Decoration device and method

Abstract

To provide a decoration device and method which perform high-quality decoration on the side face of a printing medium such as a flat plate by a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A decoration device includes: a cushioning material 10 having low ink absorptivity and cushioning property; a printing part 1 for discharging ink onto the cushioning material 10 using an inkjet head 31, and forming a printed image G; and a pressing part 5 which presses the printed medium P against the cushioning material 10 where the printed image G is formed, and transfers the printed image G formed on the cushioning material 10 onto the printed medium P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a decoration device and method for decorating the side surface of a flat plate or the like.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an inkjet printing device that discharges ink from an inkjet head to perform printing on a printing medium such as paper and film has been proposed.

[0003] In recent years, the printing targets of inkjet printing devices have become diversified. For example, by performing printing processing on building materials, it is desired to manufacture building materials with excellent aesthetics.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, it is very difficult to directly perform full-color and high-quality decoration on the side surface (cross-section) of a flat building material using an inkjet printing device. For example, when printing on the side surface of a large-sized printing medium called a sub-block board using an inkjet printing device that places the printing medium on a flat bed and performs printing processing, it is necessary to set the distance between the flat bed and the inkjet head to a height of about 1 m. It is extremely difficult to achieve the required printing accuracy, including stably supporting the side surface of the large-sized printing medium facing upward. In addition, the configuration of the inkjet printing device also becomes large-scale.

[0006] Also, for example, in Patent Document 1, a method of mounting a mechanism for varying the angle of the inkjet head has been proposed, but the mechanism becomes large-scale, complicated, and expensive.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a decorating device and method capable of performing high-quality decoration on the side surface of a printing medium such as a flat plate with a simple configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The decorating device of the present invention includes a cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties, a printing unit that forms a printed image by discharging ink onto the cushioning material using an inkjet head, and a pressing unit that presses a printing medium onto the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed to transfer the printed image formed on the cushioning material to the printing medium.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the decorating device of the present invention, a printed image is formed on a cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties using an inkjet head, and a printing medium is pressed onto the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed, so that the printed image formed on the cushioning material is transferred to the printing medium. Therefore, high-quality decoration can be performed on the side surface of a printing medium such as a flat plate with a simple configuration.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, one embodiment of the decoration device of the present invention will be described in detail. The decoration device of this embodiment forms a printed image on a cushioning material, and transfers the printed image by pressing a printing medium against the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed. Before explaining the configuration of the decoration device of this embodiment, the decoration method by the decoration device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0012] First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a printed image G is formed on a cushioning material 10 using an inkjet head 31.

[0013] The cushioning material 10 is a member having low ink absorbency and cushioning properties, and is a member having a flat printing surface on which the printed image G is formed. Having cushioning properties means that when the printing medium P is pressed against the cushioning material 10, it deforms due to the pressing force and has a repulsive force that tries to return to its original state.

[0014] The cushioning material 10 is preferably a material having independent pores or continuous pores, having a structure that absorbs ink while moderately repelling ink. That is, it is preferably a material having low ink absorbency. The ink absorbency will be described in detail later.

[0015] As the cushioning material 10, it is preferable to use a silicon foam, an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber) foam, a natural rubber foam, or a polyethylene foam, but it is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that can obtain the same performance.

[0016] Further, the printing surface of the cushioning material 10 is preferably parallel to the medium placement surface 3a of the flat bed unit 3 described later on which the cushioning material 10 is placed.

[0017] Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the printing medium P is moved toward the cushioning material 10, and as shown in FIG. 1C, the printing medium P is pressed against the cushioning material 10. Regarding the pressing pressure of the printing medium P against the cushioning material 10, for example, it can be set to 500 KPa, but the degree of pressing can be changed according to which range of the surface of the printing medium P the printed image G is to be transferred to. For example, when pressing as shown in FIG. 1C, not only the plane F of the printing medium P facing the cushioning material 10 but also the side surface S (the short side) of the printing medium P can be transferred simultaneously. Conversely, when it is desired to transfer the printed image G only to the plane F of the printing medium P and not to the side surface S, the printing medium P may be pressed against the cushioning material 10 such that only the plane F of the printing medium P contacts the printed image G on the cushioning material 10 without pushing the printing medium P into the position shown in FIG. 1C.

