JP6107086B2 - Liquid ejection device and jig for three-dimensional printed material - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus and a jig for a three-dimensional printed material.

  A liquid ejection apparatus having a head for ejecting liquid is already well known. An example of such a liquid ejection device is an ink jet printer. In some cases, printing (liquid ejection) is performed on a three-dimensional printed material using the liquid ejection apparatus.

JP 2007-136664 A

Some of the three-dimensional printed materials include a first surface and a second surface. Conventionally, when printing (liquid ejection) is performed on the first and second surfaces of such a three-dimensional printed material, for example, the three-dimensional printed material is set so that the first surface faces upward Printing (liquid ejection) is performed, and thereafter, the three-dimensional printed material is manually reset so that the second surface faces upward.
This has increased the burden on the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve user convenience.

The main present invention is a head for ejecting liquid onto the first surface and the second surface of a three-dimensional printed material having a first surface and a second surface;
A first surface printing holding unit for holding the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the first surface by the head, and the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the second surface by the head. A second-surface printing holding unit for holding the printed material holding unit,
It is a liquid discharge apparatus characterized by having.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer. 1 is an overall configuration block diagram of a printer. It is a perspective schematic diagram of the jig for cover 40. It is the isometric view schematic diagram which showed a mode that the smart phone cover 1 was supported by the jig 40 for covers. It is the figure which showed the printing mode at the time of printing on the smart phone cover 1 with the printer 10 which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory explanatory drawing for demonstrating the jig 40 for covers which concerns on a modification. It is a description schematic diagram for demonstrating the right-and-left side surface printing holding | maintenance part 46 which concerns on a 2nd modification.

  At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A head that discharges liquid onto the first surface and the second surface of the three-dimensional printed material including the first surface and the second surface;
A first surface printing holding unit for holding the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the first surface by the head, and the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the second surface by the head. A second-surface printing holding unit for holding the printed material holding unit,
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
According to such a liquid ejection device, it is possible to improve user convenience.

Further, the first surface printing holding unit and the second surface printing holding unit are:
Holding the three-dimensional printed material so that the first distance between the first surface and the head and the second distance between the second surface and the head are the same;
The head may execute a printing process in which liquid is continuously discharged onto the first surface and the second surface.
In such a case, the image quality can be improved.

The first surface printing holding unit and the second surface printing holding unit may be independently movable in the vertical direction.
In such a case, it is possible to improve the image quality at a low cost for printing on more types of three-dimensional printed materials.

Next, a jig for a three-dimensional printed material installed on a stage of a liquid ejection apparatus having a head for ejecting liquid onto the first and second surfaces of the three-dimensional printed material having a first surface and a second surface Because
A first surface printing holding unit for holding the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the first surface by the head, and the three-dimensional printed material on which the liquid is discharged onto the second surface by the head. A jig for a three-dimensional printed material, comprising: a printing material holding unit having a second surface printing holding unit for holding the second surface printing.
According to such a jig for a three-dimensional printed material, it is possible to improve user convenience.

=== Regarding Configuration Example of Printer 10 ===
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer 10) as an example of a liquid ejection apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the printer 10.

  The printer 10 includes a non-movable portion 12 and a movable portion 14, and the movable portion 14 can move in the Y direction with respect to the non-movable portion 12.

  The non-movable unit 12 includes a stage 22, an operation panel 24 including an operation key 24 a for operating the printer 10, a display 24 b for displaying operation items, and the like, and a power source for turning the printer 10 on and off. And a button 26.

  The stage 22 is a rectangular flat plate member on which printing paper, a film, or the like is placed. That is, printing is performed by ejecting ink, which is an example of liquid, by a head 27 described later on a printing paper, a film, or the like placed on the stage 22. The stage 22 can be slightly moved in the vertical direction. The stage 22 has a suction function for vacuum suction of printing paper, film, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, not only printing on a thin sheet-like printed material such as printing paper or film but also printing on a three-dimensional printed material can be performed. In the following, as the three-dimensional printed material, a three-dimensional printed material having a front surface (corresponding to the first surface) and a side surface (corresponding to the second surface), specifically, a smartphone cover (hereinafter referred to as a smartphone cover 1). Will be described as an example.

