Patent Grant
10150286
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-239407 filed Dec. 8, 2015. The contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid discharging unit and a liquid discharging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an inkjet type liquid discharging device is used in a sign graphics field such as indoor and outdoor advertisements, the inkjet type liquid discharging device being provided with inks for background such as a white ink and a metallic ink and inks for image formation of process colors such as black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). The liquid discharging device is capable of first applying an ink for a background such as a white ink over a transparent recording medium surface to obtain a solid print and then printing an image with inks for image formation on the solid print.
Japanese Patent No. 4479224 discloses a technology that includes nozzle groups that discharge an ink for a background on both sides such as an upstream side and a downstream side in a medium conveying direction of nozzle groups that discharge process colors. This arrangement enables execution of white anterior printing in which the background is formed with a white ink prior to an image formed with color inks and of white posterior printing in which an image is formed with color inks prior to the background formed with a white ink, and the like.
However, according to the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4479224, there is a problem that high density of nozzles causes color bleeding along color boundaries between process colors.
In view of the above conventional problems, there is a need to provide a liquid discharging unit and a liquid discharging device capable of obtaining a simple device in which bleeding along color boundaries is hard to occur and capable of performing white anterior printing, intermediate printing, and white posterior printing.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there is provided
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide
The accompanying drawings are intended to depict exemplary embodiments of the present invention and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. Identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the various drawings.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
In describing preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology may be employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have the same function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result.
Exemplary embodiments of a liquid discharging unit and a liquid discharging device will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments will explain examples in which a recording head is applied as the liquid discharging unit and an inkjet recording device is applied as the liquid discharging device.
The conveying mechanism 5 constitutes a conveying unit of a roll-to-roll method. The conveying mechanism 5 has a pair of nip rollers 51, a pair of driven rollers 52, and a winding roller 53, which are provided on a conveying path 54 of the recording medium 40. The nip rollers 51 are provided in front of the image forming unit 2 (on the upstream side in a conveying direction A). The nip rollers 51 convey the recording medium 40 sandwiched thereby by being rotated with the driving of a motor M (see
The conveying mechanism 5 includes a wheel encoder 55 (see
In other words, the recording medium 40 stored in the roll media storage unit 4 is conveyed to the image forming unit 2 via the driven rollers 52 through the rotation of the nip rollers 51. The recording medium 40 having reached the image forming unit 2 is printed with a required image by the image forming unit 2. The recording medium 40 after being printed is then wound up through the rotation of the winding roller 53.
The image forming unit 2 includes a carriage 21. The carriage 21 is slidably held by guide rods (guide rails) 22. The carriage 21 moves along the guide rods (guide rails) 22 with the driving of the motor M in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction A of the recording medium 40. More specifically, the carriage 21 reciprocates within a recording area where the image forming unit 2 can print an image, in a main scanning area which is a movable area in the main scanning direction, with respect to the recording medium 40 conveyed by the conveying mechanism 5.
The carriage 21 includes a recording head 20 in which a plurality of nozzle holes each being a discharge opening for discharging a liquid droplet are arranged. The recording head 20 is integrally provided with a tank for supplying ink to the recording head 20. However, the recording head 20 is not limited to those that are integrally provided with a tank, but may be separately provided with a tank. The recording head 20 functions as a liquid discharging unit and discharges color ink droplets of black (k), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) which are recording liquids of process colors. The black (k), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are inks for image formation. In addition, the recording head 20 discharges an ink droplet of white (W) which is an ink for a background. Moreover, the recording head 20 discharges color inks of orange (O) and green (G) which are special color recording liquids with a difference in hue from the recording liquids of these process colors, which are used to improve color reproducibility.
The image forming unit 2 includes a platen 23 for supporting the recording medium 40 below the recording head 20 at the time of printing using the recording head 20.
The image forming unit 2 also includes an encoder sheet for detecting a main scanning position of the carriage 21 along the main scanning direction of the carriage 21. The carriage 21 includes an encoder 26 (see
The carriage 21 includes a sensor 24 that optically detects an edge of the recording medium 40 according to the movement of the carriage 21. The detection signal detected by the sensor 24 is used to calculate a position of the edge of the recording medium 40 in the main scanning direction and a width of the recording medium 40.
The drying device 3 includes a preheater 30, a platen heater 31, a drying heater 32, and a warm air fan 33. The preheater 30, the platen heater 31, and the drying heater 32 are electric heaters using, for example, ceramic or nichrome wire.
The preheater 30 is provided on the upstream in the conveying direction A of the recording medium 40 with respect to the image forming unit 2. The preheater 30 preliminarily heats the recording medium 40 conveyed by the conveying mechanism 5.
The platen heater 31 is disposed on the platen 23. The platen heater 31 heats the recording medium 40 on which ink droplets discharged from the nozzle holes of the recording head 20 are caused to land.
