KR20200111786A - Printing device and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The printing apparatus 1 has a conveyance mechanism 10, a photographing mechanism 20, and a head 30. The conveyance mechanism 10 reciprocates the tablet 9 which is a granular material between a 1st position P1 and a 2nd position P2. The photographing mechanism 20 photographs the tablet 9 at the photographing position Pa between the first position P1 and the second position P2. The head 30 discharges ink droplets on the surface of the tablet 9 at the printing position Pb between the photographing position Pa and the second position P2. By reciprocating the tablet 9, it is possible to photograph the tablet 9 before printing and the tablet 9 after printing with one photographing mechanism 20. Thereby, miniaturization of the printing apparatus 1 becomes easy.

Description

Printing device and printing method

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for printing an image on the surface of a granular material in an ink jet method.

On the surface of tablets, which are pharmaceuticals, characters or codes for identifying products are printed. In addition, there are cases where marks and illustrations are also printed on a regular fruit such as Ramune. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a technique for printing an image on the surface of such a granular material such as tablets and tablets by an ink jet method is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a tablet printing apparatus that performs a printing process with an inkjet printer on tablets supplied at random.

The apparatus of Patent Literature 1 includes a detection line sensor camera (detection imaging means) for photographing tablets before printing, and an inspection line sensor camera (inspection imaging means) for photographing tablets after printing. The device of Patent Document 1 prints on each tablet based on the position, posture, front and back of the tablet detected by the detection line sensor camera. Further, the line sensor camera for inspection is used to inspect the printing state of each tablet.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-121432

However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, at least two imaging means of a line sensor camera for detection and a line sensor camera for inspection are required. For this reason, it is difficult to downsize the printing device. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of a printing apparatus increases by a plurality of imaging means.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing the number of photographing mechanisms in a printing apparatus that prints an image on the surface of a granular object in an ink jet method.

In order to solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application is a printing apparatus for printing an image on the surface of a granular material in an inkjet method, comprising: forward conveyance for conveying the granular material from a first position to a second position, A conveyance mechanism that performs a return path conveyance for conveying the granular object from the second position to the first position, and a photographing position between the first position and the second position, for photographing the granular object A head for discharging ink droplets onto the surface of the granular object at a printing position between the photographing mechanism and the photographing position and the second position, the conveying mechanism, the photographing mechanism, and a control unit for controlling the head, , The control unit, a) the step of photographing the granular material during the outbound path transportation by the photographing mechanism, and b) after the step a), on the surface of the granular material during the outbound path conveyance or the return path conveyance, the A step of discharging ink droplets from a head, and a step of photographing the granular material during the return transport by the photographing mechanism are performed after c) the step b).

The second invention of the present application is the printing apparatus of the first invention, wherein in the step b), the control unit discharges ink droplets from the head onto the surface of the granular object during the forward transport.

The third invention of the present application is a printing apparatus according to the first or second invention, wherein the conveying mechanism comprises: a holding plate having a suction hole for adsorbing the granular material; and the first position and the second Between positions, it has a plate moving mechanism that moves the holding plate.

The fourth invention of the present application is a printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the control unit performs pre-printing inspection of the granular material based on the image acquired in the step a), Based on the image acquired in said step c), the inspection after printing of the said granular material is performed.

The fifth invention of the present application is the printing apparatus of any one of the first to fourth inventions, comprising at least a part of a conveyance path between the first position and the second position, the photographing mechanism, and the head. A cover is further provided, and the cover has an opening for carrying in and carrying out the granular material at the first position.

The sixth invention of the present application is a printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, further comprising a reversing mechanism for inverting the front and back of the granular object, and the control unit includes the steps a) to c). After executing, the front and back of the granular material are reversed by the reversing mechanism, and the steps a) to c) are further performed.

The seventh invention of the present application is the printing apparatus of any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein the granular material is a tablet.

