Ink fluid supply path, and output device including ink fluid supply path

Abstract

We would like to devise an output device that can be cleaned or maintained for 2D and 3D recording and output applications, and also devise an ink supply system that supplies ink and recording materials to the recording head of the output device. [Solution] The output device capable of outputting has a recording surface 2 and a recording head / fluid ejection nozzle 10 that can rotate, pivot, and move in a loop. An example of a tank / supply unit that supplies ink to the operating head by supplying ink to the central axis of the rotating shaft of the head is disclosed in Figure 3B etc.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a scanning method for a print head of a printer, and also to an output device such as a printing device or processing device that uses the scanning method. [Background technology]

[0002] Computer output devices include printers, coating devices, ejection devices, and laser processing devices that eject ink or materials on demand onto desired positions on recording paper, media, or recording surfaces to process the media (recording paper or recording material). The device is controlled by a computer terminal and processes a two-dimensional or three-dimensional location using ink materials, lasers, etc., to form two-dimensional images or text as images and create three-dimensional solids. An output machine, such as a printer, plotter, or machining center, is a machine that places or processes material at a desired location in two or three dimensions.

[0003] In an inkjet printer, ink is ejected from the nozzles of the inkjet print head, and the ink is deposited on the media to be printed, where it dries or reacts, hardens, and adheres to fix the ink. Inkjet printers are equipped with print head nozzles that correspond to the ink material and type, allowing them to eject and arrange multiple types of ink onto the recording surface, making them suitable for printing color images and are used in printing text and color images.

[0004] It has also become possible to create three-dimensional objects by printing and depositing additional images vertically on top of the ink material printed and deposited on the recording surface in two dimensions, and inkjet-based three-dimensional printers (3D printers) are now in practical use. Two-dimensional printers (2D printers, conventional printers) are being adapted for use as three-dimensional printers (3D printers).

[0005] When printing and layering ink with a 3D printer, the ink is either fixed and then compressed and deposited using a roller, or powder or paper is supplied instead of recording paper, the ink is fixed, and the layering is carried out in the vertical direction after a process of smoothing with a roller, etc., to create the shape.

[0006] On the other hand, in addition to being used for 3D applications, 2D printers are also used for recording on special inks and media, and for high-speed printing. In addition to printing on paper such as text books and posters for on-demand printing, it is also used for printing on fire-resistant film using special ink for signs and advertisements, coloring and printing textile products, printing on products, on-demand printing for product trials, and prototyping. In the field of printed electronics, they are used in the manufacture of electronic components and for applying liquid materials to substrates during coating processes. Applications are being considered for applying and fixing functional materials such as organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, hybrid materials, synthetic metal materials, conductive polymers, electrode materials, metal particle materials, inkjet printer element electronic component materials, and resists. In each of the aforementioned fields, high printing speed is desirable.

[0007] One known approach to improving printing speed in the inkjet printer field is the development of line printers as opposed to serial printers. Most practical inkjet printers are serial printers (see https: / / www.jfpi.or.jp / webyogo / index.php?term=1165 for an example explanation), and because they use a multi-pass method in which the recording head repeatedly moves in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction (vertical direction) of the recording paper to record, it is necessary to repeatedly move the recording head to print, which can take a long time to print.

[0008] In serial printers, the method used is to increase the print speed by increasing the print head's capacity (increasing the number of nozzles Nz) and speed (increasing the nozzle drive speed f). (This is well known; for example, page 222 of Non-Patent Document 1 describes the speed factor SF of serial printers.) For example, the number of nozzles mounted on a recording head may be increased. To increase the number of nozzles, a known method is to connect multiple recording head elements with built-in nozzles in a staggered arrangement or the like and mount them on the recording head of a serial printer, thereby increasing the size of the recording head and improving printing speed.

[0009] When the recording head is enlarged and its mass is increased, the mechanism that supports and drives the head also becomes larger, and there is a limit to the speed at which the enlarged head can be moved.

[0010] Furthermore, as the number of head elements mounted on the print head increases, it becomes necessary to adjust the position and level of the elements and to adjust the ejection, etc. When many elements are mounted on the head, it can sometimes be laborious to replace a faulty head element and adjust the ejection. In the inventor's personal opinion, as staggered heads become larger, the footprint of the cleaning section (which also serves as the capping section) also becomes larger.

[0011] Regarding head installation, among inkjet systems, industrial printers that use thermal inkjet technology can manufacture printheads that incorporate thermal inkjet head elements or elements found in serial printers, which are often manufactured using semiconductor manufacturing technology. In the event of irrecoverable nozzle clogs, the entire printhead can be replaced, reducing maintenance effort and costs as well as downtime for head adjustment.

[0012] To improve the printing speed of serial printers, a line printer line head (https: / / www.epson.jp / osirase / 2017 / 170202_4.htm) is used as the recording head, in which the nozzles of multiple recording head elements are arranged in a straight line (one-dimensionally) perpendicular to the direction of paper feed (vertical direction, sub-scanning direction) of the recording paper. Patent documents 1 to 4 are examples of previously reported line printer patents. Line printers use a single-pass method in which the recording head moves only once when the recording surface or recording paper is supplied during printing (the recording head is fixed and the recording surface moves). In a line printer, printing is performed by a recording head positioned across the recording width of the recording paper as soon as the recording paper is fed out. Since printing is performed simply by the recording paper passing under the recording head, it is possible to feed the media and print without stopping, just like offset printing.

[0013] Here, like the recording heads of serial printers, line heads also need to have the ejection performance required to achieve the desired processing capacity, such as by increasing the number of nozzles, and it may be important for consumers to keep in mind that a high-speed serial head is preferable to a slow line head. Line heads and the method described in this invention may be preferable for business use rather than home use, where the printer is constantly running, due to issues such as the head cleaning mechanism when not printing, the capping mechanism, and maintenance of large heads.

[0014] However, in practical line heads, there is a problem that cleaning mechanisms for inkjet head nozzles that can be used in serial printers cannot be used or are limited in their use.

[0015] Cleaning a line head is difficult because the recording head is in operation during printing. Cleaning requires interrupting printing and moving the line head away from the recording surface, which increases the printing time. From the perspective of the speed factor SF, this increases the maintenance time Tm and other time X. To avoid interruptions to printing, there is also a method in which two or more sets of line heads are provided and the heads not used for printing are cleaned. Thus, cleaning measures are a known issue for line heads.

[0016] Furthermore, when the head elements are connected in a line and fixed in a certain position for printing, the nozzle positions become fixed, resulting in the problem of nozzles that cannot be restored by cleaning (missing nozzles). Serial printers perform multi-pass printing, which allows print head ejection defects and biases in each nozzle to be made less noticeable on the image by dividing the print head into multiple scans, but with the single-pass method of the line head, nozzle dropouts and the like are more noticeable. This must be avoided as it can lead to partial image defects in images, modeling failures in 3D printers, and manufacturing failures in electronic components. When printing a three-dimensional object, it takes time to layer the layers, and if the nozzle cannot be cleaned and a missing nozzle occurs, causing the model to fail, it will waste material and time. The inventor therefore sought to find a method that would allow printing like a line printer while cleaning. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0017] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-273878 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-016316 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5857205 [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2017 / 013847 [Non-patent literature]

[0018] [Non-Patent Document 1] Edited by the Imaging Society of Japan, supervised by Masahiko Fujii, series "Digital Printer Technology" Inkjet 2008 ISBN 978-4-501-62340-1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0019] The problem to be solved is the lack of availability of line heads or line head equivalent recording heads that allow continuous nozzle cleaning for two-dimensional and three-dimensional printing. Another issue was the lack of a print head that could print in a single pass like a line printer, but could be easily cleaned during printing like a serial printer. The problem is that there is no mechanism to perform cleaning during printing when using a line head in a printer that operates for a long time, such as a 3D printer. In 2D printers, the same problem as with 3D printers can occur when operating the nozzle for a long time during on-demand manufacturing of industrial products. It would be desirable for a printer that operates like a line printer to have a mechanism that allows cleaning during the printing operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0020] As a means for solving the problem, the present invention will be explained using schematic diagrams of printer scanning methods such as those shown in Figures 1, 1AA, 1AB, 1AC, and 2C, an explanatory diagram of a printer equipped with an inkjet or additive manufacturing nozzle as shown in Figure 5A and Figure 5A, and an explanatory diagram of a laser processing machine as shown in Figure 5E. In order to solve the problem, the present invention provides a nozzle array 100 (nozzles 10, 100NZ) or nozzles in a recording head 1, which draws a rotating or looping orbit (100 or 100A in the case of a circular orbit, and 100R or 4R in the case of an oval track) that crosses the recording paper 2 or the recording surface 2, passes through a cleaning unit 3, and crosses the recording surface 2 again, as shown in the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 1AA and 2C, The recording surface 2 and the cleaning mechanism 3 are arranged on the track (100, 100A, 100R, 4R) along which the nozzles of the recording head 1 rotate or loop, The nozzle is a material discharge nozzle (inkjet nozzle, dispenser nozzle, vapor deposition gas irradiation nozzle, nozzle using additive manufacturing method) or a laser nozzle (laser processing nozzle that heats and scrapes off wood, resin, electrode film by laser processing, nozzle using removal processing method), The main feature is that the nozzle scans across the recording surface 2, passes through the cleaning unit 3, and then crosses the recording surface 2 again and passes through the cleaning unit 3, as shown in Figures 5A and 5D, repeating this process, thereby providing a nozzle scanning path that allows printing / processing and cleaning to be performed alternately. As shown in Figures 2AA and 2A, the trajectory traced by the nozzles of the recording head passes across the recording surface, and one or more cleaning units 3 may be provided on both sides of the recording surface or in the vicinity of the recording surface through which the trajectory of the recording head passes, and the printer is characterized in that the trajectory passes through a cleaning unit having one or more cleaning units 3 provided. 1, 1A, 2A, 2AA, 2C, 3B, 5A, 5B, and 5D are representative explanatory diagrams of the present invention. The invention can be used in an apparatus with inkjet nozzles, FDM or additive manufacturing (AM) nozzles, where the apparatus has one or more nozzles in a print head, for use in 3D printing using AM methods similar to FDM, or for use in inkjet printing in 2D and 3D. <Electronic component manufacturing> The method and apparatus of the present invention are also intended to be used in the manufacturing process of electronic components and the like, for depositing materials and forming films. In relation to the electronic component process, the nozzle is not the type used in the AM method, but rather a laser nozzle or other nozzle that performs cutting and removal processing, and the film formed during the manufacturing of electronic components is cut and removed by laser processing, with the intention of using this for electrode patterning. It is intended to be particularly suitable for components that require film formation and patterning over large areas, such as solar cell manufacturing processes.

[0021] Specific examples of the trajectory described by the nozzles of the recording head are circles, ellipses, and ovals. When the trajectory is particularly circular, the nozzles are fixed in a circular arrangement, and the print head with this fixed circular nozzle row is rotated by a motor either external or attached to the print head, and ink is ejected from the nozzle row that describes a circular trajectory across the recording surface, thereby printing. In addition to ejecting materials such as ink, processing can also be performed by placing a processing element in place of the nozzle. 1AC and 5A, in the present invention, if there is one nozzle, the nozzle is provided alone on the circumferential side of circular head 1, and head 1 is rotated (or moved), and ink 12 is ejected onto recording surface 2 from nozzle 100NZ, which describes a circular trajectory 100C that crosses the recording surface, to perform printing. After the ejection operation, the nozzle passes through cleaning unit 3 and is cleaned, and then moves again above the recording surface and ejects, repeating this ejection and cleaning operation. In the present invention, as shown in Figures 1A, 1AA and 1AB, when the head 1 is provided with not just one nozzle (in the case of 100NZ) but two or three or more nozzles such as a nozzle array 100, the print head 1 is rotated by a motor either external or provided on the print head, and ink 12 is ejected onto the recording surface 2 from the multiple nozzles (nozzle array 100) that describe a circular orbit across the recording surface, printing is performed, and the nozzles pass through a cleaning unit 3 during printing to perform cleaning, and the ejection and cleaning operations are repeated.

[0022] As shown in Figures 2C and 5D, the recording head trajectory can be circular or elliptical (elliptical, oval track), and one or more nozzles are arranged on a track (4R, 100R) and made movable. The nozzles 100NZ are arranged on a track such as a rail so that they are arranged in an elliptical shape like a train (car, carrier, carriage). The car equipped with the nozzles moves from a certain origin position across the recording surface, passes through a cleaning section, and then crosses the origin and the recording surface again so that it can print continuously. The nozzles print or process as they cross the recording surface. In this case, the nozzles alternate between ejection and cleaning operations by continuing the main scan.