The drying heater 32 is provided on the downstream in the conveying direction A of the recording medium 40 with respect to the image forming unit 2. The drying heater 32 continuously heats the recording medium 40 printed by the image forming unit 2 to facilitate the drying of the ink droplets that land on the recording medium 40.
The warm air fan 33 is provided on the downstream in the conveying direction A of the recording medium 40 with respect to the drying heater 32 (image forming unit 2). The warm air fan 33 blows the warm air to the recording surface of the recording medium 40 on which the ink droplets land. The warm air fan 33 directly blows the warm air to the ink on the recording surface of the recording medium 40 to thereby decrease the atmospheric humidity around the recording surface of the recording medium 40, and dries the ink completely.
By installing the drying device 3, the inkjet recording device 1 can adopt any non-permeable medium as the recording medium 40, such as vinyl chloride, PET, and acryl, which the ink does not permeate. When the non-permeable medium is adopted, the inkjet recording device 1 can adopt, as inks used for image forming unit 2, solvent-based inks excellent in fixing also to the non-permeable medium or water-soluble resin inks containing much resin component.
The inkjet recording device 1, configured so that the inks are discharged from the recording head 20 while the carriage 21 reciprocates within the width of the recording medium 40 to form an image, includes unidirectional printing for discharging inks only when a carriage operation is performed only on a forward path to form an image, and bidirectional printing for discharging inks when the carriage operation is performed on both forward and return paths to form an image. The bidirectional printing that is advantageous at a point of a printing speed is mainly used in the inkjet recording device 1. Herein, an operation of discharging inks from the recording head 20 while the carriage 21 is moving in the main scanning direction is determined as one scan.
A control configuration of the inkjet recording device 1 will be explained next.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The host I/F 16 performs transmission/reception of image data (print data) and a control signal with a host side via a cable or via a network. Examples of the host connected to the inkjet recording device 1 include, but are not limited to, an information processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, and an imaging device such as a digital camera.
The I/O 19 receives a detection pulse from the encoder 26 and the wheel encoder 55. In addition, the I/O 19 connects various sensors 25 such as a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, and other sensors to the control unit 10, in addition to the sensor 24. The I/O 19 receives a detection signal from the sensor 24 and the various sensors 25.
The head drive controller 17 controls the drive of the recording head 20, and includes a data transfer unit. More specifically, the head drive controller 17 transfers image data as serial data. The head drive controller 17 generates a transfer clock and a latch signal, which are required for transfer of image data and confirmation of the transfer or the like, and also generates a drive waveform used when a liquid droplet is discharged from the recording head 20. The head drive controller 17 inputs the generated drive waveform etc. to a drive circuit inside the recording head 20.
The motor controller 18 drives the motor M. More specifically, the motor controller 18 calculates a control value based on a target value given from the CPU 11 and a speed detected value obtained by sampling detection pulses sent from the wheel encoder 55. The motor controller 18 drives the motor M based on the calculated control value via an internal motor drive circuit.
The control unit 10 also includes a heater controller 8 and a warm air fan controller 9.
The heater controller 8 controls the outputs so that temperatures of the preheater 30, the platen heater 31, and the drying heater 32 become set temperatures respectively. More specifically, when controlling the heaters 30, 31, and 32, the heater controller 8 acquires temperature information using temperature sensors respectively provided in the heaters 30, 31, and 32. The heater controller 8 then controls so that the temperatures of the heaters 30, 31, and 32 become set temperatures respectively while monitoring the temperatures of the heaters 30, 31, and 32. When heaters are provided on the tank and ink routes of the recording head 20, the heater controller 8 also controls the heaters in the above manner.
The warm air fan controller 9 controls the output of the warm air fan 33 so that ventilation is performed at a predetermined temperature and air volume.
In addition, the control unit 10 is connected with an operation panel 60 for performing an input and a display of information required for the inkjet recording device 1.
The control unit 10 integrally controls the units by the CPU 11 that loads the computer program read from the ROM 12 (or memory 14) into the RAM 13 and executes the loaded program. More specifically, the CPU 11 reads the control contents set in each print mode from the ROM 12 (or the memory 14) based on the print mode set through the operation panel 60. The CPU 11 then controls the units based on the control contents read from the ROM 12 (or the memory 14).
The computer program executed by the inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment is provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk recordable (CD-R), and a digital versatile disk (DVD) in an installable or executable file format.
The computer program executed by the inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment may be configured to be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and being downloaded via the network. The computer program executed by the inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment may also be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.
The computer program executed by the inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment may be configured to be provided by being preinstalled in a ROM or the like.
