TWI808187B - Screen printing device and screen printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a screen printing device with high printing precision. The screen printing device 10 is equipped with: a conveying mechanism 12, which conveys the cloth C; a screen printing unit 13, which performs screen printing on the cloth C by means of a screen 15 disposed on the conveying path of the cloth C;

Description

Screen printing device and screen printing method

The present invention relates to a screen printing device and a screen printing method for performing screen printing on cloth, and more specifically, relates to a screen printing device and a screen printing method capable of making a plate at a position where a screen original plate is arranged.

Conventionally, Patent Document 1, for example, is provided as a screen printing apparatus that performs printing using a screen. The screen printing device described in Patent Document 1 includes: an endless belt for conveying the cloth, a driving roller for driving the endless belt, a screen positioned on the surface of the cloth, and a printing unit with a scraper. On the screen, there is a plate-making area formed by the area where the ink is shielded and the holes through which the ink passes. Make the ink flow on the screen, and by moving the scraper on the surface of the screen, the ink passes through the holes of the screen to print on the cloth under the screen.

[Prior technical literature] 【Patent Literature】

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-044330

In the screen used in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the screen is fixed to a frame made of aluminum or the like with high tension, and a plate-making area is formed on the screen. The formation of the plate-making area is carried out in the following order. The photosensitive film is coated on the screen by a coater and dried. Next, inkjet printing is performed on the photosensitive film using masking ink according to the printing pattern on the cloth by a plate making device. When the screen is irradiated with light by the exposure machine, the photosensitive film that is not masked by the masking ink will harden. When the masking ink and photosensitive film are rinsed with a washing machine, only the hardened photosensitive film will remain on the screen to form ink-masked areas, and the areas where the washed photosensitive film is located form holes for ink to pass through.

The screen plate produced by using such steps is made by a plate making device installed in a place different from the screen printing device, then transported to the screen printing device, and set on the conveying path of the cloth by the operator. However, when the screen plate is transported to the screen printing device, the impact during transport may deform the frame and change the tension of the screen. If such a screen is used for printing, the printed pattern will deviate from the desired printing position of the cloth, and there will be a problem of poor printing accuracy.

In addition, when arranging the screen at a specified position on the cloth conveying path of the screen printing device, the screen must be positioned correctly in order to prevent printing deviation on the cloth, but it is extremely difficult for the operator to manually position the screen.

Especially in the case of using a screen printing device for multi-color screen printing, a plurality of screens will be arranged side by side in the direction of fabric conveyance, and inks of different colors will be placed on each screen. Then, the cloth is intermittently moved by the width of each printing area (printing pitch) printed by each screen, and the area on the cloth printed by the screen located upstream in the conveying direction of the cloth is printed by the next screen, thereby performing multi-color printing.

In order to make the printing of the screen on the downstream side correctly overlap the area on the fabric printed by the screen on the upstream side, each screen must be positioned correctly so that the distance between the plate-making areas of adjacent screens is correctly an integer multiple of the printing pitch, and the allowable positioning error is considered to be about 0.1mm. However, it is extremely difficult for an operator to manually position and place the screen with high precision. When the screen is not arranged at the specified position, the printing of the next screen cannot be correctly overlapped with the printing area of the previous screen on the fabric, and there are problems of printing deviation and printing accuracy deterioration.

The present invention is made in view of the aforementioned problems, and aims to provide a screen printing device and a screen printing method with high printing accuracy.

The screen printing device of the present invention is characterized in that it has: a conveying mechanism, which conveys the cloth; a screen printing section, which applies screen printing to the cloth by means of a screen arranged on the conveying path of the cloth; and a plate making section, which is arranged above the screen printing section, moves the ink head relative to the screen of the original screen plate and applies inkjet printing to the screen to make a screen.

The screen printing device of the present invention is equipped with a plate making section, and the screen printing section uses the screen printing section to perform screen printing on the fabric by disposing the original screen plate on the conveying path of the cloth. Therefore, there is no need to carry and install the screen plate, which can prevent the deformation of the plate frame caused by the shock during transport or the change of the tension of the screen, which will cause the printing accuracy to deteriorate.

Although in the case of using a plurality of screen plates for multi-color screen printing, the distance between the plate-making areas of adjacent screen plates must be an integral multiple of the printing pitch, but the screen printing device of the present invention can form a plate-making area at a desired position on the screen because the ink head is moved in the plate-making section to ink-jet print the screen of the original screen plate to make a screen plate. Therefore, even if the operator does not manually position the screen plate correctly as in the conventional technology, by adjusting the position of the plate-making area, the position of the plate-making area of the adjacent screen plate can be correctly set to an integral multiple of the printing pitch, and screen printing can be performed with good precision.