[0023] The head of the present invention may be of an inkjet type, or may be of a type found in 3D printers that extrudes material and ejects it from a nozzle (additive manufacturing, FDM type), or a laser irradiation type equipped with an irradiation section (irradiation laser nozzle section) that processes material in a laser processing machine.

[0024] The recording head may be provided with a plurality of inkjet nozzles or a plurality of FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) material ejection nozzles. Any nozzle that extrudes material from a nozzle used in known additive manufacturing methods may be used. The scanning method of the present invention may be used for materials that are not thermally melted (materials that are fluid at room temperature), such as food pastes (paste-like confectionery ingredients such as cookie dough and chocolate paste, bread ingredients, and dough ingredients), or items that can be made from inorganic / organic pastes, such as pottery, earthenware, and building materials. The scanning method of the present invention may also be used to eject biological material onto a recording surface, for example, from a nozzle having a nozzle diameter capable of ejecting seeds for agricultural machinery applications. The print head may be equipped with an inkjet nozzle and an extrusion nozzle for food materials, and food paste may be layered using the extrusion nozzle, and food coloring may be printed on the food to output on-demand food. In this application, mechanical parts and electronic parts may be output. In this invention, operation may be performed not only under atmospheric pressure but also under vacuum. Materials for electronic parts may be deposited on a substrate on a recording surface by scanning a head having a material discharge nozzle under vacuum or in vacuum space using the scanning method of this invention.

[0025] <Use in space and output of electronic components and building structures in space> The method of the present invention may be operated not only under atmospheric pressure but also under the zero gravity and vacuum of outer space. When used in outer space, it may be equipped with a mechanism to stop or cancel the rotation of the head 1. Unlike a serial printer, the present invention has little movement that swings the mass from side to side, but has a lot of rotational movement.

[0026] <● Solar cells manufactured using materials and substrates launched in space> Since the vacuum in space is stronger than that on Earth (space is a vacuum without the need for turbomolecular pumps, etc., as on Earth), there may be advantages to carrying out the manufacturing of some solar cells and metal parts, which involve vacuum processes (the output of space parts and products), on-site at a base such as a space station.

[0027] In the inventor's personal opinion, when comparing the case of manufacturing film-type solar cells on the ground and launching them into space, and the case of launching raw materials such as film materials, electrodes, and semiconductors from the ground into space and then manufacturing solar cells in situ in space using the vacuum provided by space, If the latter raw materials are launched and then solar cells are manufactured in situ in space using the vacuum of space, vacuum pumps may be used less or may not even be necessary. In the latter case, solar cell manufacturing equipment is required that utilizes the vacuum provided by outer space to perform vacuum processes such as discharging, spraying, irradiating, forming a film, and depositing materials onto a substrate.

[0028] <Manufacturing solar cells in space using a vacuum process without a vacuum pump> If solar cells on space stations or artificial satellites or solar cells for space solar power generation break down, it may be necessary to manufacture solar cells locally from raw materials and substrates such as semiconductors and electrode materials on a space station in space. For example, if you want to manufacture solar cells on demand using raw materials, parts, and substrates launched from the ground in the vacuum environment of space, Solar cells may be manufactured in space using a vapor deposition device used for solar cell manufacturing, or a device (here, an output device for manufacturing) that vaporizes atoms and molecules using the principle of a vapor deposition device and then vaporizes or sublimates them to form metal electrodes, transparent electrodes, inorganic semiconductor and organic semiconductor films, and performs impurity injection processing such as doping into semiconductor films, without using a pump (vacuum pump such as a turbomolecular pump or oil diffusion pump) that evacuates a vacuum chamber used in the vacuum process when manufacturing solar cells on Earth, by utilizing the vacuum provided in space.

[0029] Even if the vacuum level can be made the same in a vacuum chamber on Earth as in outer space, there is a risk that particles that may be present or flying in outer space and that may have an adverse effect on the manufacturing of semiconductor components may be present, so the manufacturing process may be equipped with a device that blocks the effects of such particles. For example, a manufacturing device that uses the vacuum of outer space may be equipped with a mechanism to reduce the impact on the organic semiconductor film of particles that may be generated from an ionization vacuum gauge that measures the vacuum level of a vacuum chamber when vapor-depositing electrodes for organic solar cells.

[0030] If the particles to be removed into the vacuum are charged particles, electric or magnetic fields can be used to remove them. If there is minute debris that physically collides with the manufacturing equipment, barriers can be installed to prevent the debris from colliding with the manufacturing equipment. In the case of photons such as gamma rays and X-rays, they are blocked by high-density metal barriers.

[0031] <On-demand output device in space> In outer space, the space and mass available for the manufacturing device may be limited, so the present application may use a printer 8 having the features claimed in the present application as the manufacturing device. The feature of the present application is that it has the ability to perform nozzle cleaning even during the ejection operation when ejecting or spraying material onto the recording surface 2, or ejecting material fluid or material gas fluid (evaporated particles in the deposition process or sublimation process), and this can be used to create electronic components such as solar cells in outer space (film-type solar cells that apply the vacuum in outer space, intended for roll-to-roll manufacturing similar to the printing process using a printer 8), space structures, or three-dimensional products and parts. The film-like (film-type) solar cell manufactured by the above-mentioned device and method may be used in space structures such as space stations and for space solar power generation.

[0032] The printer 8 of the present application may be used in the manufacture of electronic components in which large-area substrates such as films or electrode foils are inserted and processed when manufacturing elements such as capacitors (electrolytic capacitors, ceramic capacitors), piezoelectric actuators, and secondary batteries (liquid electrolyte or solid electrolyte lithium ion batteries), which have manufacturing processes similar to printing processes (inkjet printing, roll-to-roll processes) such as film solar cells under atmospheric pressure or vacuum.

[0033] In a vacuum, oxygen and nitrogen are virtually nonexistent compared to the atmosphere, so it is expected that oxidation will not occur during sintering of metals. In this application, the head 1 of the printer 8 is equipped with a laser nozzle and an ejection nozzle that ejects a fluid containing metal particles (including titanium), and metal powder is ejected and deposited onto the recording surface 2, while the metal particles are sequentially sintered from the laser nozzle under the vacuum of space, allowing metal parts, etc. to be formed. Instead of using a discharge nozzle, metal powder may be supplied to the recording surface 2, leveled by a roller or the like for each layer thickness, and then irradiated with a laser by a laser nozzle for sintering. The same applies to resin powder, regardless of metal powder.

[0034] <Example of connection of the printer of the present invention> The present invention is mainly characterized in that the recording surface 2 and the cleaning mechanism 3 are provided on the rotating or looping orbit (100, 100C, 100R, 4R) drawn by the nozzles (multiple nozzle array 100, single nozzle 100NZ) of the recording head 1. The ejection material to be supplied to the head 1 and the material supply path (ink sub-tank 11, ink supply path 111, ink supply path 112, ink tank 113, material extrusion pump 110PP, pump drive circuit 1FDP), A path (1WL, 6WL) for transmitting and receiving signals that control the discharge of the material mounted on the head 1 by the nozzle (10, 100NZ), the nozzle actuator 100VA, and the nozzle drive circuit 1FDN; A path (1PU, 6P) for supplying power and electricity to operate head 1 is required. As a simple configuration, an explanatory diagram of a case where one nozzle is provided is shown in Figs. 5A to 5F.

[0035] <Power and data storage unit> Since the application of the present invention is close to business use, it may be required that the printer continue to operate up to a convenient stopping point before pausing even in the event of a power outage. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide the print head 1 with a power storage device 1PUC (secondary battery, capacitor) to provide means for smoothing out fluctuations in power due to temporary power outages and the like. In addition to the 1PUC of the head 1, the printer main body 8 may be provided with a power storage device.

[0036] It is also highly desirable that the head 1 be equipped with a storage device 1CU0 (memory, such as volatile memory such as SRAM or DRAM, or non-volatile memory such as flash memory) that records, stores, and pools print data and control data sent by communication from the printer body. As shown in Figure 5C, communication is performed between controllers and data is stored. In the case of non-volatile memory, once print data has been stored in head 1, the data can be recorded even without power. For example, if the print data is for a prototype and on-demand manufacturing, the data recorded in head 1's non-volatile memory can be output by the printer as a prototype, and if there are no problems, the data can be used for on-demand product manufacturing without being loaded again (reducing the time required for communication, movement, and duplication of print data between controllers). Non-volatile memory is required to be fast, have a large capacity, and have a long rewrite cycle. As of 2021, the most commonly used non-volatile memory is flash memory. (There are also other memory elements, such as ferroelectric memory, that have better read / write speeds and longer read / write cycles than flash memory.) Considering the balance between cost, operating speed, and storage capacity, it is also possible to mount DRAM, which is used as the main memory of a computer, or high-speed SRAM, which is built into the central processing unit (CPU) as cache memory, on the head 1.

[0037] <Transporting ejection material to the head> Fluid joint 111 (including liquid, gas, and plasma) can be used to supply ejection material to the rotating head 1. For a single material (monochrome), a rotary joint corresponding to the single color is used. For multiple materials (multichrome), corresponding rotary joints 111 are used. Even when the rotary joint 111 is not used, it is possible to supply a single material or multiple materials to the head 1. As shown in FIG. 1BE, opposing ink supply mechanisms are provided. The ink supply method can be adapted to both atmospheric pressure and vacuum. In a vacuum, a rotary joint with piping can be used. To operate in the zero gravity and vacuum of outer space, the pumps and joints that transport the fluid must also be modified.

[0038] <Ejection signal transmission to the head> The ejection signal may be transmitted to the head 1 using a non-contact wireless method and a contact wired method. An important feature of the present invention is that it is possible to use a non-contact communication method. When transmitting data to the rotating head 1 using a contact method such as a slip ring, it becomes necessary to consider the operating life, cost, and communication stability of the slip ring. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to use non-contact communication rather than contact communication as the communication method between the rotating or moving print head 1 and the printer body. Specific examples of non-contact communication in the present invention are wireless communication and optical communication. In Figures 5A and 5D, 1WL and 6WL correspond to the non-contact communication units. Wireless communication can be by radio waves or by sound waves. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the communication capacity is sufficient for the amount of print data. Existing technology can use radio waves for wireless communication. <Supplementary information> As mentioned above, when the present invention is used in a large-area, high-resolution 3D printer using the inkjet method, the number of dots required for modeling increases, resulting in an increase in the amount of data, and it may become necessary to use a slip ring to transfer this large amount of data. It is not impossible to create a printer that uses slip rings for the scanning method and data communication that this invention primarily claims. However, since slip rings have a limited lifespan due to wear (brush wear caused by contact), it is preferable to use non-contact communication in this invention. If the issues of slip ring lifespan, cost, and high-speed and stable communication can be resolved, the slip ring can be used in this invention. This invention does not exclude the use of slip rings for communication and power supply between the printer and head 1, especially for power supply. While a non-contact method is used for communication between the printer and head, a contact method in which slip rings or terminals come into contact can be used to supply power from the printer to the head. There are some points to consider when using contact communication. In this invention, the head is operated by combining wireless data transfer and power supply using contacts. When contact-type power supply is performed from the printer main body (printer controller 6) to the print head 1, a power storage device 1PUC is provided to smooth the power.

[0039] In the present invention, the communication method between the print head and the printer body is preferably a large-capacity data communication format for 3D printers and large-area, high-speed 2D image data output, and wireless communication includes radio waves with shorter wavelengths than ultra-high frequency waves or microwaves, as well as optical communication using infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet light. When radio waves are used, the print head and the printer body each have an antenna. When optical communication is used, the print head and the printer body each have an element that emits photons and a detector that receives the photons and generates a signal so that photons can be exchanged. For example, an LED or laser diode is used to emit light, and a photodiode is used to detect light. (The radio waves in this invention are in the following bands: very long wave, long wave, medium wave, short wave, ultra short wave, ultra short wave, microwave, millimeter wave, and submillimeter wave.) [Effects of the Invention]

[0040] A printer 8 equipped with the recording head 1 and printing method of the present invention has the advantages of a line printer, with many nozzles, and by rotating the nozzles across the recording surface, the recording surface can be scanned and recorded in a multi-pass manner, while the nozzles (10, 100, 100A, 100B, 100NZ) of the recording head 1 can alternate between printing and cleaning by circulating between the recording surface 2 and the cleaning unit 3, thereby achieving both high-speed printing and easy nozzle maintenance. In FIG. 1A, printing is performed using nozzle array 100 in the arc of the lower half of circular print head 1, but as shown in FIG. 2AA, nozzle arrays in the arcs of both the lower and upper halves of nozzle array 100 may be used, and cleaning units 3 may also be provided on both the left and right sides of recording surface 2 (cleaning units may be provided on the left and right sides as in the lower diagram of FIG. 2A or FIG. 2AA). In the inventor's personal opinion, by using two nozzle rows, one above the other (as shown in the right side view of Figure 2AA), the number of carriage operations Cr of the speed factor SF can be reduced from 2 in one direction to 1 in both directions, thereby doubling the speed.

