JP6790764B2 - Equipment for printing on fabric - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for printing on fabric.

In an apparatus for printing on fabric (including processed products such as T-shirts), it is necessary to supply the fabric to a printing unit in the main body of the apparatus while maintaining its flatness.

Conventionally, a medium transport section in which a cloth can be set and can be reciprocated in a linear direction, and a fixed side structure that supports the medium transport section and internally forms a space for accommodating the medium transport section. When the fixed-side structure is provided with a head for forming an image on the cloth and the power of the device is off, the medium transport unit is fixed in the moving direction of the medium transport unit. Positioned so as to be included in the length of the side structure, when setting and removing the fabric with respect to the medium transport section, the medium transport section is located from the length of the fixed side structure in the moving direction of the medium transport section. There is known one that is located so as to partially protrude to one side (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4222070

However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, the device is enlarged because the medium transporting portion partially protrudes from the fixed side structure. Therefore, if the fabric is set in a state where a part of the medium transport unit is hidden in the device, the visibility and workability of the medium transport unit on which the fabric is set are poor, so that the entire surface of the medium transport unit is not wrinkled. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to set the fabric.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the workability of the fabric setting work.

In order to solve the above problems, the apparatus for printing on the fabric according to the present invention is
A receiving member that detachably holds the tray that holds the fabric inside the device body,
A moving body that holds the receiving member and moves forward and backward is provided.
The tray has guide rail portions that hold both ends of the receiving member at both ends in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the moving body and are movably fitted to the receiving member.
The receiving member and the moving body are separably coupled to each other.
The receiving member has a structure that can be separated from the moving body when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied.

According to the present invention, the workability of the fabric setting work can be improved.

It is an external perspective explanatory view of the state which attached the tray of the apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as "printing apparatus") which prints on the cloth which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an external perspective explanatory view in the state which the tray of the printing apparatus is removed. It is a perspective explanatory drawing explaining the whole structure of the mechanical part of the printing apparatus. Similarly, it is a perspective explanatory view seen from the direction different from FIG. It is a perspective view of the cassette which is a tray. Similarly, it is a perspective explanatory view in a state where the outer peripheral cover of the cassette is opened. Similarly, it is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along the lateral direction of the cassette. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the explanation of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is also a schematic side explanatory view which is also provided for the operation explanation. It is also a schematic side explanatory view which is also provided for the operation explanation. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the explanation of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the explanation of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the explanation of the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is also a schematic side explanatory view which is also provided for the operation explanation. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side explanatory drawing which provides the explanation of the 6th Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. An apparatus for printing on fabric (hereinafter referred to as “printing apparatus”) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an external perspective with the tray of the printing device attached, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the external perspective with the tray of the printing device removed, and FIG. 3 is an overall configuration of a mechanical portion of the printing device. The perspective explanatory view and FIG. 4 are perspective perspective explanatory views also viewed from a direction different from that of FIG.

The printing apparatus 1 is held in the apparatus main body 100 by a stage 111, which is a receiving member that detachably holds a cassette 200, which is a tray for holding the fabric 400, and moves back and forth, and a cassette 200 held by the stage 111. It is provided with a printing means 112 for printing on the cloth 400.

Here, the cloth 400 is not only a piece of cloth such as a handkerchief or a towel, but also a part of a product such as a cloth processed as clothes such as a T-shirt or a trainer and a tote bag. It can also be used for existing fabrics.

The stage 111 is provided on the transport structure 113 held so as to be movable in the arrow Y direction (feed direction) with respect to the apparatus main body 100. Here, the transport guide member 115 is arranged on the bottom housing portion 114 of the apparatus main body 100 along the arrow Y direction, and the slider portion 116 of the transport structure 113 is movably held by the transport guide member 115.

