Recording device

Abstract

To improve the convenience of a recording device that uses ultraviolet curable ink.SOLUTION: A recording device is provided with: a recording part that has an emitting part that emits ultraviolet ray to a medium and records an image by discharging ultraviolet curable droplets to the medium: a light source that can emit illumination light to the recording part; a shielding member that can transmit visible light and suppress transmission of ultraviolet ray; and a switching part that moves the shielding member and switches the member between a first position where the shielding member is positioned between the recording part and the light source and a second position where the member is not positioned between the recording part and the light source.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is known an apparatus that records on a medium using ink that hardens when irradiated with ultraviolet light. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-116217 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a demand for workers to visually check and monitor the device in order to check the recording status and detect defects, but the above-mentioned device does not take this into consideration at all, resulting in low convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The recording device includes a recording unit having an irradiation unit that irradiates a medium with ultraviolet light and ejects ultraviolet-curable droplets onto the medium to record an image; a light source that can shine illumination light onto the recording unit; a shielding member that is capable of transmitting visible light and suppressing the transmission of the ultraviolet light; and a switching unit that moves the shielding member to switch between a first position located between the recording unit and the light source and a second position that is not located between the recording unit and the light source. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the recording device when the shielding member is in a first position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the recording device when the shielding member is in a second position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Directions in the drawings will be described using a three-dimensional coordinate system. For convenience of description, the positive direction of the Z axis will be referred to as the upward direction, upward, or simply upward; the negative direction will be referred to as the downward direction, downward, or simply downward; the positive direction of the X axis will be referred to as the rightward direction, rightward, or simply right; the negative direction will be referred to as the leftward direction, leftward, or simply left; the positive direction of the Y axis will be referred to as the backward direction, backward, or simply backward; and the negative direction will be referred to as the forward direction, forward, or simply forward.

[0008] 1. Recording device configuration 1, the recording device 1 includes a recording unit 10, a case 2, a light source 3, a shielding member 4, and a switching unit 5. The recording device 1 also includes a control unit 6. The case 2 houses the recording unit 10, the light source 3, the shielding member 4, the switching unit 5, etc. The case 2 is composed of a cover 2a that opens and closes the recording unit 10, a light source case 2b that covers a part of the light source 3, such as the top, and a bottom case 2c that covers the bottom surface. An opening 2d, which will be described later, is formed in the case 2.

[0009] The control unit 6 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory. The CPU is also called a processor. The CPU reads and executes firmware stored in the memory to control each part of the recording device 1. The control unit 6 is configured as a control board and is disposed on the bottom case 2c.

[0010] The light source 3 can emit illumination light L onto the recording unit 10. The light source 3 is disposed below the light source case 2b. The light L from the light source 3 includes visible light, allowing the operator to visually recognize the recording unit 10. The light source 3 may be, for example, a solid-state light-emitting element such as an LED, a laser diode, or an electroluminescence (EL) element, or may be a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp.

[0011] The shielding member 4 is configured to be able to transmit visible light but to suppress transmission of ultraviolet light, which will hereinafter be referred to as UV. The shielding member 4 is made of, for example, a material such as a UV absorber that has the property of absorbing UV rays. The shielding member 4 is made by blending a UV absorber into a base material such as a resin or glass that is transmissive to visible light, such as PMMA (acrylic), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), or PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and then molding the base material into a plate shape.

[0012] The shielding member 4 may be formed by blending a UV absorbent into a base material of such a resin and molding it into a film, which is then attached to a plate-like glass or resin that is capable of transmitting visible light. The shielding member 4 may also be a plate-shaped glass or resin that is transparent to visible light and coated with a UV absorbent. The plate-like glass or resin that can transmit visible light has high transparency. The UV absorber is, for example, zinc oxide or titanium oxide.

[0013] Furthermore, the shielding member 4 may be configured to include a material such as a UV reflective film that has the property of reflecting UV rays. UV reflective films are made by laminating alternating layers of resin with different refractive indices, and can reflect UV by adjusting the refractive index of each UV. The shielding member 4 may be a plate-shaped glass or resin that is transparent to visible light and has a UV reflective film attached to it.