In a preferred embodiment, the ink head of the plate making unit includes: a nozzle unit that ejects the photocurable ink to the screen; and a light irradiation unit that irradiates light to the screen to harden the photocurable ink.

In the above embodiment, the ink head of the plate making section is provided with the light irradiation section on both sides of the nozzle section.

In an ideal embodiment, the above-mentioned plate-making section is provided with a moving mechanism for moving the above-mentioned ink head on the above-mentioned screen in two orthogonal directions.

In an ideal implementation mode, the combination of the above-mentioned screen printing part and the above-mentioned plate-making part is arranged in multiple groups at intervals along the conveying path of the cloth, and the plate-making part of each group is made into plate-making areas with equal widths by applying inkjet printing to the aforementioned screens, and the distance between the above-mentioned plate-making areas of adjacent groups is an integer multiple of the width of the above-mentioned plate-making areas.

If the present invention is specified from the viewpoint of the method, the screen printing method of the present invention is characterized by having: a preparatory step of arranging a screen master on a conveying path of a cloth; a plate making step of moving an ink head relative to a screen of the screen master and performing inkjet printing on the screen to produce a screen; and a screen printing step of performing screen printing on the cloth conveyed on the conveying path of the aforementioned cloth by the screen.

Because the original screen plate is arranged on the conveying path of the fabric to make the screen plate, and the screen printing is carried out on the fabric through the screen plate, so the screen printing can be carried out without moving the screen plate, which can prevent the deformation of the plate frame caused by the shock during transport or the change of the tension of the screen, which will cause the printing accuracy to deteriorate.

In addition, in the case of multi-color screen printing using a plurality of screen plates, the distance between the plate-making areas of adjacent screen plates must be exactly an integral multiple of the printing pitch, but in the plate-making step, the ink-jet printing is performed on the screen of the original screen plate by moving the ink head to produce the screen plate, so the plate-making area can be formed at a desired position on the screen. Therefore, even if the operator does not manually position the screen plate correctly as in the conventional technology, by adjusting the position of the plate-making area, the position of the plate-making area of the adjacent screen plate can be correctly set to an integral multiple of the printing pitch, and screen printing can be performed with good precision.

According to the present invention, a screen printing device and a screen printing method with high printing accuracy can be provided.

10‧‧‧Screen printing device

12‧‧‧Transfer mechanism

13 (13A, 13B, 13C)‧‧‧Screen printing department

14 (14A, 14B, 14C)‧‧‧plate making department

15 (15A, 15B, 15C)‧‧‧screen version

16‧‧‧Washing device

17‧‧‧Abutment

18‧‧‧Control device

19‧‧‧Original web version

20‧‧‧Endless belt

21(21A, 21B)‧‧‧Drive roller

22, 24‧‧‧guide roller

23‧‧‧Pasting Roller

30, 71‧‧‧Guide frame

31‧‧‧Scraper carrier

32‧‧‧Scraper

33‧‧‧carrying box

34‧‧‧Scraper support frame

35‧‧‧Pressure adjustment mechanism

36, 65, 78, 86‧‧‧Sliding parts

37‧‧‧track

38, 62, 76‧‧‧timing belt

39, 67, 77, 83‧‧‧Drive motor

40, 66, 74, 75‧‧‧Timing pulley

41‧‧‧Scraper bracket

42‧‧‧Scraper frame

43‧‧‧Scraper rubber

50‧‧‧ink head

51‧‧‧The first moving mechanism

52‧‧‧The second moving mechanism

53‧‧‧Up and down moving mechanism

60, 72, 80‧‧‧rail

61‧‧‧The support body of the second moving mechanism

63‧‧‧track part

64‧‧‧Roller

68‧‧‧Belt pressure roller

70‧‧‧feet

73‧‧‧Up and down moving mechanism support plate

81‧‧‧Ink head support parts

82‧‧‧Ball screw

84‧‧‧Bearing

85‧‧‧Nut parts

90‧‧‧print head

91 (91A, 91B)‧‧‧light irradiation department

100‧‧‧Sieve

101‧‧‧Frame

C‧‧‧Fabric

P‧‧‧plate making area

P1‧‧‧Shaded area

P2‧‧‧hole

NP‧‧‧non-plate-making area

Q(Q1, Q2, Q3)‧‧‧printing area

[FIG. 1] A schematic plan view showing the overall structure of a screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] A schematic front view showing the overall structure of the screen printing device.

[FIG. 3] A schematic plan view showing the main parts of the screen printing device.

[Fig. 4] A sectional view of the screen printing part viewed from the line A-A in Fig. 3.

