An inkjet printer that prints on a web-like recording medium with ink.

Abstract

An inkjet printing device (10) for printing with ink on a web-like record carrier (12) comprises a printing module (M1) having a printing unit (14) with a number of printing bars (16) each having one or more print heads. The printing device (10) further comprises a transfer carriage (18) for guiding the record carrier (12), which is movable into and out of a space (R) below the printing unit (14). In a printing operating state, the transfer carriage (18) is arranged in the space (R) and guides the record carrier (12) during printing. In a maintenance operating state, the transfer carriage (18) is moved out of the space (R). A cleaning module (M9) of the printing device (10) comprises at least one cleaning element for cleaning at least one print head of the printing module (M1). At least one cleaning element is arranged in the transport direction (T) of the record carrier (12) alongside the space (R) in the printing operation state and within this space (R) in the maintenance operation state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus that prints with ink on a web-shaped recording medium. The printing apparatus includes a printing unit having a plurality of printing bars each having one or more printing heads, and a transfer carriage that is movable into and out of a space below the printing unit and guides the recording medium. The transfer carriage is disposed in the space in the printing operation state and guides the recording medium during printing. In the maintenance operation state, the transfer carriage has moved out of the space between the printing unit and the cleaning unit.

[0002] Such a printing apparatus provided with a transfer carriage is known particularly from the specification of German Patent Invention No. 102013106211. However, the printing apparatus disclosed in this specification has the disadvantage that the cleaning unit is disposed below the transfer carriage in the printing operation mode and has to be moved upward in order to clean the printing heads in the maintenance operation state. This requires a relatively large amount of structural space in terms of height.

[0003] In International Publication No. 98 / 39691, a printing machine or a copying machine for printing on a web-shaped recording medium is known, and in this known printing machine or copying machine, a plurality of modules and component groups are provided. Thus, this printing machine or copying machine has an electrophotographic module and one transfer module respectively on both sides of the conveyance path.

[0004] The underlying problem of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printing apparatus that is simply and modularly configured and requires only a relatively small amount of structural space.

[0005] The above problem is solved by an inkjet printing apparatus having the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0006] An inkjet printing apparatus having the features of claim 1 is provided, in the printing operation mode, in which the recording medium to be printed is precisely positioned by the transfer carriage, and the space below the printing unit is open in the maintenance operation state, and as a result, at least one cleaning element, which is arranged side by side in the printing operation state, is positioned in the space below the printing unit in the maintenance operation state, and therefore, the print head of the printing unit, which is positioned above this space, can be cleaned. The cleaning element may in this case have a spraying element and / or a wiping element. The foreign particles that are detached and / or the cleaning liquid that is dropped can then be collected in a collection tank located below this space.

[0007] This allows for easy cleaning of the print head without requiring significant vertical space for configuration. This is achieved, in particular, by arranging at least one cleaning element alongside this space during print operation.

[0008] This space is located directly beneath the printing unit. The transfer carriage of the saddle module is used as a printing saddle to position the recording medium relative to the print head of the printing unit, especially in print operation mode. In this case, the web-like recording medium can be at least partially wrapped around the transfer carriage, both in print operation and maintenance operation mode.

[0009] Furthermore, the transfer carriage may be positioned, at least partially, above an intermediate storage module that stores a portion of the recording medium during printing operations. The area in the intermediate storage module that stores a portion of the recording medium is preferably located below a collection tank that collects foreign particles and / or cleaning fluid during maintenance operations.

[0010] Further features and advantages can be seen from the following description, and embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing an inkjet printer that prints on a web-like recording medium with ink, along with a drying module containing two alternatively installable drying units. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the inkjet printing apparatus module as seen from a first viewpoint. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of the inkjet printing device module shown in Figure 1, viewed from a second viewpoint. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is a detailed side view of the module of the inkjet printing apparatus shown. [Figure 5] This figure shows a simplified schematic arrangement of a module in an inkjet printing apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0012] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an inkjet printer 10 that prints on a web-like recording medium with ink, along with two alternative drying units 140, 240 that can be installed inside the inkjet printer 10, instead of the drying module M4. The inkjet printer 10 is a high-performance printer capable of printing in multi-color mode at high speeds, typically up to 3 m / s, on the recording medium 12 shown in Figure 4. The recording medium 12 may be paper, packaging material, textile material, cardboard, a film made of plastic and / or metal, or a hybrid material, such as a plastic or metal region within paper.