The printing means 112 includes a carriage 121 that moves in the direction of arrow X (main scanning direction) with respect to the stage 111, and a head 122 mounted on the carriage 121. The carriage 121 is movably held by a guide member 123 arranged along the arrow X direction, and is reciprocated in the arrow X direction by a drive motor 124 via a scanning mechanism such as a timing belt 125. The head 122 uses a liquid ejection head to eject ink onto the surface of the fabric to form an image, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In the printing apparatus 1, the cassette 200 is mounted and held on the stage 111 in the apparatus main body 100 in a state where the fabric 400 is set on the platen member 300 of the cassette 200. Then, the required image is printed on the fabric 400 by repeating the movement of the stage 111 in the arrow Y direction and the reciprocating movement of the head 122 in the arrow X direction.

Next, the outline of the cassette, which is a tray, will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. 5 is a perspective explanatory view of the cassette, FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the cassette in a state where the outer peripheral cover is opened, and FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the cassette along the lateral direction.

The cassette 200 has a cassette base 201 which is a tray base member, and a platen member 300 which is a cloth holding member that holds a printed portion of the cloth 400 in a flat state.

The platen member 300 is composed of a platen structure 302 and a heat insulating member 301 that forms a surface that holds the fabric 400 in a flat state. The heat insulating member 301 has heat resistance to heating by a heating device.

The cassette base 201 is provided with a platen outer peripheral cover 202, which is an outer peripheral cover member, so as to be openable and closable in the arrow direction by a hinge 203. The platen outer peripheral cover 202 has an opening 202a in a portion corresponding to the platen member 300, and presses the fabric 400 between the platen outer peripheral cover 202 and the flange portion 300a in the outer peripheral portion of the platen member 300.

Further, the cassette base 201 has guide rail portions 211 that hold both ends of the stage 111 and are movably fitted to both ends of the stage 111 at both ends of the apparatus main body 100 in a direction orthogonal to the attachment / detachment direction with respect to the stage 111. It is provided.

The platen member 300 is supported by the support portion 311 with respect to the cassette base 201, and a storage space 312 capable of accommodating the surplus portion 400a of the fabric 400 is formed between the platen member 300 and the cassette base 201. The surplus portion 400a corresponds to both sleeves, a collar opening, a hem, etc., for example, when printing is performed on the front surface of a T-shirt.

Here, the platen member 300 is removable from the cassette base 201 and is formed to be replaceable. As a result, a plurality of platen members 300 can be prepared, and clothing can be wrapped around another platen member 300 during the printing operation. After printing and fixing are completed, the platen member 300 can be replaced to quickly print the next fabric. You can start.

When setting the cloth 400 in the cassette 200, as shown in FIG. 6, the platen outer peripheral cover 202 is opened and the cloth 400 is set (held) on the platen member 300. At this time, the platen outer peripheral cover 202 is closed as shown in FIG. 5 with the extra portion (surplus portion) 400a of the fabric 400 accommodated in the accommodation space 312 as shown in FIG. 7.

Then, when printing on the cloth 400, the cassette 200 in which the cloth 400 is set is mounted (set) on the stage 111 of the apparatus main body 100 of the printing device 1. At this time, since the cassette 200 can be mounted on the stage 111 from the moving direction of the stage 111, the entire stage 111 can be moved out of the apparatus main body 100 as compared with the configuration in which the cassette 200 is mounted on the stage 111 from directly above the stage 111. There is no need to expose it, and the device can be miniaturized.

In this way, since the cloth 400 to be printed can be set on the platen member 300 with the entire cassette 200 taken out from the apparatus main body 100, the work of setting the cloth 400 on the platen member 300 can be easily performed. Become.

After printing is completed by the printing device 1, such a cassette 200 is set in the heating device while holding the cloth 400, and the cloth 400 on which the image is printed is heated and fixed.

Next, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. 8 is a schematic side view for explaining the embodiment, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic side view for explaining the operation.

