WO2018225128A1 - インクジェット印刷装置及びインクジェット印刷方法 - Google Patents
インクジェット印刷装置及びインクジェット印刷方法 Download PDFInfo
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- WO2018225128A1 WO2018225128A1 PCT/JP2017/020826 JP2017020826W WO2018225128A1 WO 2018225128 A1 WO2018225128 A1 WO 2018225128A1 JP 2017020826 W JP2017020826 W JP 2017020826W WO 2018225128 A1 WO2018225128 A1 WO 2018225128A1
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- head module
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- 238000007641 inkjet printing Methods 0.000 title claims description 45
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 41
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 239
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 66
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 3
- 230000032258 transport Effects 0.000 claims description 47
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 claims description 30
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 230000005856 abnormality Effects 0.000 claims description 12
- 230000001186 cumulative effect Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 235000013305 food Nutrition 0.000 abstract description 68
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 15
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 10
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 7
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000002159 abnormal effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007774 longterm Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- -1 pulp Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000019685 rice crackers Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/145—Arrangement thereof
- B41J2/155—Arrangement thereof for line printing
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Prevention or detection of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16579—Detection means therefor, e.g. for nozzle clogging
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
- B41J2002/14362—Assembling elements of heads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
- B41J2202/15—Moving nozzle or nozzle plate
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
- B41J2202/19—Assembling head units
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
- B41J2202/20—Modules
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/01—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet heads
- B41J2202/21—Line printing
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method. More specifically, the present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method that can cope with various printing modes at low cost and can secure high print quality even with respect to skew feeding of a print medium.
- the above-mentioned printing medium may be, for example, a long corrugated cardboard or film, a plastic container such as a plastic bottle, a pouch, or a metal can, a chemical such as pulp, paper, rubber, food, tablet, etc.
- the shape is not particularly limited.
- the defect rate is lower than that of a wide head and not only can the parts cost be reduced. Since it is sufficient to replace only the head in which this occurs, maintenance and replacement of the head during operation of the apparatus can be facilitated, and maintainability can be improved.
- each head in the head unit can be individually attached and detached as described above, but basically a base such as a head holder (hereinafter referred to as “base”). ), A nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles is fixed at a predetermined interval in the direction of arrangement.
- dots in the arrangement direction formed by ink droplets from the nozzles
- a direction hereinafter, “When performing printing in each printing mode, such as high-speed printing that increases the number of dots printed per unit time in high-speed printing that increases the density of dots printed, It is necessary to replace the dedicated head unit with a dedicated head for each printing mode at a predetermined position on the base.
- the number of head units to be used increases, which not only increases the part cost but also the part management cost and inventory. Cost also increases.
- the above-described high-density printing is performed by using ink droplets from the front head on the front side with respect to the transport direction of the print medium transported to one side in the orthogonal direction, for example, below the head, and the other side in the orthogonal direction, for example, the transport direction.
- the front head and the rear head are largely separated and the orthogonal direction distance is long.
- the print medium is gradually shifted to one side in the line-up direction due to the skew of the transfer member such as a belt, the shift in the line-up direction of the print medium becomes large during the transfer, and the dots by the front head And overlap with dots from the rear head. For this reason, a large dot shift occurs and the print quality is remarkably deteriorated.
- the width direction of the head, the print medium, and the like substantially coincides with the above-described arrangement direction
- the conveyance direction of the print medium and the like substantially coincides with the above-described orthogonal direction.
- the present invention has been devised in view of the above points, and is an inkjet printing apparatus that can cope with various printing modes at low cost and can ensure high printing quality even with respect to skew of a printing medium. And an inkjet printing method.
- an ink jet printing apparatus includes a head module in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in parallel in an orthogonal direction substantially perpendicular to the nozzle arrangement direction. And a module moving mechanism that moves an arbitrary head module of the plurality of head modules independently of the other head modules in the row direction.
- the head unit has a head module in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in a row in an orthogonal direction substantially perpendicular to the nozzle arrangement direction, so that the print mode can be switched.
- nozzles for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in a row in an orthogonal direction substantially perpendicular to the nozzle arrangement direction, so that the print mode can be switched.
- the heads necessary for the formation of a specific dot line portion can be concentrated and arranged in a predetermined head module, the formation position of the dot line portion can be configured simply by adjusting the arrangement direction of the head modules. It can be easily changed.
- the head unit has a module moving mechanism that moves an arbitrary head module of the plurality of head modules independently from the other head modules in the row direction, it can cope with various printing modes. . That is, since the heads necessary for forming a specific dot line portion can be moved in the row direction for each head module, the formation position of the dot line portion can be changed more finely.
- the entire head unit can be printed when printing is performed in each printing mode such as wide printing, high speed printing, and high density printing.
- the types of head units to be used can be minimized, and any of component cost, component management cost, and inventory cost can be greatly reduced.
- a conveying member such as a belt.
- mode switching control for switching between a plurality of printing modes based on printing conditions, and centering control for moving the head module in the row direction in accordance with the substantially center position in the row direction of the print medium ejecting ink liquid
- each head module is automatically set to the optimum arrangement direction position for each printing mode by the mode switching control.
- Each head module is automatically moved to the approximate center position in the direction of arrangement of each print medium by centering control, and the head module in use according to the status of the nozzle and usage time by module replacement control
- the head module on standby is automatically moved and replaced.
- a print mode input device for selecting a print mode to be applied is provided, and when performing mode switching control, the head modules before and after the orthogonal direction are arranged to be shifted in the row direction by the module moving mechanism, and one side in the orthogonal direction
- the front dot line part in which dots from the ink droplets from the front head module are lined up and the rear dot line part in which dots from the ink droplets from the rear head module on the other side in the orthogonal direction are arranged in a row in the row direction
- the first printing mode in which one row of dot lines in the row direction is formed and arranged in the orthogonal direction, and the center position of each head module in the row direction are overlapped by the module moving mechanism when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion are arranged on different rows in the row direction.
- the second print mode is formed with substantially the same dot density as in the first print mode and is arranged in the orthogonal direction, and the center position of each head module is overlapped by the module moving mechanism when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the dot lines in the line in the line setting direction are in the first print mode and the second print mode.
- the number of dots in the line direction becomes wide by combining the front dot line part and the rear dot line part.
- the number of dots in the orthogonal direction is double that of the first printing mode by arranging the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion on different rows in the row setting direction.
- Printing is possible, and in the third printing mode, the dots in the row setting direction are arranged in the first print mode by alternately arranging the dots in the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion on the same row in the row setting direction. High-density printing that is double the second printing mode is possible.
- a nozzle overlap area where a predetermined number of nozzles of each head module overlap is formed between adjacent front head modules and rear head modules when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the ink droplets are ejected from an appropriate head module in the nozzle overlap area so that the space between the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion is viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the connection direction can be established with a predetermined number of dots on the same line.
- the front and rear head modules may be separated from each other in the row direction due to deformation of the head unit, or nozzle clogging may occur at the inner end in the row direction of adjacent head modules when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the first print mode when the width of the print medium is narrower than at least one of the width of the print area by the front head module and the width of the print area by the rear head module, the first print mode is canceled and the print medium
- the first print mode is canceled and the print medium
- Printing can be performed using the inside of the head module in the row direction without using the inner end of the head module in the row direction. Thereby, even if nozzle clogging occurs at the inner end of the adjacent head modules in the row direction, it is possible to prevent dot missing from occurring in the printing unit.
- a skew sensor for detecting the shift amount of the conveying member that conveys the print medium to the head unit in the arrangement direction.
- each dot in the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion is arranged in a row.
- the skew handling operation for moving the head modules away from each other in the row direction based on the inclination angle of the conveying member obtained from the deviation amount detected by the skew sensor so as to be alternately arranged in the row in the row direction.
- the front and rear head modules are automatically moved in the row direction based on the deviation signal from the skew sensor, reducing the overlap of dots between the front dot line part and the rear dot line part. Can be made.
- a position sensor for detecting the arrangement direction position of the print medium is provided, and when performing centering control, the position sensor is set so that the approximate center position of the print medium and the head module in the arrangement direction substantially coincides when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the front and rear head modules are automatically set based on the row direction position signal from the position sensor.
- the head modules are moved in the line-up direction and follow the print medium so that each head module is always at a substantially central position in the line-of-line direction of the print medium. Thereby, a printing part does not shift
- a nozzle sensor for detecting the discharge status of the nozzles of the head module is provided, and when performing module replacement control, the head module in which an abnormality has occurred is waiting based on an abnormality occurrence signal from the nozzle sensor.
- the second maintenance to replace the head module in use with the head module in standby at every predetermined cumulative usage time
- the front and rear head modules automatically move in the line-up direction based on the abnormality occurrence signal, and the normal head modules in the standby position are in the use position.
- the second maintenance operation is set to De module is automatically moved to the arrayed direction, maintenance free heads module is to be set in the use position be in the standby position.
- the first maintenance operation can quickly cope with troubles such as nozzle clogging during the printing operation and can significantly improve the work efficiency of the printing operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from being dried and causing nozzle clogging because it has been left unused for a long time without being used.
- the module moving mechanism includes a plurality of base members for fixing the head modules, a plurality of guide shafts horizontally mounted in the direction in which the plurality of base members are arranged, and a pair of support frame members for fixing and supporting both ends of the guide shafts. And a sliding bearing that is slidably attached to the guide shaft in the axial direction and to which the base member is coupled and fixed, and a slide that slides the sliding bearing between the support frame members in the row direction along the guide shaft.