[0013] The housing 50 of the inkjet printer 10 is open in the area of ​​the drying module M4, so that, for example, the drying unit 140 can be removed from the drying module M4 and lowered onto the transport cart 142, and another drying unit 240 can be loaded into the drying module M4, and vice versa. The drying unit 140 has a contact heating element 144, which preferably has a heating saddle, through which a preferably web-shaped recording medium is guided so that the recording medium is in contact with the surface of the heating saddle. The heating element 144 is located on the front of the drying unit 140, which is inclined diagonally downward in the direction of transport of the recording medium. On the rear of the drying unit 140, through which the recording medium is subsequently guided diagonally upward, there may be at least one other contact heating element 144 and / or at least one cooling element for cooling the recording medium. The drying unit 240 has at least one radiant heating element 244, in particular an IR radiant heating element 244, through which the recording medium is guided to dry the ink applied during printing. In this drying unit 240 as well, the heating element 244 is located on the front of the drying unit 240, which is inclined diagonally downward in the direction of transport of the recording medium. On the rear of the drying unit 240, through which the recording medium is subsequently guided diagonally upward, there may be at least one other radiant heating element 244 and / or at least one cooling element for cooling the recording medium.

[0014] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the components of the inkjet printing apparatus 10 shown in Figure 1, viewed from a first viewpoint, and Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram viewed from a second viewpoint. The same elements and / or elements having the same function are given the same reference numerals. The drying unit installed in the inkjet printing apparatus 10 is either the drying unit 140 or the drying unit 240, both of which are commonly denoted by the reference numeral 40.

[0015] In addition to the drying module M4, the inkjet printing apparatus 10 includes a printing module M1 having multiple print bars, each having multiple print heads; a towing module M2 that supplies a web-shaped recording medium to be printed to the inkjet printing apparatus 10; an intermediate storage module M3 that, for example, temporarily stores a portion of the recording medium when printing is interrupted; an electrical system module M5 having a power unit that supplies power to another module and, preferably, to a control unit that controls and / or monitors the electrical system module M5 and / or the other module; an air suction module M6; a cooling module M7 that cools the print heads of the print bars of the printing module M1; a towing module M8 that discharges the printed recording medium; a cleaning module M9 having a cleaning element that cleans the print heads of the printing module M1; a liquid management module M10 that handles ink, primer and / or residual ink and cleaning fluid; a cooling module M11 that cools the recording medium after drying; and a saddle module M12 having a transfer carriage. During printing, the recording medium is guided via a transfer carriage 18 positioned opposite the print head in the print operation state of the inkjet printer 10. As a result, the transfer carriage 18 is used as a print saddle in print operation mode. The structure of the saddle module M12 and the function of the transfer carriage 18 will be described in more detail below in relation to Figure 4.

[0016] The cleaning module M9 is positioned alongside the saddle module M12 and has at least one spray element and / or wiping element as cleaning elements, which are positioned alongside the transfer carriage 18 of the saddle module M12 and, consequently, alongside the printing module M1 during print operation. During maintenance operation, at least one spray element and / or wiping element is moved into the area below the printing module M1 to clean the print head of the printing module M1 in a known manner.

[0017] The configuration in which the printing module M1 is placed on top of the saddle module M12, the cleaning module M9 is placed alongside the saddle module M12, and / or the liquid management module M10 is placed below the printing module M1, and preferably alongside the printing module M1, is optimal for the modular structure of the inkjet printing apparatus 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3. Module M10 handles liquids in particular, such as ink in areas 60-66, primer in area 68, cleaning liquid in area 70, and residual ink.

[0018] Post-processing of the recording medium, particularly by the drying module M4, and / or image capture of the printed image, particularly using an in-line camera, are performed spatially separated from the printing module M1 and spatially separated from areas where liquids are handled, such as the liquid management module M10. This allows for a simple modular structure with great flexibility in forming the individual modules of the inkjet printing apparatus 10.

[0019] Figure 4 shows detailed side views of modules M1 and M12 of an inkjet printer 10 that prints on a web-like recording medium 12 with ink. The arrows attached to the recording medium 12 represent the transport motion T of the recording medium 12.