[0041] Since three-dimensional printers perform continuous printing when creating a model, nozzle cleaning according to the method of the present invention can prevent defects in the model caused by nozzle malfunctions during printing. It will also help reduce nozzle defects and printing defects during the manufacture of 3D printer-generated objects, on-demand printing, textile products, industrial products, and electronic component products. In 3D printers, printing can be stopped when nozzle cleaning is performed, so that time is not wasted on cleaning. This allows printing and cleaning to be performed simultaneously, contributing to reduced printing time. <Notes> The present invention was intended to speed up printing by installing many nozzles like a line printer. In addition, when nozzle cleaning is performed, the nozzle is cleaned as needed. The intention is to enable cleaning to be performed during printing operations in order to prevent modeling and printing errors caused by nozzle failure due to insufficient nozzle cleaning. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0042] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a printer having a recording head that rotates or loops across a recording surface. (Example 1) [Figure 1A] The relationship between the scanning direction of the head with nozzles, the cleaning part, Lm, and DDh [Figure 1AA] Scanning direction with inkjet nozzles, cleaning unit, and relationship between Lm and Dh [Figure 1AB] Scanning direction with inkjet nozzles, cleaning unit, and relationship between Lm and Dh [Figure 1AC] An explanatory diagram for the case where the number of nozzles Nz operating by a single additive manufacturing method or inkjet method is one. [Figure 1B] Off-carriage ink supply system diagram [Figure 1BA] Off-carriage ink supply system (plan view) [Figure 1BB] Ink supply system using off-carriage joint [Figure 1BC] Off-carriage multiple ink supply system [Figure 1BD] Off-carriage two-color ink supply system [Figure 1BE] Off-carriage type multi-color ink supply system [Figure 1C] On-carriage method diagram [Figure 1CA] On-carriage ink supply system diagram [Figure 1CB] Ink supply system using on-carriage multi-color cartridges and nozzles [Figure 2A] An explanatory diagram of ink landing and a schematic diagram of cleaning when a cleaning unit is provided on one or both sides of the recording surface. [Figure 2AA] An explanatory diagram of a case where two nozzles that eject ink in an arc shape are provided on the recording surface and cleaning units are provided on both sides of the recording surface. [Figure 2B] An explanatory diagram of a case where a recording surface that rotates around the center of a turntable-type recording surface 2 is used in a 3D printer. [Figure 2C] An explanatory diagram of a case where nozzles are arranged in a train-like arrangement on an elliptical looping track to form a nozzle row, and the nozzle row is moved along the elliptical track across the recording paper and nozzle cleaning is performed by a cleaning unit. [Figure 2D] An explanatory diagram of a printing attempt in which a circular head with an elliptical nozzle row is rotated and cleaning is performed only around the major axis of the ellipse. [Figure 3A] An explanatory diagram (plan view) of a case where a turntable-type recording surface 2 is used in a 3D printer. [Figure 3B] An explanatory diagram of an inkjet 3D printer (front view of the printer) [Figure 3C] An explanatory diagram of how multiple parts are printed on a turntable using a 3D printer [Figure 3D] Illustration of an FDM 3D printer (front view of the printer) [Figure 3E]Illustration of use as a 2D printer (front view of the printer) [Figure 3F] An explanatory diagram of 3D printing using two single-color print heads of different materials (an explanatory diagram of 3D printing using multiple single-color heads on the recording surface) [Figure 4A] Printer configuration diagram [Figure 4B] Illustration of a printer and a printer user terminal [Figure 5A] An illustration of a printer with one nozzle and an on-carriage system [Figure 5B] An explanatory diagram of the area around the head when using the on-carriage method and there is one nozzle [Figure 5C] Printer controller and head controller diagram [Figure 5D] An explanatory diagram of an on-carriage system with one nozzle running on an oval track rail [Figure 5E] 1-nozzle laser processing machine diagram [Figure 5F] 1-nozzle laser processing machine head diagram DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0043] The goal of providing a high-speed line head and a cleaning mechanism is to One or more nozzles (10, 100, 100NZ, 100LD) that can draw a looped orbit (circular, oval track, elliptical, elliptical) are arranged on the recording head 1, This is achieved by rotating or moving the nozzle along the loop to scan the recording surface 2 and the cleaning unit 3.

[0044] It should be noted that this invention was designed to increase the size and speed of print heads for industrial printed electronics applications, 3D printer applications, newspaper, magazine, and book printing, textile product applications, and on-demand, high-volume printing applications, and does not take into consideration the compactness and economy seen in home serial printers. It is intended for applications where the head is stopped, paused, and capped for short periods of time.

[0045] <Print head> The head 1 may be equipped with a motion sensor 1CS. The motion sensor 1CS may be used in the recording head element built into the head 1 to detect the tilt of the head element. Measurement information from the motion sensor 1CS built into the head may be used to adjust the head 1 and nozzles when they are installed. The motion sensor 1CS may have a function to act as a level to detect the tilt and horizontality of the head 1. In the present invention, multiple recording head elements 10 are arranged in a loop that crosses the recording surface. Considering the replacement and maintenance of the head elements 10 assembled in the print head 1 of the printer 8, it is preferable to have a means for assisting in the assembly of the elements when replacing them. Therefore, by incorporating a motion sensor 1CS in the head elements 10 and the head 1, the tilt of each element can be detected, making it easier to adjust the alignment of the elements when replacing the head elements. In the present invention, it is preferable to be able to detect the inclination and position information of the nozzle surface of the head 1 and the head element 10. Information from the motion sensor 1CS built into the print head 1 may be used when the printer 8 scans the head 1 in the main scanning direction to perform discharging and processing operations. Information from the motion sensor 1CS of the head 1 may be used to ensure the safety of personnel involved in the operation and maintenance of the device. Information from the motion sensor 1CS of the head 1 is collected in the print server 8U and the print user terminal 8U along with information about the printer itself, ink ejection information, processing information, etc., and businesses that have introduced the printer can share and utilize the operating status of the device within their business via a network.

[0046] If the printing method of the elements of head 1 is an inkjet method, a piezo inkjet method or a thermal inkjet method with one or more nozzles may be used, or a valve opening and closing method (valve jet method) in which pressure is applied to the ink using a pump (e.g., 110PP in Figure 5A) to open and close a valve (100VA in Figure 5A). The 100VA is a valve in the valve jet system, a piezoelectric actuator element in the piezoelectric inkjet system, and a heating element in the thermal inkjet system; the 100VA is an actuator element for ejecting ink or fluid material. When the valve is opened and closed, the ink is ejected from the nozzle in the case of an inkjet system, or it may be extruded, ejected, or applied from the nozzle like a dispenser, or ejected, spurted, sprayed, or atomized from the nozzle like a spray. The head may be provided with a temperature adjusting mechanism to change the temperature and viscosity of the fluid to be ejected or discharged, or may be capable of causing a phase transition from a solid material to a fluid such as a liquid or gas by heating. According to previous reports, there is a method in which a solid wax material is heated and melted and printed using an inkjet method, and in the present invention, a liquid melted from a solid may also be used as the ink. Similar to known vacuum deposition methods, solid organic materials (such as coloring materials) may be sublimated using a filament or the like, or solid metal materials or solid semiconductor materials may be melted and evaporated, and the vapor discharged from a nozzle may be controlled by opening and closing a valve or operating an actuator.

[0047] <Air pressure at which the head operates> The printer of the present invention may be used under atmospheric pressure or under vacuum. In atmospheric conditions, known inks such as water-based inks, or print head methods used in the FDM method or AM method, which ejects paste-like materials from a nozzle to form a film, are used. When operating in a vacuum, the fluid ejected from the nozzle may be a fluid material in the atmosphere (such as metal, resin, or ceramic material intended for the construction of space structures), or it may be a molten liquid, gas, molecule, atom, charged particle, or elementary particle including photons. The fields where vacuum is expected to be used include the space industry and manufacturing processes under vacuum, and in space, it is intended to be used for the manufacture of products and parts outside of vehicles. When manufacturing electronic devices such as solar cells under vacuum, the head unit or the printer of the present application including the head unit may be placed under vacuum, and organic semiconductor materials, electrode materials, and transparent electrode materials may be sublimated, evaporated, impinged, deposited, or formed into films from the nozzle onto a substrate. In a known method, an organic semiconductor is heated in a vacuum, and the organic semiconductor becomes a gas or molecular flow, which is then applied to a substrate (a substrate on which a film is to be formed, a recording surface) to form a film. In this invention, the head is equipped with a heating section, or gas made by heating the material is stored instead of an ink tank, and the vaporized material is sent under pressure with a pump to the nozzle part of the print head, where a valve is opened and closed using a valve jet method (a method of controlling ejection by opening and closing a valve) to eject or spray the material at the desired position on the recording surface. Alternatively, the present invention may be used as a means for depositing a film at a desired position on a substrate, which is a recording surface, in a vacuum or reduced-pressure film-forming method such as close-range sublimation, which is used in the manufacture of compound solar cells such as cadmium telluride solar cells.In the field of depositing films of inorganic semiconductor materials under vacuum, the inorganic material may be heated and vaporized (gasified or vaporized) under vacuum, and the material gas may be ejected or jetted from a nozzle in a manner similar to a valve jet method (a method of controlling ejection by opening and closing a valve) in which a valve is used to open and close the nozzle, thereby depositing a semiconductor film.

[0048] In addition to the inkjet printing method, the head may be printed using a nozzle in the multiple nozzle array 100 that ejects fluid materials or molten resins used in the recording head of a 3D printer using additive manufacturing methods such as FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) or FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication). The printhead of the present invention can be used in additive manufacturing. In this case, it may have an extruder, injector, or extruder for ejecting a fluid material from a nozzle. (The 110PP in Figure 5B can also be an extruder that extrudes fluid materials such as paste in the AM method.) While AM ​​and FDM methods primarily extrude molten plastic, the additive manufacturing method of this invention can also extrude fluid pastes, slurries, gels, and other materials. The paste may contain fibers or particles that are small enough to be extruded through the nozzle (enough to prevent nozzle dropout and be smaller than the nozzle diameter). The present invention is equipped with a nozzle used in additive manufacturing, and can eject fluid paste materials containing water and oil, including dough for cookies and chocolate, as well as dissolved protein materials used in artificial meat. When the head elements (10, 100, 100A, 100B, 100NZ) are scanned in a loop across the recording surface to add material to the recording surface 2 for recording, the nozzle that injects the resin or fluid material in the additive manufacturing method (AM method) is cleaned by the cleaning unit 3, keeping the nozzle in a clean state and contributing to the stable deposition of material.

[0049] The ink may be ejected by an electrostatic inkjet method, or the material may be ejected by electrostatic force.

[0050] A method may be used in which centrifugal force generated by looping or rotating the head 1 is used as the force for ejecting the fluid material such as ink.

[0051] When the material to be discharged is pressurized by centrifugal force, a valve or gate actuator may be provided to prevent the material from flying out of the nozzle. There may be one or more valves or gate actuators for each nozzle, and they may be digitally opened and closed by a circuit.

[0052] In the present invention, when the head 1 loops, centrifugal force may occur in the nozzle of the head 1 or in the ejected ink droplets (fluid material). Therefore, it is necessary to consider the behavior and trajectory of the ink droplets (and additive manufacturing material) before and during ejection at the nozzle, and during flight. When the head 1 is circular and rotates across the recording paper, i.e., in the case of Figure 1A, the mass of the ink droplet m [kg], the rotational angular velocity of the head Vomg [rad / sec], and the rotational radius of the head 1 r (r = Dh / 2) [m] are used, Centrifugal force F=mr(Vomg) 2 It is clear that Vomg must be determined so that ink droplets land at the desired positions on the recording surface and so that cleaning of the nozzles of head 1 can be continued. The present invention is characterized in that Vomg is not zero.