  As described above, when the substrate is a thin sheet-like substrate, the substrate is placed on the stage 22. On the other hand, when the substrate is a three-dimensional substrate (smartphone cover 1), the smartphone It is placed on a jig dedicated to the cover (corresponding to a jig for a three-dimensional printed material, hereinafter referred to as a cover jig 40).

  In the present embodiment, the cover jig 40 is an accessory to the printer 10 and is usually removed from the printer 10. When printing on the smartphone cover 1, the cover jig 40 is attached to the printer body 10 a. That is, the cover jig 40 is installed at a predetermined position on the stage 22 as shown in FIG. The details of the cover jig 40 will be described later.

  The movable part 14 includes a head 27, an ultraviolet irradiation unit 28, a carriage 29, and a bridge part 32.

  The head 27 is for ejecting ink onto the above-described printing paper, film, smartphone cover 1 and the like. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are provided on the lower surface of each head 27. Each nozzle is provided with a pressure chamber containing ink and a drive element for changing the volume of the pressure chamber to eject ink. When the drive signal is applied to the drive element, the drive element is deformed, and the pressure chamber expands / contracts along with the deformation, and ink is ejected.

  In this embodiment, an ultraviolet curable ink that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays is used as the ink. Here, the ultraviolet curable ink (hereinafter also referred to as UV ink) is prepared by adding an auxiliary agent such as an antifoaming agent or a polymerization inhibitor to a mixture of a vehicle, a photopolymerization initiator and a pigment. The vehicle is prepared by adjusting the viscosity of a photopolymerization-curing oligomer, monomer or the like with a reactive diluent. The UV ink includes both water-based ink and oil-based ink.

  The printer 10 according to the present embodiment can eject seven colors of UV ink. That is, the head 27 includes a nozzle for ejecting white ink W, a nozzle for ejecting black ink K, a nozzle for ejecting cyan ink C, and a nozzle for ejecting magenta ink M. A nozzle for discharging yellow ink Y, a nozzle for discharging light magenta ink Lm, and a nozzle for discharging light cyan ink Lc are provided.

The ultraviolet irradiation unit 28 is for irradiating the UV ink discharged from the head 27 with ultraviolet rays to cure the UV ink. The ultraviolet irradiation unit 28 includes a lamp (for example, a metal halide lamp or LED) that irradiates the UV ink with ultraviolet rays and cures the UV ink.
The head 27 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 28 are provided on the carriage 29. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 29 can reciprocate in the X direction. That is, the carriage 29 is configured to move in the X direction integrally with the head 27 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 28 by driving a motor (not shown). The movable portion 14 is provided with a guide rail (not shown) extending in the X direction, and the carriage 29 is reciprocated in the X direction while being guided by the guide rail.

  The bridge portion 32 is for supporting the carriage 29 (the head 27 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 28). As shown in FIG. 1, the bridge portion 32 has an arch shape and is provided on the upper side of the non-movable portion 12 (stage 22) so as to surround the non-movable portion 12 (stage 22). ing.

  As described above, the bridge portion 32 supports the carriage 29 (the head 27 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 28) so as to be able to reciprocate in the horizontal direction. However, the bridge portion 32 itself can also reciprocate in the horizontal direction. ing. In other words, the bridge portion 32 performs relative movement with respect to the stage 22 in the Y direction (as described above, the bridge portion 32 moves in the present embodiment). That is, the bridge portion 32 is configured to move in the Y direction integrally with the carriage 29 (the head 27 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 28) by driving a motor (not shown).

  The operation of ejecting UV ink while the head 27 moves integrally with the carriage 29 in the X direction and the operation of moving the head 27 integrally with the bridge portion 32 in the Y direction are repeated. An image is printed on the printing paper, film, smartphone cover 1 and the like placed on the stage 22 and the cover jig 40.