[0014] The shielding member 4 may be configured to include both a UV absorber and a UV reflecting film, which can further suppress transmission of ultraviolet rays. As will be described later, in order to prevent the UV ink in the nozzles of the head 22 of the recording unit 10 from hardening, it is preferable that the UV shielding rate of the shielding member 4 is 60% or more. The UV shielding rate is also called the UV cut rate.

[0015] Under the control of the control unit 6, the switching unit 5 can move the shielding member 4 between an upper first position 4a and a lower second position 4b. 3 shows a case where the shielding member 4 has been moved upward by the switching unit 5 and is at the first position 4a. The shielding member 4 at the first position 4a is positioned between the recording unit 10 and the light source 3 in the left-right direction. As a result, the shielding member 4 at the first position 4a can shield the light source 3 from the recording unit 10. When the recording unit 10 records on the medium M, the switching unit 5 can move the shielding member 4 to the first position 4a.

[0016] 4 shows a case where the shielding member 4 has been moved downward by the switching unit 5 and is in the second position 4b. The shielding member 4 in the second position 4b is not positioned between the recording unit 10 and the light source 3 in the left-right direction. As a result, the shielding member 4 in the second position 4b does not shield the light source 3 from the recording unit 10. When the recording unit 10 finishes recording, the switching unit 5 can move the shielding member 4 to the second position 4b. For convenience of illustration, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the recording device 1 with the cover 2a of the case 2 removed.

[0017] The switching unit 5 can use any mechanism that moves the shielding member 4 . The switching unit 5 is configured, for example, by a rack and pinion. The shielding member 4 is fixed to the pinion, and the rack is connected to a motor for the switching unit 5. When this motor rotates forward or backward, the rack moves the pinion upward or downward. Then, the shielding member 4 fixed to the pinion can also move upward or downward.

[0018] The switching unit 5 may also be configured with, for example, a belt such as a timing belt, and gears or pulleys. The shielding member 4 is fixed to the belt, and the gears or pulleys are connected to a motor for the switching unit 5. By rotating this motor forward or backward, the gears or pulleys move the belt. The shielding member 4 fixed to the belt can move upward or downward.

[0019] 2. Recording section configuration 2, the recording unit 10 includes a medium support unit 11, a cleaner 12, a head 22, and an irradiation unit 23. For convenience of illustration, the recording unit 10 is simply shown as a rectangular parallelepiped in FIGS. The medium M may be a sheet, a cloth, a three-dimensional object, etc. The sheet may be paper, synthetic paper, film, etc. The cloth may be nonwoven fabric, knitted fabric, woven fabric, etc. The three-dimensional object may be an ornament such as clothing or shoes, daily necessities, machine parts, etc.

[0020] The head 22 is an inkjet head having multiple nozzles (not shown) and is capable of ejecting droplets of UV-curable ink. UV-curable ink has the property of hardening when irradiated with UV light. Hereinafter, UV-curable ink will be referred to as UV ink. Under the control of the control unit 6, the head 22 ejects UV ink from the nozzles toward the medium M below, thereby recording an image such as a color image. The head 22 can eject UV ink of each color, for example, CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). The head 22 can also eject UV ink of, for example, white or transparent. Transparent UV ink is also called clear UV ink.

[0021] The UV inks of each color of CMYK can record a color image on the medium M. On the other hand, the white UV ink is recorded on the medium M as a base. For example, the head 22 records white UV ink on the entire surface of a transparent medium M. The head 22 can record a color image by overlaying and recording UV inks of each color, CMYK, on ​​the medium M recorded with white UV ink.

[0022] Furthermore, the transparent UV ink is printed so as to cover the color image printed on the medium M. As a result, the color image on the medium M can have a glossy or matte finish. The transparent UV ink may also be printed on the entire surface of the medium M after the color image has been printed. When a color image is covered with transparent UV ink in this way, the ink used to record the color image may be a normal ink other than UV ink.

