JP7363470B2 - Liquid ejection device and control method in the liquid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting device that ejects liquid to a linear ejecting medium such as a thread, and a control method for the liquid ejecting device.

In an inkjet image forming apparatus, it is known that when the ejection head is not capped for a long time, the ink near the nozzle becomes thickened due to drying, etc., which causes ejection abnormality. Therefore, there is a technique for stabilizing printing ejection by periodically performing a maintenance operation (dry ejection) outside of printing to remove the thickened ink.

However, since no printing is possible during a period in which a maintenance operation (dry ejection) is performed for the nozzle rows of heads that are not printing, there is a problem in that productivity is reduced.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses that in an image forming apparatus that ejects ink onto a recording medium such as paper, the time required for the idle ejection operation before the start of image formation is shortened to shorten the rise time until the start of image formation. As a purpose, based on the amount of liquid consumed during image formation, at the end of the image forming operation, a dry ejection operation is performed in which droplets that do not contribute to image formation are ejected with an amount of empty ejection droplets corresponding to the amount of liquid consumed during image formation. An arrangement comprising means is disclosed.

However, even with the device shown in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to perform a maintenance operation (dry ejection) on the nozzle rows of the heads that are not printing, and the problem of reduced productivity cannot be completely resolved. .

Furthermore, in a coloring device that colors a linear object such as thread, if each ejection head has multiple nozzle rows, unlike an image forming device that ejects droplets onto a surface, unused nozzle rows Since it is not used throughout the coloring period, the liquid inside the nozzle will continue to dry.

Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a liquid ejection method that ejects liquid onto a medium to be ejected, which can prevent ejection failure due to drying of non-ejecting nozzle arrays without reducing productivity due to dry ejection. The purpose is to provide equipment.

In order to solve the above problems, in one aspect of the present invention,
an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle rows in which nozzles for ejecting droplets onto a transported ejection target medium are arranged in a row substantially parallel to the transport direction of the ejection target medium;
a cap capable of covering the nozzle row of the ejection head,
To provide a liquid ejecting device, in which when one nozzle row out of a plurality of nozzle rows performs a liquid ejecting operation to a medium to be ejected, other nozzle rows that are not performing the ejecting operation are capped with the cap. .

According to one aspect, in a liquid ejection apparatus that ejects liquid onto a medium to be ejected, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to drying of a non-ejecting nozzle array without reducing productivity due to idle ejection.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example of a dyeing/embroidery system equipped with a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a liquid application section and a maintenance unit in a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (a) A schematic bottom view of a head of a liquid applying section, and (b) a schematic top view of a maintenance unit in a liquid ejection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating movement of a head in a direction orthogonal to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid applying section according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a head moving means of a liquid applying section and a moving means of a cap section of a maintenance and recovery means according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a portion related to liquid application and cap control of the liquid ejection device of the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of capping control according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the head and the cap when the right end nozzle is used in the direction perpendicular to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid application section of the liquid ejection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the head, the cap, and the yarn when a central nozzle is used in a direction orthogonal to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid application section of the liquid ejection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing a thread movement mechanism according to the first configuration example of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram related to control of the first configuration example of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing a thread movement mechanism according to a second configuration example of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram related to control of a second configuration example of the second embodiment. 2 is a flowchart of a camping method according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the head, the cap, and the yarn when a central nozzle is used in a direction orthogonal to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid application section of the liquid ejection device of the third embodiment. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example of a coloring system equipped with a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings below, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations may be omitted.

<Overall configuration>
First, a dyeing/embroidery device including a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example of a dyeing/embroidery device including a liquid ejection device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the vicinity of the liquid applying section in the liquid ejecting device of the present invention.

The dyeing/embroidery device (dying/embroidery system) 1000 is an in-line embroidery device that includes a supply reel 102 around which a thread 101 is wound, a liquid application section 103, a fixing section 104, a post-processing section 105, and an embroidery system. The head 106 is also provided. The supply reel 102, the liquid applying section 103, the fixing section 104, and the post-processing section 105, excluding the embroidery head 106, function as the liquid ejecting device (dying device section, coloring device section) 100 in this embodiment.

The thread 101 pulled out from the supply reel 102 is guided by conveyance rollers 108 and 109 and continuously crawls to the embroidery head 106.

The conveyance roller 109 is provided with a rotary encoder (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an encoder) 405. The encoder 405 includes an encoder wheel 405b that rotates together with the conveyance roller 109, and an encoder sensor 405a that reads a slit in the encoder wheel 405b.

The liquid application unit 103 includes a plurality of heads 1 (1K to 1Y) that eject and apply liquid of a desired color to the yarn 101 pulled out from the supply reel 102 and conveyed, and a plurality of heads 1 (1K to 1Y) that perform maintenance on each head 1. The maintenance mechanism 2 includes individual maintenance units 20 (20K to 20Y) and the like.