  The non-movable part 12 is provided with a guide part 23 extending in the Y direction, and the bridge part 32 is guided by the guide part 23 to reciprocate in the Y direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 10 includes a controller 60 and a detector group 70. The printer 10 that has received a print command (print data) from the computer 100, which is an external device, controls each unit (head 27, ultraviolet irradiation unit 28, carriage 29, bridge unit 32, stage 22) by the controller 60, and prints. An image is formed on a sheet of paper, a film, a smartphone cover 1 or the like. Further, the detector group 70 monitors the situation in the printer 10, and the controller 60 controls each unit based on the detection result.

  The controller 60 includes an interface unit 61, a CPU 62, a memory 64, and a unit control unit 63. The interface unit 61 transmits and receives data between the computer 100 that is an external device and the printer 10. The CPU 62 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printer 10. The memory 64 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 62, a work area, and the like, and includes storage elements such as a RAM that is a volatile memory and an EEPROM that is a nonvolatile memory. The CPU 62 controls each unit via the unit control unit 63 according to a program stored in the memory 64.

  Further, the controller 60 presents information to the user by controlling the display 24b, and receives instructions from the user via the operation keys 24a and the power button 26.

<<< About Cover Jig 40 >>>
Next, the cover jig 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the cover jig 40. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the smartphone cover 1 is supported by the cover jig 40.

  The cover jig 40 includes a smartphone cover holding portion 41 as an example of a printed material holding portion. The smartphone cover holding unit 41 includes a front printing holding unit 42 (corresponding to the first surface printing holding unit) and a side printing holding unit 44 (corresponding to the second surface printing holding unit). doing.

  The front printing holder 42 is for holding the smartphone cover 1 from which UV ink is ejected to the front by the head 27. That is, the front printing holding unit 42 is a place (holding unit) for placing the smartphone cover 1 when printing is desired on the front surface of the smartphone cover 1.

  The front printing holding portion 42 includes a rectangular recess 42a, and the dimensions thereof are such that the smartphone cover 1 can be accommodated when the smartphone cover 1 is placed in the recess 42a so that the front face is directed upward. It is a big size. Further, the depth of the recess 42 a is slightly smaller than the thickness of the smartphone cover 1. When the smartphone cover 1 is placed in the recess 42a, the head 27 can face the front surface of the smartphone cover 1.

  In the present embodiment, the front printing holder 42 includes six depressions 42a. Therefore, the front printing holder 42 can hold up to six smartphone covers 1 at the same time. The front printing holding section 42 is located on the back side in the Y direction of the cover jig 40 when the cover jig 40 is installed at a predetermined position on the stage 22 (hereinafter simply referred to as an installation state). positioned.

  The side surface printing holding unit 44 is for holding the smartphone cover 1 on which UV ink is ejected on the side surface by the head 27. That is, the side surface printing holding unit 44 is a place (holding unit) for inserting the smartphone cover 1 when printing on the side surface of the smartphone cover 1 is desired.

  In the present embodiment, the side surface printing holder 44 is divided into left and right side surface printing holders 46 and upper and lower side surface printing holders 48.

  The left and right side surface printing holding unit 46 is for holding the smartphone cover 1 from which UV ink is ejected to the left and right side surfaces by the head 27. That is, the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46 is a place (holding unit) for putting the smartphone cover 1 when printing is desired on the left side or right side of the smartphone cover 1.

  The left and right side printing holder 46 includes an insertion hole 46a for inserting the smartphone cover 1, and the size of the insertion port 46b of the insertion hole 46a is such that the left side surface and the right side surface of the smartphone cover 1 are upward. When it is inserted into the insertion hole 46a so as to face, it is sized so that the smartphone cover 1 can be fitted. The depth of the insertion hole 46a is slightly smaller than the length (width) of the smartphone cover 1 in the left-right direction. And when the smart phone cover 1 is put in the insertion hole 46a, the head 27 can oppose the left side surface or right side surface of the smart phone cover 1 concerned.