The eighth invention of the present application is a printing method for printing an image on the surface of a granular object by an inkjet method, comprising: a) a step of photographing the granular object during outbound transport from a first position to a second position by a photographing mechanism, b) After the step a), a step of discharging an ink drop from a head on the surface of the granular material during the outbound path conveyance or during the return path conveyance from the second position to the first position, and c) after the step b) And a step of photographing the granular material during the return route transportation by the photographing mechanism.

The ninth invention of the present application is a printing method according to the eighth invention, wherein in the step b), ink droplets are discharged from the head onto the surface of the granular material during the outbound transport.

The tenth invention of the present application is the printing method of the eighth or ninth invention, wherein the granular material is a tablet.

According to the first to tenth inventions of the present application, by reciprocating and conveying the granular material, photographing of the granular object before printing and the photographing of the granular object after printing can be performed with one photographing mechanism. This facilitates miniaturization of the printing apparatus.

In particular, according to the second invention and the ninth invention of the present application, the positional shift of the granular material is unlikely to occur between the photographing of the granular material in step a) and the ejection of the ink drop in step b). Therefore, based on the photographing result of the granular material in step a), an image can be printed on the surface of the granular material with good precision.

1 is a top view of a printing apparatus.
2 is a side view of the printing device.
3 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit and each unit in the printing apparatus.
4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printing apparatus.
5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing according to a modified example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following description, the direction in which a plurality of granular objects are conveyed is referred to as "transport direction", the direction perpendicular and horizontal to the conveying direction is referred to as "width direction", and the conveying direction and the direction perpendicular to the width direction are referred to as "height. It is called "direction".

<1. About the configuration of the printing device>

1 is a top view of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a side view of the printing device 1. This printing device 1 is a device that prints an image on the surface of each tablet 9 by an ink jet method while conveying a plurality of tablets 9 which are granular materials. The tablet 9 may be a predetermined (uncoated tablet) or coated tablets such as dragees and film-coated tablets (FC tablets). In addition, the tablet 9 may be a capsule formulation containing a light capsule formulation and a soft capsule formulation. In addition, the "granular substance" in the present invention is not limited to tablets as pharmaceuticals, and may be tablets as health foods or tablets such as ramune.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a conveyance mechanism 10, a photographing mechanism 20, a head 30, a cover 40, and a control unit 50. Are doing.

The conveyance mechanism 10 is a mechanism that conveys while holding the plurality of tablets 9. The conveyance mechanism 10 of this embodiment has the holding plate 11, the suction mechanism 12, and the plate movement mechanism 13. The holding plate 11 is a flat holding portion in which a plurality of tablets 9 are held. The holding plate 11 is disposed so that its upper surface is in a horizontal posture. A plurality of adsorption holes 110 are formed on the upper surface of the holding plate 11. The plurality of adsorption holes 110 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveying direction and the width direction, for example. The plurality of tablets 9 are disposed one by one in these adsorption holes 110.

The suction mechanism 12 is a mechanism for generating negative pressure in the plurality of suction holes 110. As shown in FIG. 2, the suction mechanism 12 includes an intake pipe 121 and an airflow generating device 122. One end of the intake pipe 121 is connected to a plurality of adsorption holes 110. The other end of the intake pipe 121 is connected to the airflow generator 122. For the airflow generating device 122, a fan is used, for example. When the airflow generation device 122 is driven, an airflow toward the airflow generation device 122 is generated in the intake pipe 121 from the plurality of adsorption holes 110. Thereby, a negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure is generated in the plurality of adsorption holes 110. The tablet 9 is adsorbed and held in the adsorption hole 110 by this negative pressure.

The plate moving mechanism 13 is a mechanism for moving the holding plate 11. For the plate moving mechanism 13, a linear motor is used, for example. However, instead of the linear motor, a mechanism for converting the rotational motion of the motor into a linear motion through a ball screw may be used.