Hereinafter, the conveyance direction of the thread from the liquid application unit 103 to the embroidery head 106 will be referred to as X, the depth direction (head movement direction) of the dyeing/embroidery apparatus 1000 will be referred to as Y, and the height direction (vertical direction) will be referred to as Z.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the liquid application unit 103, a plurality of heads 1K to 1Y are ejection heads that eject different colors, for example, 1K ejects black (K) droplets (ink droplets). 1C is a head that ejects cyan (C) droplets, 1M is a head that ejects magenta (M) droplets, and 1Y is a head that ejects yellow (Y) droplets. Note that the order of the colors is just an example, and the colors may be arranged in a different order from this description.

Furthermore, individual maintenance units 20K, 20C, 20M, and 20Y are arranged below the liquid applying section 103 so as to face the heads 1K, 1C, 1M, and 1Y, respectively. Details of the heads 1K to 1Y of the liquid application section 103 and the maintenance units 20K, 20C, 20M, and 20Y will be described later in conjunction with FIG. 3.

Returning to FIG. 1, the fixing unit 104 performs a fixing process (drying process) on the thread 101 to which the liquid ejected from the liquid applying unit 103 has been applied. The fixing unit 104 includes heating means such as infrared ray irradiation means and hot air blowing means, and heats and dries the yarn 101.

The post-processing unit 105 includes, for example, a cleaning device that cleans the thread 101, a tension adjustment device that adjusts the tension of the thread 101, a feed amount detection device that detects the amount of movement of the thread 101, and a lubricant applied to the surface of the thread 101. Includes lubricant application means, etc.

The embroidery head 106 uses the dyed thread 101 to embroider a pattern such as a pattern or pattern onto the cloth by sewing it into the cloth.

In this embodiment, an example in which the liquid ejection device is the dyeing/embroidery device 1000 is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is applicable to devices that use linear objects such as threads, such as looms. It can also be applied to devices such as sewing machines.

In addition, "thread" refers to glass fiber thread, wool thread, cotton thread, synthetic thread, metal thread, wool, cotton, polymer, or metal mixed thread, yarn, filament, or a linear object (wire) to which a liquid can be applied. (shaped members, continuous base materials), and also includes braided cords, flat cords, etc. Moreover, in addition to the above-mentioned thread, the linear object also includes a linear member (continuous base material) to which a liquid can be applied, such as a rope, cable, or cord. Each of the media to be ejected is a linear or band-shaped medium that has a narrow width and is continuous in the transport direction.

<Cap configuration example of first embodiment>
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the liquid application section and the maintenance unit in the liquid ejection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, (a) is a schematic bottom view of the heads 1K to 1Y in the liquid applying section 103, and (b) is a schematic top view of the maintenance units 20K to 20Y.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the head 1K has a nozzle surface 12 on which three nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c are formed, in which a plurality of nozzles 11 for ejecting droplets are arranged. Each of the heads 1K to 1Y is arranged such that the direction of the nozzle row (the arrangement of the nozzles 11) is parallel to the conveyance direction of the yarn 101 (yarn feeding direction).

In the head 1K, ink droplets ejected from the nozzles 11 in one row (nozzle row 10b in FIG. 3) located directly below the thread 101 land on the thread and color the thread. Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which the head 1 has three nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c arranged on the nozzle surface 12, the number of nozzle rows provided in the head 1K is two or more. Good to have. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, the heads 1C, 1M, and 1Y of other colors have similar configurations.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3(b), in this embodiment, each of the maintenance units 20K, 20C, 20M, and 20Y has two cap portions 21α (21αK, 21αC, 21αM, 21αY), 21β (21βK, 21βC, 21βM, 21βY) are provided.

The cap portions 21α and 21β extend in the same direction as the stretching direction of the yarn, and the nozzles are linearly arranged in the conveyance direction (X direction) so that one cap row can cover one nozzle row X1 at once. They are arranged so that they extend longer than the columns.

Further, the caps 21α and 21β are configured such that the inner size of the side wall constituting the cap is larger than the arrangement range Y3 of the nozzle array in the direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the conveyance direction. .

With this configuration, one cap 21α (21β) can cover three nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c provided in one head at once. When the number of nozzle rows formed in one head is two, or four or more, the cap is appropriately set in size according to the number of nozzle rows.

Thereby, in the transport direction, the nozzle row can be capped in the width direction and the depth direction with one movement operation, so that the time required for capping can be shortened.

In FIG. 3, three nozzle rows 10a, 10b, 10c are formed in each of the heads 1K to 1Y of the upper liquid application section 103, and the corresponding maintenance units 20K to 20Y have nozzle rows in the depth direction (Y direction). Although caps 21α and 21β corresponding to three nozzle rows Y3 are provided one on each side of the thread 101 so as to sandwich the thread 101 therebetween, other configurations may be used. For example, for caps 21α and 21β, one cap must be large enough to cover all nozzles at once (depth for 3 rows) so that all nozzle rows can be covered with one cap during standby. However, the other cap only needs to have a width (depth) Y1 corresponding to at least one nozzle row 10a, 10b, 10c used during the ejection operation.

