KR20070074178A - Array type ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

An array type ink-jet printer is provided to print an image on a large print paper with a small array type ink jet printer by having relatively a simple structure. An array type ink-jet printer(100) includes a main body(100a), a loader(110), a feeder(120), a guide part(130), an image forming part(140), a paper discharging part(150), a controller(160), and a power supply(170). The loader loads a print paper(P). The feeder feeds the print paper from the loader. The guide part(130) guides the print paper from the feeder. The image forming part forms an image on the print paper guided from the guide part. The paper discharging part discharges the print paper which the image is printed. The controller controls each component. The power supply supplies each component with operating power.

Description

Array type ink-jet printer

1 is a simplified diagram showing an array type inkjet printer according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing main parts of an array type inkjet printer according to the present invention.

3 is an operation diagram showing the image formation of the printing paper having a width smaller than that of the inkjet head during the operation of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention.

4A to 4B are operation diagrams showing the image formation of printing paper having a larger width than the inkjet head during operation of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

100: array type inkjet printer

110: loading part

120: paper feeder

130: guide part

140: the image forming unit

141: shaft

142: ink storage unit

143: Array Inkjet Head

144: transfer device

160: control unit

The present invention relates to an array type inkjet printer, and more particularly, to an array type inkjet printer for forming an image on a large print medium without a relatively large condition in the structure of the array type inkjet printer.

In general, an inkjet printer is an apparatus for printing an image of a predetermined color by having an inkjet head for discharging a small droplet of ink to a desired position on a print medium.

The ink heads of such ink jet printers can be classified into two types according to the ejection mechanism of the ink droplets. One is a heat-driven inkjet head which generates bubbles in the ink by using a heater and ejects the ink droplets by the expansion force of the bubbles. The other is a piezoelectric inkjet head. It is a piezoelectric drive inkjet head which discharges ink droplets by an applied pressure.

An ink droplet ejection mechanism in a thermally driven inkjet head is described as follows. When a pulse current flows through a heater made of a resistive heating element, heat is generated in the heater and the ink adjacent to the heater is instantaneously heated to approximately 300 ° C. As a result, bubbles are generated while the ink is boiled, and the bubbles are expanded to apply pressure to the ink filled in the ink chamber. As a result, the ink near the nozzle is discharged to the outside through the nozzle in the form of droplets.

On the other hand, in order to improve the printing speed, an array type inkjet printer having a form in which the width of the inkjet head is extended by the width of the printing medium has been developed and used in recent years.

Such an array type inkjet printer is provided with a full width array inkjet head, and since the full width array inkjet head can print at one line at a time without the need for a reciprocating movement of the inkjet head, the printing speed can be greatly improved. Since the configuration of the carrier is unnecessary, there is an advantage that the mechanism configuration is simplified.

However, the array type inkjet printer as described above requires a relatively expensive manufacturing cost, and a separate array type inkjet head corresponding to a general printing paper (for example, A4 or A3) must be manufactured. The manufacturing cost of the inkjet head has a problem that increases exponentially.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an array type inkjet printer capable of forming an image on a large printing paper in an inkjet printer using a small array type inkjet head. have.

An array type inkjet printer according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a main body forming an outer shape; A loading unit provided in the main body and having a plurality of printing papers loaded thereon; A paper feeding unit which picks up and supplies the printing paper loaded in the stacking unit; A guide unit for guiding printing paper by the paper feeding unit; An image forming unit disposed inside the main body so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to a feeding direction of the printing paper and partitioning the printing paper to form an image; And a discharge unit for reciprocating the printing paper on which an image is formed.

The image forming unit may include an ink storage unit for storing ink; An inkjet head receiving and discharging ink stored in the ink storage unit; It is preferable to provide a conveying apparatus for conveying the inkjet head in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the printing paper.

The transfer device includes a shaft for slidably supporting the ink jet head; A timing belt in which the inkjet head is fixed to one side; It is preferable to have a pair of pulleys for moving the inkjet head by driving the timing belt while being supplied with power while maintaining tension of the timing belt.

The transfer device includes a shaft for slidably supporting the ink jet head; A rack fixed to the inkjet head; It is preferable to have a pinion meshed with the rack and powered to move the rack.

Hereinafter, an array type inkjet printer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description of the present invention, the terms defined are defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and should not be understood as a meaning of limiting the technical components of the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an array type inkjet printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing main parts of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention.