[Fig. 5] A cross-sectional view of the plate-making section from the perspective of line B-B in Fig. 3.

[Fig. 6] A side view of the plate making section.

[Figure 7] (A) is a structural explanatory diagram of the print head, (B) is a top view of the screen.

[Fig. 8] An explanatory diagram of the configuration of the screen relative to the fabric.

【Fig. 9】(A)(B) are the action explanatory diagrams of the plate making department.

【Fig. 10】(A)(B) are the action explanatory diagrams of the plate making department.

【Fig. 11】(A)(B) are the action explanatory diagrams of the plate making department.

【Figure 12】(A)~(C) are explanatory diagrams of the printing area of the screen printing on the fabric.

(the whole frame)

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 12 show a screen printing device 10 of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the screen printing device 10 is provided on the base 17: a conveying mechanism 12, which conveys the cloth C; a screen printing part 13, which performs screen printing on the cloth C through the screen 15 disposed on the conveying path of the cloth C; a plate making part 14, which is arranged above the screen printing part 13, so that the ink head 50 moves relative to the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 and applies inkjet printing to the screen 100 And make the screen plate 15; and the control device 18, which is used to control the actions of each part. In this embodiment, a plurality of groups (three groups in this embodiment) of the screen plate 15, the screen printing unit 13, and the plate making unit 14 are arranged on the transport path at predetermined intervals. 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the screen printing device 10, and a part of the base 17, the structure of the cloth C, the conveying mechanism 12, etc. are omitted from the illustration.

When it is necessary to distinguish the screen plate 15, screen printing section 13, and plate making section 14 of each group, they are respectively called screen plate 15A, 15B, 15C, screen printing section 13A, 13B, 13C, and plate making section 14A, 14B, 14C. In the following description, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the left-right direction is called the X direction, especially the direction from left to right shown by the arrow A1 is called the conveying direction of the cloth C, the left side is called the upstream side, and the right side is called the downstream side. In addition, in FIG. 1, the direction orthogonal to the X direction is called the width direction of the cloth C or the Y direction. In this specification, "screen master 19" refers to the screen 100 that is stretched and set on the frame 101 without forming the plate-making area P; "screen 15" refers to the screen 100 of the screen master 19 that has the plate-making area P formed.

(Conveying mechanism 12)

The conveying mechanism 12 has: an endless belt 20 for conveying the cloth C; driving rollers 21A, 21B arranged at both ends of the conveying direction of the base 17 and erected with the endless belt 20; and a driving motor (not shown) connected to the driving roller 21A and used to drive the driving roller 21A. The cloth C is rolled out by a roller not shown, and is guided onto the endless belt 20 by the guide roller 22 . The surface of the endless belt 20 on which the cloth C is placed is treated with an adhesive, and the cloth C is pressed and pasted on the surface of the endless belt 20 by the sticking roller 23 . After screen printing is applied to the cloth C on the conveying path of the conveying mechanism 12, the cloth C is peeled off from the endless belt 20 on the downstream side of the conveying direction, and is wound up by the guide roller 24 to a roller not shown in the figure. The endless belt 20 is guided to the water washing device 16 for washing.

(screen 15)

On a rectangular frame 101 made of metal such as aluminum, a mesh 100 made of, for example, polyester thread is stretched to produce a screen master 19 . As shown in FIG. 7(B) and FIG. 8 , the screen 15 is produced by forming a rectangular plate-making area P by the plate-making section 14 on the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 . The area around the screen 100 surrounding the plate-making area P close to the plate frame 101 is the non-plate-making area NP that is not subjected to inkjet printing. In addition, the screen 15 can move vertically with respect to the cloth C by a screen vertical movement mechanism (not shown).

(Screen Printing Section 13)

The screen printing unit 13, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, puts ink between a pair of scrapers 32 on the screen 15, and prints on the cloth C by making the scraper 32 reciprocate along the width direction of the cloth C.

The screen printing part 13 is supported by the base 17 and has: 2 guide frames 30 extending across the screen 15 in the width direction of the cloth C; a pair of scraper carriers 31, which are guided by the guide frames 30 and reciprocating in the width direction; 0 and the cloth C is printed.

(scraper carrier 31)

As shown in FIG. 4 , the squeegee carrier frame 31 is equipped with: a carrier box 33; a pair of squeegee support frames 34, which can be lifted and lowered on the carrier box 33, and detachably support the squeegee 32; The pressure adjustment mechanism 35, for example, includes a ball screw inserted into the screw hole of the scraper support frame 34, and a pressure adjustment handle installed at the front end of the ball screw. The operator turns the pressure adjustment handle and the ball screw to make each scraper support frame 34 move up and down to adjust the pressure of the scraper on the screen 15. In order to hold the two scrapers 32, a combination of a pair of scraper support frames 34 and a pair of pressure adjustment mechanisms 35 in two sets is arranged at intervals in the width direction of the cloth C.