The transport structure 113, which is a moving body that holds the stage 111 as a receiving member and moves back and forth, is provided with a mounting portion 131 on which the stage 111 is placed. One or a plurality of magnets 132 that separately bond and fix the stage 111 by a magnetic force are arranged on the mounting portion 131.

Here, the coupling force of the magnet 132 can maintain the state in which the stage 111 does not move with respect to the mounting portion 131 during normal printing, and the stage 111 moves to the mounting portion 131 when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the stage 111. It is a binding force that separates (disengages) from.

In the present embodiment, the entire stage 111 can be separated from the mounting portion 131.

With this configuration, for example, as shown in FIG. 9 or 10, when the cassette 200 is attached and printing is performed, a hand 600 is inserted through the opening 150 of the apparatus main body 100 and is predetermined to the stage 111. When the above load is applied, the stage 111 is disengaged from the mounting portion 131 of the transport structure 113.

As a result, it is possible to ensure the safety of the opening 150 of the device main body 100, which is caused by reducing the size of the device so that the cassette 200 is held and the stage 111 moves.

In the present embodiment, the stage and the mounting portion are detachably coupled by a magnetic force, but if the coupling force can be controlled to a target value, another configuration such as snap fit may be used.

Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view for explaining the embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the stage 111 and the mounting portion 131 of the transport structure 113 are rotatably held by the mounting portion 131 on the front side in the mounting direction of the stage 111 by a hinge 132. That is, the stage 111 and the mounting portion 131 are not completely separated from each other.

This makes it possible to prevent the stage 111 from detaching from the mounting portion 131 and colliding with another portion when the stage 111 is separated from the mounting portion 131 in which a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a schematic side view for explaining the embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the stage detecting means 135 for detecting that the stage 111 is mounted on the mounting portion 131 (combined with the transport structure 113) is provided.

As a result, when the detecting means 135 detects that the stage 111 has come off from the transport structure 113, it is possible to take measures such as stopping the device or issuing an error message.

By providing the stage detecting means 135 on the transport structure 113 (moving body) side instead of the separable stage 111 side, the configuration becomes simple. Further, by arranging the stage detecting means 135 on the side close to the opening 150 of the apparatus main body 100, it is possible to reliably detect that the stage 111 has been separated at an early stage.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view for explaining the embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation.

In the present embodiment, the mounting portion 131 of the transport structure 113 is provided with cassette detecting means 136 for detecting the presence or absence of the cassette 200 mounted on the stage 111.

The cassette detecting means 136 may have a function of not only detecting that the cassette 200 is set but also reading the information of the cassette 200. The information on the cassette 200 includes information that can be manually input by the user, such as the size and color information of the set fabric 400, as well as information that is pre-recorded on the cassette 200 itself, such as the height and printing position of the platen member 300 surface. But it is good.

In the device for printing on fabric, in addition to detecting the presence or absence of the cassette 200 in order to prevent malfunction, there are many types and forms of fabric. Therefore, in order to be able to replace the cassette 200 according to the application, the cassette is used. It is preferable to provide a means for detecting 200.

By providing such a cassette detecting means 136, as shown in FIG. 14, when the stage 111 is separated from the mounting portion 131, the detection output of the cassette detecting means 136 changes from having a cassette to not having a cassette. , It can be detected that the stage 111 is separated.

Even in the configuration of the third embodiment, the cassette detection means 136 can be separately provided.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a schematic side view for explaining the same.

In the present embodiment, the magnet 132 in the mounting portion 131 is arranged so as to be biased toward the front side in the cassette mounting direction (arrow Y1 direction). As a result, the coupling force between the stage 111 and the mounting portion 131 (moving body) becomes weaker on the rear side in the mounting direction of the stage 111 than on the front side in the mounting direction.

As a result, when the user puts his / her hand through the opening 150, the rear side of the stage 111 in the cassette mounting direction is easily removed by the principle of leverage.

Although the coupling force is changed here depending on the arrangement position of the magnets, the coupling force can be changed depending on the number, size, magnetic force, and the like of the magnets.

