Droplet discharge device and program

Abstract

To provide a droplet discharge device and a program which can suppress both deterioration in texture of a recording medium having fuzzes and disturbance of an image.SOLUTION: A droplet discharge device 1 comprises: a droplet discharge part 32 that discharges droplets to an image formation surface M1 of a recording medium M having fuzzes; an airflow generating part 33 that generates airflow toward the image formation surface M1; and a control part 4 that makes the airflow generating part 33 generate airflow before droplets adhering to the image formation surface M1 gets firmly fixed, which presses the droplets adhering to the fuzz against the recording medium M, so as to suppress both deterioration in texture of the recording medium M due to firmly fixing of the droplets adhering to the fuzzes and disturbance of an image due to adhesion of ink droplets to the fuzzes in the other region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a droplet ejection device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a droplet ejection device that ejects droplets onto a recording surface of a recording medium to record an image. In the droplet ejection device, droplets are ejected onto the recording surface of the recording medium from nozzles of a droplet ejection head at appropriate timing.

[0003] However, when the recording medium has fluff, the liquid droplets adhering to the fluff may form clumps, which may make the recording medium feel unpleasant to the touch.

[0004] In view of this, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a droplet ejection device that removes droplets adhering to the fluff using a contact member that comes into contact with the fluff. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-112066 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-112070 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the droplet ejection devices of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the member that comes into contact with the fluff in the first region comes into contact with the fluff in the second region again, which can cause the ink removed from the fluff in the first region to adhere to the fluff in the second region, resulting in disturbances in the image formed on the recording medium.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to suppress both the deterioration of the feel of a recording medium having fuzz and the disturbance of images. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a droplet ejection device, comprising: a droplet ejection section that ejects droplets onto an image forming surface of a recording medium having fluff; an airflow generating unit that generates an airflow toward the image forming surface; and a control unit that generates an airflow in the airflow generating unit before the droplets adhering to the image forming surface are solidified.

[0009] The invention described in claim 2 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 1, A carriage is provided on which the droplet ejection unit and the airflow generation unit are mounted and which scans in the width direction of the recording medium.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 2, The carriage includes a partition plate between the droplet ejection unit and the airflow generation unit.

[0011] The invention described in claim 4 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 2, The carriage includes a suction port between the droplet ejection unit and the airflow generation unit.

[0012] The invention described in claim 5 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 2, the droplet discharge unit includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads in the width direction, each of the droplet discharge heads having a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets; The airflow generating section is provided at an end portion of the carriage in the width direction.

[0013] The invention described in claim 6 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 5, The airflow generating sections are provided at both ends of the carriage in the width direction.

[0014] The invention described in claim 7 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 5, the airflow generating portion is provided at a first end of the carriage in the width direction, the control unit causes the droplet discharge unit to discharge droplets when the carriage scans from the first end to the second end; An airflow is generated in the airflow generating section at the same time as the droplets are discharged by the droplet discharging section.

[0015] The invention described in claim 8 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 5, The airflow generating section is provided downstream of the droplet ejecting section in the transport direction of the recording medium.

[0016] The invention described in claim 9 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The droplet ejection section ejects ink droplets made of pigment ink.

[0017] The invention described in claim 10 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The airflow generating section generates an airflow having a wind speed of 10 m / s or more.

[0018] The invention described in claim 11 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The control unit causes the airflow generating unit to generate airflows with different wind speeds according to the type of recording medium.

[0019] The invention described in claim 12 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The airflow generating unit generates an airflow at an angle of within ±45° with respect to the vertical direction of the recording medium.

[0020] The invention described in claim 13 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The air current generating section is an air knife that generates an air current from a slit-shaped nozzle.

[0021] The invention described in claim 14 is the droplet ejection device described in claim 13, The airflow generating section includes a plurality of the air outlets.

[0022] The invention described in claim 15 is the droplet ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The airflow generating unit includes a compressor or a fan.

[0023] The invention described in claim 16 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, The airflow generating unit controls the start and end of airflow generation.

[0024] The invention described in claim 17 is the droplet ejection device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The control unit causes the airflow generating unit to generate an airflow when the droplet ejecting unit scans an area onto which the droplets are ejected.

[0025] The invention described in claim 18 is the droplet ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A conveying unit includes a conveying belt and conveys a recording medium placed on a placement surface of the conveying belt, An adhesive is applied to the mounting surface.

