Screen printing apparatus and method of printing including controlling the height of the ink droop

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10987916-B2
Application number	US-201916357477-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2019
Priority date	Mar 19, 2018
Publication date	Apr 27, 2021
Grant date	Apr 27, 2021

Abstract

A printing apparatus includes a screen with an opening through which ink passes. A resin material is formed with a recessed portion and a projection relatively projecting from the recessed portion. When a top surface of a projection is printed with ink, an inner edge of the opening is displaced toward the recessed portion. The height of an ink droop formed at the inner edge of the opening is set to be smaller than a depth of the recessed portion at a position facing the ink droop.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A combination of a resin material, an ink, and a printing apparatus, the printing apparatus for printing the ink on a top surface of a projection of the resin material, the projection relatively projecting continuously from a recessed portion recessed from one end side toward another end side of the resin material, the combination of the resin material, the ink, and the printing apparatus comprising:
a pedestal portion supporting the resin material;
a screen formed with an opening through which the ink passes,
wherein a size of the opening of the screen is greater than a size of the top surface of the projection,
the opening of the screen and the projection are arranged in a manner that an ink droop of the ink is formed at an edge of the opening in a state where the ink is applied to the top surface of the projection, and
the printing apparatus is configured to form the ink droop to have a height smaller than a depth of the recessed portion at a position facing the ink droop.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the printing apparatus prints the ink only on the top surface of the projection.

3. A printing method for printing ink on a top surface of a projection of a resin material, the projection relatively projecting continuously from a recessed portion recessed from one end side toward another end side of the resin material, the printing method comprising the steps of:
supporting the resin material on a pedestal portion of a printing apparatus;
positioning an opening formed in a screen of the printing apparatus to face the top surface of the projection, and printing the ink on the top surface of the projection by passing the ink through the opening,
wherein a size of the opening formed in the screen is greater than a size of the top surface of the projection during the printing the ink, and an edge of the opening is offset from the top surface of the projection toward the recessed portion; and
forming an ink droop at the edge of the opening is set to have a height smaller than a depth of the recessed portion at a position facing the ink droop, wherein the forming the ink droop inhibits the ink from being applied to a side surface of the recessed portion.

4. The printing method according to claim 3 , wherein the height of the ink droop is controlled by adjusting at least one of a viscosity of the ink and a number of printing operations.

5. The printing method according to claim 3 , wherein the ink droop is wiped out after carrying out printing the ink on a plurality of resin materials.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd
• Sunarrow Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Seonghun
• Takahashi Yuichi
• Kiyomiya Tomoomi

Classifications

• B41F15/08

  Machines · CPC title

• B41M1/12

  Stencil printing; Silk-screen printing · CPC title

• B41F15/0895 Primary

  for printing on curved surfaces not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B41F15/34 Primary

  Screens, Frames; Holders therefor · CPC title

• B41M1/40

  Printing on bodies of particular shapes, e.g. golf balls, candles, wine corks {(sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design B41M5/035)} · CPC title