Printer and printing method

Abstract

To provide a printer and a printing method that facilitate positioning work in a conveyance width direction of a recording medium.SOLUTION: A printer S comprises: a conveyance unit 400 which conveys a recording medium W along a predetermined conveyance direction; a printing unit 30 which performs a printing process on the recording medium W conveyed by the conveyance unit 400; and a light irradiation unit 301 which emits line light onto the conveyance unit 400. The conveyance unit 400 includes a plurality of rotating portions arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in the conveyance direction on the upstream side of the printing unit 300 in the conveyance direction, and rotating about respective axes extending in a conveyance width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction to convey the recording medium. The light irradiation unit 301 emits line light across a plurality of rotating portions 101 and 211a, and shows a reference line K by the line light on outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of rotating portions 101, 211a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing device and a printing method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a printing apparatus that includes a transport unit that transports a recording medium in a predetermined transport direction, and a printing unit that performs a printing process on the recording medium transported by the transport unit.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses, as an example of this type of printing device, a textile printing device that prints on a strip-like recording medium by printing. In this textile printing device, the transport section includes an endless transport belt wound around a pair of rollers and multiple transport rollers arranged upstream of the transport belt. A feed device is arranged upstream of the multiple transport rollers, which rotates a rolled recording medium around its axis to feed the leading end of the recording medium downstream in the transport direction. The multiple transport rollers transport the recording medium fed from the feed device toward the transport belt. The transport belt supplies the recording medium toward the printing section by rotating while adhesively holding the recording medium on its outer circumferential surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-116603 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the printing device shown in Patent Document 1, when starting a printing process on a new recording medium due to a change in the width size of the recording medium to be printed, an initial setting operation is performed in which the new recording medium set in the feed device is pulled out and its leading edge is attached and held on the conveyor belt. After this initial setting operation is completed, the feed device, multiple conveyor rollers, and conveyor belt are driven to supply the recording medium to the printing unit.

[0006] In this case, if the attachment position of the recording medium on the conveying belt is shifted in the conveying width direction from the specified position, the position of the printed image on the recording medium may be shifted or the recording medium may meander during conveying, causing wrinkles, resulting in printing defects.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a printing device and a printing method that can easily perform the positioning operation of the recording medium in the transport width direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A printing device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a transport unit that transports a recording medium in a transport direction, a printing unit that performs a printing process on the recording medium transported by the transport unit, and a light irradiation unit that can irradiate a line of light to the transport unit, wherein the transport unit includes a plurality of rotating units that are arranged upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and spaced apart from each other in the transport direction, and that transport the recording medium by rotating around an axis that extends in a width direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and the light irradiation unit irradiates the line of light so as to span the plurality of rotating units, and indicates a reference line by the line of light on the outer surfaces of the plurality of rotating units.

[0009] A printing method according to another aspect of the present invention is a printing method using a printing device comprising: a transport unit that transports a recording medium in a transport direction; a printing unit that performs a printing process on the recording medium transported by the transport unit; and a light irradiation unit that can irradiate a line of light to the transport unit, wherein the transport unit includes a plurality of rotating units that are arranged upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction at intervals in the transport direction and that transport the recording medium by rotating around axes extending in a width direction perpendicular to the transport direction, the printing method comprising: a step of irradiating the line of light by the light irradiation unit so as to span across the plurality of rotating units, and indicating a reference line by the line of light on the outer surfaces of the plurality of rotating units; and a step of positioning the recording medium in the width direction from the first rotating unit to the second rotating unit, based on the reference line indicated on the outer surface of a first rotating unit and the reference line indicated on the outer surface of a second rotating unit among the plurality of rotating units. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, a printing apparatus and a printing method are provided that can easily perform the positioning operation of the recording medium in the transport width direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a printing device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the front-rear direction of the printing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting work of a rolled workpiece, and is a partially enlarged view showing the state in which the tip of the workpiece is pulled out from the recording medium supply device and attached to the surface of the conveyor belt of the inkjet printer. [Figure 4] 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing an attachment location of a reference line forming unit in the recording medium supply device; FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a reference line forming unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of a reference line forming unit; [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow VII in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the reference line forming unit as seen from below. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing reference lines formed on the recording medium supply device by thick lines. [Figure 10A] 10 is a plan view showing a positioning structure for a rail member of the reference line forming unit. FIG. [Figure 10B] 10B is a view taken in the direction of the arrow XB in FIG. 10A. [Figure 10C] 10B is a view taken in the direction of the arrow XC in FIG. 10A. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 and showing a second embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a perspective view showing a reference line forming unit and its support unit in a second embodiment, as viewed obliquely from above and in front. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a perspective view showing a reference line forming unit and its support unit in a second embodiment, as viewed obliquely from above and behind. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A printing apparatus S according to each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In these embodiments, a printing apparatus S that performs a printing process by ejecting ink droplets for forming an image onto a wide, long recording medium is exemplified as a specific example of the printing apparatus S. The printing apparatus S is suitable for digital textile printing, which uses an inkjet method to print images such as characters and patterns on a recording medium made of fabric such as woven or knitted fabric. That is, the printing apparatus S can prevent misalignment of the printed image on a recording medium such as a relatively soft fabric such as woven or knitted fabric, or prevent the recording medium from meandering during transport, resulting in wrinkles, thereby reducing the occurrence of printing defects. Of course, the printing apparatus S according to the present disclosure may also be used to print various inkjet images on recording media such as paper sheets or resin sheets.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a printing apparatus S according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the front-rear direction of the printing apparatus S of FIG.