[0026] The invention described in claim 19 is a program, A computer of a droplet ejection device including a droplet ejection unit that ejects droplets onto an image forming surface of a recording medium having fluff, and an airflow generating unit that generates an airflow toward the image forming surface, The airflow generating unit is caused to function as a control unit for generating an airflow before the droplets attached to the image forming surface are solidified. Effect of the Invention

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress both the deterioration of the feel of a recording medium having fluff and the disturbance of an image. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1]1 is a perspective view of a droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view of a droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram of a droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. [Figure 4B] FIG. [Figure 5A] FIG. 11 is a top view of a carriage of a droplet ejection device according to a modified example. [Figure 5B] FIG. 11 is a top view of a carriage of a droplet ejection device according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, a droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used to designate components having the same functions and configurations, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0030] [Overall configuration of the droplet ejection device] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus 1, which is one embodiment of a droplet ejection device of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a conveying unit 2, an image forming unit 3, and a control unit 4.

[0031] In the following description, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are the directions shown in Figures 1 and 2. In the following description, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are respectively referred to as the width direction, the conveying direction, and the height direction.

[0032] (Transportation section) 1 and 2, the transport unit 2 includes two transport rollers 2a and 2b that rotate in the transport direction around a rotation axis extending in the width direction, and a loop-shaped transport belt 2c.

[0033] The inner side of the conveyor belt 2c is supported by the conveyor rollers 2a and 2b. The recording medium M is placed on the conveyor surface of the conveyor belt 2c. The conveyor rollers 2a and 2b rotate and move in the conveyor direction in response to the operation of the roller conveyor motor. As a result, the conveyor belt 2c conveys the recording medium M in the conveyor direction.

[0034] In addition, it is preferable that an adhesive be applied to the loading surface of the transport belt 2c, which is different from the inner surface that contacts the transport rollers 2a and 2b and is the outer surface on which the recording medium M is loaded. With this configuration, even if the airflow generating unit 33 described below generates an airflow, it is possible to prevent the recording medium M from being misaligned.

[0035] The recording medium M is, for example, a fabric cut to a certain size. The recording medium M is supplied onto the conveyor belt 2c by a medium supply unit (not shown). Ink is discharged from the image forming unit 3 onto the recording medium M, an image is recorded thereon, and the recording medium M is discharged to a predetermined discharge unit. Note that the recording medium M is not limited to fabric. The recording medium M may be any medium such as paper, as long as it has fluff on its surface and is capable of fixing the ink that has landed on it.

[0036] (Image forming section) The image forming unit 3 forms an image by ejecting ink at appropriate timing based on image data acquired from an external device or the like onto the recording medium M transported by the transport unit 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the image forming unit 3 includes a carriage 31 on which an ink ejection unit 32 (see Fig. 4A for both) is mounted, the ink ejection unit 32 including a plurality of inkjet heads 32a that eject ink of each color, C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black).

[0037] {carriage} Fig. 4A is a diagram of the carriage 31 as viewed from the height direction. Fig. 4B is a diagram of one carriage 31 as viewed from the transport direction. An ink ejection unit 32 and an airflow generation unit 33 are mounted on the carriage 31. The carriage 31 is a member that moves the ink ejection unit 32 and the airflow generation unit 33. The carriage 31 has, for example, a belt or the like stretched between two pulleys that are rotated by a motor (not shown). The carriage 31 scans the ink ejection unit 32 and the airflow generation unit 33 in the width direction by the rotation of the motor based on a drive signal output by the control unit 4.

[0038] The inkjet recording device 1 according to this embodiment is of a serial head type that forms an image by discharging ink from the ink discharge unit 32 while scanning the carriage 31 in the width direction. Note that an image may be formed by scanning the carriage 31 once, or may be formed by scanning the carriage 31 multiple times.

[0039] <Partition plate> Furthermore, a partition plate 31a is provided on the carriage 31 between the mounting location of the ink ejection unit 32 and the mounting location of the airflow generating unit 33. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4B, the partition plate 31a is provided so as to protrude downward in the height direction from the lower end position of the nozzle of the inkjet head 32a described below and the position of the nozzle of the airflow generating unit 33. By providing such a partition plate 31a, it is possible to prevent the airflow ejected by the airflow generating unit 33 from heading toward the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 32a. This makes it possible to prevent adverse effects on image formation by the inkjet head 32a.