[0053] When Vomg is close to zero, the present invention approaches a single-pass line head method in which the nozzle row positions are fixed and the nozzles do not move (Vomg=0). As Vomg increases, many nozzles pass over a certain recording surface per unit time, ejecting ink, then being cleaned by a cleaning unit before printing begins. Multiple nozzles can pass over the recording surface. However, the ejected ink moves in the direction of centrifugal force, so the landing point changes. When Vomg is too large, the centrifugal force or the extrusion pressure caused by the centrifugal force breaks the balance of the forces that try to keep the ink stationary near the meniscus of the nozzle, causing the ink to be ejected from the nozzle. (If the head becomes a centrifuge or centrifugal pump, there is a risk that the ink will come out of Head 1. In the case of FDM-type paste-like fluid materials, there is also a risk that the ink will come out of the nozzle if the centrifugal force of Head 1 is too large and there is no gate to control the opening and closing of the nozzle.) In the present invention, Vomg varies depending on the printer's main scanning speed, sub-scanning speed, print head operating frequency, number of nozzles, material properties, environmental conditions, etc. During printing or processing, Vomg is characterized by being at least non-zero.

[0054] <Coordinates when recording dots> In printers and laser processing machines that scan the known X and Y axes, it is an easy method to express a desired two-dimensional position from the magnitude of the X and Y axes. On the other hand, in the case of the present invention, which uses a circular head and nozzle array, as shown in FIG. 1A, taking into consideration the centrifugal force that is applied to the material after ejection, such as ink, the nozzles irradiate ink or laser on an arc, as shown in 120 and 120B, to record dots.

[0055] <Nozzles, nozzle rows, nozzle arrangement> In this invention, the nozzle changes depending on the ejection method. The nozzles used in additive manufacturing methods and the nozzles and ejection parts used in inkjet methods have different shapes and sizes. (For example, the diameter of the nozzles used in 3D printers, such as FDM methods, which extrude and inject materials, is generally larger than that of inkjet methods.) Furthermore, in the present invention, the nozzle array of the recording head 1 (print head 1) may be arranged in a circular (annular) shape like the nozzle arrays 100, 100A, and 100B in Figures 1A, 1A, 1AA, and 1B, and the nozzle arrays 100A, 100B, and 100 do not necessarily have to be a single circular array, but may be multiple circular nozzle arrays arranged at a certain pitch P. The number of nozzles Nz should be at least 1. The fact that the number of nozzles Nz is 1 or more is a major feature of the present invention. Even if there is only one nozzle (100 NZ), when one nozzle loops across the recording surface 2 while printing by ejecting ink, is cleaned by cleaning 3, and the same process is repeated, if the recording head is rotated quickly in the main scanning direction and the nozzle has a high drive frequency f that can keep up with the rotation speed in the main scanning direction, high-speed printing can be performed and the present invention can be implemented. However, when attempting to achieve the high speed of an inkjet printer intended by the present invention, one nozzle is not enough, so the number of nozzles is more than one, and in reality the number of nozzles exceeds several hundred. In the present invention, the number of nozzles is preferably 2 or 3 or more for either the inkjet method, FDM method, or additive manufacturing method, and exceeds 2 to the fourth power for the inkjet method. (However, the scanning method of the present invention can be implemented even with only one nozzle.) According to Non-Patent Document 1, the number of nozzles in inkjet systems has exceeded 2 to the power of 10 since the 2000s, and the present invention can also be provided with a number of nozzles that exceeds that scale. On the other hand, when the present invention is used for applications that use a single piezoelectric or valve jet nozzle and special ink, or for 3D printing applications using FDM or AM methods, it may be possible to have one or more nozzles within 2 to 3 or 2 to the fourth power, so in the present invention, the number of nozzles Nz may be one or more.

[0056] Figure 1A shows the case of a nozzle that ejects material, but the same applies when a laser diode is placed as an element instead of an ejection nozzle, and a recording surface 2 filled with ultraviolet curable resin or metal powder is scanned and printed, sintered, fixed, and processed with an element such as a laser diode. That is, it may be a circular array of a plurality of elements arranged at a pitch P. The element array may be a laser diode, or may be a laser nozzle 100LD or nozzle array connected to a laser diode or laser oscillation element. The laser element may be pulse-driven at a certain driving frequency f to utilize its peak power. A laser irradiation nozzle 100LD for laser processing may be disposed in the print head 1 in place of the material discharge nozzle.

[0057] Inkjet elements including nozzles (orifices, flow paths, sensors, heating elements, and actuators) are arranged in a circle on a silicon substrate for semiconductor processing, and nozzles, orifices, flow paths, IC circuits, sensor elements, etc. made using MEMS technology, photolithography, etc. are integrated. In this invention, it is preferable because the nozzle surface is level with the surface of the silicon substrate. In reality, to realize the nozzle row 100 of head 1, rectangular chips incorporating piezo or thermal inkjet elements (inkjet chips, inkjet head elements, head elements used to create a staggered arrangement in large printers, rectangular chips incorporating inkjet nozzles, flow paths and ejection mechanisms) may be arranged in a circle. To avoid any misunderstanding about the head elements (10, 11) described here, a specific example of a printer head is shown below. Off-carriage type: Epson (model number L1440, etc.), Konica Minolta (model number KM1024a, etc.) In the on-carriage type, Canon (model number PF-05, etc.) and Hewlett-Packard (model number C6602A, etc.). *Similar to the staggered arrangement heads used in known inkjet serial printers, the head may be constructed by continuing a staggered arrangement in a circular pattern, and in the example shown in Figure 1A, the head elements (rectangular chips incorporating inkjet nozzles, flow paths, and ejection mechanisms) may be arranged in a zigzag or staggered pattern along the circular trajectory of the inkjet nozzles 100A or 100. Even in this case, the head 1 may be equipped with an acceleration sensor to detect the tilt of the elements or head.

[0058] Valve jet elements, electrostatic ink jet elements, piezo ink jet elements, and thermal ink jet elements each having only one nozzle (a head element with a single nozzle) may be arranged in a circle at a pitch P in one or more rows. The inkjet chip may have nozzles arranged at a pitch P, and in the present invention, a belt-shaped nozzle array may be arranged with multiple nozzle arrays arranged around the circumference. (This description intends to create a circular and belt-shaped nozzle array when the rectangular head elements described above are arranged in a staggered manner.)

[0059] In the present invention, as shown in Figures 2C, 1CB, 1BE, and 1A, an ejection element such as a single nozzle or a single inkjet chip may be arranged on a circular, oval, or elliptical looping track, and the ejection element may be moved along the track like a train (car, carrier, carriage). In Figure 2C, 100R is a rail or track used to move the nozzle row 100. 100R supplies power to the head element, and 4 or 4R is a drive part that moves the head element along the looped track, and is equipped with a rail or belt. The 4R is equipped with rails and belts that move the head equipped with the 100NZ nozzle like a car.

[0060] <Curing, Fixing, Surface Treatment> The print head 1 may be provided with a mechanism for hardening or fixing the ejected material when it reaches the recording surface using a known method that corresponds to the material. For example, when performing 3D printing using the print head 1 method of the present invention, the UV-curable ink can be cured with an UV LED, and once cured, the print head can be equipped with an UV LED and a roller so that it can be smoothed and layered with a roller. The same is true when a water-soluble adhesive is sprayed using a piezo or thermal inkjet method to harden, fix, and adhere powder for three-dimensional modeling.

[0061] In order to improve adhesion between stacked layers in a 3D printer, the print head may be equipped with a device such as UV ozone treatment or plasma irradiation in addition to the ejection device. For electronic component materials, the head may be used to process the material for the next step. For example, after forming a film of semiconductor material or electrode material that can be applied, UV ozone treatment may be performed to prepare it for the next step. When used in the manufacture of printed matter or elements, the head 1 may be capable of carrying out fixing and curing processes and surface treatment.

[0062] In the present invention, the recording head 1 is not limited to ejection applications such as inkjet, and photon or particle irradiating nozzles such as LED elements or laser elements may be arranged in a circle instead of ejection nozzles, and the paper or powder material supplied to the recording paper 2 or recording portion 2 may be changed by light and used for printing or shaping. When performing 3D printing with head 1, when supplying metal powder, resin powder, or photocurable resin, light can be irradiated from a laser nozzle provided on recording head 1 to the material, causing it to react, heat, change, and bond, fuse, harden, or sinter. This is similar to the concept of a thermal printer using thermal paper, where the thermal paper is printed with a thermal head to produce a printed product (an example in which the material is placed on the recording surface rather than being ejected directly from the nozzle). The print head 1 of the present invention uses an optical head to harden and sinter recording paper such as thermal paper, photocurable resin for 3D printing, or material powder according to print data to produce a printed or shaped object.

[0063] The present invention includes a scanning method. The material may be directly ejected and fixed from a recording head (print head 1) that scans over a recording surface 2, as in inkjet methods and FDM (additive manufacturing) methods, or it may be fixed by supplying a recording material to a recording section, scanning the recording head 1, and emitting light, electromagnetic waves, plasma, accelerated particles, etc. from the head 1 to cause a reaction in the recording material, as in thermal printer methods. The scanning method of the present invention may also be used for the manufacturing and processing of two-dimensional and three-dimensional products. Specifically, in the printer according to the present invention, thermal paper can be heated with light and printed, and ultraviolet curable resin can be cured using an ultraviolet LED or ultraviolet laser. In order to induce reactions that are difficult to induce using the photon energy of infrared rays, visible light, or ultraviolet light, radiation such as X-rays may be used from the head 1 to induce chemical reactions in the material (for example, radiation polymerization). Charged particles may be accelerated from the head 1, or the charged particles may be irradiated or accelerated in the atmosphere or in a vacuum and then implanted into the material. The metal powder may be heated by irradiating it with photons in the form of a laser from an element provided on the print head, or by applying hot air or a flame (flame, burner) to the material after ejection. Similar to a dot impact printer, the recording surface 2 may be struck by a stamping device such as a pin provided on the head 1 and used for output, or mechanical cutting may be performed using a pin or the like instead of a laser nozzle. Similar to a laser printer, the photosensitive drum is irradiated with a laser beam of photons of a wavelength that the head 1 can detect, and charged toner or the like can be attached to the drum for known applications.

[0064] <Ink cartridges and ink supply> When an inkjet ejection mechanism is employed for the head 1, the ink supply method to the head 1 can be either an on-carriage method or an off-carriage method. In the on-carriage type, the ink tank is built into the head 1, so there is no need to install a mechanism for supplying ink fluid to the head 1, which is a rotating body such as the rotary joint 111, as in the off-carriage type. The off-carriage system may be provided with a pump and flow path that supplies ink from an ink tank to the head. The off-carriage system requires the inclusion of a mechanism (e.g., 111F1 and 111F2) that supplies ink fluid to the rotary joint 111 and the rotating body, but ink can be supplied from the ink tank 113 to the nozzles of the head. When the present invention is used in an off-carriage system, a joint mechanism 111 or 111F that connects the ink from the ink tank 113 to the print head element 10 of the carriage, and a pump 110PP are required. The pump may be provided in the ink flow path from the ink tank 113 to the nozzle 10. 110PP is one example. (Note that both the on-carriage and off-carriage methods are available not only for inkjet printing but also for FDM (additive manufacturing).)

[0065] In the case of the off-carriage system, the print head 1 may be supplied with one type of material or ink, or may be supplied with multiple types of ink. <Monochrome printing> When printing with one type of ink, In the off-carriage type, when a joint is used, ink is supplied from the ink tank 113 to the sub-tank 11 and nozzles 10 via 112 and 111 in the rotating head 1 as shown in FIG. 1BB. When the joint 111 is not used, the nozzle is separated into an ink supply side 111F1 and an ink receiving side 111F2 as shown in FIG. 1BE, and the ink supply side of 111F1 drops, drips, ejects, or feeds ink or materials into the ink receiving flow path of 111F2, replenishing or supplying the ink or materials to the rotating head 1. Regarding the supply of ink, the printer controller 6 and the head controller 1CU communicate with each other, and the refill amount and supply amount may be determined from the tank capacity of the ink flow path by an ink tank sensor 1LVM connected to 1CU. There may be a controller (1CU, 6, etc.) for controlling the ink flow path and actuators such as valves and pumps. A known method can be used to move ink through the ink flow path. *For example, it is a known method to circulate the ink by providing a pump, valve, and flow path in the ink flow path to prevent pigments dispersed in the ink or functional particles with large particle diameters that are prone to settling from settling out, so that all particles in the tank or flow path do not settle out. <Multicolor printing> When printing with multiple types of ink (ejection materials), follow the same procedures as for single-color printing. In the off-carriage type, a plurality of types of ink are sent from an ink tank 113F to the head, and the ink is distributed at a joint portion 111F of the head and supplied to the print head 1 corresponding to each color ink. When the joint 111F is not used, the nozzle is separated into an ink supply side 111F1 and an ink receiving side 111F2 as shown in FIG. 1BE, and the ink supply side of 111F1 drops, drips, ejects, or pours ink or materials into the ink receiving flow path of 111F2, supplying multiple types of ink or materials to the rotating head. (In the on-carriage type, ink, whether single color or multiple colors, is mounted on the head 1 in the form of a sub-ink tank 11.)