- the plurality of base members on which the head module is placed and fixed are placed on the guide shafts that are horizontally mounted between the support frame members in the row direction, the row direction slides are provided via the slide bearings.
- the module moving mechanism can be formed with a simple configuration in which the module is movably arranged. As a result, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit incorporating the module moving mechanism can be made compact.
- the guide shaft is interposed between adjacent base members in the front and rear directions orthogonal to each other, and a single common for attaching each sliding bearing connected and fixed to both base members so as to be slidable in the axial direction.
- the guide shaft between the front and rear base members in the orthogonal direction is limited to a single common guide shaft, and the front and rear base members are slid in the row direction through the slide bearing on the common guide shaft. Since it arrange
- the sliding drive unit is screwed into a screw hole formed in the direction in which the sliding bearings connected to each head module are arranged, and a ball screw connected to the motor shaft of the electric motor provided for each head module,
- a ball screw mechanism that slides each head module in the row direction along with the sliding bearing by rotating the motor shaft is used, the sliding bearing provided on each head module is rotated by the electric motor.
- the sliding drive unit can be formed with a simple configuration of moving in the row direction. As a result, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit incorporating the sliding drive unit can be made more compact.
- the sliding drive unit is provided in a screw hole formed in the direction in which the sliding bearings are connected to one of the two front and rear head modules in the orthogonal direction.
- the timing belt is wound between a pair of pulleys supported in the vicinity of the support frame member, and the sliding bearing of one head module is connected to the belt portion facing one head module, while the other head module is connected to the other head module.
- the moving direction of one head module is moved
- the one head module is moved together with the sliding bearing through a ball screw that is driven to rotate by an electric motor. It is moved in the row direction, and the other head module is slidably driven with a simple configuration in which it is moved in the row direction along with another slide bearing via a timing belt connected to this slide bearing.
- the part can be formed. As a result, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit incorporating the sliding drive unit can be made more compact.
- the module moving mechanism fixes and supports a plurality of base members for mounting and fixing each head module, a plurality of guide shafts that are horizontally mounted in the row direction before and after the plurality of base members in an orthogonal direction, and both ends of the guide shafts
- the support frame member is attached to the guide shaft so as to be axially slidable, and the slide bearing to which the base member is connected and fixed is interposed between the adjacent base members before and after the orthogonal direction. It includes a single common ball screw with a reverse rotation screw portion and a reverse rotation screw portion engraved on the outer periphery, and the forward rotation screw portion and the reverse rotation screw portion are connected to the sliding bearings of both base members.
- the motor shaft connected to one end of the common ball screw is driven to rotate by the electric motor.
- the head modules are arranged in a row together with the slide bearings via a common ball screw that is rotationally driven by an electric motor.
- the sliding drive unit can be formed with a simple configuration of sliding in the opposite direction. As a result, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit incorporating the sliding drive unit can be made more compact.
- the drive source need only be a single electric motor provided on a common ball screw. Compared to driving the head modules in two rows before and after the orthogonal direction with separate electric motors, the device cost is reduced and the head unit Further downsizing can be promoted.
- an electric motor is provided with a support frame member sandwiched between a supply system path portion having an ink tube that supplies ink to each head module and an electric cable that controls ejection of ink droplets from the nozzles.
- the supply system path unit and the drive system arrangement unit do not interfere with each other, and a large peripheral space can be secured. This facilitates access to the supply system path section and the drive system arrangement section at the time of assembling and maintaining the head unit, and can greatly improve the assembly workability and maintainability.
- the head unit when the head module is composed of two head modules arranged in parallel in the orthogonal direction, the head unit is formed with a simpler structure than when three or more head modules are arranged in parallel. Can do. As a result, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit can be made compact.
- an ink jet printing apparatus includes a head in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium are arranged in the width direction perpendicular to the print medium transport direction. And a module moving mechanism for moving any one of the plurality of head modules in the width direction independently of the other head modules.
- the head unit has a head module in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto the print medium are arranged in the width direction perpendicular to the print medium conveyance direction, and the head module is arranged in parallel in the conveyance direction. It is possible to cope with mode switching at low cost. In other words, since the heads necessary for the formation of a specific dot line part can be concentrated and arranged in a predetermined head module, the dot line part formation position can be easily configured by simply adjusting the position in the width direction of the head module. Can be changed.
- the head unit has a module moving mechanism that moves an arbitrary head module of the plurality of head modules in the width direction independently of the other head modules, various print modes can be supported. That is, since the head necessary for forming a specific dot line portion can be moved in the width direction for each head module, the formation position of the dot line portion can be changed more finely.
- the entire head unit can be printed when printing is performed in each printing mode such as wide printing, high speed printing, and high density printing.
- the types of head units to be used can be minimized, and any of component cost, component management cost, and inventory cost can be greatly reduced.
- high-density printing is performed by alternately arranging the dots by the front head module and the rear head module that are largely separated in the transport direction on the same line in the width direction, even if a transport member such as a belt is used.
- the dots and back head modules formed by the front head module can be adjusted simply by adjusting the position in the width direction of each head module. It is possible to reduce the overlap between the dots and the occurrence of a large dot shift and greatly improve the print quality.
- a head in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium are arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the print medium transport direction is arranged in the transport direction.
- a first preparation step of forming a head module by arranging, in the transport direction, a head in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto the print medium are arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the print medium.
- the entire head unit is provided for printing in each printing mode such as wide printing, high-speed printing, and high-density printing described above.
- the head unit dedicated to the print mode There is no need to replace the head unit dedicated to the print mode, and the type of head unit to be used can be minimized, and any of the component cost, component management cost, and inventory cost can be greatly reduced.
- high-density printing is performed by alternately arranging the dots by the front head module and the rear head module that are largely separated in the width direction on the same line in the width direction, even if the conveyance member such as a belt is used.
- the dots and back head modules formed by the front head module can be adjusted simply by adjusting the position in the width direction of each head module. It is possible to reduce the overlap between the dots and the occurrence of a large dot shift and greatly improve the print quality.
- an inkjet printing method includes a head unit in which a nozzle in which ink droplets are ejected onto a print medium is arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the print medium conveyance direction.
- the head unit there are provided a plurality of head modules in which a plurality of head modules in which nozzles for ejecting ink droplets to the printing medium are arranged in a line in the width direction perpendicular to the printing medium conveyance direction are provided.
- a preparation step of preparing a head unit that can move any one of the head modules independently from the other head modules in the width direction, it is possible to cope with switching of the printing mode at a low cost.
- the heads necessary for the formation of a specific dot line part can be concentrated and arranged in a predetermined head module, the dot line part formation position can be easily configured by simply adjusting the position in the width direction of the head module. Can be changed.
- various printing modes can be supported. That is, since the head necessary for forming a specific dot line portion can be moved in the width direction for each head module, the formation position of the dot line portion can be changed more finely.
- each head module is automatically moved to the position in the width direction optimum for each printing mode by the mode switching control, and each head module is automatically moved to the approximate center position in the width direction of each printing medium by centering control.
- the module replacement control the head module in use and the head module in standby are automatically moved and replaced in accordance with the state of the nozzle and the usage time.
- the head module is shifted in the width direction, and a front dot line portion in which dots are formed by ink droplets from the front head module in the front in the transport direction and an ink droplet from the rear head module in the rear in the transport direction.
- the first print mode in which a dot line of one row in the width direction is formed and arranged in the transport direction by connecting the rear dot line portion in which the dots are arranged on the same row in the width direction is a module for each head module
- the second print mode which is formed with substantially the same dot density as the one print mode and is arranged in the transport direction, and each head module is moved to the module. It is arranged so that the approximate center position in the width direction overlaps when viewed in the transport direction by the mechanism, and each dot in the front dot line part and the rear dot line part is alternately arranged on the same line in the width direction, so that one row of dots in the width direction
- the print mode to be applied is selected from the print mode input device from among the third print modes in which the line is formed with a higher dot density than the first print mode and the second print mode and arranged in the transport direction.
- a first control step a second control step in which the width direction position of each head module and ink droplet ejection conditions are set based on the print mode selected in the first control step by mode switching control of the control unit; Ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles of each head module of the head unit onto the print medium passing through the module and the head unit having the module moving mechanism.
- a third control step of performing printing Te is performed.
- the control step by providing the first control step described above, based on the print mode signal from the print mode input device, in the first print mode, the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion are aligned in the width direction.
- the number of dots in the width direction becomes a combination of the front dot line part and the rear dot line part, and wide printing is possible.
- the front dot line part and the rear side By arranging the dot line portions on different rows in the width direction, high-speed printing is possible in which the number of dots in the transport direction is double that of the first print mode.
- the front dot line portion and the rear dot By alternately arranging the dots in the line portion on the same line in the width direction, high-density printing is possible in which the number of dots in the width direction is double that of the first print mode and the second print mode.
- the apparatus cost is improved by providing a second control step in which the width direction position of each head module and the ink droplet ejection conditions are set based on the print mode selected in the first control step by the mode switching control of the control unit.
- Can be reduced and maintainability can be improved. That is, each head module is automatically moved to the position in the width direction that is optimal for each printing mode based on the printing mode signal preselected by the printing mode input device, enabling wide-width printing, high-speed printing, and high-density printing. It is possible to simplify the control unit and the drive configuration of the head module for switching the print mode.
- characters, figures, symbols, etc. can be printed on the print medium.