<Moving the position of the head and lifting and lowering the cap according to the first embodiment>
Next, movement of the head and lifting and lowering of the cap according to the first embodiment will be explained using FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship of the heads in the liquid applying section 103 of the liquid ejecting device according to the embodiment of the present invention in the direction orthogonal to the yarn conveyance direction. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the head moving means of the liquid applying section and the moving means of the cap section of the maintenance unit.

Specifically, in FIG. 4, (a) shows the state in which the head is capped, (b) shows the state immediately after being decapped from the state in (a), and (c) shows the state in which the head is capped. This shows the state immediately after the nozzle row has moved to a position where it can discharge onto the yarn 101, and (d) shows the state where the nozzle row can discharge onto the yarn and is capping other nozzle rows. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), during standby, all nozzle rows of the head are capped to prevent ink from drying.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c), the caps 21αK and 21βK are lowered, and the head 1K is moved so that the head 1K does not interfere with the caps 21αK and 21βK. The moving direction Y of the head 1K is the same direction as the device depth direction shown in FIG.

When ink is to be ejected, the caps 21αK and 21βK are raised to perform capping for the nozzle arrays other than the nozzle row 10a to be used.

After the coloring operation is completed, the head is moved to one of the caps, and all nozzle rows are capped to prevent the ink from drying out.

In this manner, when coloring, the head is moved relative to the yarn position so that the nozzle row used for coloring is located above the yarn 101, and droplets for coloring are ejected.

Note that although FIG. 4 describes the ejection operation using the rightmost nozzle row 10a, for example, when performing the ejection operation using the center nozzle row 10b, the caps on both sides are used to remove the unused nozzle rows. It is preferable to cap 10a and 10c. In order to achieve capping with caps on both sides in this way, it is preferable that the interval Iαβ between the caps 21αK and 21β is larger than the diameter of the nozzle hole 11 and equal to or less than the interval L1 between the nozzle rows.

Any of the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c can be appropriately selected for coloring by moving the head so that the nozzle row to be used is positioned directly above the thread 101.

In addition to the recovery operation by capping, the maintenance unit 20K also collects ink that has protruded from the thread 101 and has not landed on the thread 101 on the collection surface 22, which is the upper surface where the caps 21αK and 21βK are not provided.

Here, the respective head moving mechanisms and cap lifting/lowering mechanisms will be explained using FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the head moving mechanism in the liquid applying section and the cap moving mechanism of the maintenance unit.

As shown in FIG. 5, the head 1 is supported by a movable carriage 131. The carriage 131 can be moved by the head movement motor 304 moving arms 133 and 134 that support the carriage 131. As a specific example of the head movement, for example, the arm 133 itself extending in the horizontal direction may expand and contract, or the carriage 131 may be moved by moving the position of the carriage 131 relative to the arm 133.

In this way, by making the carriage 131 movable by the head moving motor 304, the nozzle row of the head 1K provided on the carriage 131 is moved to the position of the cap 21αK or 21βK during standby, and during the coloring operation, the nozzle row of the head 1K provided on the carriage 131 is moved to the position of the cap 21αK or 21βK. The head 1K can be moved so that any one of the nozzle rows is in the upper position.

Further, the caps 21αK and 21βK can be raised and lowered in the maintenance unit 20K by lifting arms 23α and 23β that are driven by motors (cap lifting and lowering motors) 24α and 24β, respectively. That is, the caps 21αK and 21βK are movable toward and away from the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c of the head 1K.

During standby, in order to prevent the ink in the head 1K from drying, the cap 21αK rises to cap the head 1, as shown in FIG. 4(a). Immediately before and after the coloring operation, as shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c), the caps 21αK and 21βK are lowered to perform decapping.

In this way, by making the caps 21αK and 21βK movable by the motors 24α and 24β, the head can be capped during standby to prevent the ink from drying, and the rows to be used can be decapped during coloring operation. .

In addition, although FIG. 5 shows a configuration in which the left and right caps are each provided with an elevating means and each cap can be raised and lowered independently, the common elevating means for the two caps is Alternatively, the left and right caps may be moved up and down at the same time by one drive mechanism.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, head 1K was used for explanation, but similarly for other heads, heads 1K to 1Y of each color can freely move in the head movement direction for selecting and maintaining the nozzle row to be used. is possible. Furthermore, each of the plurality of heads 1K to 1Y can be moved individually in the ±Y direction.

In addition, in the present invention, in the plurality of nozzle rows as described above, one nozzle row is used to eject yarn onto the yarn, and the other nozzle row is used to empty the yarn onto the collection surface 22 (idle ejection receiver) other than the yarn. The linear or band-shaped medium to be ejected, including a thread, needs to be thinner and narrower than the distance between the plurality of nozzle rows.

In a serial type image forming apparatus that ejects liquid onto a recording medium such as paper, capping of the nozzle row is not possible because the carriage moves during printing, but the liquid ejection device of the present invention scans in parallel with the nozzle row. The nozzle array can be capped to color the yarn.