When the plate moving mechanism 13 is operated, the holding plate 11 is at a first position P1 indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 1 to 2 and a second position P2 indicated by a double-dashed line in FIGS. 1 to 2. Between, it moves reciprocating horizontally. The 1st position P1 is a position which carries in and carries out the tablet 9 with respect to the holding plate 11. The second position P2 is a return position of the reciprocating movement. By the movement of the holding plate 11, the plurality of tablets 9 are conveyed (forward conveyance) from the first position P1 to the second position P2, and the first position (from the second position P2) ( Conveyance (return conveyance) of a plurality of tablets 9 to P1) is realized.

As described above, the holding plate 11 does not simply place the tablet 9, but adsorbs and holds the tablet 9 by negative pressure. Thereby, at the time of conveyance of the tablet 9, the position or posture of the tablet 9 changes, and it can suppress that the tablet 9 falls off. Particularly, when switching from outbound transfer to back-track transfer, a large inertial force in the conveying direction acts on the tablet 9. However, in this embodiment, since the tablet 9 is adsorbed and held, the position and posture of the tablet 9 can be maintained.

The photographing mechanism 20 is a mechanism for photographing the upper surface of the tablet 9 at the photographing position Pa between the first position P1 and the second position P2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the photographing mechanism 20 of the present embodiment includes a mirror 21 and a camera 22. The mirror 21 is disposed above the photographing position Pa in a posture inclined with respect to the height direction and the width direction. As the camera 22, a digital camera having an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS is used, for example. The camera 22 photographs the image of the tablet 9 reflected by the mirror 21. Thereby, digital data of multiple gradations including the image of the tablet 9 are obtained. If the mirror 21 is used as in the present embodiment, the camera 22 can be disposed on the side of the mirror 21 instead of above the photographing position Pa. Thereby, the height of the printing apparatus 1 can be suppressed.

The head 30 is a mechanism for discharging ink droplets on the upper surface of the tablet 9 at the printing position Pb between the photographing position Pa and the second position P2. A plurality of nozzles are formed on the lower surface of the head 30. The head 30 discharges ink droplets from each nozzle based on the print data input from the control unit 50. Thereby, an image is printed on the upper surface of the tablet 9. The printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment prints a single-color image on the upper surface of the tablet 9 with one head 30. However, the printing apparatus 1 may include a plurality of heads 30 and may record a multicolor image on the upper surface of the tablet 9 by discharging ink of different colors from each of the heads 30. In addition, as the ink discharged from the head 30, an edible ink manufactured from a raw material approved by a Japanese pharmacy office or the Food Sanitation Act is used.

Further, the printing apparatus 1 may be provided with a cap that covers the lower surface of the head 30 when printing is paused, or a mechanism for cleaning the lower surface of the head 30.

The cover 40 constitutes a part of the casing of the printing apparatus 1. The photographing mechanism 20, the head 30, and at least a part of the conveyance path between the first position P1 and the second position P2 are covered with the cover 40. Moreover, the cover 40 has an opening 41 in the vicinity of the 1st position P1. When carrying in the tablet 9, the holding plate 11 is disposed at the first position P1, and the tablet 9 is set on the upper surface of the holding plate 11 exposed to the outside through the opening 41 do. In addition, when carrying out the tablet 9, the holding plate 11 is disposed at the first position P1, and from the upper surface of the holding plate 11 exposed to the outside through the opening 41, the tablet 9 Is taken out.

The control unit 50 is a means for controlling the operation of each unit of the printing apparatus 1. 3 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 50 and each unit in the printing apparatus 1. As conceptually shown in Fig. 1, the control unit 50 is constituted by a computer having a processor 51 such as a CPU, a memory 52 such as RAM, and a storage unit 53 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 53, a computer program (CP) and data (D) for executing print processing and inspection processing described later are stored.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 50 enables communication with the above-described suction mechanism 12, plate movement mechanism 13, camera 22, and head 30 by wire or wirelessly. Connected. The control unit 50 temporarily reads the computer program CP and data D stored in the storage unit 53 into the memory 52, and based on the computer program CP, the processor 51 By performing arithmetic processing, each unit is controlled to operate. Thereby, printing processing and inspection processing for the plurality of tablets 9 proceed.