- ink droplets are ejected from nozzles onto a print medium that moves in the transport direction to form a row of dot lines, and these dot lines are arranged in the width direction so that a predetermined character or the like is placed on the print medium. Can be printed on.
- the ink jet printing apparatus and the ink jet printing method according to the present invention can cope with various print modes at a low cost, and can secure high print quality even with respect to the skew of the print medium.
- FIG. 1A is a side view of the printing apparatus
- FIG. 1B is a plan view of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the present invention
- 2A is a side view of the print processing unit
- FIG. 2A is a side view during maintenance
- FIG. 2B is a side view of a state in which the maintenance unit is retracted and the head unit is raised
- FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of a state where the unit is lowered and printing preparation is completed.
- FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the head unit, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state in which the head modules before and after the orthogonal direction are shifted in the arrangement direction
- FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the head modules before and after the orthogonal direction.
- FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of a head unit.
- FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the head modules before and after the orthogonal direction are shifted in the row direction
- FIG. 4C is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the nozzles are overlapped when viewed in the orthogonal direction
- FIG. 4C is a schematic plan view showing a staggered nozzle array.
- FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view of a head unit having a module moving mechanism of another form
- FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view of a head unit having a timing belt mechanism
- FIG. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of mode switching control, in which FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram showing a dot distribution situation in the first printing mode, FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing a dot distribution situation in the second printing mode, and FIG. (C) is a schematic diagram showing a dot distribution situation in the third printing mode.
- FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of the head unit
- FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of the head unit in the first printing mode
- FIG. 8B is a schematic plan view of the head unit when performing a single module printing operation. It is.
- FIG. 9A and 9B are explanatory views of dot misalignment when the belt is skewed.
- FIG. 9A is a plan view of the ink jet printing apparatus when the belt is skewed
- FIG. 9B is a dot distribution state of the printing unit when the belt is skewed.
- FIG. 9C is a schematic diagram illustrating a dot distribution state of the printing unit after the centering operation.
- FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram of centering control.
- FIG. 10A is a schematic plan view of the head unit when the head module is moved to the left and follows the print medium
- FIG. 10B is the head module to the right.
- FIG. 10C is a schematic plan view of the head unit when the center position of the head module and the print medium does not coincide with each other when the head unit moves and follows the print medium.
- 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams of module replacement control, in which FIG. 11A is a schematic plan view of a head unit showing the position of each head module before replacement, and FIG. 11B is a head showing the position of each head module after replacement. It is a plane schematic diagram of a unit.
- 12A is a flowchart showing a printing procedure
- FIG. 12A is a flowchart showing an overall procedure
- FIG. 12B is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of a preparation process
- FIG. 12C is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of a control process.
- It is. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an entire printing control procedure. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of centering control. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of module exchange control. It is a flowchart
- the direction indicated by the arrow F is the front
- the direction indicated by the arrow R is the right side
- the direction indicated by the arrow T is the upper side.
- the positions and directions of the parts described below are the front, right, And on the upper side.
- a printing apparatus 1 that is an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied and that performs a printing operation by discharging edible ink onto food 9 such as a rice cracker as a printing medium
- the usage mode here is merely an example of an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and is not particularly limited to this mode.
- the printing apparatus 1 places the food 9 on the upper surface of a print processing unit 2 that prints characters and the like by ejecting edible ink on the food 9 that is a printing medium, and a belt 10 that rotates clockwise in a left side view. And a belt conveyance unit 3 that conveys the print processing unit 2 to a position immediately below it.
- the rear side of the orthogonal direction 20 is the food 9 conveyance direction
- the arrangement direction 21 orthogonal to the orthogonal direction 20 is the left-right direction.
- the print processing unit 2 includes a head unit 4 having heads 41, 42, 44, and 45 in which nozzles for ejecting edible ink are formed at the substantially front and rear centers of the belt conveyance unit 3.
- the ink supply unit 5 that supplies edible ink to the heads 41, 42, 44, and 45, the printing unit 6 to which the head unit 4 and the ink supply unit 5 are attached, and the head unit 4 and the ink supply unit 5 Based on the signal, supply of edible ink, control of driving power for discharging edible ink, and a front head module 43 including front and rear heads 41 and 42 and a rear head module 46 including front and rear heads 44 and 45 are provided.
- a control unit 7 for controlling the moving power to be moved independently in the row direction 21, and the head unit 4 described above have a head cleaner. Formed by combining and a maintenance unit 8 for performing maintenance work, such as ring.
- the belt conveying unit 3 is arranged before and after an intermediate portion between the entrance roller 11 and the exit roller 12 and both rollers 11 and 12 arranged to be rotatable forward and backward with the above-described print processing unit 2 interposed therebetween.
- the first idler roller 13 and the second idler roller 16 and the tension roller 14 and the drive roller 15 arranged before and after the idler rollers 13 and 16 are all arranged with the axis center in the left-right direction.
- the belt 10 is wound around the rollers 11 to 16 and a pair of left and right device frames 25 and 26 are disposed so as to sandwich the belt 10 from the left and right, and the roller described above is interposed between the device frames 25 and 26.
- 11 to 16 are pivotally supported so as to be able to rotate back and forth.
- a pair of left and right inlet alignment guides 23 and 23 are disposed in the vicinity of the inlet roller 11, and a pair of left and right outlet alignment guides 24 and 24 are disposed in the vicinity of the outlet roller 12.
- the inner side surfaces of the left and right inlet alignment guides 23, 23 and the outlet alignment guides 24, 24 are used.
- the belt 10 is pushed back toward the inner side in the direction in which the belts 10 are arranged, and the food 9 can be prevented from dropping from the end in the direction in which the belts 10 are arranged.
- the tension roller 14 is pivotally supported by a tension frame 17 having a triangular shape in side view that can swing back and forth about the axis 13a of the front first idler roller 13, and the rear end of the tension frame 17 has a tension end.
- a portion of the belt 10 that is elastically pulled downward through the spring 18 and wound from the lower outer peripheral surface of the driving roller 15 to the outer peripheral rear surface of the first idler roller 13 is rearward by the outer peripheral front surface of the tension roller 14.
- the tension unit 19 is formed so that it can be pressed from above.
- a camera 27 is installed above the belt 10 immediately before the print processing unit 2 as a position sensor for detecting the arrangement direction position of the foods 9.
- the apparatus frames 25 and 26 in front of the camera 27 are provided with a transport position sensor 28 to which a transmitter 28a and a receiver 28b capable of transmitting and receiving light and sound waves are attached. According to the transport position sensor 28, the food 9 transported by the belt 10 passes between the transmitter 28a and the receiver 28b to block light and sound waves, thereby detecting the orthogonal position of the food 9. it can.
- Centering control which will be described later, can be performed, or mode switching control, which will be described later, can be performed by moving the head modules 43 and 46 to predetermined positions in the row direction.
- the head unit 4 includes a rectangular plate-like base 40, head modules 43 and 46 arranged in parallel in the orthogonal direction 20 on the base 40, and the head modules 43 and 46. And a module moving mechanism 47 for independently moving them in the row direction 21.
- the front head module 43 includes the front head 41 and the rear head 42.
- the front head 41 has a nozzle row Y that ejects yellow ink droplets and a nozzle row that ejects magenta ink droplets.
- M is formed in the front and rear
- the rear head 42 is formed with a nozzle row C for ejecting cyan ink droplets and a nozzle row K for ejecting black ink droplets in the front and rear.
- two-color printing can be performed with one head, and color printing can be performed with the two heads 41 and 42 before and after.
- the so-called zigzag shape in which the nozzles 48 adjacent in the row direction are alternately arranged one by one in the orthogonal direction 20.
- the nozzle rows 49 and 50 are formed in two rows before and after the nozzles 49, and the dot arrangement pitch of the nozzles 48 for each color is reduced to increase the dot density.
- the rear head module 46 includes a front head 44 and a rear head 45.
- the front head 44 is formed with a nozzle row M and a nozzle row Y at the front and rear, and the rear head 45 has a nozzle row.
- K and the nozzle row C are formed in the front and rear, and color printing can be performed by the two heads 44 and 45 in the front and rear.
- the nozzle rows Y, M, C, and K are each composed of two front and rear nozzle rows 49 and 50 so as to increase the dot density.
- heads 41, 42, 44, and 45 all have their longitudinal directions orthogonal to the orthogonal direction 20, so that all of the nozzle rows Y, M, C, and K are along the alignment direction 21. Is arranged.
- a pair of left and right support frame members 51 and 52 parallel to each other are extended in the orthogonal direction on the left and right sides of the base 40, and between the left and right support frame members 51 and 52.
- the three guide shafts 53, 54, 55 parallel to each other are horizontally mounted in the row direction, and both ends of the guide shafts 53, 54, 55 are fixedly supported by the support frame members 51, 52. .
- a sliding bearing 56 is fitted on the left part of the guide shaft 53 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, while a sliding bearing 57 is fitted on the right part of the guide shafts 53 and 54 in the axial direction.
- the guide shafts 53 and 54 are slidably interposed.
- a rectangular plate-shaped front head base 60 that is a base member is connected and fixed between the left and right sliding bearings 56 and 57, and the front head 41 described above is connected to the front head base 60.
- the rear head 42 is erected in the front-rear direction to form a front head module 43.
- a slide bearing 58 is interposed between the guide shafts 54 and 55 at the left part of the guide shafts 54 and 55 so as to be slidable in the axial direction.