[0040] {Ink ejection section} The ink ejection unit 32 includes a plurality of inkjet heads 32a. Each inkjet head 32a includes an ink tank, a flow path, a piezoelectric element, a plurality of nozzles, etc. As shown in Fig. 4A, a plurality of inkjet heads 32a are mounted in the width direction on the carriage 31. Under the control of the control unit 4, the inkjet heads 32a eject ink by applying pressure fluctuations to ink supplied from a tank to a nozzle via a flow path by the piezoelectric element.

[0041] The ink ejected by the ink ejection unit 32 is, for example, a pigment ink. The pigment ink is an ink that contains a pigment, resin particles (binder resin), and water. An image formed with the pigment ink exhibits high color development because the pigment particles are easily exposed in the vicinity of the image forming surface M1, which is the surface of the recording medium M.

[0042] {Airflow generating section} The airflow generating unit 33 is, for example, a device called an air blade, and generates an airflow toward the recording medium M. As shown in FIG. 4A, in this embodiment, the airflow generating unit 33 is provided at a first end in the width direction of the carriage 31 with respect to the multiple inkjet heads 32a. The airflow generating unit 33 generates an airflow by ejecting pressurized air generated by a compressor, a fan, or the like from an ejection port facing the image forming surface of the recording medium M. By ejecting the pressurized air from the airflow generating unit 33, the ink ejected by the ink ejection unit 32 and attached to the fluff of the recording medium M before it is solidified is pressed against the recording medium M.

[0043] The pressurized air jetted from the airflow generating unit 33 preferably has a wind speed of 10 m / s to 120 m / s, and more preferably 30 m / s to 80 m / s. If the maximum wind speed is 10 m / s or more, the ink can be sufficiently pressed against the recording medium M from the fluff of the recording medium M. If the maximum wind speed is 120 m / s, the specifications required for the airflow generating unit 33 become too high.

[0044] Moreover, the airflow generating unit 33 preferably generates an airflow at an angle of 45° to 135° with respect to the vertical direction of the recording medium M. If an airflow is generated at an angle less than 45° or more than 135° with respect to the vertical direction of the recording medium M, the ink adhering to the fluff may be blown to other areas, causing a disturbance in the formed image. On the other hand, if an airflow is generated at an angle of 45° to 135°, and more preferably 90° with respect to the vertical direction of the recording medium M, the ink can be pressed against the recording medium M without being misaligned from the area where it adheres.

[0045] Moreover, it is preferable that the airflow generating unit 33 generates an airflow at the same time that the carriage 31 scans from the first end side to the second end side and the ink ejection unit 32 ejects ink. With this configuration, image formation and airflow generation can be performed in one scan of the carriage 31, so that the productivity of image formation does not decrease.

[0046] It is also preferable that the airflow generating unit 33 injects air only when scanning the image forming area of ​​the recording medium M, and does not inject air at other times. This configuration can save the amount of air sent by the airflow generating unit 33. The on / off control of the airflow generating unit 33 may be performed by the control unit 4 or by the airflow generating unit 33.

[0047] (Control unit) The control unit 4 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The control unit 4 controls the overall operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

[0048] The CPU controls each part of the inkjet recording device 1. The RAM is a volatile memory that temporarily stores various information in a writable and readable manner. The ROM is a non-volatile memory in which various information and programs are stored in a readable manner. More specifically, the control unit 4 reads out a specified program from the various programs stored in the ROM by the CPU and loads it into the RAM. The control unit 4 then executes various processes in cooperation with the loaded program. EXAMPLES

[0049] Next, the results of evaluation of preferred configurations by various tests for examples of the present invention and comparative examples will be described. The present invention will be specifically described below using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0050] [Wind speed evaluation of airflow generating area] A solid image was formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection unit 32 onto multiple sheets of plain fabric, which was the recording medium M. The ink was prepared by adding 3% by mass of PR122, a phosphoric acid self-dispersing pigment, 10% by mass of glycerin, 25% by mass of ethylene glycol, and appropriate amounts of a preservative, an activator, and a pH adjuster, followed by adding water to make the total 100% by mass. Thereafter, the surface of each recording medium M was scanned with an air blade, which is the airflow generation unit 33, under the conditions of the following Examples 1-11 and Comparative Example.