As illustrated, the array type inkjet printer 100 according to the present invention supplies a main body 100a, a loading unit 110 on which printing paper is loaded, and printing paper P loaded on the loading unit 110. To form an image on the sheet feeding unit 120, the guide unit 130 for guiding the printing paper P supplied by the sheet feeding unit 120, and the printing sheet P supplied by the guide unit 130. The forming unit 140, the discharge unit 150 for discharging the printing paper P on which the image is formed, the control unit 160 for controlling each component, and the power supply unit for supplying operating power to the control unit 160 and each component ( 170).

The main body 100a forms an outer shape of the array type inkjet printer 100 and is provided to protect each component installed therein. Although not shown in the figure on the outside of the main body 100a, a display for indicating an operating state of the adjustment panel and / or the main body 100a for adjusting each component such as the control unit 160 provided in the main body 100a. An additional may be provided.

The stacking unit 110 is provided on one side of the upper portion of the main body 100a, and a plurality of printing papers P are stacked. The paper feeding unit 120 is composed of a pickup roller 122 and a pair of paper feeding rollers 124 to feed the sheet of printing paper P loaded in the stacking unit 110 in a sheet or continuously, and is fed by the paper feeding unit 120. The printed paper P is guided by the guide unit 130 and transferred to the image forming unit 140.

The image forming unit 140 may include an ink storage unit 142 storing black and white or color inks, an ink jet head 143 for receiving and ejecting ink stored in the ink storage unit 142, and an ink jet head 143. A conveying apparatus 144 for conveying in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the printing paper P is provided.

The inkjet head 143 is provided with a plurality of nozzles (not shown) formed on the lower surface corresponding to the printing paper (P), it is provided to discharge the ink droplets to the printing paper (P) through the nozzle. In addition, the inkjet head 143 is provided in a wide array type whose width corresponds to the full width of the printing paper P to be printed.

The inkjet head 143 is provided to be slidably moved by the shaft 141 provided inside the main body 100a by the transfer device 144, and is reciprocated along the shaft 141, thereby providing general printing paper ( P) When larger size standard paper is supplied, an image is formed.

On the other hand, the transfer apparatus 144 described above reciprocates the inkjet head 143 provided to be slidably movable in the shaft 141, and includes a plurality of pulleys 146 and a timing belt driven by a motor (not shown). 147). The transfer device 144 may be implemented by a power transmission device such as a rack (not shown) and a pinion (not shown). Therefore, various modified embodiments are possible, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The ink storage unit 142 stores the ink supplied to the inkjet head 143, and maintains a constant pressure of ink supplied to the inkjet head 143 by forming a constant negative pressure in the ink stored therein.

On the other hand, the stacking unit 110, the sheet feeding unit 120, the guide unit 130, the discharge unit 150 and the like is the printing paper (P) corresponding to the inkjet head 143 of the image forming unit 140 to be described later It is formed so as to correspond to a printing paper P (for example, A3 size printing paper) larger than (for example, A4 size printing paper).

On the other hand, the controller 160 is in charge of the overall control of the inkjet printer 100 in conjunction with the above-described components.

Accordingly, the operation of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention will be described in detail by way of examples. Each element mentioned below should be understood with reference to the above description and FIGS. 1 to 2.

3 is an operation view showing the image formation of the printing paper having a width smaller than the inkjet head during the operation of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention, Figures 4a to 4b is an inkjet during operation of the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention It is an operation diagram showing image formation of printing paper having a width larger than that of the head.

In the array type inkjet printer 100 according to the present invention, as the image data is input, the control unit 160 controls each component to feed the printing paper P, and ink on the surface of the printing paper P to be fed. It discharges, an image is formed and the printing paper P in which the image was formed is discharged.

On the other hand, such an array type inkjet printer 100 forms an image on printing paper P (for example, A4 size printing paper) having a width smaller than that of the inkjet head 143, and an inkjet head ( An image may be formed on printing paper P (for example, A3 size printing paper) having a width larger than the width of 143.

Accordingly, referring to FIG. 3, an image is formed on the printing paper P having a width smaller than that of the inkjet head 143.

First, as the image data is input, the controller 160 starts feeding the printing paper P from the printing paper P loaded in the stacking unit 110 by using the pickup roller 122 of the paper feeding unit 120. The picked up printing paper P is moved to the image forming unit 140 by the paper feed roller 124. At this time, the printed paper P is moved while being supported by the guide unit 130.

Meanwhile, an image is formed on the surface of the printing paper P moved by the guide unit 130 by the inkjet head 143 of the image forming unit 140 and simultaneously moved. At this time, the inkjet head 143 for forming an image on the surface of the printing paper P is provided as an array type inkjet head 143 having the same width as or larger than the width of the printing paper P supplied.

