Patent Application
20250187354
Various of the disclosed embodiments concern a single pass inkjet printer for Z-fold (fanfold) materials.
Currently, the decoration of the Z-fold (fanfold) materials is performed on a corrugator or roll-to-roll before/during the formation of the Z-fold. Often this is referred to as pre-print. Pre-print can be achieved with analog printing technology such as Gravure or Flexographic. It can also be achieved with inkjet printing in a roll-to-roll format, where the printed material is then mounted on a corrugator to produce a Z-fold. Such pre-print is performed upstream of the box forming process and does not enable a true on-demand printing production. Rather, it limits the print to a repeat pattern. There are companies, such as CMC (https://www.cmcmachinery.com/?page_id=3304), which provide machines that decorate boxes before the cutting, folding, and gluing steps, but the boxes cannot be decorated on demand, nor can the printing design be adjusted to enable 1:1 print or an impactful design for the final customer/product. There are companies that can decorate a box after it is formed and fully erected, but the surface coverage is limited to the top of the box.
Today, the inkjet press can print roll-to-roll materials or sheet-to-sheet, but it is not currently possible to print a Z-fold material in the flat at the point of creation of a box. Z-fold cardboard is a continuous sheet of corrugated cardboard that is accordion folded to stay connected within the framework of infinity. Z-folded sheets, which are found in many types and sizes, provide an ideal solution for companies that want to have right sized boxes, which eliminates the need for overpacking and reduces the corrugated waste. However, no known systems can provide full digital printing on a box at the point of creation and distribution.
Due to the problems presented by the fold in Z-fold materials current decoration workflows print with pre-print technology before the creation of the fold. Embodiments of the invention use inkjet printing. Because inkjet printing is a non-contact printing system embodiments of the invention print continuously on Z-fold materials without image quality defect. Accordingly, the workflow is different from current practice in that the Z-fold material is created first and the material is then printed (decorated) afterward. Embodiments of the invention print on the flat sheet of Z-fold material prior to its being die cut, folded, glued, and otherwise formed into a box. Accordingly, a box produced using the invention can have a full coverage print, rather than being printed after box formation, where decoration is limited to one area/surface of the box.
Embodiments of the invention use inkjet printing, which is a non-contact printing system, to print continuously on Z-fold materials without image quality defect. This allows printing from a Z-fold web instantly without waiting on set up, plates, or die cutting. Thus, the Z-fold material is created first and the material is then printed (decorated) afterward. Embodiments of the invention print on the flat sheet of Z-fold material prior to being die cut, folded, glued, and otherwise formed into a box. Accordingly, a box produced using the invention can have a full coverage print, rather than being printed after box formation, where decoration is limited to one area/surface of the box.
The cut sheet is fed to a single pass inkjet printer 16. An image for the entire box to be formed is printed on the sheet. The sheet is then passed to a die cutting, folding, and gluing machine 18 where the sheet is cut to the outline of the desired box when the box is flat before folding and gluing. The die cut sheet is then folded and glued, resulting in a complete box.
Unique to the invention is the fact that the printer can be programmed. The feeder, cutting machine, inkjet printer, and die cutting, folding, gluing elements of the overall printer are controlled in a coordinated fashion by a processor 19. The processor can be programmed to operate the printer to feed the Z-fold material along a printer path, cut the Z-fold material to a desired length, image the cut material, and then die cut, fold, and glue the imaged sheet to form a box. Uniquely, the entire production of the box is performed as a single set of continuous operations such that any number of boxes of any desired shape and bearing any desired design can be formed on-demand. The processor thus provides control signals to each element of the box manufacture workflow and receives status signals from each element of the box manufacture workflow to assure that each element of the workflow functions in a coordinated fashion with each other element of the workflow.
Images can be resized in real time to match the size of the box to be produced. For example, a fulfillment center may be packing an order for tennis shoes and a water bottle. The system determines in real time what size box is needed to pack the order, feeds the Z-fold material to a cutting machine which then cuts the Z-fold material to a sheet of an appropriate size. In this example, each order may require a different sized box. Thus, the printer cuts the sheet to an appropriate length for each of the different sized boxes.