[0066] <Negative pressure formation> When connecting the head 1 to the ink tank, a mechanism for creating negative pressure in the ink in the head or flow path may be installed. For example, a negative pressure creation method using a foam body or a negative pressure creation method using a balloon and spring may be used. The part that creates negative pressure may be installed in the carriage head or sub-ink tank. The head 1 may also be equipped with a filter to remove foreign matter.

[0067] <Carriage movement control method> When a plurality of recording head elements 10 are arranged in a loop across the recording surface 2 of the present invention to form a line head, the head 1 equipped with the plurality of arranged recording head elements 10 may be controlled using an encoder. Although it is well known for printing machines, including inkjet printers and laser printers, to use encoders such as rotary encoders and linear encoders to control mechanisms, particularly main scanning mechanisms and sub-scanning mechanisms such as the drive mechanism 4 and recording surface transport mechanisms (20 and 5), it will be described here. As a specific example, a recording head element is mounted so as to loop across the recording surface of the present invention, and an encoder control sensor (for example, an optical sensor for an optical encoder, or a magnetic sensor for a magnetic encoder) is mounted on the recording head or on-carriage or off-carriage head that carries the recording head, and a linear scale is attached to the looping track on the printing machine side (processing machine side), and the motion information and position information of the head as it loops across the recording surface during printing can be detected and used to control the main scan and sub-scan during printing. A rotary scale and a rotary encoder may be attached to the motor 40 of the drive mechanism 4 for main scanning and the transport mechanism 20 for the recording surface 2 for sub-scanning, and used for motor drive control. When using the present invention as a 3D printer, an encoder may be used in the mechanism that scans in the height direction (Z-axis direction), or in the mechanism that performs main scanning (X direction) and sub-scanning (Y direction).

[0068] <Carriage method> When a plurality of recording head elements 10, 100NZ are arranged in a loop across the recording surface, a plurality of on-carriage or off-carriage heads 1 or head-type robots 1 may be arranged on a looping track. The head robot 1 may detect motion information and position information using an encoder installed on the track, like a line tracing robot. A linear encoder may be used as the encoder. An encoder (rotary encoder) may be used for the motor when driving the head 1.

[0069] For example, the recording head elements 10 are mounted in a circular line on the circumferential side of a circular (perfectly circular) disk substrate so as to loop across the recording surface 2, and a linear scale is wound around and attached to the side of the disk substrate (for example, the side of 1PU or 1 in FIG. 5B) so as to go around the circle. Printing can be performed by rotating the head 1 by moving the side of the head 1 using the drive mechanism 4 and motor 40, and using a linear encoder attached to the drive mechanism 4 to read the linear scale of the head 1 and detect the position.

[0070] Regarding the circular turntable type print head 1 shown in FIGS. 1A, 1AA, and 1AB, The recording head elements 10 are mounted on the circumferential side of the head 1 in a circular arrangement as shown in FIG. 1BD, FIG. 1BE, or FIG. 1CB. The print head 1 may be an on-carriage type that contains ink, or an off-carriage type that is connected to an ink tank by a joint. The turntable type print head 1 may perform printing by rotating the circumferential portion of the turntable with the drive mechanism 4 and causing the nozzle portion 100 to scan across the recording surface 2 and eject ink.

[0071] <Main scanning trajectory> The track that loops across the recording surface 2 may be circular, oval track-shaped, elliptical, oval, or circular (perfect circle). *In addition to circles and ellipses, the looped track could also be a track that traces the Arabic numeral eight in one stroke, crossing one point, and similar to the oval track type, a cleaning section could be placed that cleans the nozzles while crossing the recording surface. The loop route of the Arabic figure eight is an example of a route that has one intersection point during the loop, but there are also cases where there are more than one intersection point. However, in the embodiments of the present invention, simple shapes such as a circular shape and an oval track shape are shown. <When the nozzle is fixed> When the nozzles are fixed and the head 1 (in this case, the head 1 is a disk-shaped or cylindrical turntable-type head 1) is moved, the shape of the nozzle row (looping orbit) is made circular. Furthermore, even if the turntable-type head 1 is equipped with only one nozzle rather than multiple nozzles, as the head 1 rotates the nozzle will be able to perform ejection printing and processing by tracing a looped circular trajectory across the recording surface as claimed in this invention, so it is sufficient for there to be one or more nozzles in the main scanning trajectory. <When moving the nozzle> When the nozzle is moved and the head is fixed, the looping trajectory is preferably an oval track, ellipse, or ellipse. When the cars carrying the nozzles are mounted and moved like a train connected to the looping track, the nozzle row also has an oval track shape, an elliptical shape, or an oval shape. Figure 1A shows a circular track, while Figure 2C shows an oval track. Figure 1 shows the ellipse as a looping track. *As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there may be a looping trajectory that draws the Arabic letter "8", If we imagine the track as a train that runs on it, controlled by contactless communication and powered by overhead wires, The figure-8 trajectory can also be used when there are only one nozzle or so, as long as the car (carrier) carrying the nozzle does not collide at the intersection of the figure-8. Furthermore, a trajectory that includes an intersection point on a looped route can also be used, not limited to a figure-8. However, in the present application, non-intersecting elliptical, oval track, and circular tracks can be used rather than looped tracks that include intersecting points, in view of simplicity of manufacture and control.

[0072] <Head formation> When the looping trajectory is circular as in Figure 1A or Figure 1AA, in manufacturing the head 1, inkjet chips, inkjet element plates, and inkjet head elements (which are inkjet head elements 10 equipped with multiple nozzles, for example, head elements 10 equipped with nozzles and sub-ink tanks shown as 10FM-11FM and 10FC-11FC in Figure 1BE) are arranged in a circular pattern in the circumferential direction to form nozzle rows 100, 100A. A substrate in the shape of a disk, like a compact disc, is used, and IC components such as inkjet chips used for printing, sensors (ink temperature sensors, motion sensors), and drive circuits for the ejection mechanism, non-contact communication components, ink flow paths, etc. are mounted on the disk-shaped substrate to form a print head 1 as shown in Figure 1BE. When printing, the print head 1 on the disk-shaped substrate is rotated from the outside using a drive mechanism 4, ink (ejected material) and power are supplied, and print data is sent from the printer body to the print head via contactless communication, and printing is performed on the recording surface 2. (Note that the print head 1 may be equipped with a motor 40 and move and rotate along the mechanism 4. Alternatively, the print head 1 may be equipped with a secondary battery and a motor 40, and may rotate using the rails, belts, guides, and linear scale of the drive mechanism 4 with power stored in the head and motor.)

[0073] <Points to note regarding the scanning trajectory of the head and nozzle> The present invention mentions that a head having a circular nozzle row is rotated by a drive mechanism 4. Here, when a print head formed with elliptical or oblong nozzles instead of a circular nozzle row is used for printing, the nozzles are fixed and the head is rotated, For example, in the case shown in FIG. 2D, when the elliptical nozzle array 100 is rotated, only the nozzles near the apex on the major axis of the ellipse that reach the cleaning unit 3 can be cleaned (all nozzles other than the apex of the elliptical nozzle array cannot be cleaned), which deviates from the objective of the present invention. Therefore, in the present invention, in a design where the head is rotated, it is preferable to rotate a head having nozzles arranged in a circle as shown in FIG. 1A, rather than the elliptical nozzle row as shown in FIG. 2D.

[0074] However, even in the case shown in Figure 2D, the two vertices of the elliptical nozzle array can be used for printing in this invention because they pass along a looping trajectory that cuts across the recording surface. In the above situation, the two vertices of the elliptical nozzle array are in the same state as a head with nozzles on the circumferential side of a disk-shaped head, facing each other across the center of the circle (a head with only two nozzles). In the present invention, when nozzles are arranged in a circle, even if there are only one or two nozzles, if the main scanning speed is faster than the sub-scanning speed (when the head 1 can rotate at high speed many times per unit time and main scan the recording surface 2), one nozzle is main scanned at high speed on a looping trajectory that crosses the recording surface 2, and if that one nozzle has a high drive frequency f, printing and cleaning operations can be performed even if all of the nozzles except for the two vertices of the elliptical nozzle row are not in operation. Based on this background, this invention claims that the number of nozzles is one or more (recording on the recording surface is possible with at least one nozzle, and if the aim of the invention is to speed up printing, it should be more than one, 2 to 8 or more, or several tens of nozzles or more in the case of inkjet), and that the nozzles should not only traverse a looping trajectory but also pass through a cleaning section.

[0075] <Trajectory when nozzle moves> It is also possible to print by not rotating the head 1 having the circularly arranged nozzle row, but by moving the nozzles supported and mounted on the head 1 and head drive mechanism 4 along a looping track (like a train). As shown in Figures 2C and 5D, when the looping orbit is an oval track, multiple self-propelled on-carriage heads 1 (line tracing robots with inkjet functionality or robot cars with inkjet functionality) with built-in recording heads and ink tanks are connected like a train on a rail-type loop and attached to a drive belt and encoder, creating a loop body 100 of on-carriage heads 1, which can be moved and scanned across the recording surface to print on recording surface 2 using the inkjet method. Figure 2C is an explanatory diagram using an oval track, but if the nozzle is moved along a looped track, it is possible to move the nozzle and print in the same way even if the looped track is circular or elliptical. When the nozzle is on a trajectory and can move, it only needs to be a loop, so the present invention can be implemented on any trajectory that has a loop (a closed circular path) such as a triangle, square, hexagon, or polygon, not just a circular or elliptical trajectory. There are also trajectories that loop and intersect at points, such as a figure eight.

[0076] In the case of a self-propelled on-carriage head (inkjet robot), the track may have an escape route for retracting the head from the recording surface. The head stored in the escape route may be capped.

[0077] In the case of an on-carriage head, the nozzles 10 mounted on the head 1 may be provided with a specific material or type of ink. Specifically, the on-carriage head may be equipped with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink tanks, respectively, and may also be equipped with nozzles capable of ejecting cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, allowing multi-color printing to be performed with a single print head 1. Figure 1CB is an explanatory diagram of the use of four color inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in the on-carriage method.

[0078] In the case of an off-carriage head, there may be means for supplying multiple materials or inks. Specifically, the on-carriage heads may be loaded with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, and the heads may be arranged in the order of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, so that multi-color printing can be performed with a single print head. 1BD and 1BE are explanatory diagrams of an off-carriage type printer equipped with two colors of ink.

[0079] The head of the present invention does not necessarily have to be a self-propelled on-carriage head. The head may be an on-carriage head that does not run on its own, or an off-carriage head that does not run on its own, and may be moved by the motor 40 that drives the head on the printer side. The looping track may be any track that allows the head to circulate. The off-carriage head requires a print head 1 equipped with a joint 111 that can supply various types of ink when supplied from an ink tank, and flow paths (111F1, 111F2) that can input and inject ink from the top of the print head.

[0080] <Conditions for a circular looping orbit> An example of a trajectory that loops across the recording surface in the present invention is the circle (perfect circle) shown in Figure 1A. When a perfect circular head has a nozzle array 100 arranged in a circle on the outer periphery of head 1, and the nozzle array 100 is considered to be a circle, if the diameter of the nozzle array 100 is Dh and the width in the main scanning direction of the recording paper is Lm, then in the present invention the length relationship is Dh > Lm. The nozzles of the nozzle row 100 are scanned along a looped path along the circular shape of the nozzle row 100, and discharge / processing operations and nozzle cleaning are alternately performed by continuing to rotate the head 1 in the main scanning direction.