- a bearing 59 is externally fitted so as to be slidable in the axial direction.
- a rectangular plate-shaped rear head base 61 as a base member is also connected and fixed between the left and right sliding bearings 58 and 59, and the above-described rear head base 61 is connected to the above-described rear head base 61.
- the front head 44 and the rear head 45 are erected in the front-rear direction to form a rear head module 46.
- a sliding drive unit that slides sliding bearings 56, 57, 58, 59 in the direction of arrangement along the guide shafts 53, 54, 55 between the support frame members 51, 52. 62 is provided.
- electric motors 63 and 64 are fixed to the left and right of the support frame member 51 on the base 40, and the electric motors 63 and 64 are respectively fixed to the motor shafts 63a and 64a. Is extended to the right, and the left ends of ball screws 65 and 66 provided for each of the head modules 43 and 46 are connected to the tip thereof.
- the right portions of the ball screws 65 and 66 are respectively connected to the screw holes 56a formed in the row direction 21 of the sliding bearings 56 of the front head module 43 and the sliding bearings 58 of the rear head module 46, respectively.
- a ball screw mechanism 67 is formed by being screwed into a screw hole 58a formed in the row direction 21.
- the guide shaft 54 interposed between the head bases 60, 61 adjacent to each other in the orthogonal direction 20 is slidably coupled to the front head base 60.
- the dynamic bearing 57 and the sliding bearing 58 connected and fixed to the rear head base 61 are both attached so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and function as a single common guide shaft.
- the heads in the front and rear direction 20 are perpendicular to each other. Since the distance between the bases 60 and 61 can be shortened, as will be described in detail later, even if the food 9 is gradually shifted to one side in the row direction 21 due to the skew of the belt 10, The distance between the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 on the head bases 60 and 61 is shortened, and the overlap between the dots by the front head module 43 and the dots by the rear head module 46 can be reduced.
- a plurality of head bases 60 and 61 on which the head modules 43 and 46 are mounted and fixed are horizontally mounted between the support frame members 51 and 52 in the row direction, and the guide shafts 53, 54, and 55.
- the module moving mechanism 47 is formed with a simple configuration in which the upper side is slidably arranged in the row direction 21 via the sliding bearings 56 to 59, and the slides provided in the head modules 43 and 46 are further formed.
- the sliding drive unit can be formed, thereby reducing the apparatus cost and maintenance. The improvement of property can be aimed at.
- the sliding drive unit 62 having the electric motors 63 and 64 and the ball screws 65 and 66 is arranged on the left side of the base 40 to form the drive system arrangement unit 68, while the support frame member is formed.
- Ink tubes 71 and 73 for supplying edible ink to the ink ports 70 and 72 of the head modules 43 and 46 and nozzles 48 are arranged on the opposite side of the drive system arrangement portion 68 in the row direction with the 51 and 52 in between.
- a supply system path portion 69 having electric cables 37 and 38 for controlling the ejection of ink droplets from the ink is disposed.
- the supply system path unit 69 and the drive system arrangement unit 68 do not interfere with each other, and a large peripheral space can be secured, and the supply system path unit 69 and the drive system at the time of assembly and maintenance of the head unit 4 can be secured. Access to the arrangement portion 68 is facilitated, and the assembly workability and maintenance can be greatly improved.
- the head unit 4A shown in FIG. 5A is provided with another type of module moving mechanism 47A.
- the left and right support frame members 51 and 52 are the same as the module moving mechanism 47 described above. Between them, three guide shafts 53, 54, 55 parallel to each other are horizontally supported in a row direction and fixedly supported.
- Sliding bearings 56 and 57 are fitted on the left and right portions of the guide shafts 53 and 54, respectively, so as to be slidable in the axial direction.
- the front head base 60 with the heads 41 and 42 erected is bridged.
- the slide bearings 58 and 59 are fitted on the left and right portions of the guide shafts 54 and 55 so as to be slidable in the axial direction.
- the rear head base 61 is also bridged between the left and right sliding bearings 58 and 59, with the heads 44 and 45 standing up and down.
- a sliding drive unit 62A for sliding the sliding bearings 56, 57, 58, 59 in the row direction is connected to the rear head module 46 of the head modules 43, 46 in two rows in the front-rear direction.
- a ball screw 66 connected to a motor shaft 64a of a single electric motor 64 provided in the rear head module 46 is screwed into a screw hole 58a formed in the row direction 21 of the sliding bearing 58, and the motor shaft 64a.
- a ball screw mechanism 67A that moves the rear head module 46 along the guide shafts 54 and 55 in the row direction 21 together with the sliding bearing 58, and in addition to the ball screw mechanism 67A.
- the following timing belt mechanism 39 is also provided.
- a timing belt 76 is wound between a pair of pulleys 74 and 75 that are pivotally supported in the vicinity of the outside of the left and right support frame members 51 and 52, and the belt portion facing the rear head module 46.
- the sliding bearing 58 of the rear head module 46 is coupled to 76b, and the sliding bearing 57 of the front head module 43 is coupled to the belt portion 76a facing the front head module 43, so that the rear head Following the movement of the modules 46 in the row direction 21, the front head module 43 can also be moved to the opposite side in the row direction 21.
- the sliding drive unit 62A can be formed with a simple configuration in which it is moved in the row direction 21 together with another sliding bearing 57 via the timing belt 76 connected to the device, thereby reducing the apparatus cost and maintenance. As a result, the head unit 4A incorporating the sliding drive unit 62A can be made more compact.
- the head unit 4B shown in FIG. 5B is provided with another type of module moving mechanism 47B.
- the left and right support frame members 51 are the same as the module moving mechanisms 47 and 47A described above.
- the guide shafts 53 and 55 that are parallel to each other are horizontally mounted and fixedly supported between the guide shafts 53 and 55, unlike the module moving mechanisms 47 and 47A.
- a single common ball screw 77 is horizontally mounted.
- Sliding bearings 56 and 57 are externally fitted to the left and right portions of the guide shaft 53 and the common ball screw 77, respectively, so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and between the left and right sliding bearings 56 and 57, respectively. While the front head base 60 with the heads 41 and 42 standing up and down is bridged, sliding bearings 58 and 59 are slidable in the axial direction on the left and right portions of the common ball screw 77 and the guide shaft 55, respectively. The rear head base 61 is also bridged between the left and right sliding bearings 58 and 59 by being externally fitted, with the heads 44 and 45 standing up and down.
- the sliding drive unit 62B that slides these sliding bearings 56, 57, 58, 59 in the direction of arrangement includes the common ball screw 77 described above.
- the forward rotation screw portion 77a and the reverse rotation screw portion 77b are respectively formed on the screw holes 58b formed in the row direction 21 of the sliding bearing 58 of the rear head base 61 and the sliding bearing 57 of the front head base 60.
- the motor shaft 78a connected to the left end of the common ball screw 77 is rotationally driven by a single electric motor 78, so that the sliding bearings 56 ⁇
- the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 are slid together with 59 in the direction opposite to the row direction 21.
- the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 can be easily slid together with the slide bearings 56 to 59 through the common ball screw 77 that is rotationally driven by the electric motor 78.
- the sliding drive unit 62B can be formed, the apparatus cost can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved, and the head unit 4B incorporating the sliding drive unit 62B can be further downsized.
- the head bases 60 and 61 are connected to the common ball screw 77 via the sliding bearings 57 and 58 in the direction of arrangement 21. Since the distance between the head bases 60 and 61 in the front and rear directions in the orthogonal direction can be reduced because of the slidable arrangement, the food 9 is arranged in the line-up direction 21 by the skew of the belt 10 as described in detail later. Even if the sheet is gradually shifted to one side, the distance between the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 on the head bases 60 and 61 is shortened, so that the dots by the front head module 43 and the dots by the rear head module 46 are reduced. Can be reduced.
- control unit 7 that performs various print controls by operating the head unit 4 and the like configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 6 to 11, and 13.
- the control unit 7 houses a data input unit 31 such as a touch panel and a keyboard, a start switch 32, and a controller 22 to which these are connected.
- the drive motor 35 that rotates the drive roller 15 described above, the electric motors 63 and 64 that move the head modules 43 and 46 in the row direction, and the power source 79 that supplies power to these are connected, and the data input unit 31, a print mode input device 83 and a module replacement control switch 84, a skew sensor 85 that detects the amount of deviation of the belt 10 in the row direction 21, the camera 27, and the nozzles of the head modules 43 and 46.
- a nozzle sensor 86 for detecting the discharge status of 48 is connected.
- a memory 33 and a timer 34 are connected to the controller 22, and among these, the memory 33 has a print density, a print width, a print speed, and a food thickness input from the data input unit 31. 13, various data such as a judgment limit value for performing the mode switching control 80, the centering control 81, and the module replacement control 82 shown in FIG. 13, a control program, tilt angle data based on a deviation signal from the skew sensor 85, a camera 27, the arrangement direction position data of the food 9 based on the image signal from 27, the abnormality occurrence presence / absence data based on the abnormality occurrence signal from the nozzle sensor 86, and the like are stored. Then, the timer 34 can measure the accumulated usage time of the head modules 43 and 46 since the use of the head modules 43 and 46 is started.
- the printing mode can be freely switched among the first printing mode, the second printing mode, and the third printing mode based on the printing conditions.
- the front head module 43 is arranged in an array by the module moving mechanism 47 described above.