[0014] This printing apparatus S has an inkjet printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as printer 1), a recording medium supplying device 100, a work transport section 400 that transports the workpiece W between the recording medium supplying device 100 and the printer 1, and a reference line forming unit 300 that forms a reference line for positioning the workpiece W using a line of light. In this example, the work transporting section 400 is made up of a main transporting section 20 (described below) that is provided in the printer 1, and a send-out transporting section 120 (described below) that is provided in the recording medium supplying device 100. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the terms "front side," "rear side," "left side," and "right side" refer to directions relative to the inkjet printer 1 and follow the definitions of the directional axes shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] [Inkjet printer 1] The inkjet printer 1 is a printer that prints images on a long workpiece W (recording medium) using an inkjet method, and includes a device frame 10, a main transport unit 20, and a printing unit 30. The device frame 10 forms a framework for mounting various components of the printer 1. The main transport unit 20 is a mechanism that intermittently feeds the workpiece W so that the workpiece W advances in a transport direction from rear to front in a printing area A where inkjet printing processing is performed. The printing unit 30 has a carriage 31 that is configured to be able to move back and forth in the main scanning direction, and multiple ink heads 32 mounted on the carriage 31 and each ejecting ink of a different color. During the inkjet printing processing, the printing unit 30 performs printing processing on the workpiece W by ejecting ink from each ink head 32 while moving the carriage 31 back and forth in the main scanning direction (left and right direction) that intersects (is perpendicular to) the transport direction of the workpiece W.

[0016] In this example, the multiple ink heads 32 consist of six upstream ink heads 32A and six downstream ink heads 32B corresponding to six colors, for example, orange, green, yellow, red, blue, and black. The six upstream ink heads 32A and the six downstream ink heads 32B are aligned at intervals in the main scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) and overlap in the sub-scanning direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2), forming a staggered arrangement. Each ink head 32 has ejection holes that eject droplets of the liquid to be ejected by an ejection method such as a piezoelectric method using a piezoelectric element or a thermal method using a heating element. The number and arrangement of the ink heads 32 are not limited to this.

[0017] The device frame 10 is constructed by combining metal frame members and sheet metal members, and is covered by an exterior cover 11 (shown only in Figure 1) that forms the exterior of the printer 1. A plurality of casters 12 (see Figure 2) are attached to the underside of the device frame 10. An adjustment bolt (not shown) is attached to each caster 12, and after the operator has moved the printer 1 to a predetermined position via the casters 12, the operator can adjust the height and inclination of the printer 1 from the floor by rotating and adjusting the adjustment bolt.

[0018] The main conveying section 20 has a printing area conveying section 21 arranged adjacent to the printing area A, a supply side conveying section 22 that supplies the work W to the upstream end of the printing area conveying section 21, and a discharge side conveying section 23 that receives the work W discharged from the downstream end of the printing area conveying section 21 and conveys it further downstream.

[0019] The printing area transport section 21 includes a transport belt 211 , a drive roller 212 , a driven roller 213 , a feed roller 214 , an upstream support roller 215 , and a downstream support roller 216 .

[0020] The conveyor belt 211 is wound around a drive roller 212 and a driven roller 213 and is configured to be able to rotate in the front-to-back direction. The outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 211 is an adhesive surface that can hold the workpiece W by adhesion. Of the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 211, the side facing the ink head 4 (the upper surface of the conveyor belt 211) faces the ink ejection side surface of the ink head 32 and forms a conveying surface for conveying the workpiece W (recording medium). Thus, the conveyor belt 211 supplies the workpiece W to the printing area A by rotating in the front-to-back direction (the left-to-right direction in FIG. 2).

[0021] The drive roller 212 and the driven roller 213 extend in the left-right direction and are disposed at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction. Both ends of the drive roller 212 and the driven roller 213 are rotatably supported by the device frame 10. The drive roller 212 is driven by a motor (not shown) to rotate the conveyor belt 211. The driven roller 213 rotates following the rotation of the conveyor belt 211 while applying tension to the conveyor belt 211 to prevent slack.

[0022] The supply-side conveying section 22 has a first tension roller 221, a second tension roller 222, and a third tension roller 223. Both end portions of each of the first to third tension rollers 221, 222, and 223 are rotatably supported by a pair of left and right sheet metal members 224 attached to the front end portion of the device frame 10. The workpiece W is wound around the first tension roller 221, the second tension roller 222, and the third tension roller 223 in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction.

[0023] The discharge-side conveying section 23 has a tension roller 231. Both ends of the tension roller 231 are rotatably supported by a pair of left and right sheet metal members 232 attached to the rear end of the device frame 10. The workpiece W passes above this tension roller 231 and is conveyed downstream.

[0024] In addition, a winding device 40 for recovering the work is provided downstream of the tension roller 231, and the work W discharged to the downstream side by the discharge side conveying section 23 is wound into a roll by the winding device 40 and recovered.

[0025] [Configuration of recording medium supply device] The recording medium supply device 100 includes a feed-out conveyance unit 120 that feeds a rolled workpiece W toward the printer 1, and a support frame 110. The feed-out conveyance unit 120 includes a rotary feed shaft 101 that is inserted into the axial center of the rolled workpiece W to feed the workpiece W downstream, a positioning roller 102 that prevents misalignment of the workpiece W fed by the rotary feed shaft 101 in the transport width direction (a direction perpendicular to the transport direction), and a first tension roller 103, a second tension roller 104, a third tension roller 105, and a fourth tension roller 106 that are arranged along the transport path of the workpiece W. The support frame 110 rotatably supports the rotary feed shaft 101 and the five rollers 102 to 106. The workpiece W is wound around the first tension roller 103, the positioning roller 102, the second tension roller 104, the third tension roller 105, and the fourth tension roller 106 in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction. The workpiece W sent downstream of the fourth tension roller 106 is supplied to the supply-side conveyance section 22 of the printer 1.

[0026] The support frame 110 has a pair of vertical walls 111 facing each other in the left-right direction, a bottom wall 112 connecting the lower ends of the pair of vertical walls 111, a pair of front protruding plates 113 protruding forward from the front ends of the pair of vertical walls 111, a pair of rear protruding plates 114 protruding rearward from the rear ends of the pair of vertical walls 111, a first cross beam 115 connecting the upper ends of the pair of vertical walls 111 at the front ends, and a second cross beam 116 located rearward and below the first cross beam 115 and connecting the pair of vertical walls 111. Similar to the casters 12 for the printer 1 described above, a plurality of casters 117 having adjustment bolts (not shown) are attached to the underside of the bottom wall 112.