  In the present embodiment, the left and right side surface printing holding section 46 includes three insertion holes 46a. Therefore, the right and left side surface printing holding unit 46 can hold a maximum of three smartphone covers 1 at the same time. Note that the left and right side surface printing holders 46 are located on the front side in the Y direction of the cover jig 40 (and on the left side in the X direction in FIG. 1) in the installed state.

  The upper and lower side surface printing holding unit 48 is for holding the smartphone cover 1 from which UV ink is discharged onto the upper and lower side surfaces by the head 27. That is, the upper and lower side surface printing holding portion 48 is a place (holding portion) for inserting the smartphone cover 1 when printing is desired on the upper side surface or the lower side surface of the smartphone cover 1.

  Similar to the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46, the upper and lower side surface printing holding unit 48 includes an insertion hole 48a for inserting the smartphone cover 1, and the size of the insertion port 48b of the insertion hole 48a is the smartphone cover. When the smartphone 1 is placed in the insertion hole 48a so that the upper side and the lower side face upward, the smartphone cover 1 is just sized. Further, the depth of the insertion hole 48 a is slightly smaller than the length of the smartphone cover 1 in the vertical direction. And when the smart phone cover 1 is put in the insertion hole 48a, the head 27 can oppose the upper side surface and lower side surface of the said smart phone cover 1. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the upper and lower side surface printing holding portions 48 are provided with three insertion holes 48a, like the left and right side surface printing holding portions 46. Therefore, the upper and lower side surface printing holder 48 can hold a maximum of three smartphone covers 1 at the same time. Note that the upper and lower side surface printing holding portions 48 are located on the front side in the Y direction of the cover jig 40 (and on the right side in the X direction in FIG. 1) in the installed state.

  The front printing holding unit 42 and the side printing holding unit 44 according to the present embodiment have the same first distance between the front surface and the head 27 and the second distance between the side surface and the head 27. Each of the smartphone covers 1 is held. That is, the front printing holding unit 42, the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46, and the upper and lower side surface printing holding unit 48 include the front surface when the head 27 discharges UV ink to the front surface (when printing), the head 27 The distance between the left and right side surfaces when the head 27 ejects UV ink on the left and right side surfaces (when printing) and the upper and lower side surfaces when the head 27 ejects UV ink onto the upper and lower side surfaces (when printing) The smartphone cover 1 is held so that the distance between the head and the head 27 is the same. That is, the depth of the recess 42a of the front printing holding portion 42, the depth of the insertion hole 46a of the left and right side surface printing holding portion 46, and the depth of the insertion hole 48a of the upper and lower side surface printing holding portion 48 are determined by the front side of the head 27. The distance between the front and the head 27 when UV ink is discharged (when printing), the distance between the left and right sides when the head 27 discharges UV ink onto the left and right sides (when printing), and the head 27 Is designed so that the distance between the head 27 and the upper and lower side surfaces when the UV ink is ejected onto the upper and lower side surfaces (when printing) is naturally the same (the depth of the recess 42a → the insertion hole 46a). The depth increases in the order of the depth → the depth of the insertion hole 48a).

<<< Operation Example of Printer 10 >>>
Next, an operation example of the printer 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5, taking a print process for printing on the smartphone cover 1 as an example. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a print mode when printing is performed on the smartphone cover 1 by the printer 10 according to the present embodiment. Note that various operations of the printer 10 when the printing process is executed are mainly realized by the controller 60. In particular, in the present embodiment, it is realized by the CPU 62 processing a program stored in the memory 64. And this program is comprised from the code | cord | chord for performing the various operation | movement demonstrated below.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of print modes are provided for printing on the smartphone cover 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, printing on the front surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the front print holding unit 42, and printing on the left side surface or right side surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46. The first printing mode for continuously performing printing, printing on the upper side or lower side of the smartphone cover 1 held by the upper and lower side surface printing holding unit 48, and the smartphone cover 1 held by the front printing holding unit 42 A second printing mode in which printing on the front side and printing on the left side or right side of the smartphone cover 1 held by the left and right side printing holder 46 are continuously performed (printing on the upper and lower sides is not performed); Printing on the front surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the printing holder 42 and the upper or lower surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the upper and lower side printing holder 48. 3rd printing mode in which printing is performed continuously (printing is not performed on the left and right sides), printing on the left side or right side of the smartphone cover 1 held by the left and right side printing holder 46, and printing on the upper and lower sides Fourth printing mode for continuously printing on the upper side or lower side of the smartphone cover 1 held by the holding unit 48 (no printing on the front side), and the smartphone held by the front printing holding unit 42 A fifth printing mode for performing printing only on the front surface of the cover 1; a sixth printing mode for performing printing only on the left side surface or the right side surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46; And a seventh printing mode for performing printing only on the upper side or lower side of the smartphone cover 1 held by the printing holding unit 48.