The carrying case 33 is accommodated inside the guide frame 30 having a U-shaped cross section. Sliding parts 36 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the carrying box 33, and the groove formed by the sliding part 36 is covered with a track 37 arranged on the inner wall of the guide frame 30, 30 and corresponding to the shape of the groove. The carrying box 33 can slide along the guiding frame 30.

The reciprocating movement of the carrying case 33 is carried out by the timing belt 38 connected to the carrying case 33 and housed in the guide frame 30 respectively, and the timing belt 38 is driven by the timing pulley 40 connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 39.

The two scrapers 32, as shown in FIG. 4 , respectively include: a pair of scraper brackets 41 supported by each scraper support frame 34 at the base end; a scraper frame 42 mounted on the front end side of the scraper bracket 41; The squeegee rubber 43 is made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, etc., and scatters ink for screen printing on the screen.

(plate making department 14)

The plate making section 14, as shown in Figure 3, Figure 5, and Figure 6, has: the ink head 50 that applies inkjet printing to the screen 100; the first moving mechanism 51 that moves the ink head 50 in the width direction of the cloth C; the second moving mechanism 52 that moves the ink head 50 in the conveying direction of the cloth C; In addition, in FIG. 6, only the structure of the plate making part 14 is shown, and the base 17 etc. are not shown in figure. The plate making unit 14 is arranged above the screen printing unit 13 across the screen printing unit 13 . The plate making section 14 is arranged at the upper position of the screen printing section 13, which means that when the screen printing device 10 is viewed from the side, at least the second moving mechanism 52 of the plate making section 14 is arranged at a position above the scraper 32 of the screen printing section 13 in the vertical direction.

(the first moving mechanism 51)

As shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 5, and Fig. 6, the first moving mechanism 51 is supported by the base 17, and has: two guide rails 60, which extend across the screen printing part 13 in the width direction of the cloth C;

As shown in Fig. 3, on the top of each guide rail 60, a track portion 63 for sliding the second moving mechanism support body 61 is installed along the longitudinal direction, and a timing belt 62 is arranged parallel to the track portion 63. The timing belt 62 changes direction along the side of the guide rail 60 by the rollers 64 installed at both ends of the guide rail 60 in the longitudinal direction, and is fixed to the guide rail 60 by keeping the metal parts, tension adjusting bolts, etc. under the state of adjustable tension by the belt.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the second moving mechanism support body 61 is provided with a sliding part 65 under the second moving mechanism supporting body 61 opposite to the track portion 63 of the guide rail, and the sliding part 65 is formed with a concave groove in cross section. By fitting the groove of the slide member 65 on the rail portion 63 of the guide rail 60 having a shape corresponding to the groove, the second moving mechanism support body 61 can slide along the guide rail 60 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 , a drive motor 67 is provided on the upper surface of the second moving mechanism support body 61 , and a timing pulley 66 is attached to the drive motor 67 . The timing belt pulley 66 is hung with the timing belt 62 via the belt pressure roller 68, and the timing belt pulley 66 is rotated by the drive motor 67.

(Second moving mechanism 52)

As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the 2nd moving mechanism 52 extends across a pair of 2nd moving mechanism support bodies 61, and is equipped with: a corner tube-shaped guide frame 71, which is installed on a pair of 2nd moving mechanism support bodies 61 through a foot portion 70; And move back and forth in the long direction of the guide frame 71.

Between the two guide rails 72, a timing belt 76 connected to the support plate 73 of the up and down moving mechanism is provided. The timing belt 76 is stretched over the timing pulleys 74 and 75 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lead frame 71 . The timing pulley 74 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 77, and the drive motor 77 rotates the timing pulley 74 to drive the timing belt 76, so that the vertical movement mechanism support plate 73 moves in the longitudinal direction of the guide frame 71.

A total of four sliding parts 78 are attached to the surface of the vertical movement mechanism support plate 73 facing the guide frame 71 at positions facing the guide rail 72 . The sliding member 78 is formed with a groove having a concave cross-sectional shape. By fitting the groove of the sliding part 78 on the guide rail 72 having a shape corresponding to the groove, the up-and-down movement mechanism support plate 73 can slide along the guide rail 72 .