In addition, in the present invention, since all the nozzle rows of heads that are not performing coloring operations are capped with caps, there is no need to perform maintenance operation (dry ejection) for heads that are not performing coloring operations, thereby increasing productivity. can prevent a decline in

<Control explanation>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a portion of the liquid ejecting apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment related to liquid application and cap control. The liquid ejection device 100 includes a main control board 500 as a control section.

The main control board 500 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) 502, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 504, and an NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory). 505, a drive waveform generation circuit 506, a head movement motor driver 507, a yarn conveyance motor driver 508, a cap lifting/lowering motor driver 509, and the like are mounted.

The CPU 501 is in charge of overall control of the liquid ejection apparatus 100. For example, the CPU 501 uses the RAM 503 as a work area, executes various control programs stored in the ROM 504, and outputs control commands for controlling various operations in the liquid ejection apparatus 100. At this time, the CPU 501 performs various operation controls in the liquid ejection apparatus 100 in cooperation with the FPGA 502 while communicating with the FPGA 502 .

The FPGA 502 includes a CPU control section 521, a memory control section 522, an I2C control section 523, a sensor processing section 524, a head control section 525, a head position control section 526, a yarn conveyance control section 527, a cap lift control section 528, and the like. It is being

The CPU control unit 521 has a function of communicating with the CPU 501. The memory control unit 522 has a function of accessing the RAM 503 and ROM 504. The I2C control unit 523 has a function of communicating with the NVRAM 505.

The sensor processing unit 524 processes sensor signals from various sensors. Various sensors is a general term for sensors that detect various states in the liquid ejection apparatus 100, and includes the above-mentioned rotary encoder 405 and the like.

The head control unit 525 passes the head drive data, ejection synchronization signal LINE, and ejection timing signal CHANGE stored in the ROM 504 to the drive waveform generation circuit 506, and causes the drive waveform generation circuit 506 to generate the common drive waveform signal Vcom. The common drive waveform signal Vcom generated by the drive waveform generation circuit (drive waveform generation unit) 506 is input to the head driver 210.

The head 1 includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements 13 as pressure generating elements that generate pressure for ejecting liquid from the plurality of nozzles 11. The head driver 210 selects the waveform to be applied to the piezoelectric element 13 corresponding to each nozzle 11 from among the drive waveforms making up the common drive waveform signal Vcom, thereby adjusting the size of the droplet ejected from the nozzle 11. is controlled.

Here, the thread 101 is transported (thread fed) by being consumed in the embroidery operation by the embroidery head 106 on the downstream side. A rotary encoder 406 on the downstream side of the embroidery head 106 is a feed amount detection means for detecting the amount of movement of the thread 101 in the embroidery head 106.

As the yarn 101 is conveyed, the conveyance roller 109 guiding the yarn 101 rotates, the encoder wheel 405b of the rotary encoder 405 rotates, and an encoder pulse proportional to the linear speed of the yarn 101 is generated from the encoder sensor 405a. Output.

A discharge timing pulse stb is generated by the encoder pulse from the rotary encoder 405, and is used as the discharge timing of the head 1. Application of liquid to the thread 101 is performed from the beginning of the movement of the thread 101, and even if the linear velocity of the thread 101 changes, the interval of the discharge timing pulse stb changes according to the encoder pulse, so that the landing position shift of the droplet can be prevented. It can be prevented.

The yarn conveyance control unit 527 is an example of conveyance control means, and determines the conveyance speed of the yarn 101 based on the amount of movement of the rotary encoder 406 on the downstream side, and controls the yarn conveyance motor so that the yarn 101 is conveyed at the determined conveyance speed. At 302, the roller 108 is rotated to convey the yarn. Further, the speed is detected by a rotary encoder 405, and the yarn conveyance of the yarn conveyance motor 302 is controlled.

The head position control unit 526 is an example of head position control means, and rotates the head movement motor 304 based on the head position command from the head control unit 401 to move the carriages 131K to 131Y, thereby moving the heads 1K to 131Y. Move 1Y to the specified position.

For example, when the head moving motor 304 is a stepping motor, the position control is based on the state in which the home position (HP) is detected by an HP sensor (not shown), the coloring position in the nozzle row 10a, the coloring position in the nozzle row 10b, Control is performed to rotate the head moving motor 304 by the number of STEPs corresponding to the distance from the HP to the capping position or the like. The head position control unit 526 notifies the head control unit 401 that the head movement has been completed after rotating the number of steps corresponding to the distance.

The cap elevation control unit 528 rotates the cap elevation motors 24K to 24Y based on capping and decapping instructions from the head control unit 525, and raises and lowers the caps 21K to 21Y.

For example, when the cap lift motors 24α and 24β are stepping motors, the cap lift control unit 528 controls the cap lift motor 24α by the number of STEPs corresponding to the distance between the capping position, which is the upper end, and the decapping position, which is the lower end. , 24β. The cap elevation control unit 528 rotates the cap elevation motor 24 by the number of steps corresponding to the distance from the upper end to the lower end via the cap elevation motor driver 509, and then controls the head control unit 525 to raise and lower the cap 21. Notifies that capping and decapping of the nozzle row has been completed.