[0018] Then, as shown in FIG. 1D, the printing medium P moves in a direction away from the cushioning material 10. At this time, the printed image formed on the cushioning material 10 is transferred to the printing medium P.

[0019] The printing medium P preferably has a surface parallel to the printing surface of the cushioning material 10. This can improve the pressing accuracy against the cushioning material 10. For example, by decorating the surface and side surface (the short side) of a white calcium carbonate plate with the above-described decorating method to create a Oya stone pattern, a plate of Oya stone as shown in FIG. 2 can be created.

[0020] In addition, if the decorating method of this embodiment is used, transfer to a printing medium P having a curved surface (for example, an oval printing medium, etc.) also becomes easy. The cushioning material 10 may be pressed along the curved printing medium P.

[0021] Next, the configuration of the decoration device of the present embodiment will be described. The decoration device of the present embodiment includes a printing unit 1 and a pressing unit 5. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printing unit of the decoration device of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the pressing unit 5 is not shown. In the description of the embodiments shown below, the up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3 are defined as the up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions in the printing unit 1.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, the printing unit 1 of the present embodiment includes a shuttle base unit 2, a flat bed unit 3, and a shuttle unit 4.

[0023] The shuttle base unit 2 supports the shuttle unit 4 and moves the shuttle unit 4 in the front-rear direction (sub-scanning direction). Specifically, the shuttle base unit 2 includes a gantry portion 11 and a sub-scanning drive motor 12 (see FIG. 8).

[0024] The gantry portion 11 is formed in a rectangular frame shape and supports the shuttle unit 4. Sub-scanning drive guides 13A and 13B extending in the front-rear direction are respectively formed on the left and right frames of the gantry portion 11. The sub-scanning drive guides 13A and 13B guide the shuttle unit 4 to move in the front-rear direction. The sub-scanning drive motor 12 moves the shuttle unit 4 in the front-rear direction.

[0025] The flat bed unit 3 supports the cushioning material 10 described above. The flat bed unit 3 is disposed in a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped recess formed inside the gantry portion 11 of the shuttle base unit 2. The flat bed unit 3 has a medium placement surface 3a which is a horizontal surface on which the cushioning material 10 is placed. The flat bed unit 3 has a lifting mechanism composed of a hydraulic drive mechanism (not shown), etc., and is configured to be able to adjust the height of the medium placement surface 3a.

[0026] The shuttle unit 4 performs printing processing on the cushioning material 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the shuttle unit 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the shuttle unit 4 includes a housing 21, a main scanning drive guide 22, a main scanning drive motor 23 (see FIG. 8), a head lifting guide 24, a head lifting motor 25 (see FIG. 8), a head unit 26, and a capping unit 66.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the shuttle unit 4 moves one scanning range at a time from the front to the back, and in each scanning range, while moving the head unit 26 in the left - right direction, ink is ejected from each nozzle of the inkjet head 31 to perform printing processing.

[0028] The housing 21 houses each part such as the head unit 26. The housing 21 is formed in a portal shape that straddles the flat bed unit 3 in the left - right direction. The housing 21 is supported by the gantry portion 11 of the shuttle base unit 2 and is configured to be movable along the sub - scanning drive guides 13A and 13B.

[0029] The main scanning drive guide 22 guides the head unit 26 to move in the left - right direction (main scanning direction). The main scanning drive guide 22 is formed by a long member extending in the left - right direction. The head unit 26 is moved in the left - right direction by the main scanning drive motor 23.

[0030] The head lifting guide 24 guides the head unit 26 to move in the up - down direction. The head lifting guide 24 is formed from a member having an elongated shape in the up - down direction. The head lifting guide 24 is configured to be movable in the left - right direction along the main scanning drive guide 22 together with the head unit 26. The head unit 26 is lifted and lowered in the up - down direction by the head lifting motor 25.

[0031] The head unit 26 performs printing processing by discharging ink onto the cushioning material 10 while moving in the left - right direction along the main scanning drive guide 22 as described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the head unit 26 has four inkjet heads 31. Note that the number of inkjet heads 31 is not limited to four, and for example, five or more inkjet heads 31 may be provided in the head unit 26. For example, when the colors of the inks to be used are C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), K (black), LM (light magenta), and LC (light cyan), six inkjet heads are provided.