Hereinafter, the first print mode will be mainly described.
When the controller 60 receives print data and mode information (here, the first print mode) in the above-described installation state, the following print processing is executed.

  In other words, the head 27 moves integrally with the carriage 29 in the X direction and discharges UV ink to the front surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the front print holding portion 42, and the head 27 is integrated with the bridge portion 32. The operation of moving in the Y direction is repeatedly performed by the controller 60, and images are printed on the front surfaces of up to six smartphone covers 1.

  When the operation of moving the head 27 in the Y direction integrally with the bridge portion 32 is repeated a plurality of times, the head 27 eventually comes to face the smartphone cover 1 held by the side surface printing holding portion 44. The side surface of the smartphone cover 1 held by the side surface printing holding portion 44 (the left and right side surface printing holding portion 46 and the upper and lower side surface printing holding portion 48) while the head 27 moves integrally with the carriage 29 in the X direction ( The controller 60 repeatedly performs the operation of ejecting UV ink on the left and right side surfaces and the upper and lower side surfaces, and the operation of moving the head 27 in the Y direction integrally with the bridge portion 32, and holds up to six (holding for left and right side surface printing) An image is printed on the side surface of the smartphone cover 1 of the three portions 46 and the three upper and lower side surface printing holding portions 48.

  In this way, the head 27 performs a printing process for continuously discharging UV ink to the front surface and the side surface (left and right side surfaces and upper and lower side surfaces). And by the said printing process, an image will be printed on the front or side surface (left-right side surface and up-and-down side surface) of a maximum of 12 smart phone covers 1.

=== Effectiveness of Printer 10 and Covering Jig 40 According to the Present Embodiment ===
As described above, the printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes the head 27 that ejects UV ink on the front and side surfaces of the smartphone cover 1 that includes the front surface and the side surface, and the smartphone that ejects UV ink on the front surface by the head 27. Smart phone cover holding portion 41 having a front printing holding portion 42 for holding the cover 1 and a side printing holding portion 44 for holding the smart phone cover 1 on which UV ink is discharged to the side surface by the head 27. And have. Therefore, it is possible to improve user convenience.

  Conventionally, when printing is performed on the front and side surfaces of such a smartphone cover 1, for example, the smartphone cover 1 is set so that the front side is facing upward, printing is performed, and then the side surface is facing upward. The smartphone cover 1 was manually set again. This has increased the burden on the user.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the provision of the front printing holding unit 42 and the side printing holding unit 44 described above frees the user from the trouble of resetting the smartphone cover 1. Therefore, according to the printer 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve user convenience.

  Further, the cover jig 40 according to the present embodiment includes a front printing holding portion 42 for holding the smartphone cover 1 from which UV ink is discharged to the front by the head 27, and UV ink on the side surface by the head 27. A smart phone cover holding portion 41 having a side surface printing holding portion 44 for holding the discharged smart phone cover 1 is provided. Therefore, according to the jig 40 for a cover concerning this Embodiment, it becomes possible to improve a user's convenience for the same reason as the above.