<Control flow of first embodiment>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of liquid ejection and capping control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The control of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 7.

In S11, after a request for coloring yarn is generated, all nozzle rows are decapped. At this time, by lowering the caps 21α and 21β a little and performing decapping, a space is created between the nozzle 11 of the head 1 and the caps 21α and 21β, and the head 1K is free from interference from the caps 21α and 21β. It becomes movable (Fig. 4(a)⇒(b)).

In S12, the head 1K is moved so that a specific nozzle row of the head is positioned directly above the thread (FIG. 4(b)⇒(c)).

In S13, the nozzle rows 10b and 10c that are not used for coloring are capped to prevent ink from drying on the nozzle surface 12 (FIG. 4(c)⇒(d)).

In S14, a coloring operation is performed by discharging ink droplets from each nozzle 11 of the nozzle row 10 located above the yarn 101 onto the yarn 101 being conveyed. With this operation, while one nozzle row is used to color the yarn, the nozzle rows that are not in ejecting operation can be capped, thereby preventing ink from drying in the nozzle rows that are not in ejecting operation. be able to.

When the coloring operation to the thread 101 is completed in S15, all nozzle rows 10 are decapped in S16 (FIG. 4(d)⇒(c)).

In S17, the head 1K is moved to the position of the cap 21αK (FIG. 4(c)⇒(b)).

In S18, all the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c are capped with one cap 21αK to prevent ink from drying (FIG. 4(b)⇒(a)).

By controlling in this way, it is possible to prevent ink from drying in nozzle rows that are not in ejecting operation, and to prevent ejection failure when using nozzle rows that were not used this time in the next coloring operation. . Furthermore, since capping and decapping of the nozzle rows are performed before and after the ejection operation, idle ejection of non-ejecting nozzle rows during the ejection operation becomes unnecessary. Therefore, in the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to drying of the non-ejecting nozzle array without reducing productivity due to idle ejection.

<Second embodiment>
In the embodiment described above, the caps were provided on the left and right sides of the head in the depth direction, and at least one of the caps was configured to cover the head at once, but in the present embodiment, the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, The same number of caps 25a, 25b, 25c as 10c are provided at positions facing the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, 10c, respectively, so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle rows 10a, 10b, 10c.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship of the head in the direction orthogonal to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid applying section of the liquid ejecting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 8, (a) shows the positional relationship between the thread 101 capping all the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, 10c of the head 1K, the head 1K, and the caps 25a, 25b, 25c during standby, and (b) ) shows the positional relationship immediately after the cap 25a is decapped with respect to the nozzle row 10a used, and (c) shows the positional relationship between the thread 101, the head 1K, and the caps 25a, 25b, and 25c during coloring operation. There is.

As shown in FIG. 8A, during standby, all the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, 10c of the head 1K are capped by caps 25a, 25b, 25c to prevent ink from drying.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, when a coloring request occurs, the cap 25a facing the nozzle row 10a to be used is lowered to decap the nozzle row 10a.

Then, when coloring, the thread 101 is moved to the position of the nozzle row 10a of the head 1K, and droplets are ejected onto the thread 101 from the nozzle row 10a to be used to perform a discharging operation. Note that FIG. 8(c) shows an example in which the coloring operation is performed using the nozzle row 10a on the right side, which is close to the standby position of the thread 101.

The conveyance roller moving means (see FIG. 10) or the moving rod (see FIG. 12) moves the yarn 101 to a position facing the nozzle row to be used before performing the discharge operation. The conveyance mechanism moving means can move the conveyance rollers 109A and 110 in the depth direction by moving the conveyance rollers with a carriage as shown in FIG. The conveyance rollers 109A and 110 may be moved by other methods, such as by moving the conveyance rollers 109A and 110 along their axes.

After coloring is completed, the thread 101 is moved to its original position (FIG. 8(c)⇒(b)), and the used nozzle row 10a is capped with a cap 25a to prevent the ink from drying (FIG. 8(a)).

With this control, there is no need to perform a maintenance operation (dry ejection) on the nozzle rows of heads that are not performing coloring operations, so it is possible to prevent a decrease in productivity.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the head, the cap, and the yarn when the central nozzle is used in the direction perpendicular to the yarn conveyance direction in the liquid application section of the liquid ejection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. be.

In FIG. 8, an example is shown in which the nozzles in the end nozzle row 10a, which is close to the standby position, are used, but when using the nozzles in the middle or the nozzles far from the standby position, the example shown in FIG. 9(b) is shown. Thus, the cap 25b corresponding to the nozzle row 10b used for moving the thread and the cap 25a corresponding to the nozzle row 10a near the standby position are also decapped.

After moving the yarn 101 in FIG. 9(c) and before performing the coloring operation by discharging, as shown in FIG. 9(d), the nozzles in the nozzle row 10a that are not used for discharging are capped with caps 25a. I'll keep it.