[0027] The rotary feed shaft 101 has both ends rotatably supported by a pair of front protruding plate portions 113 of the support frame 110. The rotary feed shaft 101 is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a drive motor (not shown) attached to the support frame 110. As a result, the leading end of the roll-shaped workpiece W attached to the rotary feed shaft 101 moves downstream in the conveying direction, thereby realizing the feeding operation of the workpiece W.

[0028] The positioning roller 102 has both ends rotatably supported by a pair of vertical wall portions 111 of the support frame 110. The positioning roller 102 has a function of preventing the workpiece W from meandering. In other words, the positioning roller 102 is configured to prevent the workpiece W from shifting in the transport width direction (meandering movement) by sliding the roller main body that comes into contact with the workpiece W in the axial direction.

[0029] The first tension roller 103, second tension roller 104, and third tension roller 105 have their respective end portions rotatably supported by a pair of vertical wall portions 111 of the support frame 110, and the fourth tension roller 106 has its end portions rotatably supported by the pair of rear protruding plate portions 114. Each of the rollers 102 to 106 has the function of applying tension to the web-like workpiece W.

[0030] In the above-mentioned printing device S, when it becomes necessary to set a new workpiece W due to a change in the type (size, material, etc.) of the workpiece W to be printed, the operator performs the work according to the following procedure.

[0031] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting work of this work W, and is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the state in which the tip of the work W has been pulled out from the recording medium supply device 100 and attached to the surface of the conveyor belt 211 of the inkjet printer 1.

[0032] In setting the workpiece W, the worker first prepares a new rolled workpiece W and sets the workpiece W so that the rotary feed shaft 101 passes through the center of the workpiece W. At this time, the workpiece W is set so that the winding direction of the workpiece W around the rotary feed shaft 101 is clockwise in FIG. 3 . Then, with the workpiece W supported by the rotary feed shaft 101, the worker grasps the leading end of the workpiece W and pulls it out downstream in the transport direction, while looping the workpiece W around the first tension roller 103, positioning roller 102, second tension roller 104, third tension roller 105, and fourth tension roller 106 of the recording medium supply device 100 in this order. After the workpiece W has been looped around each of the rollers 102 to 106 of the recording medium supply device 100, the workpiece W is further pulled out downstream in the transport direction and looped around the first tension roller 221, second tension roller 222, and third tension roller 223 of the supply-side transport unit 22 of the printer 1 in this order. Then, the leading end of the workpiece W is adhered to the upper surface of the upstream end 211a (front end) of the conveyor belt 211. At this time, since the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 211 is an adhesive surface as described above, the adhering operation is completed by simply pressing the leading end of the workpiece W onto the upper surface of the conveyor belt 211 without the need to prepare a separate member for adhering. Thus, once the adhering operation of the workpiece W is complete, the setup operation of the workpiece W is complete. In the following explanation, the state in which this setup operation of the workpiece W is completed is referred to as the initial set state.

[0033] With the workpiece W initially set, the operator operates a control panel (not shown) to start printing. This causes a print start command to be sent from the control panel to a control device (not shown). The control device receives this print start command and drives the drive motor for the rotary feed shaft 101 in the recording medium supply device 100 and the drive motor for the conveyor belt 211 in the printer 1. As a result, the rotary feed shaft 101 and the conveyor belt 211 rotate clockwise in FIG. 2 , causing the leading edge of the workpiece W to move downstream in the conveyance direction. After passing between the feed roller 214 and the conveyor belt 211, the workpiece W is supplied to the printing area A directly below the printing unit 30, where the printing unit 30 performs printing on the workpiece W. After passing through the printing area A, the workpiece W passes between the tension roller 231 and the conveyor belt 211 provided in the discharge-side conveyor unit 23, and is conveyed to the winding device 40.

[0034] However, when the workpiece W is initially set, if the set position of the workpiece W is shifted in the transport width direction (left and right in this example) from a predetermined set position (for example, the position where the center position of the workpiece W in the width direction coincides with the center position C of the rotary feed shaft 101 in the transport width direction), there is a problem that poor printing occurs due to the position of the printed image being shifted relative to the workpiece W or the workpiece W meandering during transport, causing wrinkles.

[0035] Therefore, in the printing apparatus S of this embodiment, a reference line K that serves as a positioning reference (mark) for the workpiece W in the transport width direction during the setup work is formed by the reference line forming unit 300. Hereinafter, the reference line forming unit 300 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8.

[0036] [Details of the base line formation unit] Figure 4 is an enlarged oblique view showing the mounting location of the reference line forming unit 300 in the recording medium supply device 100, Figure 5 is an oblique view showing the reference line forming unit 300, Figure 6 is an enlarged oblique view showing the main parts of the reference line forming unit 300, Figure 7 is a view seen from the VII direction in Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a plan view of the reference line forming unit 300 from below.

[0037] The reference line forming unit 300 has a line light irradiator 301 (an example of a light irradiation unit), a rotating bracket unit 302 to which the line light irradiator 301 is fixed, a fixed bracket unit 303 that rotatably supports the rotating bracket unit 302, a torque hinge mechanism 304 interposed between the fixed bracket unit 303 and the rotating bracket unit 302, a slider 305 to which the fixed bracket unit 303 is fixed, a rail member 306 that guides the slider 305 so that it can move left and right, a toggle clamp mechanism 308 for fixing the slider 305 at a desired position, and a plurality of detachable magnets 309 (see Figure 8).

[0038] Line light irradiator 301 is a laser irradiator that emits line light, and has a cylindrical irradiator body case 301a that houses various optical devices such as a light source and lenses. Here, line light is defined as light that projects light onto the irradiated surface as a line rather than a single point or area. Note that the line referred to here is not limited to a continuous, unbroken solid line, but also includes dotted lines and dashed lines composed of intermittent points.

[0039] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the irradiator body case 301a is fixed to the rotating bracket 302 via an irradiator fixture 307 (described later). The line light irradiator 301 emits a line of light from a light emission hole formed on the tip surface of the irradiator body case 301a. In this example, the line of light is, for example, a flat light that expands from the upstream side of the light path toward the downstream side of the light path at a spread angle θ (see FIG. 1) in a direction perpendicular to the light path axis direction, but is not limited to this. The upstream side of the light path refers to the upstream side in the light path axis direction, and the downstream side of the light path refers to the downstream side in the light path axis direction. The light path axis direction is a direction along the optical axis of the line light irradiator 301, and in this example, for example, coincides with the axial direction of the irradiator body case 301a, but is not limited to this. The light path axis direction can be set arbitrarily regardless of the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. In the following description, a plane including the entire flat line of light emitted from the line light irradiator 301 is referred to as the line light plane L. In this example, the line light irradiator 301 is disposed so that the line light plane L (shown only in FIG. 1) is perpendicular to the width direction of the workpiece W when it is being conveyed.