[0023] The UV ink colors may be any combination of four or more colors, including, for example, shades of CMYK, etc. The UV ink colors may also be fewer than CMYK. The cleaner 12 also has a mechanism for cleaning the head 22. The position of the head 22 when being cleaned by the cleaner 12 is a position away from the medium M, which is also called a cleaning position, a home position, or a standby position. The cleaner 12 is positioned so as to face the head 22 in the cleaning position.

[0024] The irradiation unit 23 irradiates the medium M with UV light under the control of the control unit 6. The irradiation unit 23 has, for example, a UV-LED (Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode) which is a UV light emitting element. The irradiation unit 23 may have a plurality of UV-LEDs. The irradiation unit 23 irradiates UV light toward the medium M below, and can cure the UV ink recorded on the medium M.

[0025] The carriage 20 carries a head 22 and an irradiation unit 23. The carriage 20 is attached to a carriage belt 26, and is moved left and right along a carriage guide shaft 25 by a carriage motor 24 under the control of the control unit 6. The head 22 ejects UV ink onto the medium M while moving together with the carriage 20 to perform recording. The irradiation unit 23 also moves together with the carriage 20 to irradiate the medium M with UV light, thereby curing the UV ink recorded on the medium M.

[0026] The carriage support section 21 supports the carriage 20, the carriage belt 26, the carriage motor 24, the carriage guide shaft 25, and the like. The moving unit 30 has a moving motor 31. Under the control of the control unit 6, the moving unit 30 can move the carriage support unit 21 in the front-to-rear direction by the moving motor 31. The moving unit 30 can have the same configuration as the switching unit 5 described above. The carriage 20 and other components supported by the carriage support unit 21 can also be moved in the forward and backward directions by the moving unit 30. The head 22 and irradiation unit 23 mounted on the carriage 20 can also be moved in the forward and backward directions by the moving unit 30 to record on and irradiate the medium M.

[0027] The medium support unit 11 has a flat plate-like surface, and is capable of placing and supporting the medium M. The medium support unit 11 is capable of facing the head 22 and the irradiation unit 23 mounted on the carriage 20. The lifting unit 32 has a lifting motor 33. Under the control of the control unit 6, the lifting unit 32 can move the medium support unit 11 in the up and down direction by the lifting motor 33. The lifting unit 32 can have the same configuration as the switching unit 5 described above. The distance between the medium support unit 11 and the head 22 and irradiation unit 23 can be adjusted by the lifting unit 32. That is, the lifting unit 32 can adjust the distance between the medium M placed on the medium support unit 11 and the head 22 and irradiation unit 23.

[0028] 3. Shielding the light source with a shielding member However, workers may wish to visually check and monitor the recording medium M and recording unit 10, etc., in order to check the recording status of the medium M on the medium support unit 11 or to detect any defects in the recording unit 10. For this reason, as described above, the recording device 1 is provided with a light source 3 that can shine illumination light L onto the recording unit 10. Note that, in order for an operator to check the recording status of the medium M on the medium support unit 11, the light source 3 is preferably configured to shine light L toward the medium support unit 11 of the recording unit 10.

[0029] As described above, the head 22 is capable of ejecting UV ink from the nozzles. The UV ink is cured by UV rays. When the light L from the light source 3 is irradiated onto the recording unit 10, the UV contained in the light L may harden the UV ink in the nozzles of the head 22. As a result, the nozzle ejection holes may become narrow or clogged, and the head 22 may no longer be able to record properly on the medium M.

[0030] An opening 2d is formed in the case 2 to the lower left of the light source 3, facing from the light source 3 toward the recording unit 10. The light source 3 can irradiate light L onto the recording unit 10 from the opening 2d. As described above, the recording apparatus 1 includes the shielding member 4 that can suppress transmission of the UV light L from the light source 3. The switching unit 5 can move the shielding member 4.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, the shielding member 4 can be moved to an upper first position 4a by the switching unit 5 and block the opening 2d. That is, the shielding member 4 can block the light source 3. As a result, the UV light in the light L from the light source 3 is suppressed when it passes through the shielding member 4 that is blocking the opening 2d. Hereinafter, the light whose UV light has been suppressed by the shielding member 4 as shown in Fig. 3 will be referred to as UV suppressed light L1. In this way, the shielding member 4 has a function as a shutter that can move to close the opening 2d.