[0020] The printing module M1 has a printing unit 14, which contains a plurality of printing bars 16, each printing a color separation of a basic color, such as yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. The printing bars 16 extend across the entire width of the recording medium 12 and may have one or more print heads, from which ink droplets are ejected toward the recording medium 12. In printing operation, the printing bars 16 are fixed in position, and the recording medium 12 is moved forward beneath the printing unit 14 along the transport direction T. Beneath the printing unit 14 is a collection tank 17, which collects cleaning fluid and foreign particles when cleaning the print heads of the printing unit 14 during maintenance operation.

[0021] A transfer carriage 18 of a saddle module is positioned in a space R having a height w2 between the printing unit 14 and the collection tank 17. The transfer carriage 18 includes a number of rollers 20 (only one is referenced) that guide the recording medium 12. The transfer carriage 18 is supported so as to be mobile. In the illustrated printing operation, the transfer carriage 18 enters and travels within space R, so that the recording medium 12 can face various printing bars 16 and be printed with ink. In this state, the recording medium 12 forms a meandering section that opens to the left and is supplied to the rollers 20 via a roll pair having rolls 22 and 23 and a deflection roll 24.

[0022] During printing operation, the recording carrier 12 is led out via another deflection roll 26 and supplied to subsequent modules, such as an intermediate storage module and / or drying module M4.

[0023] The transfer carriage 18 is supported on, for example, a guide rail (not shown) so as to slide, and can be slid to the left to the maintenance position shown by the dashed line for setting up the maintenance operation state, in which case it goes through a stroke w1. At this time, the deflection roll 24 is moved together with the transfer carriage 18, so the length of the meandering portion of the recording carrier 12 surrounding the transfer carriage 18 is substantially maintained. It can be seen that only at the left end of the meandering portion there may be a certain difference in the length of the meandering portion between the printing operation state and the maintenance operation state. This is compensated for by the compensation device 28, in which the deflection roll 26 is swung around the swing axis 32 by the lever arm 30 and lifted in order to compensate for this difference in length.

[0024] For length-neutral compensation, the position-fixed deflection roller 22 for deflecting the recording carrier 12 is also useful. By means of the compensation device 28, the movement of the transfer carriage 18 is overall length-neutralized, so that as a result, the recording carrier 12, downstream of the deflection roller 26 and upstream of the rollers 22 and 23, does not undergo a position change due to this movement. The length of the serpentine section of the recording carrier 12 between the rollers 22, 23 and the deflection roller 26 remains constant. This is extremely advantageous, because in this way, the recording carrier 12 is supplied to the downstream drying unit 40 without length fluctuations or position fluctuations. The double drying of the section is thereby avoided. Neither length changes nor position changes occur during the switching from the printing operating state to the maintenance operating state and back to the printing operating state, which leads to a continuous and uniform operating flow. The rollers 22, 23, 24, 20, 26 are rotating in order to prevent the recording carrier 12 from tearing.

[0025] Another cleaning element (not shown) of the cleaning module M9, for example a doctor, wiping element and / or a closing cap for the printing bar 16, is arranged side by side on the side of the space R in the printing operating state. In the maintenance operating state, at least some of these cleaning elements are moved into the space R in order to clean the print head.

[0026] In the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, the transfer carriage 18 is run in the leftward conveying direction T for the setting in the maintenance operating state. In another embodiment, it is also possible to run the transfer carriage 18 in the rightward direction opposite to the conveying direction T for the setting in the maintenance operating state.

[0027] All heavy and large units and modules of the inkjet printing device 10, in particular the printing unit 14, can be fixedly installed. Only a few elements have to be moved, for example the cleaning elements of the cleaning unit 17 and the transfer carriage 18.

[0028] In particular, the printing unit 14 requires no or only small loops for motion compensation for various connection lines, such as electrical lines for data transmission, sensor systems, actuator systems, optical-electrical data buses, ink supply tubes, and cooling lines. The connection lines can be laid optimally short, in a fixed position, and without drag chains.

[0029] By positioning the transfer carriage 18 between the collection tank 17 and the printing unit 14 during printing operation, and arranging the cleaning elements alongside the transfer carriage 18 during printing operation, a simple and compact structure of the inkjet printing apparatus 10 is possible, particularly the modular structure of the inkjet printing apparatus 10 as described in relation to Figures 1 to 3.

[0030] A relatively small drive unit and simple guide rails are sufficient for the movement of the transfer carriage 18 and the cleaning element. The technical effort or cost required for the connection lines necessary for the movable transfer carriage 18 and the movable cleaning element is relatively small, even considering the drag chain that may be required in some cases.