- the center in the direction is moved from the belt center line 96 to the right in the row direction by a width 97
- the rear head module 46 is moved from the belt center line 96 to the left in the row direction by the same width 97 by the same width 97.
- the head modules 43 and 46 are arranged so as to be shifted by twice the width 97 along the row direction 21.
- front dot line portions 87a, 87b, 87c,... are arranged in order from the front in the print region 98 by the nozzle 48 on the right side of the belt center line 96.
- the number of dots in the arrangement direction 21 is a combination of the front dot line portions 87a, 87b, 87c... And the rear dot line portions 88a, 88b, 88c.
- Wide printing in which 100 is wide is possible. For example, when the print width by each of the head modules 43 and 46 is 54 mm, the print width by all the nozzle areas 101 is 108 mm.
- a predetermined number of nozzles of each head module 43, 46 between the front head module 43 and the rear head module 46 adjacent to the row direction 21 as viewed in the orthogonal direction this implementation
- a nozzle overlap area 102 where two nozzles 48 overlap is formed.
- the dots 104 by the front head module 43 and the dots 105 by the rear head module 46 are caused to appear on the printing unit 100.
- a mixed overlapping print area 103 can be formed.
- the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 are separated from each other in the row direction 21 by the deformation of the head unit 4 or the adjacent head modules 43 in the orthogonal direction. 46 between the front dot line portions 87a, 87b, 87c... And the rear dot line portions 88a, 88b, 88c. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of missing dots.
- the head modules 43 and 46 are moved by the module moving mechanism 47 to the belt center line 96 in which the center positions of the head modules 43 and 46 in the row direction are the same. In this manner, the head modules 43 and 46 are arranged so that the substantially center position in the row direction overlaps when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the front dot line portion 89 and the rear dot line portion 90 are arranged on different rows in the row setting direction, so that two rows of dot lines 94 are arranged in the orthogonal direction.
- a printing unit 106 is formed on the food 9.
- the number of dots in the orthogonal direction 20 is a combination of the front dot line portion 89 and the rear dot line portion 90, and high-speed printing is possible in which the printing unit 106 is printed at high speed.
- the printing unit 106 is printed at high speed.
- the ejection frequency of each of the head modules 43 and 46 is 10 kHz and the printing density is 300 dpi
- printing can be performed at a printing speed of 1.69 m / s that is twice that of the first printing mode.
- each head module 43, 46 is moved by the module moving mechanism 47 to approximately the center position in the row direction of the head modules 43, 46.
- the module moving mechanism 47 are arranged on the same belt center line 96 so that the head modules 43 and 46 are positioned so that their substantially center positions in the row direction overlap when viewed in the orthogonal direction.
- the dots 104a which are half the size of the dots 104 in the first printing mode and the second printing mode, are arranged every other dot in the arrangement direction.
- the arranged front dot line portions 91 are arranged in order from the front.
- a dot 105a that is half the size of the dot 105 in the first printing mode and the second printing mode described above is arranged between the dots 104a adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction in the previously formed front dot line portion 91.
- the rear dot line portions 92 are arranged in order from the front.
- the dots 104a of the front dot line portion 91 and the dots 105a of the rear dot line portion 92 are alternately arranged on the same row in the row setting direction, so that one row of dot lines 95 in the row setting direction becomes the first.
- a printing unit 107 arranged in the orthogonal direction with a higher dot density than the first printing mode and the second printing mode is formed on the food 9.
- the number of dots in the arrangement direction 21 is double that of the first printing mode and the second printing mode, and high-density printing with a high printing density of the printing unit 107 is possible.
- the first print mode and the second print mode Can be printed at a printing density of 600 dpi.
- the front dot line portions 87a, 87b, 87c,..., 89, 91 and the rear dot line portions 89a, 89b, 89c, etc. based on the print mode signal selected in advance by the print mode input device 83. .. Wide-width printing, high-speed printing, and high-density printing can be freely performed by simply controlling the arrangement positions of 90 and 92 and changing the size of the dots 104, 104a, 105, and 105a of each dot line. This makes it possible to simplify the drive configuration of the control unit 7 and the head modules 43 and 46 for switching the print mode, thereby reducing the apparatus cost and improving the maintainability.
- the width 128 of the food 9 serving as the printing medium is narrower than at least one of the width of the printing area 98 by the front head module 43 and the width of the printing area 99 by the rear head module 46.
- the entire width 128 of the food 9 can be printed. Move in the row direction.
- the front head module 43 is moved to the left from the position 108 to the position 109 as indicated by an arrow 110, and the width 128 of the food 9 is included in the print region 98 of the front head module 43. To be. At this time, ejection of ink droplets from the unused rear head module 46 is stopped.
- a single module printing operation can be performed in which printing is performed using the inside of the front head module 43 in the row direction without using the inner end of the adjacent head modules 43 and 46 in the row direction. Even if nozzle clogging occurs at the inner end of the head module in the row direction, it is possible to prevent dot missing from occurring in the printing unit.
- the entrance roller 11 and the exit roller 12 that wind and support the belt 10 are tilted due to the assembly error of the printing apparatus 1 or the flatness of the floor surface of the installation place. Then, the belt 10 does not move perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the heads 41, 42, 44, 45, but moves while tilting in the row direction, so-called “belt skew” occurs.
- the outlet roller 12 is arranged so that its axis 12a is in the line-up direction, but the inlet roller 11 has the belt 10 because the axis 11a is inclined obliquely rightward and backward on a substantially horizontal plane. Is inclined to the left in the row direction as it progresses in the orthogonal direction 20.
- the food 9 is transported under the heads 41, 42, 44, and 45 while being gradually shifted to the left in the row direction, resulting in dot shift and color shift, particularly in the third printing mode described above.
- the belt is displaced in the row direction. The effect of “skew” is great.
- dots 104 a formed by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 116 of the front head 41 of the front head module 43 are nozzles of the front head 44 of the rear head module 46. While moving the transport distance 114 up to 117, it moves from the original row setting direction position 118 to a row setting direction position 119 that overlaps the dots 105a formed by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle 117.
- the skew sensor 85 described above detects a shift amount 112 to the left when the belt 10 travels the conveyance distance 111 to the rear side in the orthogonal direction 20 to detect the belt 112.
- An inclination angle G of 10 is obtained, and based on this inclination angle G, a shift amount 115 of the dots 104a during the movement of the transport distance 114 is calculated.
- a plurality of optical sensors are provided at predetermined positions in the orthogonal direction 20 on one side in the direction in which the belts 10 are arranged, and a deviation width of the belt 10 in the relative arrangement direction is detected by the optical sensors. There is something to do, but it is not particularly limited.
- the movement amount 115b is calculated, and the head modules 43 and 46 are moved away from each other in the row direction 21 by the movement amounts 115a and 115b, so that the dot 104a by the nozzle 116 and the dot 105a by the nozzle 117 are calculated. It is possible to perform a skew handling operation that suppresses the overlap of the images.
- the deviation amount 115 is periodically measured by test pattern printing, and the movement amount of each head module 43, 46 in the row direction 21 can be finely adjusted based on the measurement. Good.
- the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 are automatically moved in the row direction 21, respectively, and the front dot line portion 91 and the rear dot line portion 92 are moved.
- the dot overlap can be reduced, and even if the food 9 is conveyed gradually shifted to the left in the row direction due to the skew of the belt 10, the occurrence of a large dot shift can be suppressed, and the print quality can be suppressed. Can be greatly improved.
- the approximate center positions 121 and 122 of the food 9 in the direction of arrangement and the approximate center position 120 of the head modules 43 and 46 in the direction of arrangement are not the same.
- the printing unit 36 is displaced from the approximate center positions 121 and 122 in the direction in which the foods 9 are arranged.
- each head module 43 such that the positions 120, 121, 122 are all matched based on the arrangement direction positions 121, 122 of the food 9 detected by the camera 27 as the position sensor by the centering control 81 described above.
- a centering operation for moving 46 in the row direction is performed.
- the substantially central position 121 in the row direction of the food 9 and the row of the head modules 43 and 46 are arranged.
- the head modules 43 and 46 are moved to the right in the arrangement direction by the amount of deviation 124, as shown in FIG.
- the substantially central portion 122 substantially coincides with the substantially central portion 120 in the row direction of the head modules 43 and 46.
- the front and rear head modules 43 and 46 are automatically moved in the arrangement direction 21, respectively, so that the food 9 is always in the center portion 120 in the arrangement direction. Further, by causing the head modules 43 and 46 to follow the food 9, the printing unit 36 is not displaced in the direction of arrangement, and the printing quality can be greatly improved.
- the module replacement control 82 described above causes a first maintenance operation that operates based on a nozzle abnormality occurrence signal from the nozzle sensor 86, and a progress after the start of use of each head module 43, 46. At least one of a second maintenance operation that operates based on the time signal is performed.
- the front head module 43 in use automatically moves to the left in the row direction from the use position 125a to the standby position 125b based on the abnormality occurrence signal.
- the normal rear head module 46 automatically moves to the right in the row direction from the standby position 126a to the use position 126b.
- the front head module 43 in use automatically moves from the use position 125a to the standby position 125b to the left in the row direction based on the elapsed time signal.
- the rear head module 46 that is in standby mode and has been maintained and managed automatically moves to the right in the row direction from the standby position 126a to the use position 126b.
- the first maintenance operation can quickly cope with troubles such as nozzle clogging during the printing operation and can significantly improve the work efficiency of the printing operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from being dried and causing nozzle clogging because it has been left unused for a long time without being used.