Next, the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a schematic side view for explaining the embodiment.

In the present embodiment, a pantograph type (not limited to) height adjusting mechanism 137 is provided on the bottom surface side of the stage 111.

In the case of ordinary cloth, the height of the cloth 400 including the platen member 300 is adjusted by the cassette 200, but when printing on a special cloth (thickness, unevenness, etc.) or a product such as a bag, the height of the cassette 200 alone is used. Adjustment may be insufficient. Therefore, the height adjustment mechanism 137 of the stage 111 is provided so that the height can be adjusted.

In this case, by providing the height adjusting mechanism 137 on the separable stage 111, the height can be easily adjusted, and by preparing a plurality of stages 111 whose height has been adjusted in advance according to the thickness of the fabric, printing can be performed. It can be handled by simply replacing the stage 111 according to the thickness of the cloth to be printed, and the trouble of adjusting the height can be saved.

The "tray" in the present invention is not limited to a box-shaped form such as the cassette of the above-described embodiment as long as it has a structure that can be attached to and detached from a printing device and a heating device. Specifically, it may be a single plate-shaped platen member formed so as to be insertable into a printing device or a heating device.

Further, in order to further improve workability, the cloth (T-shirt, etc.) has already been set on such a tray in order to eliminate the process of the worker setting the cloth (T-shirt, etc.) on the tray every time when printing. You can also use the tray of. In this case, the used tray is collected and supplied again with the fabric set.

Further, in order to obtain the same effect, it is also possible to use a platen member in which a cloth (T-shirt or the like) is set on a platen member detachably formed on the tray. When using, attach the platen member with the fabric set to the tray as it is, and after printing and fixing are completed, remove the platen member from the tray, attach the next platen member with the fabric set to the tray, and print. , Fixation is done. In this case, the used platen member is collected and supplied again with the fabric set.

By doing so, it is not necessary for the operator to set the fabric (T-shirt or the like) every time, the continuous processing of a plurality of sheets becomes easy, and the continuous processing of a plurality of sheets can be automated.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the cloth is a T-shirt or the like is described, but the present invention is similarly applied to the case where the printing target and the heating target are media including the cloth, for example. be able to. In this case, the "fabric" in the embodiment is the medium.

1 Printing device 100 Printing device main unit 111 Stage (receiving member)
113 Transport structure (moving body)
122 Head 131 Mounting part 132 Magnet 200 Cassette (tray)
211 Guide rail part 213 Roller member 300 Platen member 400 Cloth

Claims (9)

A receiving member that detachably holds the tray that holds the fabric inside the device body,
A moving body that holds the receiving member and moves forward and backward is provided.
The tray has guide rail portions that hold both ends of the receiving member at both ends in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the moving body and are movably fitted to the receiving member.
The receiving member and the moving body are separably coupled to each other.
The receiving member is a device for printing on a cloth, which is separable from the moving body when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied. The device for printing on a cloth according to claim 1, wherein the receiving member and the moving body are magnetically coupled to each other. The receiving member is placed on the moving body and placed on the moving body.
The device for printing on a fabric according to claim 2, wherein the entire receiving member can be separated from the moving body. The receiving member is placed on the moving body and placed on the moving body.
The device for printing on a cloth according to claim 2, wherein the front side of the receiving member in the mounting direction is rotatably held by the moving body. The device for printing on a fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means for detecting that the receiving member and the moving body are connected to each other. The device for printing on a cloth according to claim 5, wherein the detecting means is provided on the moving body side. The device for printing on a cloth according to claim 5, wherein the detecting means also serves as a means for detecting the presence or absence of the tray. The device for printing on a fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the coupling force between the receiving member and the moving body is weaker on the rear side in the mounting direction of the tray than on the front side in the mounting direction. The device for printing on a cloth according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the receiving member includes a mechanism for adjusting the height of the receiving member.

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