=== Other Embodiments ===
The above-described embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus) is embodied as an ink jet printer, but a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects liquid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects an amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in the state when the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these injection devices.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the front surface and the side surface were mentioned as an example and demonstrated as a 1st surface and a 2nd surface, it is not limited to this, What kind of thing will be sufficient if it is two different surfaces? It doesn't matter. For example, the left and right side surfaces and the upper and lower side surfaces described above may be used, and the bottom surface and the side surface such as a pyramid may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the smart phone cover 1 was mentioned as an example as a three-dimensional printed material provided with a front and a side, it is not limited to this, What is provided with a front and a side? It may be a thing. For example, a lunch box or chopsticks may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 10 has been described by taking the printer 10 that can print on both a thin sheet-like printed material such as printing paper and a film and a three-dimensional printed material as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the printer 10 dedicated to printing on a three-dimensional printed material may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the smart phone cover holding | maintenance part 41 was provided in the jig which can be attached or detached with respect to the printer main body 10a, it is not limited to this. For example, the smartphone cover holding unit 41 may be provided directly on the printer main body 10a (for example, the stage 22).

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the front printing holding | maintenance part 42 and the side printing holding | maintenance part 44 are so that the 1st distance of a front and the head 27 and the 2nd distance of the side and the head 27 may become the same. Each of the smartphone covers 1 is held, and the head 27 performs a printing process that continuously discharges UV ink on the front and side surfaces. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first distance and the second distance may not be the same. However, the distance between the head 27 when printing an image on the front surface and the printing surface (front surface) of the smartphone cover 1 is the same as the distance when printing an image on the side surface, and the image quality on the front and side surfaces is unified. In view of improving the image quality, the above embodiment is preferable.

  Further, the front printing holding unit 42 and the side printing holding unit 44 (more specifically, the front printing holding unit 42, the left and right side printing holding unit 46, and the upper and lower side printing holding unit 48) are independent. It may be possible to move up and down (this example is called a modification).

  In the above-described embodiment, the front printing holder 42, the left and right side printing holder 46, and the upper and lower side printing holder 48 are used when the head 27 ejects UV ink to the front (during printing). The distance between the front surface and the head 27, the distance between the left and right side surfaces when the head 27 ejects UV ink on the left and right side surfaces (when printing), and the head 27, and the head 27 when ejecting UV ink onto the upper and lower side surfaces (printing) The smartphone cover 1 is held so that the distance between the upper and lower side surfaces and the head 27 becomes the same. However, although this is feasible for a certain type of smartphone cover 1, a plurality of types of smartphone covers 1 (for example, a smartphone cover 1 for a certain smartphone and a smartphone cover 1 for a smartphone different from this smartphone). It is difficult to respond.

  Therefore, in order to solve this point, a different cover jig 40 is prepared for each of the plurality of types of smartphone covers 1 (that is, a plurality of cover jigs 40 are prepared as accessories). It is conceivable to realize the above point (same distance) for all of the plurality of types of smartphone covers 1 (such a form is also within the scope of the present invention). However, in such a case, many cover jigs 40 must be prepared, which may cause a cost problem.

  On the other hand, in the modified example, the front printing holder 42, the left and right side surface printing holders 46, and the upper and lower side surface printing holders 48 can be independently moved in the vertical direction. The front printing holder 42, the left and right side printing holders 46, and the upper and lower side printing holders 48 can be raised and lowered to adjust the distances to be the same. Therefore, it is possible to improve image quality at a low cost for printing on more types of smartphone covers 1.

  Such a function can be realized, for example, by a mechanism as shown in FIG. 6 (however, it is not limited to this mechanism). FIG. 6 is an explanatory schematic diagram for explaining a cover jig 40 according to a modification. Hereinafter, although the vertical movement mechanism of the smartphone cover holding unit 41 will be described, the vertical movement mechanism of the left and right side surface printing holding unit 46 will be described as an example of the vertical movement mechanism. The same applies to the vertical movement mechanisms of the front printing holder 42 and the upper and lower side surface printing holders 48.