[0031] The printing unit 14 of the printing module M1, particularly the printing bar, is positioned in a fixed location whether the inkjet printer 10 is in printing operation or maintenance operation. This allows the electrical lines and / or liquid lines connected to the printing unit 14 to also be positioned in a fixed location within the housing 50 of the inkjet printer 10. These electrical lines and / or liquid lines remain stationary and invariant during transitions between printing operation and maintenance operation.

[0032] In maintenance operation, the transfer carriage 18 can be positioned at least partially on the drying units 40, 140, 240 of the drying module M4, which dry the recording carrier 12 printed by the printing unit 14 of the printing module M1.

[0033] The drying module M4, in particular the drying units 40, 140, 240, has a cooling unit 44 having at least one cooling element that cools the recording carrier 12 after it has passed through the heating elements 144, 244.

[0034] As already mentioned, the drying units 40, 140, 240 have at least one heating element 144, 244. The emission regions 146, 246 of the heating elements 144, 244 are inclined diagonally downward and / or diagonally upward in the transport direction T of the recording carrier 12, so that the emission regions 146, 246 intersect the horizontal plane at an angle preferably in the range of 30° to 60°, and particularly in the range of 40° to 50°.

[0035] The emission regions 146,246 of the heating elements 144,244 are generally, in particular, planes from which heating element 244 emits thermal radiation, or planes in which a contact region is located where heating element 140, configured as a contact heating element 140, contacts the recording carrier 12 to be dried. The contact region of the contact heating element 140 is preferably formed by a heating saddle, through which the recording carrier 12 is guided.

[0036] As a result, the emission regions 146,244 are not positioned vertically or horizontally in the transport direction T of the recording carrier 12, but are preferably positioned within an inclined plane. In the transport direction T of the recording carrier 12, the starting ends of the emission regions 146,246 have a different height from the ending ends of the emission regions 146,246.

[0037] To dry it, the recording carrier 12 is moved along or parallel to the emission regions 146,246 of the heating elements 144,244, at least in the region of the heating elements 144,244.

[0038] It is particularly advantageous when the heating elements 144,244 are first heating elements 144,244 having a first emission region 146,246, and the drying unit 40,140,240 has at least one second heating element 144,244 having a second emission region 146,246. In this case, the first emission region 146,246 may be located on the front of the drying unit 40,140,240, and the second emission region 146,246 may be located on the back of the drying unit 40,140,240. In this case, the recording carrier 12 can be guided to pass first along the front of the drying unit 40,140,240, preferably diagonally downward, and then along the back of the drying unit 40,140,240, preferably diagonally upward.

[0039] The emission regions 146, 246 of the drying units 40, 140, 240, or the first emission regions 146, 246 and / or the second emission regions 146, 246, may extend along the diagonals of the drying module M4 or parallel to the diagonals of the drying module M4.

[0040] Alternatively or additionally, it is particularly advantageous that at least one heating element 144,244 is located at the front of the drying units 40,140,240, and at least one cooling element is located at the rear, and the recording carrier 12 is guided to pass first along the front of the drying units 40,140,240, preferably diagonally downward, and then along the rear of the drying units 40,140,240, preferably diagonally upward.

[0041] In addition to or as an alternative to the cooling elements, cooling rollers may be placed within the drying module M4, and the recording carrier 12 is guided through the cooling rollers after passing through the heating elements 144,244.

[0042] A suction assembly or suction passage for drawing air from the area of ​​the drying unit 40 may be positioned above at least one heating element 144, 244 of the drying unit 40, 140, 240, or laterally offset above at least one heating element 144, 244.

[0043] Figure 5 shows a simplified schematic arrangement of modules M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M8, and M12, which are positioned within the transport surface of the recording carrier 12 in the inkjet printing apparatus 10. Other modules M6, M7, M9, M10, and M11 shown in Figures 1 to 4 may be positioned in different locations in other embodiments, or may be incorporated into other modules. The recording carrier 12 is guided through each of modules M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M8, and M12. These modules thereby define the surface of the recording carrier.

[0044] In another embodiment, module M2 may be located externally or incorporated within module M3. Alternatively or additionally, in another embodiment, module M8 may be located externally or incorporated within module M4. The collection tank 17 may be located within module M3, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, or in another embodiment, within module M12.