Moreover, this printing apparatus 1 has a display part 60 in addition to the said structure. The display unit 60 is connected to the control unit 50 so as to enable communication by wire or wirelessly. For the display portion 60, a liquid crystal display is used, for example. The display unit 60 displays various types of information related to a print process and an inspection process to be described later on the screen based on a signal input from the control unit 50.

<2. About print processing and inspection processing>

This printing apparatus 1, while reciprocating and conveying the plurality of tablets 9 between the first position P1 and the second position P2, for the tablet 9, inspection before printing, printing, and after printing. Run the tests sequentially. Hereinafter, the flow of these processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

In the initial state, the holding plate 11 is disposed at the first position P1. The user of the printing apparatus 1 first places the tablet 9 in the plurality of adsorption holes 110 of the holding plate 11. The tablet 9 is adsorbed and held in each adsorption hole 110 by the negative pressure generated by the suction mechanism 12 (step S1).

When the plurality of tablets 9 are held on the holding plate 11, the control unit 50 starts the operation of the plate moving mechanism 13. Thereby, the outward conveyance of the holding plate 11 and the plurality of tablets 9 held on the holding plate 11 from the first position P1 toward the second position P2 is started (step S2).

When the plurality of tablets 9 reach the photographing position Pa, the control unit 50 operates the camera 22 of the photographing mechanism 20. Thereby, the upper surface of the plurality of tablets 9 during outbound transport is photographed by the camera 22 (step S3). The acquired image data is transmitted from the camera 22 to the control unit 50. Further, the control unit 50 inspects the state of each tablet 9 before printing (inspection before printing) based on the image data received from the camera 22 (step S4). Specifically, the presence or absence of the tablet 9 in each adsorption hole 110, the front and back posture of each tablet 9, the rotational posture around the vertical axis of each tablet 9, and the adsorption hole of each tablet 9 ( 110), the presence or absence of a shape defect of each tablet 9, and the like are determined. The inspection result of step S4 is displayed on the display unit 60.

Subsequently, when the plurality of tablets 9 reach the printing position Pb, the control unit 50 operates the head 30. Thereby, ink droplets are ejected from the plurality of nozzles of the head 30 toward the tablet 9. As a result, an image is printed on the upper surface of each tablet 9 during outbound transport (step S5). At this time, the control unit 50 adjusts the image to be printed on each tablet 9 based on the inspection result of step S3 described above. For example, the control unit 50 selects an appropriate image according to the front and back posture of each tablet 9 from among the images for the surface and the image for the back side, and transfers the selected image to the rotational posture of each tablet 9. Rotate accordingly. Then, the control unit 50 inputs a print signal to the head 30 based on the image after the adjustment. As a result, on the upper surface of each tablet 9, an appropriate image is printed in an appropriate posture.

Soon, when the tablet 9 reaches the second position P2, the control unit 50 stops the operation of the plate moving mechanism 13. Thereby, the forward/backward conveyance of the holding plate 11 and the plurality of tablets 9 held on the holding plate 11 ends (step S6). Thereafter, the control unit 50 operates the plate moving mechanism 13 in the direction opposite to the steps S2 to S6. Thereby, the return path conveyance of the holding plate 11 and the plurality of tablets 9 held on the holding plate 11 from the second position P2 toward the first position P1 is started (step S7).

In return conveyance, ink droplets are not discharged from the head 30, and the plurality of tablets 9 pass through the printing position Pb. And when the plurality of tablets 9 reach the imaging position Pa, the control unit 50 operates the camera 22 of the imaging mechanism 20. Thereby, the upper surface of the plurality of tablets 9 during return transportation is photographed by the camera 22 (step S8). The acquired image data is transmitted from the camera 22 to the control unit 50.

Further, the control unit 50 inspects the printing state of each tablet 9 (post-printing inspection) based on the image data received from the camera 22 (step S9). Specifically, the control unit 50 compares the image data received from the camera 22 with the data of a normal image prepared in advance, for example, to determine whether or not the image printed on the upper surface of each tablet 9 is normal. Is determined. The inspection result of step S9 is displayed on the display unit 60.