While the order for tennis shoes and a water bottle relates to sporting equipment, the next order to be packed might relate to books and music. As such, the processing system controls the inkjet printer to print a different image on each box, where the image is appropriate for the contents of the box. For example, the box for the tennis shoes and water bottle may depict a sporting scene and the box for the books and music might depict a music concert or scene from one of the books in the order.
The processing unit can add targeted advertisements to the image printed on the box, for example that are personalized to the recipient based on the recipient's profile and that are also consistent with the contents of the box. For example, the order for tennis shoes and a water bottle might include a promotion for a sports drink based on the type of product packed into the box and also based on the recipient's prior purchase history.
The processing unit then operates the printer to die cut, fold, and glue the box. As such, a custom box is prepared for each order on-demand. Die cutting may differ not only the size of the box produced but also in the features of the box. For example, in some cases the box might feature scalloped edges or tear portions that allow the box to be opened easily.
In other embodiments, a series of boxes of different sizes and having different imaging may be produced. For example, a manufacturer may want to package 100 sets of headphones, 50 amplifiers, and 250 spools of cable. The processing system is programmed to produce the desired boxes for these products in the desired number, each box featuring an appropriate design for the product it is to contain.
A Z-fold sheet is not flat at the point of the fold. Rather, the sheet bows at the fold. Because the printer cuts sheets from the web of Z-fold material at varying and lengths as specified by the box to be produced, at any time some sheets may not have a fold, some sheets may have a fold near the center of the sheet, and still other sheets may have a fold near an edge of the sheet. A standard inkjet printer would not be able to print faithfully because the distance of the sheet from the inkjet printheads varies as the sheet moves along the print path due to the bowing of the sheet caused by the fold. Due to the nature of Z-fold material the boing may present itself as a concavity or as a convexity. This is due to the alternate folds in the Z-fold web. The bowing of the sheet at the fold runs the risk of collision of the bowed portion of the sheet with the delicate and expensive printheads and can therefore damage the printer. Embodiments of the invention provide an inkjet printer that addresses this issue by providing a strong vacuum on the print bed to firmly draw the sheet downward into a planar alignment with the printheads.
In embodiments of the invention, the vacuum can achieve a hold down force of 2000 gr versus 300 gr which is typical, for example for HP printers. This level of vacuum allows the printer to flatten Z-fold materials. In embodiments of the invention, the vacuum is adjustable. A setpoint of pressure is fixed, for example 500 gr, and the system, depending on the substrate quality, controls the vacuum source's blower to adjust the vacuum to the setpoint. A sensor detects the bow of each sheet to be printed by the printer and an indication is provided to the printer operators as appropriate to increase the vacuum due to a warp, bow, or defect of the sheet. Additionally, the system can adjust the vacuum system area to the substrate (see U.S. Pat. No. 11,407,238) and control the air below the system to reduce the artifacts and increase Image quality (see U.S. Pat. No. 10,913,294).
Embodiments of the invention also provide a sheet height tracking facility 74. In embodiments of the invention, the height tracking facility comprises a light detection system such as the HL-G125 laser displacement sensor manufactured by Panasonic. The height tracking facility adjusts the spacing of the printheads from the sheet in real time to accommodate the lack of planarity of the sheet. The height tracking facility detects the height of the sheet at the Z-fold. This height is used to determine when to operate a printhead lifting system to adjust printhead height. In embodiments, upon detecting a bowed portion of the sheet the print heads are raised 75 (
In other embodiments, the print heads are continuously raised and lowered to track the profile of the sheet and thus print an acceptable image on the sheet so long as the extent of print head excursion is within a predetermined tolerance.
The printer includes a raster image processor (RIP) 81 that provides a DFE for the printer 102 that is in communication with the cloud DFE. The printer also includes a video PC 82 that provides press software 83 and a video board 84. The press software is in communication with the DFE for the printer and with the press core 99 within a press PC 101. In turn, the press core is in communication with a press UI 100 and datalogger 98. The press software thus collectively the DFE for the printer, press core, press UI, and datalogger. The press core and datalogger are in communication with a printer PLC 97.