  In the modified example, four operating shafts 110 are provided as the vertical movement mechanism. As shown in FIG. 6, the four working shafts 110 are provided at the left back corner A, the right back corner B, the left front corner C, and the right front corner D of the left and right side print holder 46. 46 (see FIG. 3 for reference signs A to D. In FIG. 6, only the operating shafts 110 of the left front corner C and the right front corner D are shown. ing). The operating shaft 110 includes a gripping portion 110a that can be gripped by a user. When the user grips the gripping portion 110a and rotates the operating shaft 110, the operating shaft 110 expands and contracts (the left diagram in FIG. 6). The right and left side printing holder 46 moves up and down.

  In the modified example, the mechanism for manually moving the smartphone cover holding unit 41 up and down has been described. However, for example, the smartphone cover holding unit 41 may be automatically moved up and down using a driving source such as a motor. Good.

  In addition, a pressing member 120 for holding the smartphone cover 1 is provided in the insertion hole 46a of the left and right side surface printing holding portion 46 and the insertion hole 48a of the upper and lower side surface printing holding portion 48 so that the smartphone cover 1 does not move. (This example is referred to as a second modification. In the following, the former of the insertion hole 46a and the insertion hole 48a will be described as an example).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the pressing member 120 has a function of pressing the smartphone cover 1 by pressing the smartphone cover 1 inserted into the insertion hole 46a against one side surface 130 of the insertion hole 46a. have. And in order to implement | achieve the said function, the holding member 120 contacts the smart phone cover 1, the contact part 120a for pressing the smart phone cover 1 toward the said one side surface 130, and the both ends are the said contact parts 120a. And an urging portion 120b composed of a spring or the like that is fixed to the other side 132 (that is, the surface opposite to the one side 130) and urges the contact portion 120a toward the smartphone cover 1 (one side 130). And. If the pressing member 120 is provided, the smartphone cover 1 can be reliably prevented from moving, and appropriate printing can be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Smartphone cover 10 Printer, 10a Printer main body 12 Non-movable part, 14 Movable part 22 Stage, 23 Guide part 24 Operation panel 24a Operation key, 24b Display 26 Power button 27 Head, 28 Ultraviolet irradiation unit 29 Carriage 32 Bridge part 40 For cover Jig 41 Smartphone cover holding portion 42 Front printing holding portion, 42a Dimple 44 Side printing holding portion 46 Left and right side printing holding portion 46a Insertion hole, 46b Insertion port 48 Upper and lower side surface printing holding portion 48a Insertion hole, 48b Insertion port 60 Controller, 61 Interface section 62 CPU, 63 Unit control section 64 Memory, 70 Detector group 100 Computer 110 Operating shaft, 110a Gripping section 120 Pressing member 120a Contact section, 120b Biasing section 130 One side surface, 13 The other side

Claims (4)

A head that discharges liquid onto the first surface and the second surface of the three-dimensional printed material including the first surface and the second surface;
A first surface printing depression for storing the three-dimensional printed material from which liquid is discharged onto the first surface by the head; and the three-dimensional printed material from which liquid is discharged to the second surface by the head. A printed material holding portion having a second surface printing depression for storing ;
I have a,
The second surface printing depression is an opening shape different from the first surface printing depression,
A liquid ejection apparatus having a depth different from that of the first surface printing depression . The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1,
The first surface printing depression and the second surface printing depression are:
The three-dimensional printed materials are respectively stored so that the first distance between the first surface and the head and the second distance between the second surface and the head are the same.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head performs a printing process for continuously ejecting liquid onto the first surface and the second surface. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the first surface printing depression and the second surface printing depression are independently movable in the vertical direction. A jig for a three-dimensional printed material installed on a stage of a liquid ejection device having a head for ejecting liquid onto the first and second surfaces of a three-dimensional printed material having a first surface and a second surface. ,
A first surface printing depression for storing the three-dimensional printed material from which liquid is discharged onto the first surface by the head; and the three-dimensional printed material from which liquid is discharged to the second surface by the head. comprising a printing medium holder having a second surface printing recess for accommodating,
The second surface printing depression is an opening shape different from the first surface printing depression,
A jig for a three-dimensional printed material having a depth different from that of the first surface printing depression .

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