[0081] <Print head maintenance mechanism> The nozzles of the head 1 and the surface of the head facing the recording surface 2 may be cleaned by a known method. The cleaning unit 3 includes a cleaning element 30. The cleaning element 30 is made of a rubber blade and a sponge roller. The cleaning element 30 is a part that is consumed by the nozzle cleaning operation, such as a rubber blade or a sponge roller. The cleaning method and cleaning element are in accordance with known methods. For inkjet printers, nozzle cleaning is done by wiping with a rubber blade, for example. In nozzles with a larger diameter for the nozzle discharge part than inkjet nozzles used in FDM etc., in addition to wiping the nozzle discharge part, the material may change and remain in the flow path inside the nozzle, resulting in nozzle leakage. In an FDM nozzle, a thin wire can be passed through the nozzle discharge part and poked into the flow path for cleaning, and in the present invention, a cleaning mechanism using a wire or the like may be used in case the discharge part is large and material accumulates or deposits in the flow path in the cleaning part 3. (When molten resin deposits, gaseous material, or vapor deposition vapor are discharged from the flow path through the nozzle, material deposited in the flow path or inside the nozzle or near the nozzle may be removed using a cleaning element such as a wire.) The cleaning unit 3 may be provided with a mechanism for collecting materials and the like discharged as a result of cleaning. <Cleaning section / cleaning element number and replacement> Two or more cleaning elements 30 may be provided in the cleaning unit 3. Two or more cleaning units 3 may be provided in the printer as shown in Figures 2A and 2AA. The cleaning elements 30 may be provided with a mechanism for replacing them while the print head 1 is in operation (a replacement mechanism that retracts the element from under or near the head 1 so that it can be replaced by a person or machine). In commercial printing or 3D printing, the replacement mechanism is preferably provided if the cleaning element 30 is to be replaced periodically during long-term operation. <Cleaning operation time> Cleaning of the nozzles may be performed constantly when the nozzle row (for example, the nozzle row 100) is subjected to a circular main scan, or may be performed at certain intervals. The nozzles of inkjet elements, etc., may have durability issues due to wear on the nozzle surface, Regular cleaning may not be a problem for FDM nozzles made of brass, copper, or resin ceramics with large nozzle diameters, but It may be difficult to constantly clean the surface of the inkjet nozzle with a cleaning element. In this case, in line with the intent of the present invention, a certain interval at which nozzles do not drop out can be determined through actual machine development, and the nozzle cleaning element 30 can be raised and lowered at that interval, pressed against a part of the nozzle row 100 of the head 1 for a certain interval of time, and performed a main scan to clean all of the nozzle row 100. <Notes> The circular head 1 has nozzles in the circumferential direction and is cleaned by the cleaning unit 3, but the central part of the head 1 has no nozzles and is not cleaned by the cleaning unit 3. However, there is a risk that mist-like ink may adhere to the center of the head 1 during long-term operation. If mist-like ink occurs near the center of the head 1, an anti-static mechanism or a trap mechanism that can absorb the mist and collect it during regular maintenance when there are no print jobs may be provided.

[0082] <Material discharge and observation in the cleaning section> In addition to performing nozzle cleaning in the cleaning unit 3, the cleaning unit 3 may also be configured to eject ink from the nozzles to keep the ink in the nozzles at the same level as the ink in the ink tank. For example, since the ink in the nozzles may change due to material settling or drying during printing, a discharge operation may be performed to preventively discard a small amount of ink during the printing operation. A known method for dealing with ink material settling, drying, etc. may also be used. The state of the ejected ink may be observed by a nozzle observation camera provided in the cleaning unit 3 to observe nozzle clogging and the state of ink droplets flying. <Cap> If the print head 1 is not used for a long period of time, it becomes necessary to cap the nozzles of the head. In the present invention, the part where the head is installed is capped. It is preferable that the head or the printer housing including the head portion is provided with a sealing mechanism. (The present invention has a problem with the cap mechanism.) In a known manner, ink ejection and cleaning may be performed unattended by the printer under the control of the controller even when printing is not being performed and the printer is in a capped state or is expected to be stopped for a long period of time.

[0083] The head cleaning unit 3 may be equipped with a camera for observing the ink ejection state of the head.

[0084] In order to check the ink ejection status of the head, the inkjet head 1 may be provided with an image sensor and operated as a camera to photograph the printing status of a two-dimensional printer or the modeling status of a three-dimensional printer. The printed matter sent out in the sub-scanning direction from the recording surface 2 after printing and processing may be photographed by a camera. The camera may be used to check the quality of the printed matter when replacing the head element of the head.

[0085] <Media supply / transport / ejection mechanism> For two-dimensional printing applications, the carriage equipped with the recording head of the present invention rotates in one direction, which is the main scanning direction, and the media is transported in the sub-scanning direction using known transport methods (rollers, belts, drums). In the case of inkjet printers using known recording paper, the media may be A4 size recording paper or the like, transported in a straight path or a U-turn path. Roll media, such as those found in inkjet form printers, may also be used.

[0086] A printer equipped with the head 1 may be equipped with a camera to check the print content and quality of the printed surface when the printed medium is transported out.

[0087] The media may be weather-resistant films used for signs, fabrics such as cloth, etc. Printing may be performed on known substrates such as semiconductor component substrates, metals, silicon substrates, crystalline substrates, ceramic substrates, glass substrates, wood, and food surfaces, and known transfer methods and media may be used.

[0088] In a 3D printer, when material powder is laminated in three dimensions by bonding and hardening it with ink, the powder as a medium may be supplied in a known manner and layered by smoothing it with a roller or the like. When using UV-curable ink in a 3D printer, the print head 1 may be provided with an UV light source (preferably a UV LED or UV laser, but also a lamp that emits UV light) for UV curing (of the output).

[0089] The present invention may be used in the field of printed electronics to manufacture displays, inkjet devices, electronic components, and semiconductor devices, and may transport substrates such as flat glass or film, electronic circuit boards, and silicon wafers, which are the base materials for the electronic products. The ink may be impregnated with genetic information material or biological materials and used to output three-dimensional objects by 3D printing, or to manufacture food, pharmaceuticals, biological tissue, artificial bones, and artificial teeth. In the printer shown in Figure 3B, the liquid material applied to the recording surface 2 by the print head 1 may be formed into a film by spin coating by rotating the turntable-type recording surface 2 at high speed like a spin coater. This method may be used to form resists, inorganic thin films, and organic thin films in semiconductor manufacturing.

[0090] <Transportation method and modeling method for modeling stage 2 in 3D printer> In order to improve the modeling speed during modeling with a 3D printer, it is necessary to increase the printing speed of the print head and also to speed up the transport mechanism of the modeling stage 2 (modeling bed 2). In the 3D printer method, the layer thickness after one scan with the FDM method is on the order of 100 micrometers, while with the inkjet method, each layer is on the order of a dozen micrometers.The inkjet method has a thinner and more precise layer thickness than the FDM method, but requires more scans and layers than the FDM method to create a three-dimensional object of the desired height. In the present invention, a circular turntable-type print head 1 can be used to enable the print head to traverse the printing surface, but a turntable-type modeling stage 2 can also be used as the recording surface 2 on the modeling stage 2 (see Figures 2B, 3B, 3C, and 3D). The purpose of using a turntable-type recording surface is to rotate the recording surface in one sub-scanning direction to perform intermittent (uninterrupted) ink deposition and modeling. Figure 3B shows the arrangement of the circular turntable-type print head 1 and the turntable-type modeling stage 2. The turntable-type modeling stage 2 may also be positioned and controlled by an encoder, similar to the turntable-type print head 1. When forming a life-size model, an automobile and its parts, or housing-related components, an automobile turntable can be used as the forming stage 2 and media transport mechanism in printer 8 (FIG. 3B) together with print head 1 of the present invention. (For UV-curing or adhesive 3D printing, the modeling of this invention is carried out within the range of the ink fixing speed.)

[0091] The turntable-type modeling stage 2 may be provided with a motion sensor such as an acceleration sensor in the circumferential direction of the recording surface 2, just like the turntable-type print head 1, so that the tilt of the recording surface of the modeling stage can be detected and notified to a person. In the FDM method, tilting of the modeling stage can sometimes cause initial printing errors during 3D printing (this can sometimes be avoided by creating a raft at the beginning of 3D printing to absorb shrinkage, but this is necessary as a prerequisite for 3D printers to have the stage level in the initial state), so printers equipped with the head and stage of the present invention may also be equipped with a means for detecting the tilt of head 1 and stage 2 and notifying the user if there are any problems with 3D printing.

[0092] <Controller> Figure 4A shows the printer configuration. Depending on the amount of image data to be processed, a high-speed control and calculation unit, large-capacity, high-speed memory, and a high-speed communication path may be required. The method for transmitting printing signals from the printer to the print head may be wireless or contactless. (See also Figures 5A, 5B, and 5C.) As mentioned above, the inkjet method has a thinner layer thickness and higher resolution than the FDM method, which means the amount of image data increases. The number of ink droplets (dots) that must be ejected also increases in accordance with the amount of image data. The printer prints in response to instructions from a user terminal 8U inside or outside the printer via a communication device 82U of the user terminal 8U, a network 8N, or an output device 84U. (The user terminal 8U may be a computer terminal, a smartphone, or a print service server.)

[0093] The printer 8 may have multiple controllers. The print head 1 and the printer body may each have a controller. The signal from the motion sensor 1CS built into the print head 1 may be processed by the head controller 1CU built into the print head 1 and transmitted to the controller 6 of the printer body via a communication device. The controller has the five major functions of a computer: calculation, control, memory, and input / output (including communication devices), as well as a power source and a storage device.

[0094] <Interfaces and communication paths> When printing data is sent from the user terminal 8U (user's computer) to the head 1 via the printer controller 6, the printing data may be transmitted from 8U to 6 either by wire or wirelessly. An interface 7 provided in 6 may be used. The printer 8 may be provided with a console 610C which allows manual input by the user, displays the printer status and emits a warning sound when in operation. Preferably, the user terminal and the printer terminal are provided with non-contact communication means. <Communication between the head and the printer> As shown in FIG. 5C, wireless data transmission is preferably used between the printer controller 6 built into the printer body and the head controller 1CU of the head 1 that rotates in a loop across the recording surface 2. The radio wave bands used can be any known wireless technology, specifically 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 60 GHz. Although high frequencies may cause radio interference, the available band increases and the amount of data that can be transmitted increases, making them useful for printing high-resolution or large-volume objects. (As the frequency of electromagnetic waves increases, they gradually move from radio waves to infrared rays to visible light. In this invention, non-contact communication may include radio communication using radio waves and optical communication using non-contact light transmission and reception using infrared or visible light.)

[0095] The reason why it is preferable to use wireless communication for transmitting print data to the head 1 in this invention is that wired communication requires the use of a slip ring or other contact-type method for transmitting signals, whereas wireless communication allows contactless communication between the printer and print head without the need for a slip ring. (The present invention can be implemented without using a non-contact method if there is a means for transmitting signals to a rotating body, such as an inexpensive, highly reliable, and durable slip ring.) In addition to wireless communication, photon communication is also possible; specifically, information can be sent and received contactlessly between the head and printer (between the head controller and the printer controller) using ultraviolet light, the aforementioned visible light, or infrared light-emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors.

[0096] The head 1 may be powered by the printer 8 (printer controller 6), or the head 1 may be provided with a power supply and a power storage device 1PUC such as a battery or capacitor, which receives power from the printer, stores it in the battery or capacitor, and consumes power for information processing, control, and printing processing. The head 1 of the present invention is preferably equipped with a power storage device (1PUC). The head 1 is required to operate the inkjet elements, the temperature adjustment circuits that drive the elements, and logic circuits and drive circuits such as shift registers, and is also required to perform communication between the print head 1 and the printer (between the printer controller 6) and store data. Therefore, in order to ensure stable operation of the head 1 even if the power supply is temporarily stopped, a secondary battery may be used to charge and store electricity, or a power storage circuit 1PUC may be provided that can store electricity in a capacitor. The power storage device 1PUC has a function to smooth the power supply. The head 1 may be provided with a motor 40, which may be driven by the power storage device 1PUC. When supplying power to the head 1, a power line may be provided on a track that loops and rotates across the recording surface 2. The head 1 may also be powered and charged by a contact method. (For example, in Figure 5D, the head is likened to a train, 100R to the overhead wires and track, and 4R to the belt-type drive mechanism that pulls the train, and the state of being driven by receiving power from the overhead wire is shown.) A device for supplying power contactlessly (charging contactlessly) between the head 1 and the printer controller may be provided to supply power. The power storage device 1PUC such as a secondary battery or capacitor may be provided in the head 1 and also in the print head support and drive mechanism 4 that drives the head 1.

[0097] The head 1 is equipped with the five major devices of a computer: calculation, control, memory, and input / output devices, and can store print image data in memory devices such as RAM and ROM via contactless communication, read the data when printing, and eject ink according to the data. Since the head 1 performs contactless communication, it is preferable that printing can be performed according to the data stored in the storage device even if communication is not possible due to a communication failure or momentary equipment malfunction. It is also preferable that the head 1 be equipped with a power storage device from the perspective of data processing and recording. In addition to the power storage device 1PUC, print data to be printed may be received in advance by communication and stored in the memory device 1CU0 of the print head 1.