Image data transfer/printing processing executed by the control unit 10 of the inkjet recording device 1 will be briefly explained next. The CPU 11 of the control unit 10 reads and analyses image data (print data) in a reception buffer included in the host I/F 16 and performs image processing and sorting processing of data required for the ASIC 15. Subsequently, the CPU 11 of the control unit 10 transfers the image data (print data) processed at the ASIC 15 from the head drive control unit 17 to the recording head 20.
It may be configured so that dot pattern data for image output is generated by storing font data in, for example, the ROM 12 or the image data is converted into bitmap data by a host-side printer driver to be transferred to the inkjet recording device 1.
Characteristic functions of the inkjet recording device 1 will be explained next. The inkjet recording device 1 according to the present embodiment has the following features upon inkjet printing to the recording medium 40 which is a transparent non-permeable medium.
Essentially, the inkjet recording device 1 is configured to increase the drying rate of inks by reducing the ink adhesion amount per unit area in one scan. Thus, when color inks are applied to the white ink, the inkjet recording device 1 can suppress color buried or color mixture, suppress bleeding along a boundary between different colors, and prevent a coating area from being reduced due to its contraction in response to a contact of adjacent droplets with each other between the same colors.
As illustrated in
Each of the first nozzle group 20a and the third nozzle group 20c includes four nozzle arrays that discharge ink droplets of KCMY (process colors) for image formation. Each of the nozzle arrays has 192 nozzle holes from a nozzle hole of nozzle number (No.) 1 to a nozzle hole of nozzle number (No.) 192. In the example illustrated in
As illustrated in
Similarly to the first nozzle group 20a, the second nozzle group 20b also includes four nozzle arrays each having 192 nozzle holes from nozzle No. 1 to nozzle No. 192. In the second nozzle group 20b similar to the first nozzle group 20a, the pitch P between the nozzle holes is 150 dpi.
The second nozzle group 20b includes nozzle arrays for auxiliary recording. Specifically, the second nozzle group 20b includes two nozzle arrays that discharge ink droplets of color for background formation and two nozzle arrays that discharge ink droplets of special colors for image formation.
As illustrated in
The reason that the nozzle array NW that discharges ink droplets of white (W) is set to two arrays is because the amount of discharge is increased because the white color is frequently used for background formation to cover the whole area.
Thus, the first nozzle group 20a and the third nozzle group 20c that discharge ink droplets for image formation and the second nozzle group 20b that discharges ink droplets of the colors for auxiliary recording are arranged in two lines in the main scanning direction, and the second nozzle group 20b is disposed in zigzag with respect to the other nozzle groups. Thereby, a plurality of nozzle groups that discharge ink droplets for image formation are provided, and this enables the inkjet recording device 1 to reduce the ink adhesion amounts of the KCMY (process colors) for image formation per each unit area in one scan and to increase the drying rate of the inks of the KCMY (process colors) for image formation. In other words, by speeding up the drying of the inks of the KCMY (process colors) for image formation, it is possible to suppress bleeding along a boundary between different colors, and to prevent the coating area from being reduced due to its contraction in response to the contact of adjacent droplets with each other between the same colors.
By setting the two arrays in the second nozzle group 20b to the nozzle arrays NW that discharge ink droplets of white (W), the inkjet recording device 1 can reduce an application amount of the white ink in one scan as much as possible, so that the white ink as the background color can be dried until the KCMY (process colors) inks are applied and the color buried and color mixture at the time of applying the KCMY (process colors) inks onto the white ink can be suppressed. If the total application amount is tried to be equal, the number of scans becomes a larger number, but by connecting the nozzle groups to each other in the sub scanning direction instead of the main scanning direction, high quality printing can be achieved without degreasing the productivity.
In the inkjet recording device 1, when the recording head 20 has the nozzle configuration and if the KCMY (process colors) and the white ink are used, the improvement of the productivity can be estimated in all the processes such as the anterior printing, the posterior printing, and the intermediate printing of the white ink.
When the recording head 20 has the nozzle configuration and if the KCMY (process colors), the special colors, and the white ink are used, the inkjet recording device 1 evenly uses the nozzle arrays that discharge special color ink droplets and the nozzle arrays that discharge white ink droplets in the second nozzle group 20b, thus enabling all the processes such as the anterior printing, the posterior printing, and the intermediate printing of the white ink for the six colors.
The inkjet recording device 1 can obtain comparatively low nozzle density by arranging the nozzle groups 20a, 20b, and 20c so as to be prolonged in the sub scanning direction even when the white ink is not used. In other words, the ink adhesion amount per unit area in one scan can be reduced, and dots of adjacent droplets are thereby hard to contact each other and bleeding along the color boundary can be suppressed, thus significantly improving the productivity.
Consequently, according to the inkjet recording device 1 of the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain a simple device in which bleeding along the color boundary is hard to occur and the white anterior printing, the intermediate printing, and the white posterior printing are possible.
In the present embodiment, orange and green are applied as special colors. However, the embodiments are not limited thereto, and therefore special colors of red and blue etc. may be used, or light inks such as light cyan, light magenta, and gray may be used as special colors.