[0040] 6, the irradiator fixture 307 has a split clamping hole 307a and a slit 307b. The split portions on both sides of the slit 307b are split clamped with bolts 351 to fix the line light irradiator 301 inserted into the split clamping hole 307a.

[0041] The rotating bracket 302 is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction (transport width direction). The rotating bracket 302 has a rotating plate 302a in the shape of a long plate arranged perpendicular to the rotation axis, and a rectangular handle 302b connected perpendicularly to the upper edge of the rotating plate 302a. The rotating plate 302a is supported by the fixed bracket 303 in an inclined state so that its lower end is positioned rearward of the upper end. A chamfer is formed on the front corner of the lower end of the rotating plate 302a to avoid interference with the slider 305 when adjusting the rotation angle.

[0042] The fixed bracket portion 303 has a vertical plate portion 303a and a horizontal mounting plate portion 303b. The horizontal mounting plate portion 303b is fixed to the slider 305 by a plurality of bolts 352.

[0043] 7, the torque hinge mechanism 304 has a rotation-side member 304a fixed to the rotation bracket portion 302, a fixed-side member 304b fixed to the fixed bracket portion 303, and a connecting hinge shaft 304c connecting the rotation-side member 304a and the fixed-side member 304b. The connecting hinge shaft 304c is disposed so that its axis extends in the left-right direction. The torque hinge mechanism 304 is configured to generate a predetermined resistance force around the connecting hinge shaft 304c between the rotation-side member 304a and the fixed-side member 304b, thereby being able to hold the rotation-side member 304a at any rotation angle.

[0044] The slider 305 has a base plate portion 305a and a pair of side plate portions 305b.

[0045] A pair of front and rear notched grooves 305d are formed in the base plate portion 305a at a portion where the base plate portion 305a intersects with the line light plane L (shown only in FIG. 1).

[0046] Furthermore, the toggle clamp mechanism 308 is fixed to the upper surface of the base plate portion 305a. The base plate portion 305a is formed with a through-hole 305c (see FIG. 6) that exposes the upper surface of the rail member 306 and allows the clamp member 308b of the toggle clamp mechanism 308 to abut against the upper surface of the rail member 306.

[0047] The rail member 306 has a rail main body 306a in the shape of a flat rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the left-right direction, and a pair of guide grooves 306b formed on the upper surface of the rail main body 306a. A pair of left and right stopper pins 310 protrude from the upper surface of the rail main body 306a. The left and right stopper pins 310 are fixed immovably to one of the guide grooves 306b via fixing members (not shown). The left and right stopper pins 310 are configured to abut against the slider 305 and restrict its movement when the slider 305 reaches the left or right end of its predetermined movement range.

[0048] The rail main body 306a is positioned in the front-rear and left-right directions by a pair of positioning members 118 (see FIG. 4) attached to the upper surface of the first cross beam 115 and described later.

[0049] 8, the multiple (three in this example) attachment / detachment magnets 309 are magnets for attaching and detaching the reference line forming unit 300 to and from the first cross beam 115. The multiple attachment / detachment magnets 309 consist of two attachment / detachment magnets 309 fixed to both left and right ends of the front end portion of the underside of the rail main body 306a, and one attachment / detachment magnet 309 fixed to the left and right center portion of the rear end portion of the underside of the rail main body 306a.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 7, the toggle clamp mechanism 308 includes a clamp arm 308a, a clamp member 308b provided at the tip of the clamp arm 308a, and a clamp lever 308d connected to the base end of the clamp arm 308a via a booster mechanism 308c. The clamp lever 308d is configured to be switchable between a clamped position and an unclamped position by swinging up and down around its base end as a fulcrum. When the clamp lever 308d is in the clamped position (the state shown in FIG. 7), the clamp member 308b presses downward against the top surface of the rail main body 306a, thereby restraining the slider 305 so that it cannot move in the left-right direction. On the other hand, when the clamp lever 308d is in the unclamped position, the clamp member 308b moves upward from the top surface of the rail main body 306a, thereby releasing the restraint of the slider 305.

[0051] The line light irradiator 301 of the reference line forming unit 300 is controlled by the control device. The control device activates the line light irradiator 301 when the power of the printing apparatus S is on. Activation of the line light irradiator 301 causes a line of light to be emitted at a predetermined divergence angle θ from the light emission beam formed on the tip surface of the irradiator main body case 301a. In this example, this divergence angle θ is set to an angle that allows the line of light to be irradiated across at least the rotary feed shaft 101 and the upstream end 211a of the conveyor belt 211, and is preferably between 120° and 140°, and even more preferably 130°.

[0052] As shown in Figure 1, the line light emitted from the line light irradiator 301 is irradiated across at least the rotating feed shaft 101 and positioning roller 102 (an example of a guide roller) of the recording medium supply device 100 and the upstream end 211a of the conveying belt 211 of the printer 1, thereby forming a reference line K that serves as a positioning reference for the workpiece W.

[0053] The reference line K thus formed extends in a direction (front-rear direction in this example) parallel to the conveying direction of the workpiece W in plan view. In other words, the reference line K extends in a direction perpendicular to the conveying width direction (left-right direction in this example) in plan view.

[0054] FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the reference line K formed on the rotating part of the recording medium supplying device 100, of the reference line K that straddles the recording medium supplying device 100 and the printer 1, in bold.

[0055] Here, the position of the reference line K in the left-right direction can be adjusted by sliding the slider 305 in the left-right direction.

