 1 are stopped, the image forming unit 1 is raised by a predetermined distance as shown in FIG. It is disposed at the rising end that is separated from the belt 6 by a predetermined distance, and the dripping prevention means 17 moves the dripping recovery tank 54 directly below the photoconductor 18.

  When an image is formed on a long recording medium 7 such as a cloth for clothing using each of the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g, the recording medium 7 is placed in the vicinity of the recording medium supply apparatus 8 so as to be fed out. The recording medium 7 is sent out by the recording medium supply device 8 and fixed on the conveying belt 6 by the pressure roller 8a. An adhesive is applied to the transport belt 6 in advance by an adhesive application device 9 in order to fix the recording medium 7. This adhesive, for example, a printing bond manufactured by Sumitomo 3M, has an adhesive force when dried, but has a property such that the adhesive force disappears when wetted with water. Since the adhesive strength of the printing bond is maintained for a considerable period of time, the adhesive may be applied intermittently as appropriate.

  In this state, as shown in the operation sequence diagram of FIG. 8, when the power of the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g is turned on, the image forming unit 13 of the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g enters the standby state, and the developing means 21 and the cleaning means 22 Starts the operation, rotates the photosensitive member 18, collects the toner remaining on the photosensitive member 18 by the previous printing by the developing solution and the cleaning solution supplied to the developing unit 21 and the cleaning unit 22, and is formed the previous time. The electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 18 is erased by the erase lamp 23. When dripping occurs in the developer applied to the photoconductor 18 in this standby state, the dripping that has occurred is collected in the dripping collection tank 54 of the dripping prevention means 17. Therefore, the conveyance belt 6 can be prevented from being contaminated by dripping. When the flow of the developing solution and the cleaning solution applied to the photosensitive member 18 is stabilized, the dripping recovery tank 54 is moved backward as shown in FIG. The photosensitive member 18 is held at a position slightly away from the conveyor belt 6. Therefore, even if the photoconductor 18 is rotating, no friction is generated between the photoconductor 18 and the photoconductor 18 can be prevented from being damaged. Further, since the photosensitive member 18 is rotated while the conveyance belt 6 is stopped and the recording medium 7 is not conveyed during standby, it is possible to prevent the recording medium 7 from being wasted.

  Thereafter, when a print signal is input, the conveyor belt 6 starts to move, and as shown in FIG. 9A, it is conveyed by the recording medium detection means 10 provided on the upstream side of the first color yellow (Y) printing apparatus 2a. When the leading end of the recording medium 7 conveyed by the belt 6 is detected, when the timing t1 when the leading end of the recording medium 7 reaches directly below the photosensitive member 18 of the printing apparatus 2a has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 9B. Then, the image forming unit 13 of the printing apparatus 2a is lowered by the photoconductor separating / contacting means 16, and the photoconductor 18 and the recording medium 7 are brought into contact with each other and pressed.

When the photoconductor 18 is lowered, the photoconductor position adjusting means 15 adjusts the left and right positions of the image forming unit 13 in the width direction of the recording medium 7. That is, in the initial state, as shown in FIG. 10A , for example, the parallelism of the photoconductor 18, the transport belt 6, and the transfer roller 37 is usually shifted. When printing is performed on the wide recording medium 7 in this state, even if the applied pressure is uniform left and right, the conveying belt 6 is twisted, so-called skew is generated, and the printed image is distorted. In order to eliminate this problem, as shown in FIG. 10B, the position relative to the conveyor belt 6 measured by the left and right position sensors 45 provided in the unit drive mechanism 41 of the photoconductor position adjusting means 15 matches the reference position. In this manner, the photosensitive member 18 is held parallel to the transport belt 6. In order to prevent the photosensitive member 18 and the conveying belt 6 from being rubbed, it is desirable that a slight gap is left between the photosensitive member 18 and the conveying belt 6 at this reference position, so that the gap becomes zero even in the worst case. Is the limit. That is, if the photosensitive member 18 pushes down the conveying belt 6 even slightly at this time, the possibility of wrinkles occurring on the recording material 7 such as a fabric increases and serious quality problems such as image quality and color misregistration occur. This is to prevent such a problem from occurring.

  When the timing t1 has elapsed, fluid is supplied from the pressure generator 39 to the pressurizing mechanism 38 via the control valve 40a connected to the transfer unit 14 of the printing apparatus 2a to pressurize the transfer roller 37, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying belt 6 is pushed up from the initial position, and the recording medium 7 that reaches just below the photosensitive member 18 is pressed with a uniform pressure in the width direction so that the conveying belt 6 and the recording medium 7 are connected to the printing apparatus 2a. Prevents transfer failure due to bending to the opposite side. The amount by which the conveyor belt 6 is pushed up by the pressurizing mechanism 38 is, for example, about several millimeters with the conveyor belt 6 having an interaxial distance of 5 m. That is, if the amount of push-up is too large, the shear breaking force between the recording medium 7 and the conveyance belt 6 increases, and the recording medium 7 is displaced from the conveyance belt 6 to cause color misregistration. This is to prevent this defect.