In the present embodiment, the white ink is applied as an auxiliary ink, however, the embodiments are not limited thereto. The inkjet recording device 1 can apply a silver ink, a gold ink, a transparent ink, a primer, a surface protective agent, etc., as an auxiliary ink. The auxiliary ink is used basically to improve the quality of an image and add some texture thereto by forming an auxiliary layer on the surface or the back of an image layer which is a layer of an image formed with the inks for image formation.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, the black ink is also included in the process colors for image formation, however, it may also be configured not to include the black ink in the process colors for image formation.
A second embodiment will be explained next. However, the same reference signs are assigned to the same components as these of the first embodiment, and explanation thereof is therefore omitted.
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in an arrangement among the first nozzle group 20a, the second nozzle group 20b, and the third nozzle group 20c in the recording head 20.
Even when the nozzle configuration in the recording head 20 is as illustrated in
A comparison result between the inkjet recording device 1 provided with the recording head 20 having the nozzle configuration illustrated in
Upon comparison, when the nozzle density of one nozzle array is 150 dpi and the resolution of a finished image is 900 dpi×900 dpi, a mode that performs 6 scans per nozzle array width is used to print a bleeding check pattern PT illustrated in
For comparison, it is assumed that “time to wait for drying” such that the carriage 21 is stopped at a scan edge is provided and the time is converted to the productivity (m2/h).
When the productivity is 40 m2/h, in the printing using the recording head 20 with the nozzle configuration illustrated in
On the other hand, in the printing using the conventional recording head illustrated in
The productivity is 20 m2/h when the satisfactory result as illustrated in
As a result, when the recording head 20 with the nozzle configuration illustrated in
As for the recording head 20 with the nozzle configuration illustrated in
In a permeable paper, the color of an ink that first lands on the paper becomes dominant in coloring, while in the recording medium 40 which is a transparent non-permeable medium such as a PET film, the color of an ink that lands on the paper later comes out more easily than previous ones when viewed from the surface side. Therefore, for example, when the color of orange (O) is desirably emphasized than black (K) and if the white anterior printing is to be performed on the recording medium 40, it is preferable that orange (O) of the second nozzle group 20b for special colors is changed to black (k) and black (k) of the third nozzle group 20c is changed to orange (O) in the configuration of
Conversely, in the case of white posterior printing, printing is viewed from its reverse surface, and therefore the color of an ink that first lands on the paper becomes strong in coloring. Therefore, it is preferable that black (k) of the first nozzle group 20a for image formation is changed to orange (O) and orange (O) of the second nozzle group 20b for special colors is changed to black (k).
In the intermediate printing of the white color, also, by changing black (k) of the first nozzle group 20a for image formation to orange (O) and by changing orange (O) of the second nozzle group 20b for special colors to black (k), the color of orange (O) can be enhanced in coloring.
The above has described the nozzle configuration in the case of emphasizing coloring of orange. However, when the entire color gamut is to be enlarged, a single color cannot be emphasized, and therefore it is desirable to compare these cases in various conditions. Especially, in the same nozzle group of the nozzle groups 20a, 20b, and 20c, adjacent droplets contact each other before being dried to cause the colors to mix each other regardless of user's intention, and therefore it is preferable to actually print the image to check how it is like. Thereafter, a nozzle arrangement is preferably selected so that the color gamut becomes largest. The arrangement order of the nozzle arrays in the nozzle groups 20a, 20b, and 20c is preferable that the color gamut of an image to be formed becomes the largest.
Thus, according to the inkjet recording device 1 of the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain a simple device in which bleeding along the color boundary is hard to occur and the white anterior printing, the intermediate printing, and the white posterior printing are possible.
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the configuration, in which the three nozzle groups: the first nozzle group 20a for image formation, the second nozzle group 20b for auxiliary recording, and the third nozzle group 20c for image formation are arranged, has been explained as the recording head 20, however, the embodiments are not limited thereto.
For example, the recording head 20 may be those, as illustrated in
According to the examples illustrated in
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a simple device in which bleeding along the color boundary is hard to occur and the white anterior printing, the intermediate printing, and the white posterior printing are possible.
The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the present invention. Thus, numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, at least one element of different illustrative and exemplary embodiments herein may be combined with each other or substituted for each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims. Further, features of components of the embodiments, such as the number, the position, and the shape are not limited the embodiments and thus may be preferably set. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
Further, any of the above-described apparatus, devices or units can be implemented as a hardware apparatus, such as a special-purpose circuit or device, or as a hardware/software combination, such as a processor executing a software program.
Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented by one or more processing circuits or circuitry. Processing circuitry includes a programmed processor, as a processor includes circuitry. A processing circuit also includes devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA) and conventional circuit components arranged to perform the recited functions.
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