[0056] In this example, the position of the rail member 306 and the movable range of the slider 305 are set so that the optical axis of the line light irradiator 301 can move left and right within a predetermined set area R2. The set area R2 includes an area R1 between the left end position P1 of the workpiece W with the smallest width to be used and the left end position P2 of the workpiece W with the largest width to be used, and is set to be slightly wider left and right than the area R1. Here, the left end positions P1 and P2 of the workpiece W are the left end positions of the workpiece W when the center position in the width direction of the workpiece W coincides with the center position C of the rotary feed shaft 101 in the transport width direction.

[0057] [Rail component positioning structure] Here, if the positioning accuracy of the rail member 306 is poor, there is a risk that the parallelism of the reference line K to the conveying direction will decrease or that a positional deviation will occur in the conveying width direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rail member 306 is positioned by a pair of positioning members 118 as described above.

[0058] The pair of positioning members 118 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 10A to 10C. Figure 10A is a plan view showing the positioning structure of the rail member 306, Figure 10B is a view taken in the direction of the arrow XB in Figure 10A, and Figure 10C is a view taken in the direction of the arrow XC in Figure 10A.

[0059] The pair of positioning members 118 includes a left positioning member 118L that regulates the position of the left end of the rail member 306, and a right positioning member 118R that regulates the position of the right end of the rail member 306.

[0060] The left positioning member 118L has an end face abutment plate 118a, a pair of fitting grooves 118b, an attachment groove 118c (see FIG. 10B), and a protruding plate 118d. The end face abutment plate 118a is made of a vertical plate portion extending in the front-rear direction, and abuts against one end face of the rail member 306 in the left-right direction, thereby regulating its left-right position.

[0061] The pair of fitting grooves 118b are located on both the left and right sides of the end surface abutment plate 118a, and are open to the outside and upward in the left-right direction. The fitting grooves 118b are formed so that they can be fitted into the longitudinal end of the rail member 306. The mounting groove 118c (see FIG. 10B) is a U-shaped groove that is formed in the lower surface of the left positioning member 118L and is open to the downward side. The mounting groove 118c is formed so that it can be fitted into the first cross beam 115 from above. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the protruding plate 118d protrudes to the left from the side surface of the left positioning member 118L (see FIG. 10C). The left-side positioning member 118L is attached and fixed to the first cross beam 115 with the tip end surface of the protruding plate 118d abutting against the inner wall surface of the left-side vertical wall portion 111. In this way, the left-right position of the left-side positioning member 118L is regulated by abutting the tip end surface of the protruding plate 118d against the upper end of the left-side vertical wall portion 111. This reduces variation in the attachment position of the left-side positioning member 118L, and ultimately reduces variation in the position of the rail member 306.

[0062] The right-side positioning member 118R has the same configuration as the left-side positioning member 118L except that it does not have the protruding plate 118d. Therefore, a detailed description of the right-side positioning member 118R will be omitted. The right-side positioning member 118R is attached and fixed to the first cross beam 115 with a predetermined gap (a gap corresponding to the length of the rail member 306) between it and the left-side positioning member 118L in the left-right direction.

[0063] When the reference line forming unit 300 is attached to the recording medium supply device 100, the worker attaches the rail member 306 from above between the pair of positioning members 118 attached to the first cross beam 115. At this time, both ends of the rail member 306 are fitted into the fitting grooves 118b located on the inner sides of the pair of positioning members 118. This completes the positioning of the rail member 306 in the left-right and front-rear directions.

[0064] After the positioning of the reference line forming unit 300 is completed, the operator turns on the power of the printing apparatus S, and under the control of the control device, the line light irradiator 301 is activated and a line of light is emitted from the line light irradiator 301. As a result, the reference line K for positioning (see FIG. 1, etc.) is formed across the rotary feed shaft 101 and positioning roller 102 of the recording medium supply device 100 and the upstream end 211a of the conveyor belt 211 of the printer 1.

[0065] In this example, the reference line K is set as a positioning reference for the left end position of the workpiece W, and when the operator sets the workpiece W during the above-mentioned setup work, he or she can prevent the workpiece W from tilting relative to the transport direction and shifting in position in the left-right direction by aligning the left end position of the workpiece W with the reference line K.

[0066] [summary] As described above, the printing apparatus S of this embodiment includes a work transport unit 400 that transports the workpiece W, and a line light irradiator 301. The line light irradiator 301 irradiates a line of light across the rotary feed shaft 101 and the positioning roller 102, which are located upstream of the printing unit 30, and the upstream end 211a of the transport belt 211 (an example of a plurality of rotating parts), thereby forming a reference line K, which serves as a reference for positioning the workpiece W in the transport width direction, on the outer peripheral surface of each of them.

[0067] According to this configuration, the worker can easily position the workpiece W by aligning one side edge (the left edge in this example) of the workpiece W in the transport width direction with the reference line K. This makes it possible to prevent the workpiece W from shifting in position in the transport width direction and tilting relative to the transport direction.

[0068] The work transport unit 400 is configured to transport the work W downstream in the transport direction so that the printing unit 30 can begin printing on the work W from an initial set state (state shown in Figure 3) in which the tip of the work W is located upstream of the printing unit 30 in the transport direction and the work W is set across the rotary feed shaft 101, the positioning roller 102, and the upstream end 211a of the transport belt 211.

[0069] In such a printing apparatus S, the positioning accuracy of the workpiece W in the initially set state is particularly important in order to ensure the print quality of the workpiece W. In other words, if the workpiece W is misaligned or tilted in the initially set state, the printed image may be misaligned relative to the workpiece W, or the workpiece W may meander during transport, causing wrinkles, resulting in poor printing. In contrast, with the above configuration, the workpiece W can be positioned based on the reference line K formed by the line light irradiator 301 during the initial setting operation, thereby avoiding the above problems.

[0070] In this embodiment, the line light emitted from the line light irradiator 301 is light that spreads in a direction perpendicular to the optical path axis direction from the upstream side of the optical path to the downstream side of the optical path within a line light plane L (see FIG. 1) that includes the entire line light. The line light irradiator 301 is configured to irradiate the line light so that the line light plane L is perpendicular to the conveying width direction.