  In this state, printing is performed on the recording medium 7 by the image forming unit 13 of the printing apparatus 2a, and drying is performed by the drying apparatus 11a. When printing on the recording medium 7 by the image forming unit 13, the developer tank 24 and the cleaning liquid tank 32 are provided independently, and excess developer is supplied from the developer supplied from the developer tank 24 to the developer. Since the cleaning liquid collected in the tank 24 and supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 32 to the cleaning roller 34 is collected in the cleaning liquid tank 32, cleaning is performed even if dust or lint attached to the conveyor belt 6 adheres to the photosensitive member 18. It can be collected in the cleaning liquid tank 32 by the means 22, and it is possible to prevent the image from deteriorating by preventing dust and the like from being mixed into the developing liquid in the developing liquid tank 24. Even if the toner in the former image forming unit 13 is reversely transferred to the photoreceptor 18 in the latter image forming unit 13, the reversely transferred toner is collected in the cleaning liquid tank 32. Therefore, the developer in the latter image forming unit 13 is recovered. Can be prevented from mixing colors.

  After the image forming unit 13 of the yellow (Y) printing apparatus 2a starts printing on the recording body 7, the tip of the recording body 7 is directly below the photoconductor 18 of the image forming unit 13 of the magenta (M) printing apparatus 2b. When the timing t2 is reached, the photosensitive member 18 and the recording medium 7 are brought into contact with each other and pressed to perform printing on the recording medium 7 as described above. The timing t2 may be set according to the interval when the interval between the adjacent printing apparatuses 2 is different. This process is sequentially repeated by the printing apparatuses 2c to 2g to advance printing on the recording medium 7, and when the recording medium 7 is not detected or when a stop signal is generated, the image forming unit 13 of the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g. Are sequentially put into a standby state at regular intervals, and when the image forming units 13 of all the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g are in a standby state, the printing signal is turned off and the conveying belt 6 is stopped at a predetermined timing to develop the developing unit 14. Is returned to the initial position, each image forming unit 13 is stopped, and each image forming unit 13 is raised to the rising end as shown in FIG.

  In the above description, when the photosensitive member 18 and the recording medium 7 are brought into contact with each other and pressed, the conveyance belt 6 is pushed up by a fixed push-up amount by the pressurizing mechanism 38 of the transfer unit 14 provided in each of the printing apparatuses 2a to 2g. As described above, as shown in FIG. 11A, a displacement sensor 70 that detects the amount of push-up is provided in the pressurizing mechanism 38, and the operation of each control valve 40 is controlled by the output of the displacement detection sensor 70. The push-up amount may be varied every 2a to 2g. In this way, by controlling the push-up amount of the conveyance belt 6 for each printing device 2, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, when printing on the recording medium 7 by the printing devices 2a to 2d, the conveyance belt 6 is printed on the printing device. 2b to 2d can be curved in a convex shape, and the recording medium 7 can be stably conveyed, and high-quality printing without color misregistration can be stably performed on the recording medium 7 being conveyed.

  Further, instead of pushing up the conveying belt 6 using the fluid by the pressurizing mechanism 38, as shown in FIG. 11B, the pressurizing mechanism 38 is provided with a spring 71 and a pressure adjusting screw 72, and the pressure adjusting screw 72 is It may be used to adjust the push-up amount.

  In the above description, the case where the wet image forming unit 13 is provided in the printing apparatus 2 has been described. However, the dripping prevention means 17 may be omitted by using a dry image forming unit.

  In the above description, the textile printing apparatus 1 that performs printing on clothing fabric or the like has been described. However, the invention can be similarly applied to a tandem image forming apparatus that forms an image on another recording medium such as paper or film.