Soon, when the tablet 9 reaches the first position P1, the control unit 50 stops the operation of the plate moving mechanism 13. Thereby, the return transfer of the holding plate 11 and the plurality of tablets 9 held on the holding plate 11 is ended (step S10). After that, the control unit 50 stops the operation of the suction mechanism 12. Thereby, adsorption of the tablets 9 in each adsorption hole 110 is released. The user of the printing apparatus 1 takes out a plurality of printed tablets 9 from the holding plate 11 (step S11).

As described above, in the printing apparatus 1, while reciprocating the tablet 9, the tablet 9 is photographed (step S3) before printing, printing (step S5), and the tablet after printing ( 9) Photographing (Step S8) is sequentially executed. The photographing of the tablet 9 before printing (step S3) and the photographing of the tablet 9 after printing (step S8) are performed by the same photographing mechanism 20 at the same photographing position Pa. do. For this reason, compared with the case where the tablet 9 is photographed before printing (step S3) and the tablet 9 is photographed after printing (step S8), the photographing mechanism The number of can be reduced. Therefore, if the configuration of this embodiment is employed, the printing apparatus 1 can be easily downsized.

In particular, in this embodiment, printing to the tablet 9 is performed during outbound transport. In this way, printing (step S5) can be performed immediately after photographing (step S3) and pre-printing inspection (step S4) of the tablet 9 before printing. In addition, imaging of the tablet 9 before printing (step S3), inspection before printing (step S4), and printing (step S5) can be performed without switching the conveyance direction of the tablet 9. For this reason, after carrying out the photographing (step S3) of the tablet 9 before printing and the pre-printing inspection (step S4), the positional shift of the tablet 9 is unlikely to occur between printing. Therefore, based on the inspection result of step S4, an image can be printed on the upper surface of each tablet 9 with good precision.

<3. Modification Example>

As mentioned above, although one embodiment of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

In the above embodiment, printing on the tablet 9 was performed during outbound transport. However, printing on the tablet 9 may be performed during return transportation. 5 is a flowchart of a case where printing is performed during return transportation. In the example of FIG. 5, only the photographing of the tablet 9 (step S3) and the pre-printing inspection (step S4) are performed during the outbound transport. And after switching the conveyance direction in the 2nd position P2 (steps S6-S7), ink droplets are ejected from the head 30 on the upper surface of the tablet 9 during return conveyance, and printing is performed ( Step S5). After that, photographing (step S8) of the tablet 9 during return transport and inspection after printing (step S9) are performed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a plurality of tablets 9 were directly placed on the upper surface of the holding plate 11. However, a plurality of tablets 9 may be placed on the upper surface of the holding plate 11 through a separate tray. The tray may have, for example, a shape that is detachable from the holding plate 11 and has a through hole at a position corresponding to each of the suction holes 110. Further, a recess may be formed on the upper surface of the holding plate 11 or at a position corresponding to the suction hole 110 on the upper surface of the tray. In addition, the tablet 9 may be pinched in the concave portion. By doing in this way, the positional shift of the tablet 9 accompanying conveyance can be suppressed more.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the tablet 9 was conveyed horizontally between the 1st position P1 and the 2nd position P2. However, the conveyance direction of the tablet 9 between the first position P1 and the second position P2 may be an oblique direction or a vertical direction. Moreover, in the said embodiment, the tablet 9 was conveyed linearly between the 1st position P1 and the 2nd position P2. However, the conveyance path of the tablet 9 between the 1st position P1 and the 2nd position P2 may be curved or a broken line.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the conveyance mechanism 10 conveyed the tablet 9 by the holding plate 11. However, the conveyance mechanism of this invention may convey the tablet 9 by another method. For example, the tablet 9 may be conveyed by rotating the belt while adsorbing and holding the tablet 9 on the surface of the belt of the belt conveyor. Further, the tablet 9 may be conveyed by rotating the drum while adsorbing and holding the tablet 9 on the surface of the cylindrical drum.