[0051] Example 1 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 5 m / s. Example 2 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 10 m / s. Example 3 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 15 m / s. Example 4 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 20 m / s. Example 5 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 25 m / s. Example 6 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 30 m / s. Example 7 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 40 m / s. Example 8 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 50 m / s. Example 9 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 60 m / s. Example 10 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 70 m / s. Example 11 The maximum wind speed of the air blade is 80 m / s. (Comparative Example) No air was sprayed by the air blade.

[0052] After the ink dried, 30 subjects were asked to touch the image forming surface M1 of the recording medium M of each Example and Comparative Example to evaluate whether it was sticky or not. The test results were rated as A when 27 or more subjects answered that it was not sticky, B when 21 to 26 subjects answered that it was not sticky, C when 15 to 20 subjects answered that it was not sticky, and D when 14 or less subjects answered that it was not sticky.

[0053] The results of the tests are shown in Table I.

[0054] [Table 1]

[0055] [evaluation] As shown in Table I, the airflow generating unit 33 generates an airflow on the recording medium M before the ink is fixed, thereby making the feel of the recording medium M pleasant. In addition, the maximum air speed of 10 m / s or more makes the feel of the recording medium M particularly pleasant.

[0056] [Effects of the embodiment] As described above, the inkjet recording device 1 according to this embodiment includes the ink ejection unit 32, which is a droplet ejection unit that ejects droplets onto the image forming surface M1 of the recording medium M, and the airflow generation unit 33 that generates an airflow on the image forming surface M1. The airflow generation unit 33 generates an airflow before the droplets attached to the image forming surface M1 are fixed. With this configuration, the ink droplets that are droplets attached to the fluff of the recording medium can be pressed against the recording medium M by the airflow, so that the deterioration of the texture caused by the ink droplets being fixed to the fluff can be suppressed. In addition, because the ink droplets are removed from the fluff by the airflow, the ink droplets are also prevented from adhering to the fluff in other areas, and image disturbance can be suppressed.

[0057] Furthermore, the ink ejection unit 32 ejects droplets made of pigment ink. Pigment ink does not dissolve in or react with the fibers of the recording medium M. Therefore, pigment ink has a problem that it has a lower ink fixation property and is easily uncomfortable to the touch compared to dye ink, which is a water-based ink containing a reactive dye. However, in the present invention, the pigment ink adhering to the fluff can be pressed against the recording medium M by an air flow, thereby solving the problem.

[0058] [Other configurations] Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Of course, the present invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0059] For example, in the above, the conveying unit 2 conveys the recording medium M by a belt conveying method, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the conveying unit 2 may convey the recording medium M by a so-called roll-to-roll method in which the recording medium M is wound and unwound while being tensioned.

[0060] In the above description, the airflow generating unit 33 is an air blade, but is not limited to this. However, it is preferable to use an air knife, which is an air blade equipped with a slit-shaped nozzle, for the airflow generating unit 33, since this makes it easier to increase the wind speed of the pressurized air and makes it easier to press the ink against the recording medium M from the fluff. However, on the other hand, if the nozzle is slit-shaped, the time during which the air is sprayed against one area of ​​the recording medium M becomes shorter, and there is a risk that the ink may not be sufficiently pressed against the recording medium M. Therefore, when the airflow generating unit 33 is an air knife, it is preferable to provide multiple slit-shaped nozzles to lengthen the time during which the pressurized air is sprayed against one area.

[0061] In addition, although it is preferable that the wind speed of the pressurized air sprayed by the airflow generating unit 33 is 10 m / s to 120 m / s, the particularly preferable wind speed differs depending on the type of recording medium M. Therefore, the control unit 4 may appropriately change the wind speed of the pressurized air sprayed by the airflow generating unit 33 depending on the information of the recording medium M included in the acquired print job. Furthermore, the control unit 4 may control the airflow generating unit 33 not to generate an airflow depending on the recording medium M.

[0062] In the above, the ink ejection unit 32 and the airflow generating unit 33 are mounted on the carriage 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. The airflow generating unit 33 may be a separate unit from the carriage 31.