With this control, even when using nozzles in a nozzle row far from the standby position, there is no need to perform maintenance operations (dry ejection) on nozzle rows of heads that are not performing coloring operations, thereby preventing a drop in productivity. be able to.

Note that although FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example in which the head has three nozzle rows, any number of nozzle rows may be provided in the head as long as it is a plurality of two or more rows.

<First configuration example of second embodiment>
FIG. 10 is a bottom view showing a thread movement mechanism according to the first configuration example of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a control block diagram according to the first configuration example of the second embodiment.

In this configuration, the yarn 101 is moved by moving the conveyance rollers 109A and 110 that convey the yarn.

In FIG. 10, (a) shows a state in which the thread 101 is in the standby position, (b) shows a state in which the thread 101 is under the nozzle row 10a, and (c) shows a state in which the thread 101 is under the nozzle row 10b. It shows.

Specifically, this configuration includes transport roller carriages 111 and 112 (see FIG. 11) that move the upstream and downstream transport rollers 109A and 110 in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the yarn 101. There is. By moving the transport rollers 109A and 110, the thread (linear medium to be ejected) 101 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

In this configuration, the conveyance roller carriages 111, 112, which are conveyance mechanism moving means, the yarn movement motor, and the yarn position movement motor driver 408 move the conveyance rollers 109A, 110, and perform the discharge operation before performing the discharge operation. The thread 101 is moved so that it is below the nozzle row that executes the process.

In addition, in this example, an example has been described in which two conveyance rollers 109A and 110 are provided immediately before and after the liquid application section 103A in the conveyance direction, that is, on the nearby upstream and downstream sides. may be provided further downstream, for example, after the fixing section 104 or after the post-processing section 105. Alternatively, the embroidery head 116 and the take-up reel 107 (see FIG. 16), which will be described later, may be made movable to function as a thread transport mechanism moving means for moving the thread on the downstream side.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 11, to explain the difference from FIG. 6, in this embodiment, since the head does not need to move in the depth direction, a carriage for moving the head, a head movement motor driver, a head movement motor Instead, a yarn position movement motor driver that moves the yarn in the depth direction and a conveyance carriage that moves the conveyance roller are provided.

In this embodiment, the yarn position control unit 529 drives the motors 311 and 312 via the yarn position movement motor driver 510 to convey the yarn by the conveyance roller carriages 111 and 112, as shown in FIG. The conveyance rollers 109A and 110 are moved to move the position of the thread 101.

Furthermore, on the maintenance unit 200 side, motors 26a, 26b, and 26c are provided for each row, corresponding to caps 25a, 25b, and 25c for each row, respectively, corresponding to a plurality of nozzle rows. For example, the motors for each row are provided under the caps 25a, 25b, 25c for each row. Then, the cap lift control unit 528A drives the motors 26a, 26b, and 26c for each row via the maintenance and recovery motor driver 209A in accordance with the position of the thread 101 and the coloring operation status. 25a, 25b, and 25c are raised and lowered independently.

<Second configuration example of second embodiment>
FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing a thread movement mechanism according to a second configuration example of the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a control block diagram according to a second configuration example of the second embodiment.

In this configuration, a conveying roller carriage for moving the conveying roller is not provided, but yarn moving rods 113 and 114, which are separate dedicated yarn moving means (discharge target medium moving means), are provided to move the yarn moving means. This allows the yarn to move in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the yarn conveying direction. Therefore, in this configuration, the positions of the conveyance rollers 109 and 110B are fixed.

In FIG. 12, (a) shows a state in which the thread 101 is in the standby position, (b) shows a state in which the thread 101 is under the nozzle row 10a, and (c) shows a state in which the thread 101 is under the nozzle row 10b. It shows.

Before performing a discharge operation, the yarn moving rods 113 and 114, which are yarn moving means, move the yarn 101 so that the yarn 101 is below the nozzle row that performs the discharge operation.

In addition, in this example, an example in which two thread moving rods 113 and 114 are provided immediately before and after the liquid applying section 103 in the conveying direction has been described, but for example, the thread moving rod 114 on the downstream side is connected to the thread moving rod 114 on the further downstream side. For example, it may be provided after the fixing section 104 or after the post-processing section 105.

Further, referring to FIG. 13, only the differences from FIG. 11 will be explained. In this configuration, the position of the yarn 101 is adjusted by moving the yarn moving rods 113, 114 that do not convey the yarn. Therefore, the yarn position control unit 529B moves the yarn moving rods 113 and 114 by driving the motors 313 and 14 via the yarn position movement motor driver 511, thereby moving the position of the yarn 101.

<Flowchart>
FIG. 14 is a control flowchart according to the second embodiment.

This flow starts when a coloring request is received, and in S21, in response to the generation of the coloring request, the nozzle array used for coloring is decapped. For example, as shown in FIG. 8(b), when using the nozzle row 10a at the end, remove the cap 25a facing the nozzle row (FIG. 8(a)⇒(b)).