The inkjet head 143 keeps being moved to one side of the shaft 141 of the transfer device 144, and the printing paper P to be moved is also moved along the bottom surface of one side of the shaft 141. An image is formed on the surface of (P). Therefore, as the printing paper P is moved, an image is formed on the surface of the printing paper P without any movement of the inkjet head 143 when the image is formed.

The printing paper P on which the image is formed is discharged to the outside of the array type inkjet printer 100 by the discharge unit 150.

On the other hand, an image may be formed on printing paper P (for example, A3 size printing paper) having a width larger than that of the inkjet head 143. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4B.

First, as image data is input, the controller 160 divides the input image data into two or more portions in the same direction as the direction in which the image is formed. That is, when the area of the input image data is wider than the width of the array type inkjet head 143, the area is divided into image areas that the array type inkjet head 143 can form. Such division of image data can be implemented by various methods, and its detailed description is omitted.

Thereafter, the printing paper P loaded on the loading unit 110 (where the printing paper loaded on the loading unit has a width wider than that of the array type inkjet head 143) is picked up by the pickup roller 122 of the paper feeding unit 120. Pick up at and start feeding.

Thereafter, the picked up printing paper P is transferred to the image forming unit 140 by the paper feed roller 124 of the paper feeding unit 120. At this time, the printed paper P is moved while being supported by the guide unit 130. Meanwhile, an image is formed on the surface of the printing paper P moved by the guide unit 130 by the inkjet head 143 of the image forming unit 140 and simultaneously moved.

At this time, the inkjet head 143 forming an image on the surface of the printing paper P is narrower than the width of the printing paper P supplied. In addition, it maintains the state moved to one side of the shaft 141 of the transfer device 144.

Therefore, an image is formed only on one side (that is, the side where the inkjet head 143 is located in the shaft 141) on the surface of the printing paper P that is moved, and the image is not formed on the other side in the discharge unit 150. Is discharged by At this time, the discharged printing paper P is not completely separated from the discharge unit 150, but is maintained in a nip between the rollers 152 and 154 forming the discharge unit 150.

As described above, when an image is formed on one side of the printing paper P, the controller 160 operates the transfer device 144 to move the inkjet head 143 to the other side where the image of the printing paper P is not formed. Let's do it. In this case, the moved inkjet head 143 is moved by the transfer device 144 along the shaft 141.

At the same time, the control unit 160 transfers the printing paper P interposed in the nips of the rollers 152 and 154 of the delivery unit 150 in the reverse direction, and the inkjet head 143 is completely transferred to the other side of the shaft 141. If so, the image is formed on the other surface of the printing paper P on which the image is not formed while being transferred to the discharge side direction again.

On the other hand, by repeatedly performing the above-described process according to the width of the printing paper P on which the image is formed and / or the array type inkjet head 143 forming the image, the width larger than the width of the array type inkjet head 143. Image data can be formed on the surface of the printing paper (P).

Although described in detail with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention as described above, those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims Various modifications may be made to the invention. Therefore, changes in the future embodiments of the present invention will not be able to escape the technology of the present invention.

As described above, according to the array type inkjet printer according to the present invention, an inkjet printer using a small array type inkjet head with a relatively simple structure has an effect of forming an image on a large size of printing paper.

Claims (4)

A body forming an appearance; A loading unit provided in the main body and having a plurality of printing papers loaded thereon; A paper feeding unit which picks up and supplies the printing paper loaded in the stacking unit; A guide unit for guiding printing paper by the paper feeding unit; An image forming unit disposed inside the main body so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to a feeding direction of the printing paper and partitioning the printing paper to form an image; And An array type inkjet printer, comprising: a discharge unit for reciprocating the printing paper on which an image is formed. The method of claim 1, wherein the image forming unit An ink storage unit for storing ink; An inkjet head receiving and discharging ink stored in the ink storage unit; And a conveying apparatus for conveying the ink jet head in a direction orthogonal to a paper feeding direction of the printing paper. The method of claim 2, wherein the transfer device, A shaft for slidably supporting the ink jet head; A timing belt in which the inkjet head is fixed to one side; And a pair of pulleys for moving the inkjet head by driving the timing belt while being supplied with power while maintaining tension of the timing belt. The method of claim 2, wherein the transfer device, A shaft for slidably supporting the ink jet head; A rack fixed to the inkjet head; And a pinion meshed with the rack and powered to move the rack.

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