[0071] According to this configuration, a reference line K can be formed along the conveying direction of the workpiece W on the outer peripheral surfaces of the rotary feed shaft 101, the positioning roller 102, and the upstream end 211a of the conveyor belt 211. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the reference line K from being tilted with respect to the conveying direction of the workpiece W in a plan view. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the workpiece W, which is positioned based on the reference line K, from being displaced or tilted.

[0072] In this embodiment, the printing apparatus S is provided with a position adjustment mechanism that can adjust the position in the transport width direction of the line light irradiator 301. As an example, the position adjustment mechanism is configured to include a rail member 306 and a slider 305.

[0073] According to this configuration, an operator can change the position of the line light emitted from the line light irradiator 301 in the left-right direction (transport width direction) by changing the position of the slider 305 according to the size of the workpiece W to be printed. Therefore, by adjusting the position of the slider 305, an operator can change the position of the reference line K to a position according to the size of the workpiece W (see FIG. 9). Therefore, one line light irradiator 301 can be used to accommodate workpieces W of various width sizes, thereby reducing costs.

[0074] In this embodiment, the printing device S is provided with an angle adjustment mechanism that can adjust the angle of the line light irradiator 301 around an axis that is parallel to the transport width direction. As an example, the angle adjustment mechanism is configured to include the rotating bracket unit 302 and the torque hinge mechanism 304.

[0075] With this configuration, the front-to-rear position of the irradiation range of the line light emitted from line light irradiator 301 can be adjusted by rotating rotating bracket unit 302 about the rotation axis of torque hinge mechanism 304. Therefore, even if the distance between recording medium supplying device 100 and printer 1 in the front-to-rear direction changes due to variations in the installation position of recording medium supplying device 100, for example, by adjusting the rotation angle of rotating bracket unit 302, the irradiation range of the line light can be reliably adjusted to a range spanning from rotation feed shaft 101 of recording medium supplying device 100 to upstream end 211a of conveyor belt 211 of printer 1.

[0076] In this embodiment, the line light irradiator 301, the angle adjustment mechanism, and the position adjustment mechanism are unitized with one rail member 306 as the base to form a reference line forming unit 300.

[0077] According to this configuration, it is not necessary to assemble the line light irradiator 301, the angle adjustment mechanism, and the position adjustment mechanism separately to the recording medium supplying device 100, so that the number of assembly steps can be reduced.

[0078] In this embodiment, the reference line forming unit 300 is configured to be detachable from the first cross beam 115 of the recording medium supply device 100 via an attachment / detachment magnet 309. Note that the configuration for making it detachable is not limited to the attachment / detachment magnet 309, and may be an engaging / detaching structure using a claw or the like.

[0079] According to this configuration, only users who require the reference line K when setting the work W need to retrofit the reference line forming unit 300 to the recording medium supply device 100, thereby preventing the reference line forming unit 300 from being unnecessarily equipped and increasing the cost burden on the user.

[0080] In addition, in this embodiment, the recording medium supply device 100 further includes a pair of positioning members 18 that fit into both ends of the reference line forming unit 300 (more specifically, both ends of the rail member 306) to position the reference line forming unit 300 relative to the first cross beam 115.

[0081] According to this configuration, when the reference line forming unit 300 is attached to the first cross beam 115, the reference line forming unit 300 can be attached to a predetermined position (in this example, a position where the linear light plane L is perpendicular to the conveyance width direction and where the position can be changed to accommodate the size of the workpiece W described in FIG. 9). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the reference line K from being shifted or tilted due to a shift in the attachment position of the reference line forming unit 300.

[0082] In this embodiment, the line light emitted from the line light irradiator 301 is a green laser light.

[0083] According to this configuration, the safety of the line of light can be ensured while the reference line K formed by the line of light can be made to stand out clearly.

[0084] In this embodiment, the printing apparatus S includes a printer 1 (corresponding to the printing apparatus main body) having a printing unit 30, and a recording medium supplying device 100 that is a separate device from the printer 1 and is arranged upstream of the printer 1 in the transport direction, and supplies a workpiece W toward the printer 1. The line light irradiator 301 irradiates a line of light so as to straddle at least a rotary feed shaft 101 and a positioning roller 102 provided in the recording medium supplying device 100 and an upstream end 211a of a transport belt 211 provided in the printer 1. The rotary feed shaft 101 and the positioning roller 102 correspond to a first rotating unit, and the upstream end 211a of the transport belt 211 corresponds to a second rotating unit.

[0085] In a printing device S in which the recording medium supplying device 100 is configured separately from the printer 1, the workpiece W must be set across both the recording medium supplying device 100 and the printer 1, making it difficult to align the workpiece W, and it is prone to misalignment and tilt during the initial setting process. Misalignment and tilting of the workpiece W in the initial setting state can easily become exacerbated during subsequent transport operations, resulting in printing defects. In contrast, in the above configuration, the reference line K, which serves as the reference for positioning the workpiece W, is formed across the outer peripheral surfaces of the rotary feed shaft 101 and positioning roller 102, which are the rotating parts of the recording medium supplying device 100, and the upstream end 211a of the conveyor belt 211, which is the rotating part on the printer 1 side. This makes it easy to prevent misalignment and tilting of the workpiece W during the initial setting process.

[0086] In this embodiment, the recording medium supplying device 100 includes a rotary feed shaft 101 that is inserted into the axial center of a rolled workpiece W and rotates the workpiece W about the axial center to feed the leading end of the workpiece W downstream along the conveyance direction, and a positioning roller 102 (an example of a guide roller) that is provided downstream of the rotary feed shaft 101 in the conveyance direction and guides the workpiece W. The printer 1 includes an endless conveyor belt 211 that is disposed from the upstream side to the downstream side of the printing unit 30 and rotates while being wrapped around a drive roller 212 and a driven roller 213 (at least two rotating shaft members) that extend in the conveyance width direction. The endless conveyor belt 211 has an outer circumferential surface that adhesively holds the workpiece W supplied from the recording medium supplying device 100, and is configured to supply the workpiece W to the printing unit 30 by rotating while holding the workpiece W on the outer circumferential surface.

[0087] In the printing device S configured in this manner, a reference line K is formed across the rotary feed shaft 101 and positioning roller 102 provided in the recording medium supply device 100 and the upstream end 211a of the conveying belt 211 provided in the printer 1, so that the setting work of the above-mentioned work W can be performed easily and accurately.