[0032] The four inkjet heads 31 are arranged in parallel in the left - right direction. The ink discharged from the inkjet head 31 is not particularly limited, but is preferably aqueous ink from the viewpoints of workability and safety. The coloring material of the aqueous ink may be a dye or a pigment, but it is preferable to appropriately add a binder resin for fixing.

[0033] Also, from the viewpoint of light resistance, the coloring material is preferably a pigment. As the binder resin, an emulsion resin dispersed in water with a track record for inkjet printing can be used, and it is preferable to use a urethane resin, an acrylic resin, or the like.

[0034] The content of the materials is preferably in the range of 0.1 - 25% by weight of the coloring material, 5 - 10% by weight of the binder resin, and 0.1 - 5.0% by weight of the surfactant with respect to the total amount. For example, it is preferable that the coloring material is 20% by weight, ethylene glycol is 10% by weight, and the amount of water used is the remaining amount such that the total of the components is 100.0% by weight. As the black coloring material, CAB - O - JET 300 (manufactured by Cabot Corporation) can be used, as the cyan coloring material, CAB - O - JET 450C (manufactured by Cabot Corporation) can be used, as the magenta coloring material, CAB - O - JET 465M (manufactured by Cabot Corporation) can be used, and as the yellow coloring material, CAB - O - JET 470Y (manufactured by Cabot Corporation) can be used.

[0035] One end of an ink supply tube 53 is connected to each inkjet head 31. A supply pump (not shown) is disposed in the ink supply tube 53. When the supply pump operates, ink is supplied to the inkjet head 31 through the ink supply tube 53.

[0036] During standby when the printing unit 1 is not performing a printing operation, the capping unit 66 seals the ink ejection ports of the inkjet heads to prevent drying of the ink ejection ports.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, the capping unit 66 is installed inside the right end portion of the housing 21. When the head unit 26 moves to the standby position at the right end portion of the housing 21, the capping unit 66 seals the ink ejection ports.

[0038] The capping unit 66 moves up and down by a cap lifting / lowering motor 29 (see FIG. 8). Specifically, the capping unit 66 moves up and down between a contact position where it contacts the inkjet head 31 and a retracted position below the contact position.

[0039] A suction unit 28 provided below the capping unit 66 sucks the ink accumulated in the capping unit 66. The suction unit 28 includes four suction tubes 68, four suction pumps 69, and a waste liquid tank 70.

[0040] One end of each of the four suction tubes 68 is connected to each of the four capping units 66, and the other end of the four suction tubes 68 is connected to the waste liquid tank 70. A suction pump 69 is installed for each suction tube 68.

[0041] The ink accumulated in the capping unit 66 is sucked by the suction of the suction pump 69 and stored in the waste liquid tank 70 via each suction tube 68.

[0042] In this embodiment, as described above, while moving the head unit 26 in the left - right direction along the main scanning drive guide 22, printing processing is performed on the cushioning material 10. However, it is necessary to perform the printing processing so that the printed image G on the cushioning material 10 does not bleed. As a method for suppressing bleeding, there is a method of reducing the total amount of ink by making the ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head 31 smaller or increasing the print resolution. For example, when the minimum ink droplet in normal printing processing is 13 pL, when suppressing bleeding, the ink droplets may be made as small as 6 pL. Also, regarding the print resolution, for example, printing processing may be performed at 720 dpi.

[0043] Also, as other methods for suppressing bleeding, there are methods such as extending the stop time until the next scan of the head unit 26 or reducing the scanning speed of the head unit 26 to reduce the total amount of ink per unit time.

[0044] For example, when performing printing processing by scanning the head unit 26 in the left - right direction while moving the shuttle unit 4 in the front - rear direction by a distance D2 shorter than the distance D1 between the nozzles of the inkjet head 31, as shown in FIG. 5, the dot d1 of the ink ejected by a predetermined scan and the dot d2 of the ink ejected by the next scan are adjacent in the front - rear direction. The ink droplet Id spreads on the cushioning material 10 at the moment of landing on the cushioning material 10 as shown in FIG. 6A. However, since the cushioning material 10 has low ink absorbency, over time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the spread portion returns to its original state and gathers into a small ink droplet Id.