(up and down movement mechanism 53)

As shown in Figure 5, the up and down movement mechanism 53 is arranged on the up and down movement mechanism support plate 73, and has: two guide rails 80, which extend along the up and down direction at both ends of the left and right directions in Figure 5; A ball screw 82 is arranged between the two guide rails 80 . One end of the ball screw 82 is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor 83 , and the other end is supported by a bearing 84 arranged on the support plate 73 of the up-and-down moving mechanism. In addition, the ball screw 82 is threaded through the nut part 85 provided on the surface of the ink head support part 81 facing the vertical movement mechanism support plate 73, and the ball screw 82 is rotated by the drive motor 83, so that the ink head 50 can be moved in the up and down direction.

On the surface of the ink head support member 81 facing the vertical movement mechanism support plate 73 , two slide members 86 in total are attached at positions facing the guide rail 80 . The sliding member 86 is formed with a groove having a concave cross-sectional shape. By fitting the groove of the sliding part 86 on the guide rail 80 having a shape corresponding to the groove, the ink head supporting part 81 can slide along the guide rail 80 .

(ink head 50)

An ink head 50 is provided at the lower end of the ink head supporting part 81 . The ink head 50 moves on the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 by the first moving mechanism 51 , the second moving mechanism 52 , and the vertical moving mechanism support plate 73 to perform inkjet printing. As shown in FIG. 7, the ink head 50 has: a printing head 90 having a nozzle portion (not shown) for ejecting photocurable ink to the screen 100; The light irradiation part 91 is provided on both sides of the moving direction of the ink head 50 (the direction of the arrow A2 in FIG. 7 ) across the print head 90 . Photocurable inks include, for example, UV curable inks, which are polymerized and hardened when irradiated with ultraviolet rays (UV) by the action of a photopolymerization initiator. In addition, this UV curable ink can be printed by inkjet printing. The light irradiation unit 91 irradiates light capable of curing the photocurable ink, for example, is a light source that irradiates ultraviolet rays.

Although not shown in the figure, the printing head 90 is connected to the ink tank through a tube through the degassing module. The ink tank is filled with photocurable ink, and this photocurable ink is supplied to the print head 90 . The degassing module is used to remove the gas contained in the photocurable ink.

The photocurable ink S1 ejected by the printing head 90 is illuminated by the follow-up light irradiation unit 91 in the direction relative to the ink head 50 . In FIG. 7(A), when the ink head 50 moves from left to right in the direction of arrow A2, light is irradiated from the light irradiation section 91A on the left. In this way, the photocurable ink ejected by the printing head 90 will harden to become the photocurable ink S2. In the case where the ink head 50 moves from right to left in FIG. 7(A), that is, in the direction opposite to the arrow A2, the photocurable ink ejected from the print head 90 onto the screen 100 is cured by irradiating light from the light irradiation portion 91B on the right. Also, in FIG. 7(A), although the light-curable inks S1 and S2 are shown above the screen 100 for illustration, in fact, the light-curable inks S1 and S2 are not located above the screen 100, but entangled between the lines and the lines of the screen 100.

In this way, the inkjet printing is performed on the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 by the ink head 50 to form the plate-making area P shown in FIG. 7(B) to produce the screen plate 15 . The plate-making area P is formed by a shielding area P1 for blocking the passage of the ink for cloth and a hole P2 for passing the ink for cloth. The shielding area P1 is formed by the hardened photocurable ink S2, and is the area where the cloth ink passes through the cloth C during screen printing; the hole P2, which is not printed with the photocurable ink S1, is the area where the photocurable ink S2 does not exist on the screen 100, and is the area where the cloth ink passes.

(control device 18)

The driving motor of the conveying mechanism 12, the scraper carrier frame 31, 31 of the screen printing unit 13, the screen up and down moving mechanism, the first moving mechanism 51, the second moving mechanism 52, the up and down moving mechanism 53, the ink head 50, etc. of the plate making unit 14 are connected to the control device 18 through cables (not shown), and the actions are controlled by the control device 18. Although not shown, the control device 18 includes a control unit, a memory unit, and an interface unit. The control unit is composed of, for example, a CPU or a memory as a work area, and controls the operation of each unit by executing a program stored in the memory unit. The memory unit is constituted by, for example, a memory device such as a flash memory or a non-volatile memory, and stores a program executed by the control unit. The interface section is composed of an input port for receiving signals, an output port for sending signals, an analog-to-digital converter, etc., and sends and receives control signals with each part, but each part can also be equipped with a communication part and send and receive control signals in a wireless manner. In addition, a display unit such as a monitor and an input unit such as a keyboard are connected to the control device 18, so that an operator can input values of setting items for operating the screen printing device 10, print patterns, and the like.