[0088] In this embodiment, the positioning roller 102 is configured to have a function of preventing the workpiece W from meandering.

[0089] The positioning roller 102 having such a meandering prevention function plays a particularly important role in preventing meandering during transport of the workpiece W. Therefore, in this embodiment, by forming a positioning reference line K on the outer peripheral surface of the positioning roller 102, the positioning accuracy of the workpiece W in the transport width direction relative to the positioning roller 102 can be improved, and ultimately meandering of the workpiece W during transport can be prevented.

[0090] Furthermore, the printing method in the printing apparatus S of this embodiment includes the steps of: irradiating the line light by a line light irradiator 301 so as to straddle the rotary feed shaft 101, the positioning roller 102, and the upstream end 211a of the conveying belt 211, and indicating a reference line K by the line light on the outer surface of each; and positioning the work W in the conveying width direction from the transfer shaft 101 and the positioning roller 102 (the first rotating part) to the upstream end 211a (second rotating part) of the conveying belt 211, based on the reference line K indicated on the outer surface of the rotary feed shaft 101 and the positioning roller 102 (the first rotating part) of the rotary feed shaft 101, the positioning roller 102, and the upstream end 211a of the conveying belt 211, which are provided in the recording medium supply device, and the reference line K indicated on the outer surface of the upstream end 211a (second rotating part) of the conveying belt 211.

[0091] According to this printing method, even in situations where the initial setting of the workpiece W is difficult because the recording medium supply device 100 and the printer 1 are separate devices, the positioning of the workpiece W can be performed easily and accurately.

[0092] (Embodiment 2) 11 is a view equivalent to FIG. 2 showing embodiment 2. This embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in that the reference line forming unit 300 is attached to the printer 1 rather than the recording medium supply device 100. In the following description, the same components as those in embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0093] 11, the reference line forming unit 300 is fixed via a support unit 500 to the upper surface of a front cross beam 225 (see FIG. 11) attached to the front end of the printer 1. This front cross beam 225 is positioned to extend in the left-right direction at the front end of the printer 1. Both ends of the front cross beam 225 are connected to the upper ends of a pair of left and right sheet metal members 224 provided in the supply-side transport section 22.

[0094] Figure 12 is an oblique view from diagonally above the front showing the assembled state of the reference line forming unit 300 and its support unit 500 in this embodiment, and Figure 13 is an oblique view from diagonally above the rear showing the assembled state.

[0095] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the reference line forming unit 300 of this embodiment has the same configuration as that of embodiment 1, except that the rail member 306 does not have a detachable magnet 309 and has a screw hole (not shown) for fixing on the widthwise side of the rail member 306.

[0096] The reference line forming unit 300 is fixed to the support unit 500 with the sliding surface of the slider 305 of the rail member 306 facing forward and the length direction of the rail member 306 (extension direction of the guide groove) facing left and right.

[0097] The reference line forming unit 300 is fixed to the support unit 500 by a pair of bolts 551 that are screwed into a pair of screw holes formed on the side surfaces of the rail member 306 .

[0098] The support unit 500 has a rectangular parallelepiped support beam 501 that extends in the left-right direction of the printer 1, a pair of support columns 502 that hang down from the underside of both ends of the support beam 501 and are connected to the front cross beam 225 (see Figure 11) of the printer 1, and a pair of protruding support beams 503 that protrude forward from the front side surfaces of both ends of the support beam 501 and are connected to the rail member 306 via fixing brackets 510.

[0099] The fixing bracket 510 has a mounting sheet metal part 510a and a fixing bracket part 510b. The mounting sheet metal part 510a has a U-shaped cross section that opens downwards, and is attached to the protruding support beam 503 from above. As shown in Figure 13, the fixing bracket part 510b extends from the left and right edges and the top edge of the mounting sheet metal part 510a and is fixed to the rail member with bolts 551.

[0100] The upper surface of the rear end of each protruding support beam 503 and the front side surface of the support beam 501 are connected by a right-angle rib member 511 (see FIG. 13) and a bolt 552. The lower surface of the rear end of each protruding support beam 503 and the front side surface of each support column 502 are connected by a right-angle rib member 512 (see FIG. 12) and a bolt 553.

[0101] Right-angled rib members 513 with horizontal undersides are fixed by bolts 553 to the left and right side surfaces of the lower ends of the pair of support columns 502. The support unit 500 is then fixed by the bolts 553 with the undersides of the right-angled rib members 513 fixed to the pair of support columns 502 abutting against the upper surface of the front cross beam 225 of the printer 1.

[0102] [Action and effect] As described above, in the printing apparatus S of this embodiment, the reference line forming unit 300 is attached to the printer 1 via the support unit 500. Therefore, even if the model of the recording medium supply device 100 is changed, there is no need to change the attachment structure of the reference line forming unit 300 (for example, the shape of the attachment grooves 118c of the pair of positioning members 18). This makes it possible to reduce the cost of modifying equipment when using the reference line forming unit 300.

[0103] (Other embodiments) Although the printing device S according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following modified embodiments can be adopted, for example.

[0104] (1) In the above embodiments, a textile printing device that prints images such as characters and patterns using an inkjet method has been described as an example of the printing device S, but the printing device S is not limited to this and may be, for example, a normal inkjet printer that prints on recording paper, etc. Furthermore, the printing method is not limited to the inkjet recording method and may be, for example, a stencil printing method, a laser printing method, a thermal transfer printing method, etc.

[0105] (2) Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the reference line forming unit 300 is attached to the recording medium supply device 100 or the printer 1, but this is not limited to this. For example, the reference line forming unit 300 may be attached to a structure (such as the ceiling) of the building in which the printing device S is installed, or a dedicated support member for supporting the reference line forming unit 300 may be separately provided.

[0106] (3) In the above embodiments, examples have been described in which the reference line K is used to position the workpiece W during setup work, but this is not limiting. For example, if an operator notices that the workpiece W is misaligned in the transport width direction during transport, the operator may use the reference line K as a reference for positioning the workpiece W when temporarily stopping the operation of the printing device S to correct the position of the workpiece W in the transport width direction.