It is a block diagram of the textile printing apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram of a printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a transfer unit, a photoreceptor height adjusting unit, and a photoreceptor separating / contacting unit. It is a block diagram showing a configuration of a photoreceptor height adjusting unit. It is a block diagram of a photoreceptor separation / contact means. It is a block diagram of a dripping prevention means. It is a block diagram of a belt washing | cleaning apparatus. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram which shows the printing process of a textile printing apparatus. FIG. 5 is a layout diagram illustrating a moving state of an image forming unit when printing starts from standby. FIG. 3 is an arrangement diagram illustrating an initial position of a photoconductor with respect to a conveyance belt and a transfer roller. It is a block diagram of the other pressurization mechanism of a transfer unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which curved the conveyance belt to the printing apparatus side convexly. It is process drawing in the case of printing using the conventional screen. It is process drawing in the case of printing by the conventional electrophotographic system. It is a block diagram of a conventional electrophotographic image forming unit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Textile printing apparatus, 2; Printing apparatus, 3; Belt drive motor, 4; Drive pulley,
5; driven pulley, 6; conveying belt, 7; recording medium, 8; recording medium supply device,
9; Adhesive application device, 10; recording medium detection means, 11; drying device,
12; belt cleaning device; 13; image forming unit; 14; transfer unit;
15; photoconductor position adjusting means, 16; photoconductor separating / contacting means, 17; dripping prevention means,
18; photoconductor, 19; charging charger, 20; writing LED array,
21; Developing means, 22; Cleaning means, 23; Erase lamp,
24; developer tank; 25; developer supply port; 26; first developing roller;
27; second developing roller, 28; squeezing roller, 29; developer recovery pump,
30; Developer discharge port, 31; Cleaning blade, 32; Cleaning liquid tank,
33; Cleaning liquid supply port, 34; Cleaning roller,
35; Cleaning liquid recovery pump, 36; Cleaning liquid discharge port,
37; transfer roller, 38; pressure mechanism, 39; pressure generator, 40; control valve,
41; Unit drive mechanism, 42; Unit drive controller, 43; Unit support shaft,
44; bearing; 45; position sensor; 46; unit holding part; 47;
48; reference position setting unit; 49; determination unit; 50; unit position control unit;
51; upper and lower rollers, 52; vertical movement means, 53;
54; Drip collection tank, 55; Tank moving mechanism, 70; Displacement detection sensor,
71; Spring, 72; Pressure adjusting screw.

Claims (9)

Has a image forming unit to form a visible image, a transfer unit and the image bearing member detaching means for transferring an image formed on the image bearing member onto the recording medium to the image bearing member in electronic photographic method,
The image carrier separating means moves the image forming unit in a direction opposite to the transfer unit when the image is not visualized by the image forming unit to separate the image carrier from the transfer unit. A printing apparatus that moves the image forming unit in the direction of the transfer unit when an image is visualized by an image unit;
A printing apparatus having a plurality according to the color to be printed, and arranging each printing apparatus along the recording medium conveying means,
An upstream side of the recording medium conveying means includes a recording medium supply apparatus that supplies the recording medium, and an adhesive application device that applies a fixing adhesive to the recording medium conveyance means, and the recording medium Between the body supply device and the printing device that performs the printing of the first color, there is a recording medium detection means, and on the downstream side of each printing device, there is a drying device that dries the printed recording material,
Each of the printing devices can variably control the print start timing independently,
Each of the printing apparatuses detects the recording medium by the recording medium detector and then transfers the image forming unit to the transfer unit by the image carrier separation / contact means at a timing when the recording medium comes directly below the image carrier. After the image carrier is positioned by the image carrier position adjusting means leaving a slight gap between the image carrier and the transfer belt, the transfer belt is moved to the printing device side by the pressure unit of the transfer unit. A printing apparatus characterized by pressurizing. The textile printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
When the image carrier is moved in the direction of the transfer unit by the image carrier separation / contact means, the position of the image forming unit is independently varied in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, A printing apparatus comprising an image carrier position adjusting means for holding the image carrier of the unit in parallel with the transfer unit. The textile printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Before SL imaging unit, printing unit, wherein the benzalkonium that Yusuke connected to the flow path and the cleaning liquid tank is connected to the developer tank developer was of the cleaning liquid flow paths independently. The textile printing apparatus according to claim 3 ,
When moving the image forming unit in the direction opposite to the transfer unit in front Kizo carrier disjunction means is released the image carrier from said transfer unit, an image carrier of the image forming unit dripping collecting means A textile printing apparatus, comprising: a dripping prevention means for moving the ink collection unit to the outside of the image forming unit before moving the image forming unit in the direction of the transfer unit. The textile printing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
When the image carrier is moved in the direction of the transfer unit by the image carrier separating means, the position of the image forming unit is independently changed in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the image forming unit. A printing apparatus comprising an image carrier position adjusting means for holding the image carrier in parallel with the transfer unit. In the textile printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5 ,
The printing apparatus, wherein the recording medium conveying unit includes a conveying belt wound around a driving roller and a driven roller, and stops the conveying belt when an image forming unit of each printing apparatus is in a standby state. . The textile printing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit of the printing apparatus includes a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the conveying belt toward the printing apparatus. The textile printing apparatus according to claim 7 ,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure unit of the transfer unit varies the pressure independently for each printing apparatus. In the textile printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5 ,
A printing apparatus, wherein when the conveying belt is pressed toward the printing apparatus by the pressing unit of the transfer unit, the conveying belt is pushed up by a minute distance to bend the conveying belt convexly toward the printing apparatus.

Images