[0032] The light source 3 is shielded by the shielding member 4, and the UV suppression light L1 illuminates the recording unit 10. As a result, the UV ink in the nozzles is prevented from being cured by the UV from the light source 3. In other words, the UV suppression light L1 prevents the nozzle ejection holes from narrowing or clogging. The head 22 can record correctly on the medium M. The UV suppression light L1 contains visible light, and the operator can visually check the recording status of the medium M on the medium support unit 11 by using the UV suppression light L1.

[0033] 4, the shielding member 4 can be moved downward to a second position 4b by the switching unit 5, thereby opening the opening 2d. Light L from the light source 3 passes through the opening 2d where there is no shielding member 4. The UV light from the light source 3 is not suppressed, and the light L directly illuminates the recording unit 10. The light L directly emitted from the light source 3 enables the worker to visually check the details of the recording unit 10 and perform detailed work.

[0034] When the recording unit 10 records on the medium M, the control unit 6 controls the switching unit 5 to move the shielding member 4 upward to the first position 4a. The light L from the light source 3 is blocked by the shielding member 4 at the first position 4a, and the UV suppression light L1 illuminates the recording unit 10. Because the UV suppression light L1 illuminates the nozzle of the head 22 during recording, the nozzle is prevented from narrowing or clogging. The head 22 can record correctly on the medium M. Furthermore, the operator can visually check the recording status of the medium M despite the UV suppression light L1.

[0035] On the other hand, after the recording unit 10 has finished recording, the control unit 6 controls the switching unit 5 to move the shielding member 4 downward to the second position 4b. The shielding member 4 in the second position 4b does not block the light L from the light source 3. The light L from the light source 3 directly illuminates the recording unit 10. With sufficient light L, the operator can detect any defects or perform any necessary work on the recording unit 10 that has stopped recording.

[0036] The cleaner 12 shown in FIG. 2 can clean the head 22 as follows. That is, the cleaner 12 applies a stronger pressure to the nozzles of the head 22 than during recording, thereby performing flushing, which forcibly ejects UV ink. The cleaner 12 can also suck UV ink from the nozzles of the head 22. The cleaner 12 also has a wiper, which can wipe the ejection holes of the nozzles of the head 22. By performing at least one of these cleaning operations, the cleaner 12 can remove from the nozzles UV ink that is cured by the UV light from the light source 3. The cleaner 12 can prevent or eliminate the problem of the nozzle ejection holes becoming narrow or the nozzles becoming clogged.

[0037] As described above, when recording is stopped, the shielding member 4 at the second position 4b does not block the light L from the light source 3, and directly illuminates the recording unit 10. There is a risk that the UV ink in the nozzles will harden due to the UV from the light source 3. However, after work or the like is completed or before recording begins, the cleaner 12 can clean the head 22. Even if the light L from the light source 3 directly illuminates the recording unit 10 due to work by an operator or the like, the cleaner 12 can prevent or eliminate the nozzle discharge hole from narrowing or the nozzle from becoming clogged the next time the recording unit 10 records.

[0038] The control unit 6 can detect instructions from the worker and perform cleaning using the cleaner 12. The control unit 6 can also detect when the worker has finished work or when recording is about to start, and perform cleaning accordingly. The control unit 6 can also perform cleaning periodically when recording is stopped. Then, as described above, the control unit 6 controls the switching unit 5 to move the shielding member 4 to the first position 4a when the worker has finished their work and before the recording unit 10 starts recording on the medium M. In this case as well, the control unit 6 can detect and control when the worker has finished their work and when recording starts.