(Arrangement of multiple screens 15)

As shown in FIG. 8 , the plate-making areas PA~PC of the screen plates 15A-15C made by the plate-making sections 14A-14C are made in the following manner: each width L1, that is, the lengths in the X direction of the plate-making areas PA-PC are equal, and the distance L2 between adjacent plate-making areas PA-PC is an integer multiple of the width L1 of each plate-making area PA~PC. In other words, the plate-making areas PA~PC of the screen plates 15A-15C made by each plate-making section 14 are adjusted relative to the positions formed by the screen plates 15A-15C so that the distance L2 between the adjacent plate-making areas PA-PC is an integral multiple of the width L1 of each plate-making area PA-PC. In addition, for convenience of description, FIG. 8 only shows the cloth C and a plurality of screen plates 15A to 15C disposed on the conveyance path of the cloth C. As shown in FIG.

(screen printing method)

Next, a screen printing method using the screen printing apparatus 10 of the above embodiment will be described.

(preparation steps)

First, a preparatory step is performed. In the preparatory step, the screen master plate 19 is arranged at a predetermined position between the two support frames 30 of the screen printing unit 13 . For each screen 100 , a process of attaching masking tape or the like to the non-plate-making area NP is performed in advance. In the preparatory steps, the squeegee 32 is not installed in the screen printing unit 13 . In addition, the ink head 50 of the plate making section 14 is located at the preparation position outside the plate frame 101 as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 9(A). The cloth C is not placed on the endless belt 20 in the preparatory step and the next plate-making step. In addition, illustration of the screen printing unit 13 is omitted in FIGS. 9 to 11 .

(plate making step)

Next, the plate making step of the plate making section 14 is performed. In the plate making step, the control device 18 controls the ink head 50 to perform inkjet printing on the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 according to the pre-stored printing image data and the values of the setting items required for plate making to form the plate making area P. In addition, the values of the setting items and the print image data can be stored in the memory in advance, or can be input by the operator.

In detail, the control device 18, while controlling the first moving mechanism 51 of the plate making section 14 to move the ink head 50 in the Y direction, controls the second moving mechanism 52 to move the ink head 50 in the X direction, so that the ink head 50 moves to a position above the inkjet printing start position on the screen 100 of the screen original plate 19 ( FIG. 9(B)). The control device 18 controls the vertical movement mechanism 53 to lower the ink head 50 to a printable position (Fig. 10(A)).

Next, the control device 18 performs inkjet printing. The control device 18 controls the second moving mechanism 52 to move the ink head 50 along the X direction, while causing the nozzle portion of the ink head 50 to eject the photocurable ink, and the photocurable ink sprayed on the screen 100 is illuminated by the follow-up light irradiation unit 91 relative to the direction of travel of the ink head 50. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the ink head 50 moves in the direction of the arrow A2 from left to right in FIG. When the ink head 50 reaches the printing end position, the first moving mechanism 51 is controlled so that the ink head 50 moves only in the Y direction by the printing pitch of the inkjet printing. Next, the second moving mechanism 52 is controlled to move the ink head 50 in the opposite direction to the previous one, so that the nozzle portion of the ink head 50 ejects photocurable ink. At this time, the photocurable ink jetted on the screen 100 is irradiated with light from the light irradiation unit 91 on the opposite side to the previous one ( FIG. 10(B) ). For example, the ink head 50 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow A2 from left to right in FIG. 7(A), and is illuminated by the light irradiation unit 91B on the right.

The control device 18 repeats the above-mentioned actions to make the ink head 50 move back and forth to perform ink-jet printing on all areas scheduled for ink-jet printing on the screen 100 of the screen plate original plate 19 to form a plate-making area P. In this way, a screen 15 is produced. When inkjet printing is finished, the control device 18 controls the vertical movement mechanism 53 to make the ink head 50 rise (Fig. 11 (A)), and controls the first movement mechanism 51 and the second movement mechanism 52 to make the ink head 50 get back to the ready position (Fig. 11 (B)).

(screen printing steps)

Next, a screen printing step is performed. First, the cloth C is conveyed on the endless belt 20 . Next, the operator installs the squeegee 32 on the pair of squeegee support frames 34 of each screen printing unit 13 . At this time, the screen plate 15 is located above the cloth C and is not in contact with the cloth C. As shown in FIG. In addition, the squeegee rubber 43 of the squeegee 32 is not in contact with the upper surface of the screen plate 15 .

The operator inputs the values of the setting items necessary for performing the screen printing steps, such as the amount of pressure on the squeegee and the speed, to the control device 18 through a display not shown. Moreover, this parameter can also be stored in the memory part in advance.