In S22, the thread 101 is moved to a position facing the nozzle row 10a used by the head (FIG. 8(b)⇒(c)).

In S23, ink droplets are ejected onto the thread 101 from the nozzle array 10a facing the thread.

In S24, when the droplet ejection (coloring operation) by the nozzle row 10a is completed (Yes), in S25, the thread 101 is moved to the original position (FIG. 8(c)⇒(b)).

In S26, the nozzle array 10a used for the coloring operation is capped with a corresponding cap 25a to prevent ink from drying (FIG. 8(b)⇒(a)).

In this embodiment as well, by capping the nozzle rows 10b and 10c that are not performing a coloring operation, it is possible to prevent the nozzle rows from ejecting defects due to ink drying.

Further, in this embodiment, when changing the nozzle row for discharging droplets for coloring, it is only necessary to move the position of the thread, which is efficient.

Furthermore, since capping can be performed for each nozzle row by the caps 25a, 25b, and 25c provided so as to face the nozzle rows 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively, the time required for capping can be shortened.

In addition, in the above flow, as shown in FIG. 8, an example was explained in which the end nozzle row 10a close to the standby position is used, but as shown in FIG. When using a nozzle array, in S21, the cap 25b corresponding to the nozzle to be used and the cap 25a corresponding to the nozzle located between the standby position are also moved. Then, after S22 and before performing the coloring operation in S23, the nozzle rows 10a that are decapped for movement and not used for ejection are capped with caps 25a.

Therefore, in this embodiment as well, by controlling in this manner, ejection failure due to drying of ink in the nozzle arrays that are not ejecting can be prevented. Furthermore, since capping and decapping of the nozzle rows are performed before and after the ejection operation, idle ejection of non-ejecting nozzle rows during the ejection operation becomes unnecessary.

Therefore, in the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to drying of the non-ejecting nozzle array without reducing productivity due to idle ejection.

Furthermore, in the configuration of this embodiment, a cap is arranged for each nozzle row of the head and the cap moves up and down for each nozzle, so the configuration of the cap is minimized and the depth (length in the Y direction) of the maintenance unit 200 is reduced. Since the length can be shortened, the liquid ejecting device 100 can be downsized. For example, it is sufficient that the length of the maintenance unit in the depth direction is approximately the same as the length of the head in the depth direction. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to move the number of nozzle rows, the moving distance of the thread can be made shorter than when moving the head.

However, in the case of a configuration in which the head is movable as in the first embodiment, the mechanism on the yarn conveying side can be simplified, so it is preferable to select the first embodiment or the second embodiment depending on the application. .

<Third embodiment>
In addition, in the above, the first embodiment describes a configuration in which the head is moved and the nozzle rows are capped using caps corresponding to three rows, and in the second embodiment, the thread is moved and each nozzle row is capped. Although a configuration has been described in which the nozzle rows are capped using caps corresponding to the rows, the combination is not limited to this.

For example, in this embodiment as a modified example of the combination, in a configuration in which the head is moved, caps are configured for each row. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, each cap (25αa, 25αb) of the cap groups on both sides moves for each nozzle row 10a, 10b, 10c with respect to the nozzle of the moving head of the first embodiment. , 25αc), (25βa, 25βb, 25βc) to cover each nozzle row.

Also in the liquid ejection device of this embodiment, when one of the plurality of nozzle rows is performing a liquid ejection operation to the thread 101, the other nozzle rows that are not performing the ejection operation are capped. By doing so, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to drying of the non-ejecting nozzle array without reducing productivity due to empty ejection of the cap.

<Other liquid ejection devices>
Next, an example of a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example of a coloring system equipped with a liquid ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This coloring system (liquid discharge system) 2000 replaces the embroidery head 106 in the dyeing/embroidery apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 1 with a take-up reel 107 that winds up the dyed thread 101.

This coloring system 2000 supplies a yarn 101 from a supply reel 102, applies a liquid of a desired color by discharging it from a liquid applying section 103, dyes the yarn 101 in a desired color, and winds up the dyed yarn 101. It is wound onto the reel 107.

Also in this coloring system 2000, when one of the plurality of nozzle rows in the heads 1K to 1Y of each color of the liquid application unit 103 performs a liquid discharge operation to the yarn 101, the discharge operation is performed. By capping other nozzle rows that do not perform ejection, it is possible to prevent ejection failure due to drying of non-ejecting nozzle rows without reducing productivity due to idle ejection.

In the above embodiment, the ejection head ejects downward, and the cap is provided below the ejection head to cover the nozzle surface from below. However, the direction of the ink droplets ejected by the ejection head is It doesn't have to be on the bottom side. For example, it may be discharged upwardly or laterally. Alternatively, the ejection heads may be arranged on a drum and ejected in an outward direction. In either configuration, the cap is provided at a position facing the ejection direction of the ejection head, or at a position opposite to a position where the ejection head has moved from the ejection position.