[0039] Now, let us suppose that the cleaner 12 cleans the head 22 while the recording unit 10 is recording. The head 22 moves from the recording position where it was recording to the cleaning position. After cleaning by the cleaner 12, the head 22 returns to the recording position. At this time, the recording position of the head 22 may be disturbed due to expansion and contraction of the carriage belt 26 that moves the carriage 20 carrying the head 22, or due to backlash of the gears of the carriage motor 24. As a result, the recording results on the medium M may be degraded.

[0040] For this reason, it is preferable not to clean the head 22 with the cleaner 12 while the recording unit 10 is recording. As described above, when recording is being performed by the recording unit 10, the recording device 1 uses the shielding member 4 to suppress the UV from the light source 3, thereby preventing the UV ink in the nozzles of the head 22 from curing. In addition, by illuminating the recording unit 10 with UV suppressing light L1, which includes visible light, the operator can visually check the recording status of the medium M.

[0041] The recording device 1 according to the above-described embodiment includes a recording unit 10 that has an irradiation unit 23 that irradiates a medium M with UV and records an image by ejecting UV-curable droplets onto the medium M, a light source 3 that can irradiate the recording unit 10 with illumination light L, and a shielding member 4. The shielding member 4 is capable of transmitting visible light but suppressing transmission of UV. Furthermore, the recording device 1 is provided with a switching unit 5 that moves the shielding member 4 to switch between a first position 4a located between the recording unit 10 and the light source 3 and a second position 4b not located between the recording unit 10 and the light source 3.

[0042] When the shielding member 4 is at the first position 4a, the light L from the light source 3 is blocked by the shielding member 4 at the first position 4a, and the UV suppression light L1 illuminates the recording unit 10. The nozzle of the head 22 is prevented from narrowing or clogging during recording. In addition, the UV suppression light L1, which includes visible light, allows the operator to visually check the recording status of the medium M. On the other hand, when the shielding member 4 is in the second position 4b, it does not shield the light L from the light source 3. With sufficient light L, the operator can detect any malfunctions or perform any necessary work on the recording unit 10 that has stopped recording. In this way, the convenience of the recording apparatus 1 that uses UV ink can be improved.

[0043] The above describes the embodiments in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiments, and may be changed, replaced, deleted, etc. as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. In the above description, the recording apparatus 1 is configured to move the shielding member 4 using the switching unit 5. For example, if the UV inhibitory light L1 is sufficient for the worker's work, the recording apparatus 1 may be configured not to include the switching unit 5 and to always block the opening 2d with the shielding member 4. In other words, the shielding member 4 may be configured to always be in the first position 4a. Furthermore, for example, a red light with suppressed UV light may be used as the light source 3. In this case, the recording device 1 may also be configured not to include the switching unit 5, and to always have the shielding member 4 cover the opening 2d. Furthermore, for example, in the case 2, at least the cover 2a may be made of a UV-blocking material similar to that of the shielding member 4. This prevents the recording unit 10 from being exposed to UV contained in light from outside the case 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1...recording device, 2...case, 2d...opening, 3...light source, 4...shielding member, 4a...first position, 4b...second position, 5...switching unit, 10...recording unit, 20...carriage, 22...head, 23...irradiation unit, L...light, L1...UV suppression light, M...medium.

Claims

1. a recording unit that has an irradiation unit that irradiates a medium with ultraviolet light and ejects ultraviolet-curable droplets onto the medium to record an image; a light source capable of illuminating the recording unit with light; a shielding member that is capable of transmitting visible light and suppressing transmission of the ultraviolet light; a switching unit that moves the shielding member to switch it between a first position that is located between the recording unit and the light source and a second position that is not located between the recording unit and the light source.

2. The switching unit is When the recording unit performs recording, the shielding member is moved to the first position; The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding member is moved to the second position when the recording by the recording unit is completed.

3. 2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording section includes a medium support section on which the medium can be placed, and the light source can irradiate the light toward the medium support section.

4. a case that houses the recording unit, the light source, the shielding member, and the switching unit; The light source can irradiate the light onto the recording unit through an opening formed in the case, The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shielding member is capable of covering the opening when in the first position.

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