Next, the operator drops ink for cloth between a pair of scrapers 32 on the screen 15 of each screen printing section 13 . In Fig. 3, when the upper direction is the forward direction of the squeegee carrier 31, and the lower direction is the reverse direction of the squeegee carrier 31, the control device 18, when moving forward, lowers the downward moving squeegee 32 to contact the screen 15, and makes the upper return squeegee 32 rise away from the screen 15, so that the squeegee 32 moves. Thereby, the ink for cloth enters into the holes P2 formed in the screen plate 15 . Then, the control device 18 lowers the screen 15 by the screen vertical movement mechanism to contact the cloth C, and lowers the upper reciprocating scraper 32 to contact the screen 15, and at the same time raises the lower reciprocating scraper 32 to leave the screen 15. The control device 18 pressurizes the screen plate 15 by reversing the reversing squeegee 32 . Thereby, the ink for cloth entering the hole P2 of the screen plate 15 is transferred to the cloth C for screen printing, and a printing area corresponding to the plate-making area P of the screen plate 15 is formed on the cloth C.

In this embodiment, three screen printing units 13A to 13C are provided on the conveyance path of the cloth C. Ink of different colors are injected into each screen printing section 13 . The transport mechanism 12 intermittently transports the cloth C in units of a distance corresponding to the width L1 of the plate making areas PA to PC of the screen plates 15A to 15C. Since the distance L2 between the adjacent plate-making areas PA~PC is an integral multiple of the width L1 of each plate-making area PA~PC, the cloth C is intermittently conveyed by the conveying mechanism 12, and the printing area Q1 or Q2 on the cloth printed by the screen plate 15A or 15B on the upstream side can be correctly transported to the position below the plate-making area P of the subsequent screen plate 15, so the printing of the subsequent screen printing part 13 can be correctly overlapped on the printing area Q1 or Q2. Printing accuracy is good.

Referring to Fig. 12, the printing area Q1 (Fig. 12(A)) on the cloth C printed by the screen 15A is correctly transported to the lower position of the plate making area PB of the screen 15B by the conveying mechanism 12. By applying screen printing to the cloth C so that the printing of the screen 15B overlaps the printing area Q1, the printing area Q2 shown in FIG. 12(B) is formed on the cloth. This printing area Q2 is accurately transported to a position below the plate making area PC of the screen plate 15C by the transport mechanism 12 . By applying screen printing to the cloth C so that the printing of the screen 15C overlaps the printing area Q2, the printing area Q3 shown in FIG. 12(C) is formed on the cloth, thereby completing the screen printing of the designated area on the cloth. By causing the conveying mechanism 12 to convey the cloth C intermittently, screen printing is continuously applied to the cloth.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the screen printing device 10 is equipped with a plate making part 14, and the screen plate original plate 19 is arranged on the conveying path of the cloth to make a screen 15 by the plate making part 14, and the cloth C is screen-printed by the screen printing part 13 with the screen 15. Since the screen printing can be performed without moving the screen 15, there is no need to carry the screen 15, which can prevent the deformation of the frame 101 caused by the shock during transportation or the change of the tension of the screen 100, which will cause the printing accuracy to deteriorate.

In addition, in the plate making section 14 , the plate making area P can be produced by performing inkjet printing on a desired area on the screen 100 . By arranging the screen 100 at a position above the desired printing area on the cloth C, the plate making section 14 applies inkjet printing to the area on the screen 100 that coincides with the printing area on the cloth C in plan view to create a plate making area P, and the position of the plate making area P on the screen 100 can be adjusted. It can save the time and labor of the operator to correctly arrange the screen 100 at the designated position by manual work, and improve the precision of screen printing.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the photocurable ink is printed on the screen 100, and the photoirradiation unit 91 irradiates light to harden the plate, there is no step of coating the photosensitive film on the screen 100 and the step of rinsing the photosensitive film as in the plate making of the conventional technology. While the steps are reduced, equipment such as a coating machine and a washing machine are not required.

Furthermore, in the case where the screen plate 15 is traditionally produced in a different location from the screen printing device 10, sometimes there will be a period of time between the plate making and the screen printing, resulting in a decrease in the tension of the screen 100 fixed to the plate frame 101, resulting in printing deviation during screen printing and affecting printing accuracy. However, in this embodiment, since the plate making is performed in the screen printing device 10, the screen printing can be performed immediately after the plate making, which can prevent the problem of poor printing accuracy caused by the tension change of the screen 100.

In this embodiment, although plural sets of combinations of the screen plate 15, the screen printing unit 13, and the plate making unit 14 are arranged on the transport path at predetermined intervals, only one set may be arranged.