- the head unit 4 has the heads 41, 42, 44, 45 in which the nozzles 48 that discharge ink droplets to the food 9 that is the printing medium are arranged in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the food 9.
- Head modules 43, 46 formed in parallel in the transport direction that is, head modules 43 formed by arranging heads 41, 42, 44, 45 in which nozzles 48 for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in parallel in the orthogonal direction 20.
- the heads 41, 42, 44, 45 necessary for forming the specific dot line portions 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 can be collectively arranged in the predetermined head modules 43, 46.
- the dot line portions 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, and 92 can be easily formed with a simple configuration simply by adjusting the arrangement direction position of the head modules 43 and 46. Can be changed, it is possible to cope with low cost for switching the print mode.
- the head unit 4 has a module moving mechanism 47, 47A, 47B that moves an arbitrary head module of the plurality of head modules 43, 46 independently of other head modules in the row direction. Since the heads 41, 42, 44, 45 required for forming the dot line portions 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 can be moved in the row direction 21 for each head module 43, 46, the dot line portions 87, The formation positions of 88, 89, 90, 91, and 92 can be changed more finely, and various print modes can be supported.
- head units 4, 4A, 4B having such head modules 43, 46 and module moving mechanisms 47, 47A, 47B, printing is possible in each printing mode such as wide printing, high speed printing, high density printing, and the like. , It is no longer necessary to replace the entire head unit 4, 4A, 4B with a head unit dedicated to each printing mode, minimizing the types of head units to be used, and reducing component costs, component management costs, and inventory costs. Both of these can be greatly reduced.
- mode switching control 80 for switching between a plurality of printing modes based on printing conditions, and centering for moving the head modules 43 and 46 in the row direction following the substantially center positions 121 and 122 of the food 9 in the row direction.
- the mode switching control 80 has an optimum column for each print mode.
- the head modules 43 and 46 are automatically moved to the installation direction position, and the centering control 81 automatically moves the head modules 43 and 46 to the arrangement direction positions of the center positions 121 and 122 of the food products 9 in the arrangement direction.
- the front head module being used is changed according to the status of the nozzle 48 and the usage time. Becomes the side head module 46 after waiting an Lumpur 43 is replaced automatically moved quickly it can perform printing operations, it is possible to remarkably improve work efficiency and print quality.
- FIG. 1 a printing method and printing control by the printing apparatus 1 including the head unit 4 and the control unit 7 as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 12 to 16.
- FIG. 2 a printing method and printing control by the printing apparatus 1 including the head unit 4 and the control unit 7 as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 12 to 16.
- FIG. 2 a printing method and printing control by the printing apparatus 1 including the head unit 4 and the control unit 7 as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 12 to 16.
- the nozzles 48 that eject ink droplets onto the food 9 are arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the food 9.
- 42, 44, 45 are provided in parallel in the transport direction, and any one of the head modules 43, 46 can be moved independently from the other head modules in the width direction.
- the preparation step P1 further includes, as shown in FIG. 12B, heads 41 and 42 in which nozzles 48 for ejecting ink droplets onto the food 9 are arranged in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the food 9. , 44, 45 are arranged in the transport direction to form the head modules 43, 46, and the first preparation step P ⁇ b> 11 in the first half and the module moving mechanism 47, among the plurality of head modules 43, 46.
- the second preparatory process P12 of the latter half is provided for moving an arbitrary head module in the width direction independently of other head modules.
- the first preparation process P11 can cope with the switching of the printing mode at a low cost.
- the heads 41, 42, 44, and 45 necessary for forming a specific dot line portion can be concentrated and arranged in the predetermined head modules 43 and 46, only the position in the width direction of the head modules 43 and 46 is adjusted.
- the formation position of the dot line portion can be easily changed with a simple configuration.
- the second preparation step P12 As described above, various printing modes can be handled by the second preparation step P12. That is, since the heads 41, 42, 44, and 45 necessary for forming a specific dot line portion can be moved in the width direction for each of the head modules 43 and 46, the formation position of the dot line portion can be changed more finely.
- each head module 43, 46 is automatically moved to the position in the width direction optimum for each printing mode by the mode switching control 80, and to the substantially center position in the width direction of each food 9 by the centering control 81.
- Each head module is automatically moved, and the module replacement control 82 automatically moves and replaces the head module in use and the head module in standby according to the status of the nozzle 48 and the usage time. Become.
- the head modules 43 and 46 are arranged shifted in the width direction, and dots formed by ink droplets from the front head module 43 in the front in the transport direction.
- the front dot line portion in which the dots are arranged and the rear dot line portion in which dots due to ink droplets from the rear head module 46 rearward in the transport direction are continuously arranged on the same row in the width direction.
- the head moving units 47 and 46 are arranged so that the substantially central positions in the width direction overlap with each other when viewed in the transport direction.
- the two lines in the width direction have substantially the same dot density as in the first print mode.
- the first control process P21 is performed by the first control process P21 in which the print mode to be applied is input from the print mode input device 83 and selected from among the third print modes arranged, and the mode switching control 80 of the control unit 7.
- a second control step P22 in which the width direction positions of the head modules 43 and 46 and the ink droplet ejection conditions are set based on the printing mode selected in step (b), and the head
- a third control step P23 in which printing is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 48 of the head modules 43 and 46 of the head unit 4 onto the food 9 passing through the head units 4 having the joules 43 and 46 and the module moving mechanism 47. And.
- the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion are arranged on the same line in the width direction.
- the number of dots in the width direction becomes a combination of the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion, and wide printing is possible.
- the front dot line portion and the rear dot line portion are arranged in the width direction. By arranging them on different rows, it becomes possible to perform high-speed printing in which the number of dots in the transport direction is double that of the first printing mode.
- the third printing mode each dot in the front dot line part and the rear dot line part is displayed. By alternately arranging them in the same row in the width direction, high-density printing is possible in which the number of dots in the width direction is double that of the first print mode and the second print mode.
- the second control step P22 it is possible to reduce the apparatus cost and improve the maintainability. That is, based on the print mode signal preselected by the print mode input device 83, the head modules 43 and 46 are automatically moved to the position in the width direction optimum for each print mode, and wide printing, high speed printing, high density Printing can be performed freely, and the drive configuration of the control unit and the head modules 43 and 46 for switching the print mode can be simplified.
- the head unit 4 itself remains fixed, and printing can be performed by moving the printing surface of the food 9 to the ink droplet discharge destination. Compared with the case where printing is performed by moving the direction, a large-sized device for moving the head unit is not required, the device cost is reduced, and the print quality is improved.
- characters or the like can be printed on the food 9. That is, ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 48 on the food 9 moving in the conveying direction to form a row of dot lines, and the dot lines are arranged in the width direction so that predetermined characters or the like are placed on the food 9. Can be printed on.
- step S1 the control procedure of such control process P2 is demonstrated.
- the control procedure as shown in FIG. 13, first, from the data input unit 31, in addition to the print mode to be applied, the print density, print width, print speed, food thickness and size, mode switching control 80, centering.
- Various data related to the control 81 and the module replacement control 82 are input (step S1).
- the module replacement control 82 the necessity of the first maintenance operation and the second maintenance operation is input via the module replacement control switch 84. This step S1 is performed in the first process P1 described above.
- step S2 when the start switch 32 is turned on (step S2), as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the head unit 4 whose lower surface has been covered by the maintenance unit 8 until then is raised. After leaving the maintenance unit 8, the maintenance unit 8 also moves rearward. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the head unit 4 is lowered to a predetermined position and height, and the printing preparation is completed.
- step S3 data signals from the data input unit 31, the skew sensor 85, the camera 27, the nozzle sensor 86, etc. are read into the controller 22 (step S3), and based on the read data signals. Then, the stepping motor type electric motors 63 and 64 of the head unit 4 are driven and the head modules 43 and 46 are moved to the predetermined row direction position, whereby various controls 80, 81 and 82 are performed.
- Step S4 when a single head module is used (step S5: YES), the module replacement control 82 is performed, and when a plurality of head modules are used (Ste S5: NO), the mode switching control 80 is performed (step S7). Steps S4 to S7 are performed in the above-described second step P2.
- each control 80, 81, 82 the first control program for centering stored in the memory 33 stores the food 9 row direction position data of the food 9 and the food 9 row direction substantially omitted.
- Each head module 43 is read according to the first control program after being read by the controller 22 together with an allowable limit amount (hereinafter referred to as “lower limit deviation amount”) XL of the printing unit 36 from the central position (step S21). , 46 are driven (step S22).
- the camera 27 detects the arrangement direction position of the food 9 and the arrangement direction position of the head modules 43 and 46 based on the number of rotations of the electric motors 63 and 64 (step S23).
- a deviation amount X between the central position 120 and the substantially central positions 121 and 122 in the arrangement direction of the foods 9 is obtained, and the deviation amount X is compared with a predetermined lower limit deviation amount XL (step S24).
- step S24 If the deviation amount X is greater than or equal to the lower limit deviation amount XL (step S24: YES), after the electric motors 63 and 64 are redriven (step S22), step S22, until the deviation amount X becomes less than the lower limit deviation amount XL. S23 and S24 are repeated many times. If the deviation amount X is less than the lower limit deviation amount XL (step S24: NO), the driving of the electric motors 63 and 64 is stopped as it is (step S25), and the centering control 81 is ended.