[0098] <Head and carriage transport mechanism> When the head 1 moves along a track that loops and rotates across the recording surface 2, the head 1 may be provided with a motor 40 for moving the track, or the track or the head housing may be moved by a power transmission element such as a motor 40 mounted on the printer or a gear, belt or chain driven by 40, and the head 1 may be moved, rotated or looped by a drive unit 4. Here, the track may be a rail, a pipe, or a mechanical element for transmission such as a chain or a belt, or a head drive mechanism (print head support mechanism and drive mechanism 4, print head rotation mechanism 4). In the present invention, there are two cases: one in which the print head 1 is rotated in a circular shape using mechanism 4 (where the nozzles are not moved but the head that supports the nozzles is moved), and one in which the nozzles arranged in an oval or elliptical shape of the print head 1 are moved in an orbital direction using mechanism 4 (where the head is fixed and the nozzles inside the head are moved in a circulating manner).

[0099] The looping and rotating orbit is a circular orbit in which a nozzle in the head 1 moves from the starting point, through the recording surface 2, and the head cleaning section 3, and then returns to the starting point again.

[0100] <Control circuit> The controller 6 that performs control may have wired and wireless communication devices as communication devices. The controller 6 has means for communicating with the print head 1 and the user terminal 8U. The print head 1 may receive the print image from the controller 6 via wireless communication, or may receive it via a wired system. The present invention preferably uses contactless communication.

[0101] <Printing with multiple heads> Printing may be performed using a plurality of print heads 1 arranged to eject material from nozzles in a looping, rotating orbit across the recording surface used in the present invention. Specifically, when performing color printing using four color inks, four print heads 1 corresponding to the four colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black may be arranged in the transport direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording paper 2 and used for printing. As shown in Figure 1BE, color printing can be performed using a single print head 1 equipped with multiple colors of ink, or color printing can be performed using four colors in a single-color print head 1 as shown in Figure 1BB or Figure 1CA. The head of the present invention may be used in combination with other manufacturing processes to produce printed and processed products. In 2D printing as well as in 3D printers, when the recording surface 2 is a turntable type, one head 1 may be used to 3D print a resin material (main material) and the other head 1 may be used to 3D print an easily removable support material (secondary material), as shown in Figure 3F.

[0102] <Safety device> Since the head used in the present invention can utilize a high torque motor 40 and moves in a looping, rotating orbit across the recording surface, it is particularly desirable to provide a safety device to prevent a user from becoming caught in the rotating printer. To prevent a person from getting caught in the print head 1, it is particularly preferable to enclose the operating print head unit in a housing to prevent a person from getting caught in the machine. The print head unit 1 may be equipped with a computer, an acceleration sensor, and a motion sensor 1CS, and these sensors can be used to measure the level of the head, as well as to detect external forces when the head comes into contact with external objects such as media on the recording surface or a person. [Example]

[0103] Figures 1A to 1E are explanatory diagrams of a print head that loops and rotates across the recording surface. Figures 2A and 2B show the direction of head rotation and ink impact when the print head is driven. (The figures are written under the assumption that centrifugal force is small and negligible.) 3A to 3D are explanatory diagrams of a 3D printer using a circular turntable-type print head and a turntable-type modeling stage.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 1AA, the nozzle row 100 (nozzle row 100A) of the print head 1 is specifically arranged in a circle. The printer moves from the origin 100A1 across the recording surface 2 and prints at a position between 100A2 and 100A3. After crossing the recording surface 2, the nozzles of the print head are cleaned by the cleaning unit 3 at 100A4 points. It has a looping orbit that passes through points 100A5 and 100A6 and returns to the origin 100A1. Printing is performed again by moving from the origin 100A1 across the area between 100A2 and 100A3 on the recording surface 2, and when the print head passes through point 100A4 after crossing the recording surface 2, the nozzle of the print head is cleaned by cleaning unit 3, and the print head returns to the origin 100A1 via 100A5 and 100A6, and this process is repeated to perform printing. <Installation location of cleaning unit 3> As described in other paragraphs, the cleaning unit 3 may be provided near 100A1 in addition to 100A4. Since 100A4 and 100A1 are outside the recording surface and on a circular orbit, the cleaning unit 3 can be installed there. <Area where main scanning for printing and processing is performed> As shown in FIG. 1AA, the nozzles of the head 1 move across the area 100A2-100A3 on the recording surface 2, performing printing and processing, and when passing through the cleaning unit 3, nozzle cleaning is performed. In addition, it can move across the area between 100A5 and 100A6 on the recording surface 2 to perform printing and processing. Furthermore, after printing or processing between 100A5 and 100A6, the recording surface can be sent in the sub-scanning direction and moved across between 100A2 and 100A3 to continue printing or processing. By using two nozzle rows (across two arcs) for output operations such as printing or processing between 100A2 and 100A3 and between 100A5 and 100A6, the number of carriage scans Cr can be reduced, potentially doubling the printing speed. Although the explanation has been given using Figure 1AA with a circular print head 1, even if the trajectory of the nozzle movement is circular, oval, elliptical or oval, by using two nozzle rows in such a way that as the nozzle moves over the recording surface 2, printing occurs as the forward portion moving in the positive direction of the main scanning direction and the return portion moving in the opposite direction pass over the recording surface, the number of carriage scans Cr can be reduced and the printing speed can be doubled. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1AA, or as previously described, two nozzle rows, one above the other, can be used (at least two or more nozzle rows can be used across two arcs). [Example]

[0105] Figures 3B and 3E are illustrative examples of printers for 3D and 2D printing applications, respectively. Figure 3B is an example of a 3D printer application, and Figure 3E is an example of a 2D printing application. The printer shown in FIG. 3E has a structure similar to that of a gantry machining center, and a Z-axis scanning mechanism may be added to the printer shown in FIG. 3E to be used as a 3D printer. The printer shown in FIG. 3E places a printing object such as paper, film, a substrate, or an object on the recording surface, feeds the printing object in the sub-scanning direction, and performs printing on the surface of the printing object as the recording surface 2. The above explanation is an example, and there is no problem if the printer itself moves in the sub-scanning direction along two or more rails on wheels, like a portal-type car wash or a train, and prints on the area corresponding to the recording surface 2 sandwiched between the rails (mechanism for sub-scanning).

[0106] In relation to the explanation of the portal-type car wash machine in Figure 3E, like a handy inkjet printer that can print barcodes or images by tracing the surface with a human hand by attaching a roller to an on-carriage type head equipped with a print head 1 and an ink tank, the head holding support column of the printer of this invention in Figure 3E may be equipped with wheels or rollers, so that printing can be performed simply by passing the printer over the surface of an object, indoors or outdoors, excluding the base part. The printer of the present invention may be a two-dimensional printer in which the head holding support of FIG. 3E is provided with wheels or rollers, eliminating the base part and allowing printing to be performed simply by passing the printer over the surface on which printing or material is to be discharged. The printer may be a device similar to a line car (line drawing) equipped with line powder for use in sports fields and other athletic fields, in which wheels like a line car are attached to a housing that houses an ink cartridge, the print head of the present invention, a drive mechanism for main scanning of the head, a cleaning unit, a motion sensor unit, and a sensor for photographing the recording surface before and after printing, and in which a person simply draws a line and the inkjet head is cleaned while printing.

[0107] 3B and 3E, the head 1 is horizontal to the recording surface 2 and the ground. However, there may be cases where the head 1 and recording surface 2 (recording location 2) are perpendicular to the ground in order to save space. Although it is assumed that there is no gravity in space, on Earth, gravity acts on objects with mass that are pointing toward the center of the Earth. Gravity affects ink, materials, printer mechanisms, structural materials, and drive mechanisms. In the case of a two-dimensional printer as shown in Figure 3E, the nozzle surface of head 1 may not be horizontal to the ground. In a two-dimensional printer where the nozzle surface of head 1 is perpendicular to the ground, space savings can be expected. In the case of the three-dimensional printers of Figures 3B and 3C, when using a turntable-type recording surface 2 (recording bed) that can be rotated while carrying heavy objects such as automobile parts or automobile bodies, it is preferable that the nozzle surface of the head 1 is horizontal to the recording surface and the ground. For the shaping, known three-dimensional printer methods, the use of support materials or holding structures, rolling rollers for lamination, etc. may be used. (For 3D printer applications where the recording surface 2 is vertical, a holding structure using a chuck device or support material / raft may be required on the recording surface 2 to hold the heavy object being modeled vertically on the recording surface 2 while being subjected to the gravity of the ground.) [Example]

[0108] 1A, 1B, 5C, and 5D are examples of printers or output devices that implement and use the method of the present invention, and are one of the simplest configurations: The print head 1 is equipped with only one nozzle, which scans along a circular or other looped trajectory across the recording surface and passes through the cleaning unit 3, and the actuator uses a solenoid valve to eject ink pressurized by a pump. Note that Figure 5A is an example. If a solenoid valve is not used in Figure 5A, the ink tank is kept at negative pressure and an actuator element 100VA such as a piezo actuator or a heating element is used, and ink is transported from the ink tank to the sub-ink tank by a pump, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle using a known inkjet method. If the nozzle 100NZ is an inkjet type, it is used for printing purposes, and if the nozzle 100NZ ejects a paste-like material extruded by the extrusion pump 110PP, it becomes an AM or FDM type 3D printer or application device. (Note) The solenoid valve is used as an example of a 100VA actuator because the inkjet head element 10, which has multiple nozzles when used in prototyping, is expensive and difficult to purchase for personal use. On the other hand, ejecting ink using a solenoid valve pressurized by a pump or a diaphragm-type piezoelectric actuator plate is inexpensive and the inventor can prototype it while understanding 100NZ and 100VA, so they were used in the present invention. For prototyping purposes, diaphragm-type piezo actuators, which are used in electronic buzzers, can also be used experimentally to create single nozzles of 100VA and 100NZ. Essentially, it is preferable to use a head element 10 (print head element) with a large drive frequency f and a large number of nozzles Nz. As described in other paragraphs, the present invention only requires one or more nozzles to be realized, so the method and apparatus can be implemented even with a single nozzle head using a solenoid valve or the like. [Example]

[0109] 5F is an explanatory diagram of a case where there is one head equipped with a nozzle that moves on an oval track-shaped rail using the on-carriage method. This is the same as Example 3 except that a car equipped with a nozzle moves on the rail. [Example]

[0110] Figures 5E and 5F are explanatory diagrams of a processing device or output device that is configured to irradiate a laser onto the area of ​​the recording surface to be processed rather than ejecting material from a nozzle. Figure 5E is an explanatory diagram of a laser processing machine with one nozzle in the head, and Figure 5F is an explanatory diagram of head 1 in Figure 5E. When the present invention is applied to a laser processing machine, processing is performed by irradiating a laser from the nozzle of the head 1 onto the recording surface 2 based on a raster image. The present invention does not contemplate laser plotters with a stage that scans in the X and Y axes based on a vector image. [Example]

[0111] In Figures 5A and 5D, which are examples of output devices using additive manufacturing methods, or Figure 5E, which is an example of an output device that can be used for subtractive processing, there is a space 21 between the recording surface and the head, and this space 21 can be under atmospheric pressure or under vacuum, or the vacuum provided by outer space can be used as the space 21. When a vacuum process is required to manufacture electronic components such as solar cells in the vacuum of space, they may be manufactured by ejection printing, in which patterning materials such as semiconductor materials, transparent electrode materials, metal electrode materials, and resists are ejected from an on-demand printing device (output device) for manufacturing solar cells onto a film substrate, glass, or semiconductor substrate such as silicon. As a method and apparatus used in the existing solar cell manufacturing, a spin coater may be used to apply a resist material to a substrate, expose it to light, and pattern it. The scanning method of the present invention may be used to perform laser processing for patterning and partial removal of the formed functional film or electrode film.

[0112] Semiconductor manufacturing processes and equipment such as deposition onto the entire surface of a substrate using the vacuum of outer space, semiconductor film formation using CVD, sputtering, sublimation, and proximity sublimation, doping by implanting impurities, film formation of functional films other than semiconductors, and transparent electrode / metal electrode patterning film formation may be carried out under the vacuum of outer space.

[0113] An output device 8 (printer 8) is provided in an atmospheric facility (a facility under atmospheric pressure conditions with no humans present) in outer space such as a space station, After patterning the substrate using a process such as inkjet printing, which contains components that evaporate under vacuum, such as water or solvents, A substrate on which printing such as patterning has been completed may be transported from the space station to outer space, and a semiconductor layer or electrode layer may be deposited on the substrate by vapor deposition, sputtering, sublimation, CVD, or the like.

[0114] For example, when manufacturing a film-type organic thin-film solar cell of the configuration known to the inventor in space, As a premise, considering the mass cost of launching a rocket, it is preferable that the materials for manufacturing solar cells be light in mass and can be produced using fewer resources. The following (1) and (2) are based on the assumption that solar cells will be manufactured using direct transition compound semiconductors or organic semiconductors (or dyes) with the use of a film-type substrate, which has a high absorption coefficient and reduces the thickness of the light-absorbing semiconductor layer, thereby reducing the semiconductor layer material and leading to reduced launch costs. *Note that while solar cell manufacturing is used here as an example of using the vacuum provided by space to manufacture electronic components, the present invention can also be used in the same way as solar cell manufacturing when using the vacuum provided by space to manufacture display products using the organic EL method, semiconductor elements, processors, memory, and ICs, secondary batteries, capacitors such as film capacitors, multilayer ceramic capacitors, and electrolytic capacitors, resistors, and circuits for electronic boards.