Although preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and examples described above. Further, the present invention can be variously modified or changed in light of the scope of the appended claims.

1 (1K, 1C, 1M, 1Y) head (discharge head)
2 Maintenance mechanisms 10a, 10b, 10c Nozzle row 11 Nozzle hole (nozzle)
20 (20K, 20C, 20M, 20Y), 200 Maintenance unit 21α, 21β Cap 25a, 25b, 25c Cap 25αa, 25αb, 25αc, 25βa, 25βb, 25βc Cap 100 Liquid discharge device 101 Thread (linear object, medium to be discharged) )
109, 109A, 110, 110B Yarn conveyance roller (conveyance mechanism)
111, 112 Conveyance roller carriage (conveyance mechanism moving means)
113, 114 Thread moving rod (discharged medium moving means)
103 Liquid application section 200 Maintenance unit 525 Head control section 526 Head position control section 527 Thread transport control section 528, 528A Cap elevation control section 529, 529B Thread position control section 1000 Coloring/embroidery device (coloring/embroidery system)
2000 Coloring system (liquid discharge system)

JP2008-062526A

Claims (11)

an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle rows in which nozzles for ejecting droplets onto a transported ejection target medium are arranged in a row substantially parallel to the transport direction of the ejection target medium;
a cap capable of covering the nozzle row of the ejection head,
A liquid ejecting device, wherein when one nozzle row out of a plurality of nozzle rows performs a liquid ejecting operation to a medium to be ejected, other nozzle rows that are not performing a ejecting operation are capped with the cap. The liquid ejecting device according to claim 1, wherein the ejected medium is a linear or band-shaped medium that is narrower in width than the distance between the plurality of nozzle rows and continuous in the transport direction. head moving means capable of moving the ejection head in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the ejection target medium;
The liquid according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, before performing the ejection operation, the head moving means moves the ejection head so that a nozzle row that performs the ejection operation is at a position facing the ejection target medium. Discharge device. The liquid ejecting device according to claim 3, wherein the cap is provided on both sides of the ejected medium being transported in the orthogonal direction. The distance in the orthogonal direction between the caps on both sides is
The liquid ejection device according to claim 4, wherein the distance is equal to or less than the distance between the plurality of nozzle rows in the ejection head. a transport mechanism that transports the ejected medium in parallel to the arrangement direction of the nozzle rows of the ejecting head;
A transport mechanism moving means for moving the ejection target medium in the orthogonal direction by moving the transport mechanism in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the ejection target medium,
1 . The conveyance mechanism moving means moves the conveyance mechanism so that, before performing the discharge operation, the medium to be discharged is at a position facing a nozzle row in which the medium is to perform the discharge operation. 1 . Or the liquid ejection device according to 2. A discharged medium moving means capable of moving the discharged medium in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the discharged medium,
According to claim 1 or 2, the ejected medium moving means moves the ejected medium before performing the ejecting operation so that the ejected medium comes to a position facing a nozzle row in which the ejecting operation is performed. The liquid ejecting device described. The caps are provided in the same number as the nozzle rows so as to face the ejection head,
The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of caps are capable of capping each of the plurality of nozzle rows in the ejection head. The liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cap is movable toward and away from a nozzle row of the ejection head in the ejection direction of the ejection head. A method for controlling a liquid ejection device, the method comprising:
A liquid ejection device includes a ejection head having a plurality of nozzle rows in which nozzles for ejecting droplets onto a discharged medium being conveyed are arranged in a row substantially parallel to the conveyance direction of the discharged medium, and the nozzles of the discharged head. A cap capable of covering the row, and a head moving means capable of moving the ejection head in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the ejected medium,
The method for controlling the liquid ejection device includes:
Before the ejection head performs the ejection operation, the head moving means moves the ejection head so that the nozzle row that performs the ejection operation is at a position facing the ejection target medium;
When one nozzle row out of the plurality of nozzle rows is performing a liquid ejection operation onto a medium to be ejected, capping other nozzle rows that are not performing the ejection operation with the cap.Liquid ejection How to control the device. A method for controlling a liquid ejection device, the method comprising:
The liquid ejection device includes a ejection head having a plurality of nozzle rows in which nozzles for ejecting droplets onto a discharged medium being conveyed are arranged in a row substantially parallel to the transport direction of the discharged medium; a cap capable of covering the nozzle row; a transport mechanism that transports the ejected medium parallel to the arrangement direction of the nozzle row of the ejection head; and a transport mechanism that is orthogonal to the transport direction of the ejected medium. a conveying mechanism moving means for moving the ejected medium in the orthogonal direction by moving the medium in the orthogonal direction;
The method for controlling the liquid ejection device includes:
before the ejection head performs the ejection operation, the transport mechanism is moved by the transport mechanism moving means so that the ejected medium is at a position opposite to a nozzle row that performs the ejection operation;
When one nozzle row out of the plurality of nozzle rows is performing a liquid ejection operation to a medium to be ejected, capping other nozzle rows that are not performing the ejection operation with the cap.Liquid ejection How to control the device.

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