- the second control program for module replacement stored in the memory 33 is used to determine whether or not the nozzle 48 is abnormal by the nozzle sensor 86,
- the accumulated usage time T of the head modules 43 and 46, and the accumulated time (hereinafter referred to as “upper limit accumulated time”) TU in which the nozzle 48 is dried and nozzle clogging is likely to occur due to long-term use are read into the controller 22. (Step S31).
- step S32: YES If an abnormality has occurred in the nozzle 48 (step S32: YES), the first maintenance operation described above is performed according to the second control program (step S35), and if no abnormality has occurred in the nozzle 48 (step S32: NO), the accumulated use time T of the head module in use is compared with the upper limit accumulated time TU (step S33).
- step S33: YES If the cumulative use time T is equal to or greater than the upper limit cumulative time TU (step S33: YES), the module replacement control is terminated after the second maintenance operation is performed according to the second control program (step S34), and the cumulative use is completed. If the time T is less than the upper limit cumulative time TU (step S33: NO), the module replacement control 82 is terminated as it is.
- the third control program for mode switching stored in the memory 33 is the print mode input from the data input unit 31, the width W of the food 9, The print width WP by each head module 43, 46, the tilt angle data by the skew sensor 85, the tilt angle of the allowable skew of the belt 10 (hereinafter referred to as “upper limit tilt angle”) GU, etc. Read (step S41).
- step S42 When the input print mode is the first print mode (step S42: YES), if the width W of the food 9 is equal to or less than the print width WP of either of the head modules 43 and 46 (step S45: YES), the second A single module printing operation is performed according to the three control programs (step S46), and if the width W exceeds the printing width WP (step S45: NO), printing in the first printing mode is performed according to the third control program (step S45). S48).
- step S42: NO When the input print mode is not the first print mode (step S42: NO) and the second print mode is selected (step S43: YES), printing is performed in the second print mode according to the third control program (step S49). )
- step S43: NO When the input print mode is not the first print mode (step S42: NO) and not the second print mode (step S43: NO), the inclination angle G of the belt 10 is compared with the upper limit inclination angle GU. (Step S44).
- step S44 YES
- the skew handling operation is performed according to the third control program (step S47), and then printing is performed in the third print mode ( If the inclination angle G is less than the upper limit inclination angle GU (step S50), printing is performed in the third printing mode as it is according to the third control program (step S50).
- the ink jet printing apparatus and the ink jet printing method to which the present invention is applied can cope with various print modes at low cost, and can secure high print quality even with respect to skew of the print medium. It has become.
- Printing device (inkjet printing device) 4, 4A, 4B Head unit 7 Control unit 9 Food (printing medium) 10 Belt (conveying member) 20 orthogonal direction 21 row direction 27 camera (position sensor) 37 Electrical cable 39 Timing belt mechanism 41, 42, 44, 45 Head 43, 46 Head module 47, 47A, 47B Module moving mechanism 48 Nozzle 51, 52 Support frame member 53, 54, 55 Guide shaft 54 Guide shaft (common guide shaft) ) 56, 57, 58, 59 Slide bearing 56a, 57a, 58a, 58b Screw hole 60 Front head base (base member) 61 Rear head base (base member) 62, 62A, 62B Sliding drive part 63, 64 Electric motor 63a, 64a Motor shaft 65, 66 Ball screw 67, 67A Ball screw mechanism 68 Drive system arrangement part 69 Supply system path part 71 Ink tube 74, 75 Pulley 76 Timing belt 76a, 76b Belt portion 77 Common ball screw 77a Forward rotation screw portion 77b Reverse rotation screw portion
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- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Abstract
Description
上記の目的を達成するために、本発明のインクジェット印刷装置は、インク滴を印刷媒体に吐出するノズルが印刷媒体の搬送方向と直交する幅方向に列設されたヘッドを、搬送方向に並設して成るヘッドモジュールと、複数のヘッドモジュールのうちの任意のヘッドモジュールを他のヘッドモジュールから独立して幅方向に移動させるモジュール移動機構とを有するヘッドユニットを備えている。
なお、図1、2の矢印Fで示す方向を前方、矢印Rで示す方向を右方、及び矢印Tで示す方向を上方とし、以下で述べる各部の位置や方向等はこの前方、右方、及び上方を基準とするものである。
図3、図4に示すように、ヘッドユニット4は、矩形板状の基盤40と、この基盤40上で直交方向20に並設して成るヘッドモジュール43、46と、このヘッドモジュール43、46をそれぞれ独立して列設方向21に移動させるモジュール移動機構47とを有している。
図5(a)に示すヘッドユニット4Aには、別形態のモジュール移動機構47Aが設けられており、このモジュール移動機構47Aでは、前述のモジュール移動機構47と同様、左右の支持フレーム部材51、52間に、互いに平行な3本のガイド軸53、54、55が列設方向に横架され固定支持されている。
前述のモード切換制御80によると、印刷条件に基づいて、第一印刷モード、第二印刷モード、及び第三印刷モードとの間で印刷モードを自在に切り換えることができる。
制御手順としては、図13に示すように、まず、データ入力部31から、前述した適用する印刷モード以外に、印刷密度、印刷幅、印刷速度、食品の厚さやサイズ、モード切換制御80、センタリング制御81、モジュール交換制御82に関する各種データを入力する(ステップS1)。モジュール交換制御82については、モジュール交換制御スイッチ84を介して、第一メンテナンス動作、第二メンテナンス動作の要否を入力する。このステップS1は、前述の第一工程P1にて行われる。
ステップS4のセンタリング制御81においては、図14に示すように、メモリ33に記憶されたセンタリング用の第一制御プログラムが、カメラ27による食品9の列設方向位置データ、食品9の列設方向略中央位置からの印刷部36のずれの許容限界量(以下「下限ずれ量」とする)XLなどと一緒にコントローラ22に読み込まれた後(ステップS21)、第一制御プログラムに従って、各ヘッドモジュール43、46用の電動モータ63、64が駆動する(ステップS22)。
4、4A、4B ヘッドユニット
7 制御ユニット
9 食品(印刷媒体)
10 ベルト(搬送部材)
20 直交方向
21 列設方向
27 カメラ(位置センサ)
37 電気ケーブル
39 タイミングベルト機構
41、42、44、45 ヘッド
43、46 ヘッドモジュール
47、47A、47B モジュール移動機構
48 ノズル
51、52 支持フレーム部材
53、54、55 ガイド軸
54 ガイド軸(共通ガイド軸)
56、57、58、59 摺動軸受け
56a、57a、58a、58b ネジ孔
60 前側ヘッドベース(ベース部材)
61 後側ヘッドベース(ベース部材)
62、62A、62B 摺動駆動部
63、64 電動モータ
63a、64a モータ軸
65、66 ボールネジ
67、67A ボールネジ機構
68 駆動系配置部
69 供給系経路部
71 インクチューブ
74、75 プーリ
76 タイミングベルト
76a、76b ベルト部分
77 共通ボールネジ