In addition, the first moving mechanism 51, the second moving mechanism 52, and the vertical moving mechanism 53 of the plate making section 14 are not limited to the structure of this embodiment, as long as the ink head 50 can be moved in the X, Y directions and the up and down directions, then any structure can be used. In addition, in the present embodiment, although the ink head 50 ejects the photocurable ink while moving in the X direction, it may also eject the photocurable ink while moving in the Y direction. In this case, the light irradiation part 91 is provided on both sides in the Y direction with the print head 90 interposed therebetween.

In addition, in this embodiment, although the ink head 50 ejects the photocurable ink while reciprocating in the moving direction, it may also eject the photocurable ink only when moving forward or backward. In this case, one light irradiation unit 91 is provided on the subsequent side with respect to the traveling direction of the printing head 90 when the photocurable ink is ejected.

In addition, multiple sets of the screen printing unit 15 and the screen printing unit 13 and one plate making unit 14 may be provided. In this case, the screen printing apparatus 10 is further provided with a movement mechanism for moving the plate making unit 14 in the direction in which the cloth C is conveyed. In the plate making step, plate making is performed by sequentially moving the plate making section 14 by a moving mechanism with respect to the screen 100 fixed to a plurality of plate frames 101 arranged at predetermined positions in the preparation step.

The above is a description of an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various changes can be made as long as they do not depart from the purpose of the present invention.

13‧‧‧Screen printing department

14‧‧‧Platemaking Department

15‧‧‧Online version

17‧‧‧Abutment

20‧‧‧Endless belt

30, 71‧‧‧Guide frame

31‧‧‧Scraper carrier

32‧‧‧Scraper

33‧‧‧carrying box

34‧‧‧Scraper support frame

35‧‧‧Pressure adjustment mechanism

38, 62, 76‧‧‧timing belt

39, 67, 77‧‧‧Drive motor

40, 66, 74‧‧‧Timing pulley

50‧‧‧ink head

51‧‧‧The first moving mechanism

52‧‧‧The second moving mechanism

53‧‧‧Up and down moving mechanism

60‧‧‧rail

61‧‧‧The support body of the second moving mechanism

63‧‧‧track part

64‧‧‧Roller

100‧‧‧Sieve

101‧‧‧Frame

C‧‧‧Fabric

Claims (9)

A screen printing device is characterized by comprising: a conveying mechanism for conveying cloth; a screen printing unit for performing screen printing on cloth by means of a screen arranged on a conveying path of the cloth; and a plate making unit for making a screen by moving an ink head relative to a screen of an original screen plate and applying inkjet printing to the screen. The screen printing device described in claim 1 of the patent application, wherein the ink head of the above-mentioned plate-making part is equipped with: a nozzle part that ejects photocurable ink to the aforementioned screen; In the screen printing device described in Claim 2, the ink head of the plate making section is provided with the light irradiation section on both sides of the nozzle section. The screen printing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3 of the patent application, wherein the plate making section is provided with a moving mechanism for moving the ink head on the screen in two orthogonal directions. For the screen printing device described in Item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the combination of the aforementioned screen printing unit and the aforementioned plate making unit are arranged in multiple groups at intervals along the conveying path of the cloth, the plate making units of each group are formed into plate making areas of equal width by applying inkjet printing to the aforementioned screens, and the distance between the aforementioned plate making areas of adjacent groups is an integer multiple of the width of the aforementioned plate making area. A screen printing method characterized by comprising: a preparation step of arranging a screen master on a cloth conveyance path; a plate making step of moving an ink head relative to a screen of the screen master and performing inkjet printing on the screen to produce a screen; and a screen printing step of performing screen printing on a cloth conveyed on the cloth conveyance by the screen. For the screen printing device described in item 2 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the combination of the aforementioned screen printing section and the aforementioned plate-making section is arranged in multiple groups at intervals along the conveying path of the cloth, and the plate-making section of each group is formed into plate-making areas of equal width by applying inkjet printing to the aforementioned screens, and the distance between the aforementioned plate-making areas of adjacent groups is an integer multiple of the width of the aforementioned plate-making area. For the screen printing device described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the combination of the aforementioned screen printing unit and the aforementioned plate-making unit is arranged in multiple groups at intervals along the conveying path of the cloth, the plate-making units of each group are formed into plate-making areas of equal width by applying inkjet printing to the aforementioned screens, and the distance between the aforementioned plate-making areas of adjacent groups is an integer multiple of the width of the aforementioned plate-making area. For example, the screen printing device described in item 4 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the combination of the aforementioned screen printing unit and the aforementioned plate making unit is arranged in multiple groups at intervals along the conveying path of the cloth, and the plate making unit of each group is formed into plate making areas of equal width by applying inkjet printing to the aforementioned screens, and the distance between the aforementioned plate making areas of adjacent groups is an integer multiple of the width of the aforementioned plate making area.

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