[0045] As shown in Figure 5, the arrangement of modules M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M8, and M12 requires minimal space, both in terms of height and footprint, despite the modular separation of the functions of the inkjet printer 10. In particular, the evolution and expansion of the inkjet printer 10 and / or changes in the configuration of the inkjet printer 10 can be easily achieved by replacing the entire modules M1-M12 or individual modules M1-M12 units 14, 18, 140, 240. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 10. Inkjet printing equipment 12 Recording Carrier 14 Printing Units 16 Print Bar 17 Collection tank 18 Transfer Carriage 20 Laura 22, 23 rolls 24 Deflection Roll 26 Deflection Roll 28 Compensation device 30 Lever Arm 32. Oscillating axis 40,140,240 drying units 42 Inline Scanners 44 Cooling and deflection roller 46 Suction passage 50 Housing 60, 62, 64, 66 ink units 68 Primer Units 70 Cleaning solution units 142,242 transport carts 144,244 heating elements 146,246 Emission Areas T Conveying direction WP1 maintenance position w1 stroke w2 height M1 Printing Module M2 supply traction module M3 Intermediate Storage Module M4 Drying Module M5 Electrical Module M6 Air Drain Module M7 Printhead Cooling Module M8 Emission Towing Module Cleaning module with M9 wiping unit M10 Liquid Management Module M11 Dry Cooling Module Saddle module with M12 transfer carriage

Claims

1. An inkjet printing device (10) that prints on a web-like recording carrier (12) with ink, A printing module (M1) having a printing unit (14) having a plurality of print bars (16) each having one or more print heads, A saddle module (M12) having a transfer carriage (18) that guides the recording carrier (12), which is movable into and out of the space (R) below the printing unit (14) of the printing module (M1), Equipped with, The transfer carriage (18) is positioned in the space (R) during printing operation and guides the recording carrier (12) during printing. The transfer carriage (18) is moved out of the space (R) during maintenance operation. The web-like recording carrier (12) moves together with the transfer carriage (18) when the transfer carriage (18) moves from the printing operation state to the maintenance operation state, and from the maintenance operation state to the printing operation state. The printing unit (14) includes a cleaning module (M9) having at least one cleaning element for cleaning at least one print head, At least one of the cleaning elements is arranged in the transport direction (T) of the recording carrier (12) to the side of the space (R) in the printing operation state and within the space (R) in the maintenance operation state. The transfer carriage (18) is positioned in the maintenance operation state at least partially on a drying module (M4) that dries the recording carrier (12) printed by the printing unit (14), the drying module (M4) having a drying unit (40) having at least one heating element (144, 244), Inkjet printing device (10).

2. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit (14) defines the space (R) above, and the collection tank (17) for collecting particles to be collected when cleaning the print head using at least one cleaning element defines the space (R) below.

3. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transfer carriage (18) is capable of moving out of the space (R) in the transport direction (T) of the recording carrier (12) during the printing operation of the transfer carriage (18), and is capable of moving into the space (R) in the direction opposite to the transport direction (T).

4. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the printing unit (14) is fixedly positioned within the inkjet printing apparatus (10).

5. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to claim 4, wherein an electrical line and / or a liquid line is connected to the printing unit (14), and the electrical line and / or liquid line is positioned within the housing (50) of the inkjet printing apparatus (10).

6. The emission regions (146, 246) of the heating elements (144, 244) are tilted diagonally downward and / or diagonally upward in the transport direction (T) of the recording carrier (12), and as a result, the emission regions (146, 246) intersect the horizontal plane at an angle, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the inkjet printing apparatus (10).

7. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to claim 6, wherein the recording carrier (12) is movable at least in the region of the heating elements (144, 244) along the emission regions (146, 246) of the heating elements (144, 244) or parallel to the emission regions (146, 246) of the heating elements (144, 244).

8. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the drying unit (40) is a first drying unit (240), at least one of the heating elements (244) of the first drying unit (240) is an IR radiant heating element (244), and there exists a second drying unit (140) having at least one second heating element (144), the second heating element (144) being a contact heating element (144) having a heating saddle, the recording carrier (12) being guided via the heating saddle, and the first and second drying units (140, 240) are configured such that the first and second drying units (140, 240) are interchangeable by an operator.

9. The inkjet printing apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the drying module (M4) and / or the drying unit (40, 140, 240) comprises a cooling unit (44) having at least one cooling element for cooling the recording carrier (12) after it has passed through the heating elements (144, 244) of the drying unit (40, 140, 240).

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