Further, in addition to the configuration of the printing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, a reversing mechanism for inverting the front and back of the tablet 9 on the holding plate 11 may be further provided. The reversing mechanism may be, for example, a mechanism in which the tablet 9 is inverted from one holding plate or tray to another holding plate or tray. When performing printing on the tablet 9, for example, after performing steps S1 to S10 in FIG. 4, the front and back of the tablet 9 may be reversed, and steps S2 to S11 in FIG. 4 may be additionally performed. . By adding such a reversal mechanism, it becomes possible to automatically print an image on both the front and back sides of the tablet 9. Therefore, the pre-print inspection, printing, and post-print inspection on one side of the tablet 9, and the pre-print inspection, printing, and post-print inspection on the other side of the tablet 9 use the same mechanism. It can be done. Thereby, the printing apparatus 1 can be significantly downsized.

Further, in addition to the configuration of the printing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, a drying mechanism for drying the ink adhered to the surface of the tablet 9 may be further provided. The drying mechanism may evaporate a solvent in the ink adhered to the upper surface of the tablet 9 by blowing hot air onto the upper surface of the tablet 9, for example. The drying mechanism may be disposed at, for example, the second position P2.

In addition, the detailed configuration of the printing apparatus may be appropriately changed within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. Moreover, you may suitably combine each element which appeared in the said embodiment and the modification example within the range which does not generate|occur|produce contradiction.

1: printing device
9: tablet
10: conveyance mechanism
11: holding plate
12: suction mechanism
13: plate moving mechanism
20: photographing mechanism
21: mirror
22: camera
30: head
40: cover
41: opening
50: control unit
60: display
110: adsorption hole
121: intake pipe
122: airflow generator
P1: 1st position
P2: 2nd position
Pa: shooting location
Pb: print position

Claims (10)

A printing apparatus that prints an image on the surface of a granular material in an inkjet method,
A conveyance mechanism for performing forward-path conveyance for conveying the granular material from a first position to a second position, and a return path conveying for conveying the granular material from the second position to the first position,
A photographing mechanism for photographing the granular object at a photographing position between the first position and the second position,
A head for discharging ink droplets on the surface of the granular material at a printing position between the photographing position and the second position,
And a control unit for controlling the conveyance mechanism, the photographing mechanism, and the head,
The control unit,
a) the step of photographing the granular material during transport of the outbound route by the photographing mechanism;
b) after the step a), a step of discharging ink droplets from the head on the surface of the granular material during the forward or return transport;
c) After the step b), a process of photographing the granular material during the return route is photographed by the photographing mechanism. The method of claim 1,
The control unit, in the step b), discharges ink droplets from the head onto the surface of the granular material during the forward transport. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The conveying mechanism,
A holding plate having adsorption holes for adsorbing the particulate matter,
A printing apparatus comprising a plate moving mechanism for moving the holding plate between the first position and the second position. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit,
Based on the image acquired in the step a), pre-printing inspection of the granular material is performed,
A printing apparatus for performing inspection after printing of the granular material based on the image acquired in the step c). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Further provided with at least a part of the conveyance path between the first position and the second position, the photographing mechanism, and a cover covering the head,
The printing apparatus, wherein the cover has an opening for carrying in and carrying out the granular material in the first position. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Further provided with a reversing mechanism for inverting the front and back of the granular material,
The printing apparatus further performs the steps a) to c) by inverting the front and back of the granular object by the reversing mechanism after performing the steps a) to c) in the control unit. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The granular material is a tablet, printing apparatus. As a printing method for printing an image on the surface of a granular material by an inkjet method,
a) a step of photographing the granular object during outbound transport from the first position to the second position by a photographing mechanism,
b) after the step a), a step of discharging ink droplets from a head on the surface of the granular material during the outbound path conveyance or during the return path conveyance from the second position toward the first position;
c) After the step b), a printing method having a step of photographing the granular material during the return route by the photographing mechanism. The method of claim 8,
In the step b), ink droplets are ejected from the head on the surface of the granular material during the forward transport. The method of claim 8 or 9,
The granular material is a tablet, a printing method.

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