[0063] 4A shows an example of a configuration in which the airflow generating unit 33 is mounted only on the first end of the carriage 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the airflow generating unit 33 may be mounted on the first and second ends of the carriage 31, i.e., on both ends in the width direction. With this configuration, regardless of which side in the width direction the carriage 31 is scanned, an airflow can be generated by any of the airflow generating units 33, thereby pressing the droplets attached to the fluff against the recording medium M.

[0064] 5B, an airflow generating unit 33 may be mounted on the downstream end in the transport direction of the carriage 31. Even in this configuration, regardless of whether the carriage 31 is scanned in the width direction, the airflow generating unit 33 generates an airflow, so that the droplets adhering to the fluff are pressed against the recording medium M.

[0065] In the above description, the partition plate 31a is provided on the carriage 31 to prevent the air jetted by the airflow generating unit 33 from heading toward the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 32a, but this is not limiting. For example, a suction port for sucking in air may be provided on the carriage 31 to prevent the air jetted by the airflow generating unit 33 from heading toward the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 32a.

[0066] In addition, in the above, the inkjet recording device 1 is of a serial head type in which ink of each color is discharged from each inkjet head 32a of one ink discharge unit 32, but the present invention is not limited to this. The inkjet recording device 1 may be of a line head type that includes a plurality of ink discharge units 32 and forms an image by discharging ink of each color from each ink discharge unit 32 while moving the recording medium M in the transport direction. In this configuration, for example, a separate airflow generating unit 33 may be provided downstream in the transport direction from the plurality of carriages 31. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1 Inkjet recording device (droplet ejection device) 2. Conveyor section 2c Conveyor belt 31 Carriage 31a Partition 32 Ink ejection section (droplet ejection section) 32a Inkjet head (droplet ejection head) 33 Air flow generating section 4. Control Unit M Recording medium M1 Image Formation Surface

Claims

1. a droplet ejection section that ejects droplets onto an image forming surface of a recording medium having fluff; an airflow generating unit that generates an airflow toward the image forming surface; a control unit that generates an airflow in the airflow generating unit before the droplets attached to the image forming surface are solidified.

2. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , further comprising a carriage on which the droplet ejection section and the airflow generation section are mounted and which scans in a width direction of a recording medium.

3. The droplet ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the carriage includes a partition plate between the droplet ejection section and the airflow generation section.

4. The droplet ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the carriage includes a suction port between the droplet ejection unit and the airflow generation unit.

5. the droplet discharge unit includes a plurality of droplet discharge heads in the width direction, each of the droplet discharge heads having a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets; The droplet ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the airflow generating section is provided at an end of the carriage in the width direction.

6. The droplet ejection device according to claim 5 , wherein the airflow generating units are provided at both ends of the carriage in the width direction.

7. the airflow generating portion is provided at a first end of the carriage in the width direction, the control unit causes the droplet discharge unit to discharge droplets when the carriage scans from the first end to the second end; The droplet ejection device according to claim 5 , wherein an airflow is generated in the airflow generating section simultaneously with the ejection of droplets by the droplet ejection section.

8. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow generating section is provided downstream of the droplet ejection section in a transport direction of the recording medium.

9. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the droplet ejection section ejects ink droplets made of pigment ink.

10. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow generating section generates an airflow having a wind speed of 10 m / s or more.

11. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the airflow generating unit to generate airflows with different wind speeds according to the type of recording medium.

12. 8. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the airflow generating section generates an airflow at an angle of within ±45° with respect to a vertical direction of the recording medium.

13. 8. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the airflow generating unit is an air knife that generates an airflow from a slit-shaped ejection port.

14. The droplet ejection device according to claim 13 , wherein the airflow generating section includes a plurality of the ejection ports.

15. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow generating section includes a compressor or a fan.

16. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow generating unit controls start and end of generation of the airflow.

17. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit causes the airflow generating unit to generate an airflow when scanning an area onto which the droplet ejection unit ejects droplets.

18. A conveying unit includes a conveying belt and conveys a recording medium placed on a placement surface of the conveying belt, The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein an adhesive is applied to the mounting surface.

19. A computer of a droplet ejection device including a droplet ejection unit that ejects droplets onto an image forming surface of a recording medium having fluff, and an airflow generating unit that generates an airflow toward the image forming surface, a program that causes the airflow generating unit to function as a control unit that generates an airflow before the droplets attached to the image forming surface are solidified;

Images