[0045] However, when the interval between a predetermined scan and the next scan is short, as shown in FIG. 6B, before the ink droplet returns to its original state, adjacent dots are formed by the next scan, resulting in the coalescence of ink dots and bleeding.

[0046] Therefore, as described above, bleeding can be suppressed by extending the stop time until the next scan of the head unit 26. As a method of extending the stop time until the next scan of the head unit 26, for example, there is a method of stopping the head unit 26 at the position of the capping unit 66 for about 2 seconds between a predetermined scan and the next scan. When reducing the total amount of ink per unit time by slowing down the scanning speed of the head unit 26, the scanning speed of the head unit 26 may be slowed down between 652 mm / s and 1305 mm / s.

[0047] Next, the pressing portion 5 in the decorating device of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the pressing portion 5 of the present embodiment. Here, instead of the method of decorating the print image G on the plane and side surface (trailing edge) of the print medium P at the same time as shown in FIG. 1, after transferring the print image G to the plane of the print medium P, the configuration of the pressing portion 5 in the case of sequentially transferring the print image to each side surface (trailing edge) of the print medium P will be described.

[0048] The pressing portion 5 of the present embodiment is basically composed of a robot arm, and includes a column portion 51, an arm portion 50, and a head portion 6. The column portion 51 extends in the vertical direction, and the arm portion 50 is connected to the column portion 51 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A head portion 6 is provided below the end of the arm portion 50 on the side opposite to the column portion 51 side.

[0049] The head portion 6 has a rotating mechanism 7 (see FIG. 8) that sandwiches the print medium P and rotates the print medium P about the rotation axis X.

[0050] Specifically, the rotation mechanism 7 rotates the printing medium P in the plane in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 7 so that the side surface S (trailing edge) of the printing medium P becomes parallel to the surface of the cushioning member 11 in sequence. Then, with the side surface S (trailing edge) of the printing medium P and the plane of the cushioning member 11 being parallel, the printing medium P is moved toward the cushioning member 11 (in the direction of arrow B) and pressed against the cushioning member 11. By alternately repeating the 90-degree rotation of the printing medium P by the rotation mechanism 7 and the pressing against the cushioning member 11, the printed image G can be sequentially transferred to the four side surfaces S of the printing medium P.

[0051] Note that the configuration of the pressing portion is not limited to the above configuration, and other configurations may be adopted.

[0052] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the control system of the decorating apparatus of the present embodiment. The decorating apparatus of the present embodiment includes a control unit 8 that controls the entire apparatus. The control unit 8 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, and the like. The control unit 8 executes a program stored in advance in a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and controls each part shown in FIG. 8 by operating an electric circuit.

[0053] According to the decorating apparatus of the above embodiment, ink is ejected using the inkjet head 31 onto the cushioning material 10 having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties to form the printed image G, and the printing medium P is pressed against the cushioning material 10 on which the printed image G is formed, so that the printed image G formed on the cushioning material 10 is transferred to the printing medium P. Thus, high-quality decoration can be performed on the side surface of a flat printing medium P or the like with a simple configuration.

[0054] Further, in the decorating apparatus of the above embodiment, while rotating the printing medium P in the plane by the rotation mechanism 7, a plurality of trailing edges of the printing medium P are sequentially pressed against the cushioning material 10, and the printed image G is transferred to each trailing edge. Therefore, the printed image G can be efficiently transferred to a plurality of trailing edges.

[0055] Also, in the decoration device of the above embodiment, when silicon, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber), natural rubber, or polyethylene is adopted as the material of the cushioning material, it has more appropriate ink absorbency, so good transferability can be obtained.

[0056] Next, a specific example of the decoration device of this embodiment will be described. Table 1 below shows the results of evaluating the transferability of the printed image by changing the material of the cushioning material. The following materials were used for the cushioning materials respectively. Silicon "Silicone Rubber" (manufactured by Waki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) EPDM "EPDM Sponge Rubber" (manufactured by Waki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) Natural rubber "NR Sponge Rubber" (manufactured by Waki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) Polyethylene "Polyethylene Foam" (manufactured by Kojyo Co., Ltd.) Melamine "Drop-off-kun" (manufactured by Rec Co., Ltd.) Cellulose "Sponge Cloth" (manufactured by ICL Japan Co., Ltd.) Urethane "Temporary Foamed Urethane Foam" (manufactured by Waki Sangyo Co., Ltd.)