[0115] (1) In the case of organic thin-film solar cells and organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells, 1. Prepare the film substrate. 2A. The transparent electrode material ITO is applied to the film substrate by vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., using the vacuum of outer space, which is the vacuum of the deposition device and the part 21 of the device of this application. (ITO is indium tin oxide.) 2B. Without using 2A, apply ink containing dispersed conductive polymer doped onto a film substrate, dry it, and form a film. Spin coating, printing, or inkjet printing can be used for application. 3. Pretreatment is performed on the conductive electrodes 2A and 2B that have been formed. A conductive polymer such as poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) and a fullerene-based PCBM ([6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric Acid Methyl Ester) are mixed and dissolved in an organic solvent such as chlorobenzene at an optimized weight ratio on the conductive electrode of 4A.3, and the power generation layer is printed, dried, and formed into a film using a spin coater, printing method, offset printing with a printing unit or print head that can withstand organic solvents, or inkjet method. ●If the printing process is carried out using solvents in the atmosphere in a room of a space structure, it is expected that a process will be required to recover the solvent that evaporates into the atmosphere. When using the vacuum of outer space to evacuate the deposition equipment or the 21 portion of the equipment of this application, solar cells that make extensive use of dry processes may be suitable for the above method. The solvents used in printing methods cannot be easily supplied and used as ink or paste solvents like on Earth, and if a solvent with mass is to be used in the same way as on Earth, it would be costly to launch the solvent into space, and if wet processes are used extensively in space, it would be necessary to launch additional solvent in addition to the solar cell substrates, materials, and manufacturing equipment (the manufacturing equipment is, for example, the output device 8 of this application). It is also expected that the use, recovery, and circulation of solvents will be repeated in a closed system indoors under the atmospheric pressure of space, and it may be necessary to install a solvent recovery mechanism in one of the rooms in the space structure where manufacturing equipment or solar cell manufacturing is carried out. As such, wet processes such as printing that use solvents may be difficult to use in outer space. Taking this into consideration, in order to produce solar cells in space, it may be necessary to manufacture solar cells using a method that makes extensive use of dry processes that take advantage of the vacuum that exists in outer space. (As previously reported, when solar cells (including film-type solar cells) manufactured by printing on the ground are to be transported to a power plant on the ground or launched into space and installed at the site where power generation is desired, it may be easier to manufacture them using a wet process such as printing, since a vacuum need not be created on the ground to form a film. In the above case, the printer 8 of the present application is also intended to be used, and digital control is performed by the controller 6 in response to instructions from the 8U to print and pattern the material onto the desired portion of the substrate, form a film, and use it for solar cell manufacturing.) A single-molecule organic semiconductor (fullerene C60-based semiconductors as known n-type, and zinc phthalocyanine ZnPc as an example of p-type) is deposited on the conductive electrode of 4B.3 by evaporation or sublimation onto the substrate to form a power generation layer. The above compounds are examples, and any material that can form an organic semiconductor layer capable of absorbing sunlight, separating charges, and transporting carriers can be used. (Even when organic semiconductors or dyes are used, 4A uses organic solvents, whereas 4B is a dry process, so it may be easier to use in the indoor environment of space or space structures, as no solvent vapors are generated.) 4C.3) is applied to the conductive electrode of the organic-inorganic hybrid semiconductor film (a known example is to use inorganic perovskite for the power generation layer and Spiro-OMeTAD as the hole transport material). The vacuum of outer space is used to create a vacuum in the vacuum chamber of the deposition device and in part 21 of the device of this application, and film deposition is performed under vacuum. (Like 4B, 4C can also be performed using a dry process.) If the substrate after the formation of the power generation layer described in 5.4A to 4C needs to be dried, it is dried by heating, vacuuming, or the like. After 6.5, the substrate on which the power generation layer is formed is heated to a predetermined temperature for annealing. 7.6 Metal electrodes are deposited on the substrate in a vacuum environment using the vacuum provided by spacecraft to form a film. The 8.7 substrates are re-annealed and tested for power generation in an inspection system to test their performance. 9. The element is completed. (2) In the case of CIGS solar cells 1. Substrate Preparation 2. Metal electrode film formation and patterning under vacuum 3. Deposition of CuGa layer under vacuum 4. Deposition of an indium layer under vacuum 5. Selenization under Vacuum 6. CdS buffer layer deposition using a wet process 7. ZnO window layer is deposited under vacuum, patterned, and transparent electrode is formed 8. After inspection, the device is completed. This becomes: The manufacturing of the CIGS solar cells described as an example here involves many vacuum processes, but also includes some wet processes. When using the vacuum provided by space in the present invention, it is necessary to transport the substrate from outer space to an indoor space under atmospheric pressure, such as a space structure, and then carry out the wet processes. In the present invention, it is preferable that the solar cells be manufactured only under vacuum, using the vacuum provided in the vacuum part of outer space, but depending on the type of solar cell, the solar cells may be manufactured using both pressure environments, namely the vacuum of space and atmospheric pressure inside a space structure.The solar cells may then be used for space solar power generation.

[0116] The method and printer 8 of the present invention may be able to control the atmospheric pressure and environment of the recording surface gap 21 between the nozzles so that it is under atmospheric pressure on the ground or under the vacuum of a vacuum part in outer space (including a vacuum created by a vacuum pump on the ground), as in (1) and (2) of Example 6. The printer 8 can be used for dry and wet processes, and is an output device that can create patterned recording surfaces on demand under computer control, can perform nozzle cleaning during operation using limited materials and in limited spaces such as space structures, and aims to have the high speed of a line printer. The intention is to create an output device that can operate even in a limited space at high speed with continuous nozzle cleaning.

[0117] <Cleaning of nozzles that eject vaporized particles during vacuum deposition> When vapor deposition and sublimation are performed under vacuum, atomic and molecular particles generated by heating the material are ejected from the nozzle of the head 1 of the printer 8 and irradiated onto the substrate. In this case, the particles may also hit the nozzle that ejects the material or the actuator inside the nozzle, resulting in the deposition and formation of a film. Even when the printer 8 is in the process of printing, vapor deposition, sublimation, or laser processing, it may be desirable to clean the film formed on the nozzle with a mechanical device in the cleaning unit 3 so that the film formation operation does not have to be stopped to clean the nozzle. In this case, the nozzle and the actuator that opens and closes the bubble inside the nozzle and operates the nozzle may be cleaned by the cleaning unit 3. A mechanism for consistently cleaning the nozzles, valves, and flow paths leading to the ink tank, which are prone to material accumulation, may also be provided. For example, when nozzle maintenance is performed manually on an FDM printer, a thin wire can be used to push between the nozzle and the extruder to remove any defective parts or materials that have accumulated in the flow path between the nozzle and the extruder. Even in a nozzle that performs vacuum deposition in a vacuum, if material accumulates between the nozzle and the nozzle actuator and the flow path, the nozzle may be cleaned by poking or scraping off the deposited material using a needle-shaped, rod-shaped, or thread-shaped cleaning element used in a broom or the like to eliminate nozzle clogging. The nozzles of the printer 8 of the present application (FDM nozzles, additive manufacturing (AM) nozzles, and vapor particle ejection nozzles for vacuum deposition) may be cleaned using a thread-like, rod-like, or rod-like element such as a wire as the cleaning element 30 for cleaning the nozzles under atmospheric pressure and under vacuum.

[0118] Even for processing machines 8 that perform laser processing in a vacuum, if the laser nozzle becomes covered with dust or the like when part of the processing surface 2 is cut off with the laser during processing, the laser cannot irradiate photons as particles from the nozzle, so a cleaning mechanism is required.

[0119] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0120] It contributes to increasing the speed of printers for printing 2D images and 3D printers.

[0121] The printer of the present invention is intended to perform two-dimensional and three-dimensional printing or material deposition faster according to digital data, and will contribute to applications in the two-dimensional field such as well-known large-area printing fields as paper books and newspapers, printing on the surface of products, industrial fields, and electronic component manufacturing, and in the three-dimensional field such as robots, automobiles, prototyping, and medical fields. The present invention may be used in the manufacture of electronic components and electronic and semiconductor circuits on the ground and in space.

[0122] It can be applied to outdoor signs and posters using solvent inks, printing on industrial products using UV-curable resin inks, printing and coloring textile products, manufacturing processes for electronic components, and other known applications for discharging ink materials. [Explanation of symbols]

[0123] 1 print head 10 recording head nozzle 100 nozzle rows 100A Inkjet nozzles arranged in a circle 100B FDM nozzles arranged in a circle, nozzles made by AM method 100NZ Only one nozzle 100C Circular orbit when only one fixed nozzle rotates 100R Loop track along which the movable nozzle moves (may include overhead power lines) 11 Ink subtank 111 Joint (Rotary Joint) 112 Ink supply path in off-carriage type 113 Ink Tank 12 Ejected ink 120 Recording surface after ink has landed 2 Recording paper, recording surface 20. Recording surface transport mechanism (similar to 5, including sub-scanning motor) 3 Cleaning section (maintenance section) 30 cleaning elements 4. Drive mechanism (print head drive and support) 40 Drive mechanism motor (print head drive motor, for main scanning) 5 Media supply, transport and discharge section 6 Controllers 7 Interface 8 Printer body 8U user terminal 8N Network 9. Printed materials, output images or three-dimensional objects 90B Layer ejected from nozzle 100B when stacking by FDM <Reference symbols in Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, and 5F> 1 print head 100VA nozzle drive or open / close actuator 100NZ nozzle, only one nozzle per head 100NZP nozzle flow path 110 Sub Ink Tank 110PP material extrusion pump (may be equipped with an ink supply port) 113 Material Tank 100LD laser nozzle, laser irradiation element 1PU Head power receiving part, power supply part, power storage part, wiring 1PUC head power storage device 100C Circular orbit when only one fixed nozzle rotates 100R Loop track along which the movable nozzle moves (may include overhead power lines) 1CU head controller 1CU0 1CU storage device (RAM, ROM) 1CU1 1CU control processing unit (CPU, MPU, microcomputer) 1CU2 1CU communication device 1TR head non-contact communication unit, wireless communication unit (included in 1CU2) 1WL head wireless communication element (included in 1CU2) 1CU3 1CU input device 1CS Head tilt detection sensor, acceleration sensor, motion sensor (included in 1CU3) 1LVM Ink tank level gauge, material tank level gauge (optional) 1CU4 1CU output device 1FD head flow path drive circuit (nozzle drive, pump drive) 1FDN nozzle drive circuit 1FDP pump drive circuit, material extrusion drive circuit (extruder drive circuit) 12 Materials after ejection, ink droplets, particles that evaporate, are ejected, or fly during deposition 120 Recording surface after ink landing (recording surface after material ejection) 120B Recording surface after laser irradiation 2 Recording surface, recording paper 20 or 5 Recording surface transport mechanism, supply mechanism, sub-scanning mechanism 21 Atmospheric or vacuum environment between the recording head and the recording surface 4. Drive mechanism, main scanning mechanism 40 Motors among drive mechanisms 4R A mechanism that moves the nozzle-equipped vehicle using a rail system among the drive mechanisms 6 Printer Controller 60 6 memory devices (RAM, ROM) 61 6 control processing units (CPU, MPU, microcomputer) 62 6 communication equipment 6WL Printer controller contactless communication element (included in 62) 63 6 input devices 64 6 output devices 6IOC printer control panel, console 6P Power transmission part to the head, power supply part 7 Printer Interface 8 Printer (printer terminal) 8U user terminal

Claims

1. 1. A fluid ejection device having a rotatable print head, The recording head has a fluid inlet at the center of its rotation axis, The recording head has a path (112) for moving a fluid from its central axis toward a fluid discharge nozzle (10) provided on the outer periphery, and the path (112) can supply the fluid to the nozzle (10).

2. a nozzle 10 or a recording element unit 10 capable of performing recording, which is provided in a recording head of an output device; a recording surface 2 that is scanned by sub-scanning; a printed matter / recording surface that is printed or recorded by the nozzles 10 or the recording element unit 10, which is arranged on a recording surface 2; a cleaning unit 3; An output device having a path for main scanning of the nozzle 10 or the element unit 10, An output device comprising the fluid ejection device according to claim 1 .

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