The printer includes a carriage board 85 that receives data from the video board in the video PC. The carriage board provides operating instructions to an electronic board 88 that operates a print head 89, an electronic board 87 that operates a print head 90, an electronic board 86 that operates a print head 91, and an electronic board 93 that operates a print head 92. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of print heads may be provided as desired along with corresponding electronic boards.
The press core also communicates with an inspection system 95 (see
Operation of the printer, pre-printer, and post-printer are coordinated via interaction of the pre-printer and post-printer PLCs with the printer press core 99. Further, in coordination with cloud and printer DFEs the system allows the production of individual boxes in real-time, as discussed above. In embodiments of the invention the system resizes the original print file to adapt to a customized box, where each box is different. The system adapts the file (picture) to each box, to keep the logos, bar codes, etc. such that the dimensions of all print elements are appropriate for the box. Some print elements, such as bare codes, may need to be maintained at a certain minimum or maximum size, while other print elements may be scaled as much as necessary to cover the box with printed matter as appropriate for the box. In such cases, the composition of the images to be printed on the box may also be adjusted to allow for a chance in the relative size of the various print elements.
The processing system 1800 may include a central processing unit (also referred to as a “processor”) 1802, main memory 1806, non-volatile memory 181810, network adapter 1812 (e.g., a network interface), video display 1818, input/output device 1820, control device 1822 (e.g., a keyboard or pointing device), drive unit 1824 including a storage medium 1826, and signal generation device 1830 that are communicatively connected to a bus 1816. The bus 1816 is illustrated as an abstraction that represents one or more physical buses or point-to-point connections that are connected by appropriate bridges, adapters, or controllers. The bus 1816, therefore, can include a system bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or PCI-Express bus, a HyperTransport or industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB), inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus, or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394 bus (also referred to as “Firewire”).
The processing system 1800 may share a similar processor architecture as that of a desktop computer, tablet computer, mobile phone, game console, music player, wearable electronic device (e.g., a watch or fitness tracker), network-connected (“smart”) device (e.g., a television or home assistant device), virtual/augmented reality systems (e.g., a head-mounted display), or another electronic device capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify action(s) to be taken by the processing system 1800.
While the main memory 1806, non-volatile memory 181810, and storage medium 1826 are shown to be a single medium, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized/distributed database and/or associated caches and servers) that store one or more sets of instructions 1828. The terms “machine-readable medium” and “storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the processing system 1800.
In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence of instructions (collectively referred to as “computer programs”). The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions (e.g., instructions 1804, 1808, 1828) set at various times in various memory and storage devices in an electronic device. When read and executed by the processors 1802, the instruction(s) cause the processing system 1800 to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the present disclosure.
Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fully functioning electronic devices, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some aspects of the technology are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms. The present disclosure applies regardless of the particular type of machine- or computer-readable media used to effect distribution.
Further examples of machine- and computer-readable media include recordable-type media, such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices 181810, removable disks, hard disk drives, and optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMS) and Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)), and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communication links.
The network adapter 1812 enables the processing system 1800 to mediate data in a network 1814 with an entity that is external to the processing system 1800 through any communication protocol supported by the processing system 1800 and the external entity. The network adapter 1812 can include a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, a bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, a repeater, or any combination thereof.
The network adapter 1812 may include a firewall that governs and/or manages permission to access/proxy data in a network. The firewall may also track varying levels of trust between different machines and/or applications. The firewall can be any number of modules having any combination of hardware, firmware, or software components able to enforce a predetermined set of access rights between a set of machines and applications, machines and machines, or applications and applications (e.g., to regulate the flow of traffic and resource sharing between these entities). The firewall may additionally manage and/or have access to an access control list that details permissions including the access and operation rights of an object by an individual, a machine, or an application, and the circumstances under which the permission rights stand.
The language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes. It may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the technology be limited not by this Detailed Description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of various embodiments is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the technology as set forth in the following claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/188,383 filed Mar. 22, 2023, the content of which is herein incorporated in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18188383 | Mar 2023 | US |
| Child | 19058505 | US |