[0057] As the printing medium P, a 5 mm-wide mica plate was used. The pressing pressure of the printing medium P against the cushioning material was 500 kPa.

[0058] Regarding the ink absorbency, two drops of ink were dropped onto the cushioning material inclined at 45° with respect to the horizontal direction using a dropper with a total length of 135 mm and an inner diameter × outer diameter of 1.7 mm × 3.1 mm, and the moving distance of the water droplets after 2 seconds was measured.

[0059] As the printed image, the Oya stone pattern was transferred, and for the transferability, a sensory evaluation by visual inspection was performed. When the printed image could be transferred sufficiently, it was indicated by "〇", and when the transferability of the printed image was insufficient, it was indicated by "×".

[0060] As shown in Table 1, for Examples 1 to 4, that is, the ink absorbency was 5 cm / 2 s or more and the transferability was sufficient. On the other hand, for Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the ink absorbency was 1 cm / 2 s or less, and the ink penetrated into the cushioning material, so the transferability was insufficient.

Table 1

[0061] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist thereof at the implementation stage. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, all the components shown in the embodiments may be appropriately combined. Needless to say, various modifications and applications are possible within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention.

[0062] Regarding the present invention, the following supplementary notes are further disclosed.

[0063] (Supplementary Note 1) The decorating device of the present invention includes a cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties, a printing unit that forms a printed image by discharging ink onto the cushioning material using an inkjet head, and a pressing unit that presses a printing medium against the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed to transfer the printed image formed on the cushioning material to the printing medium.

[0064] (Supplementary Note 2) In the decorating device according to Supplementary Note 1, the pressing unit has a rotation mechanism that rotates the printing medium in the plane of the flat printing medium, and while rotating the printing medium by the rotation mechanism, a plurality of small openings of the printing medium are sequentially pressed against the cushioning material, and a printed image can be transferred to each small opening.

[0065] (Supplementary Note 3) In the decoration device according to Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, the material of the cushioning material is preferably silicon, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber), natural rubber, or polyethylene.

[0066] (Appendix 4) The decoration method of the present invention forms a printed image by ejecting ink onto a cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties using an inkjet head, and presses a printing medium onto the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed to transfer the printed image formed on the cushioning material to the printing medium.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] 1 Printing section 2 Shuttle base unit 3 Flat bed unit 3a Media placement surface 4 Shuttle unit 5 Pressing section 6 Head section 7 Rotation mechanism 8 Control section 10 Cushioning material 11 Stand section 11 Cushioning member 12 Sub-scanning drive motor 21 Housing 22 Main-scanning drive guide 23 Main-scanning drive motor 24 Head lifting guide 25 Head lifting motor 13A, 13B Sub-scanning drive guide 26 Head unit 28 Suction section 29 Cap lifting motor 31 Inkjet head 50 Arm section 51 Support column section 53 Ink supply pipe 66 Capping unit 68 Suction pipe 69 Suction pump 70 Waste liquid tank G printed image P printing medium

Claims

1. A cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties, a printing unit that forms a printed image by discharging ink onto the cushioning material using an inkjet head, and a pressing unit that presses the printing medium against the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed to transfer the printed image formed on the cushioning material to the printing medium.

2. The decorating device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing unit has a rotating mechanism that rotates the flat printing medium in the plane, and while rotating the printing medium by the rotating mechanism, sequentially presses a plurality of small openings of the printing medium against the cushioning material to transfer a printed image to each small opening.

3. The decorating device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the cushioning material is silicon, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber), natural rubber, or polyethylene.

4. An ink is discharged onto a cushioning material having low ink absorbency and having cushioning properties using an inkjet head to form a printed image, and a decorating method of pressing a printing medium against the cushioning material on which the printed image is formed to transfer the printed image formed on the cushioning material to the printing medium.

Images