[0107] (4) In the above embodiments, the printing device S is configured with the printer 1 and the recording medium supply device 100 as separate devices, but this is not limited to this. That is, a supply unit for the workpiece W, which is a recording medium, may be built into the printer 1, for example.

[0108] (5) In the above embodiments, laser light has been described as an example of the line light emitted from the light emitting unit (in the embodiments, the line light irradiator 301), but this is not limited to this and any type of light may be used. Furthermore, the color of the light is not limited to green and may be other colors such as red.

[0109] (6) In the above embodiments, the line light is described as a diverging light, but it may be, for example, a rectangular curtain-like light produced by multiple light projectors working together. In other words, the line light may be in any form as long as the projected light on the irradiated surface is a line rather than a point.

[0110] (7) In the above embodiments, the feed shaft 101, the positioning roller 102, and the upstream end 211a of the conveyor belt 211 are described as examples of the plurality of rotating parts, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the plurality of rotating parts may have any configuration as long as they are arranged at intervals in the conveying direction on the upstream side of the printing unit 30 in the conveying direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1: Inkjet printer (printing device body) 18: Positioning member 30: Printing department 100: Recording medium supply device 101: Rotary feed shaft (rotating part, first rotating part) 102: Positioning roller (guide roller, rotating part, first rotating part) 115: First cross beam (beam extending in the conveying width direction) 118: Positioning member 118L: Left side positioning member 118R: Right side positioning member 211a: upstream end of conveyor belt (rotating part, second rotating part) 300: Baseline formation unit 301: Line light irradiator (light irradiation unit) 400: Work transport section (transport section) K:Reference line L: Line light plane (plane) S:Printing device W: Work (recording medium)

Claims

1. a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction; a printing unit that performs printing processing on the recording medium transported by the transport unit; a light irradiating unit capable of irradiating the conveying unit with line light, the transport unit includes a plurality of rotating units that are arranged at intervals in the transport direction upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and that transport the recording medium by rotating around an axis that extends in a width direction perpendicular to the transport direction; The light irradiation unit irradiates the line of light across the plurality of rotating parts, and indicates a reference line by the line of light on the outer surfaces of the plurality of rotating parts.

2. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, A printing device in which the transport unit is configured to start transporting the recording medium downstream in the transport direction from an initial set state in which the leading edge of the recording medium is located upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and the recording medium is set across the multiple rotating units, so as to start printing processing on the recording medium by the printing unit.

3. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, the line light is flat light that spreads in a direction perpendicular to the optical path axis direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the optical path axis direction, The light irradiation unit is configured to irradiate the line of light so that a plane including the entire line of light is perpendicular to the width direction.

4. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, The printing device further includes a position adjustment mechanism that can adjust the position of the light irradiation unit in the width direction.

5. 4. The printing device according to claim 3, The printing device further includes an angle adjustment mechanism that can adjust the angle of the light irradiation unit around an axis that is parallel to the width direction.

6. 6. The printing device according to claim 5, a position adjustment mechanism that can adjust the position of the light irradiation unit in the width direction, The light irradiation unit, the angle adjustment mechanism, and the position adjustment mechanism are unitized to form a reference line forming unit.

7. 7. The printing device according to claim 6, a printing device main body having the printing unit; a recording medium supply device that is separate from the printing device main body and is arranged upstream of the printing device main body in the transport direction, and that supplies the recording medium toward the printing device main body; The reference line forming unit is detachably attached to the recording medium supply device.

8. 8. The printing device according to claim 7, the recording medium supply device has a beam extending in the width direction, The printing device further comprises a pair of positioning members that fit onto both ends of the reference line forming unit to position the reference line forming unit relative to the beam.

9. 7. The printing device according to claim 6, a printing device main body having the printing unit; a recording medium supply device that is separate from the printing device main body and is arranged upstream of the printing device main body in the transport direction, and that supplies the recording medium toward the printing device main body; The reference line forming unit is provided in the printing device main body.

10. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, The printing device, wherein the line of light emitted from the light irradiation unit is green laser light.

11. 11. The printing device according to claim 1, a printing device main body having the printing unit; a recording medium supply device that is separate from the printing device main body and is arranged upstream of the printing device main body in the transport direction, and that supplies the recording medium toward the printing device main body; A printing device, wherein a first rotating unit of the plurality of rotating units is provided in the recording medium supply device, and a second rotating unit is provided in the printing device main body.

12. 12. The printing device according to claim 11, The recording medium supply device a rotary feed shaft that is inserted into an axial center portion of the recording medium wound in a roll shape and rotates the recording medium around the axial center portion to feed a leading end side of the recording medium downstream along the conveyance direction; a guide roller that is provided downstream of the rotary feed shaft in the transport direction and that guides the recording medium, the printing device main body is disposed from the upstream side to the downstream side of the printing unit, and has an endless conveyor belt that is wound around at least two rotary shaft members that extend in the width direction and rotates; the endless conveyor belt has an outer peripheral surface that adhesively holds the recording medium supplied from the recording medium supply device, and is configured to supply the recording medium to the printing unit by rotating while holding the recording medium on the outer peripheral surface, the part of the rotating portion includes the rotary feed shaft and the guide roller of the recording medium supply device, The other rotating portion includes an upstream end portion of the endless conveyor belt in the conveying direction.

13. 13. The printing device according to claim 12, The printing device, wherein the guide roller is a positioning roller that has a function of preventing the recording medium from meandering.

14. a printing method using a printing device including a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium in a conveying direction, a printing unit that performs a printing process on the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit, and a light irradiating unit that can irradiate line light to the conveying unit, wherein the conveying unit includes a plurality of rotating units that are arranged upstream of the printing unit in the conveying direction at intervals in the conveying direction and that convey the recording medium by rotating around axes that extend in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, a step of irradiating the line of light across the plurality of rotating parts by the light irradiation unit, and indicating a reference line by the line of light on outer surfaces of the plurality of rotating parts; a step of positioning the recording medium in the width direction across the first rotating unit and the second rotating unit based on the reference line indicated on the outer surface of a first rotating unit and the reference line indicated on the outer surface of a second rotating unit among the plurality of rotating units.

Images