77a 正回転ネジ部
77b 逆回転ネジ部
78 電動モータ
78a モータ軸
80 モード切換制御
81 センタリング制御
82 モジュール交換制御
83 印刷モード入力装置
85 斜行センサ
86 ノズルセンサ
87a、87b、87c、89、91 前側ドットライン部
88a、88b、88c、90、92 後側ドットライン部
93a、93b、93c、94、95 ドットライン
98、99 印刷領域
102 ノズル重複域
104、104a、105、105a ドット
112 列設方向のずれ量
120、121、122 列設方向略中央位置
128 食品の幅(印刷媒体の幅)
G 傾斜角
P1 準備工程
P11 第一準備工程
P12 第二準備工程
P2 制御工程
P21 第一制御工程
P22 第二制御工程
P23 第三制御工程
Claims (19)
- インク滴を吐出するノズルが列設されたヘッドを、前記ノズルの列設方向と略直交する直交方向に並設して成るヘッドモジュールと、
複数の該ヘッドモジュールのうちの任意のヘッドモジュールを他のヘッドモジュールから独立して前記列設方向に移動させるモジュール移動機構とを有する
ヘッドユニットを備える
インクジェット印刷装置。 - 印刷条件に基づいて、複数の印刷モード間を切り換えるモード切換制御と、
前記インク液を吐出する印刷媒体の列設方向略中央位置に追従してヘッドモジュールの列設方向移動を行うセンタリング制御と、
使用するヘッドモジュールを任意に交換するモジュール交換制御とのうちの少なくとも一つを行う
制御ユニットを備える
請求項1に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 適用する印刷モードを選択する印刷モード入力装置を備えると共に、
前記モード切換制御を行う際は、
前記直交方向前後の各ヘッドモジュールをモジュール移動機構によって列設方向にずらして配置し、直交方向一側の前側ヘッドモジュールからのインク滴によるドットが並ぶ前側ドットライン部と、直交方向他側の後側ヘッドモジュールからのインク滴によるドットが並ぶ後側ドットライン部とが列設方向同列上に連設されることにより、列設方向一列のドットラインが形成されて直交方向に列設される第一印刷モードと、
前記各ヘッドモジュールをモジュール移動機構によって直交方向視で列設方向略中央位置が重なるように配置し、前記前側ドットライン部と後側ドットライン部とが列設方向の異なる列上に配置されることにより、列設方向二列のドットラインが第一印刷モードと略同じドット密度で形成されて直交方向に列設される第二印刷モードと、
前記各ヘッドモジュールをモジュール移動機構によって直交方向視で列設方向略中央位置が重なるように配置し、前記前側ドットライン部と後側ドットライン部の各ドットが列設方向同列上で交互に配置されることにより、列設方向一列のドットラインが第一印刷モード、第二印刷モードよりも高いドット密度で形成されて直交方向に列設される第三印刷モードとを切り換える
請求項2に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記第一印刷モードでは、
前記直交方向視で、隣接する前側ヘッドモジュールと後側ヘッドモジュールとの間に、各ヘッドモジュールの所定数のノズルが重なるノズル重複域が形成され、該ノズル重複域における前後のヘッドモジュールの一方のみからインク滴を吐出させる
請求項3に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記第一印刷モードでは、
前記印刷媒体の幅が、前側ヘッドモジュールによる印刷領域の幅、後側ヘッドモジュールによる印刷領域の幅の少なくとも一方より狭いと、前記第一印刷モードを解除すると共に、前記印刷媒体よりも幅広の印刷領域を有するヘッドモジュールを、前記印刷媒体の全幅を印刷可能な位置まで列設方向に移動させることにより、単一のヘッドモジュールで印刷する単一モジュール印刷動作を行う
請求項3に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記印刷媒体をヘッドユニットまで搬送する搬送部材の列設方向のずれ量を検知する斜行センサを備えると共に、
前記第三印刷モードでは、
前記前側ドットライン部と後側ドットライン部の各ドットが列設方向同列上で交互に配置されるように、前記斜行センサで検知したずれ量から求めた搬送部材の傾斜角に基づいて、各ヘッドモジュールを列設方向に互いに離間移動させる斜行対応動作を行う
請求項3に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記印刷媒体の列設方向位置を検知する位置センサを備えると共に、
前記センタリング制御を行う際は、
前記直交方向視で印刷媒体とヘッドモジュールの列設方向略中央位置が略一致するように、前記位置センサで検知した列設方向位置に基づいて、各ヘッドモジュールを列設方向に移動させるセンタリング動作を行う
請求項2に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記ヘッドモジュールのノズルの吐出状況を検知するノズルセンサを備えると共に、
前記モジュール交換制御を行う際は、
前記ノズルセンサからのノズル異常の異常発生信号に基づいて、異常が発生したヘッドモジュールを待機中のヘッドモジュールに交換する第一メンテナンス動作と、
該各ヘッドモジュール使用開始後の経過時間信号に基づいて、所定の累積使用時間毎に、使用中のヘッドモジュールを待機中のヘッドモジュールに交換する第二メンテナンス動作との少なくとも一方を行う
請求項2に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記モジュール移動機構は、
前記各ヘッドモジュールを固定する複数のベース部材と、
該複数のベース部材の前記列設方向に複数横架されるガイド軸と、
該ガイド軸の両端を固定支持する一対の支持フレーム部材と、
前記ガイド軸に軸心方向摺動可能に取り付けられると共に、前記ベース部材が連結固定される摺動軸受けと、
該摺動軸受けを前記支持フレーム部材間でガイド軸に沿って列設方向に摺動させる摺動駆動部とを有する
請求項1から請求項8のいずれか一項に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記ガイド軸に、
隣接する直交方向前後の前記ベース部材の間に介設されると共に、該両ベース部材に連結固定された各摺動軸受けを軸心方向摺動可能に取り付けるための単一の共通ガイド軸を含む
請求項9に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記摺動駆動部は、
前記各ヘッドモジュールに連結される摺動軸受けの列設方向に形成されたネジ孔に、前記ヘッドモジュール毎に設けた電動モータのモータ軸に連結されるボールネジを螺挿し、該モータ軸を回転駆動させることにより、前記摺動軸受けと一緒に各ヘッドモジュールを列設方向に摺動させるボールネジ機構を有する
請求項9に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記摺動駆動部は、
前記直交方向前後二列のヘッドモジュールのうちの一方のヘッドモジュールに連結される摺動軸受けの列設方向に形成されたネジ孔に、前記一方のヘッドモジュールに設けた単一の電動モータのモータ軸に連結されるボールネジを螺挿し、該モータ軸を回転駆動させることにより、前記摺動軸受けと一緒に一方のヘッドモジュールをガイド軸に沿って列設方向に移動させるボールネジ機構と、
前記支持フレーム部材近傍に軸支された一対のプーリ間にタイミングベルトを巻回し、前記一方のヘッドモジュールに面するベルト部分に、該一方のヘッドモジュールの摺動軸受けを連結すると共に、他方のヘッドモジュールに面するベルト部分に、該他方のヘッドモジュールの摺動軸受けを連結することにより、前記一方のヘッドモジュールの列設方向移動に追従して他方のヘッドモジュールも列設方向の反対側に移動させるタイミングベルト機構とを有する
請求項9に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記モジュール移動機構は、
前記各ヘッドモジュールを載置固定する複数のベース部材と、
該複数のベース部材の直交方向前後において列設方向に複数横架されるガイド軸と、
該ガイド軸の両端を固定支持する支持フレーム部材と、
前記ガイド軸に軸心方向摺動可能に取り付けられると共に、前記ベース部材が連結固定される摺動軸受けと、
隣接する直交方向前後の前記ベース部材の間に介設されると共に、互いに逆回転のネジから成る正回転ネジ部と逆回転ネジ部が外周に刻設された単一の共通ボールネジを含み、前記正回転ネジ部と逆回転ネジ部を、前記両ベース部材の各摺動軸受けの列設方向に形成されたネジ孔にそれぞれ螺挿した上で、前記共通ボールネジの一端に連結されたモータ軸を電動モータによって回転駆動させることにより、前記摺動軸受けと一緒に各ヘッドモジュールを互いに列設方向の反対側に摺動させる摺動駆動部とを有する
請求項1から請求項8のいずれか一項に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記ヘッドユニットは、
前記各ヘッドモジュールにインクを供給するインクチューブとノズルからのインク滴の吐出制御を行う電気ケーブルとを有する供給系経路部を、前記支持フレーム部材を挟んで、前記電動モータを設けた駆動系配置部と列設方向反対側に配置する
請求項9に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - 前記ヘッドモジュールは、
前記直交方向に並設された2個のヘッドモジュールにより構成される
請求項1に記載のインクジェット印刷装置。 - インク滴を印刷媒体に吐出するノズルが該印刷媒体の搬送方向と直交する幅方向に列設されたヘッドを、前記搬送方向に並設して成るヘッドモジュールと、
複数の該ヘッドモジュールのうちの任意のヘッドモジュールを他のヘッドモジュールから独立して前記幅方向に移動させるモジュール移動機構とを有する
ヘッドユニットを備える
インクジェット印刷装置。 - インク滴を印刷媒体に吐出するノズルが該印刷媒体の搬送方向と直交する幅方向に列設されたヘッドを、前記搬送方向に並設することにより、ヘッドモジュールを形成する第一準備工程と、
モジュール移動機構により、複数のヘッドモジュールのうちの任意のヘッドモジュールを他のヘッドモジュールから独立して幅方向に移動させる第二準備工程とを備える
インクジェット印刷方法。 - インク滴を印刷媒体に吐出するノズルが該印刷媒体の搬送方向と直交する幅方向に列設するヘッドを搬送方向に並設して成るヘッドモジュールを複数設け、該複数のヘッドモジュールのうちの任意のヘッドモジュールを他のヘッドモジュールから幅方向に独立して移動可能なヘッドユニットを準備する準備工程と、
その後、印刷条件に基づいて、複数の印刷モード間を切り換えるモード切換制御、前記印刷媒体の幅方向略中央位置に追従してヘッドモジュールの幅方向移動を行うセンタリング制御、使用するヘッドモジュールを任意に交換するモジュール交換制御のうちの少なくとも一つを、制御ユニットで制御する制御工程とを備える
インクジェット印刷方法。 - 前記制御工程において、
前記ヘッドモジュールを幅方向にずらして配置し、搬送方向前方の前側ヘッドモジュールからのインク滴によるドットが並ぶ前側ドットライン部と、搬送方向後方の後側ヘッドモジュールからのインク滴によるドットが並ぶ後側ドットライン部とが幅方向同列上に連設されることにより、幅方向一列のドットラインが形成されて搬送方向に列設される第一印刷モード、前記各ヘッドモジュールをモジュール移動機構によって搬送方向視で幅方向略中央位置が重なるように配置し、前記前側ドットライン部と後側ドットライン部とが異なる列上に配置されることにより、幅方向二列のドットラインが第一印刷モードと略同じドット密度で形成されて搬送方向に列設される第二印刷モード、及び前記各ヘッドモジュールをモジュール移動機構によって搬送方向視で幅方向略中央位置が重なるように配置し、前記前側ドットライン部と後側ドットライン部の各ドットが幅方向同列上で交互に配置されることにより、幅方向一列のドットラインが第一印刷モード、第二印刷モードよりも高いドット密度で形成されて搬送方向に列設される第三印刷モードのうちから、適用する印刷モードを印刷モード入力装置より入力して選択する第一制御工程と、
制御ユニットのモード切換制御によって、前記第一制御工程で選択した印刷モードに基づき、各ヘッドモジュールの幅方向位置とインク滴の吐出条件が設定される第二制御工程と、
前記ヘッドモジュール、及びモジュール移動機構を有するヘッドユニットを通過する印刷媒体上にヘッドユニットの各ヘッドモジュールのノズルからインク滴を吐出して印刷を行う第三制御工程とを備える
請求項18に記載のインクジェット印刷方法。
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