Roll-to-roll printing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11148412-B2
Application number	US-201716349526-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2017
Priority date	Nov 14, 2016
Publication date	Oct 19, 2021
Grant date	Oct 19, 2021

Abstract

In order to provide, to a roll-to-roll printing apparatus which seamlessly performs printing on a base material using a roll-to-roll method, performance for finely controlling the tension of the base material, the roll-to-roll printing apparatus includes a drive roll ( 74 ) that supplies a base material (B) to a plate cylinder, a drive roll actuator that rotates the drive roll ( 74 ), a dancer actuator ( 84 ) that changes a path line length of the base material (B) to vary the tension of the base material (B), a tension detection device ( 78 ) that detects the tension of the base material (B), and a tension control device ( 80 ) that controls the drive roll actuator and the dancer actuator ( 84 ) in accordance with a result of the detection by the tension detection device ( 78 ) to compensate for a variation in the tension of the base material (B). When compensating for the variation in the tension of the base material (B), the tension control device ( 80 ) uses the drive roll actuator to perform relatively rough control, while using the dancer actuator ( 84 ) to perform relatively fine control.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A roll-to-roll printing apparatus comprising:
an unwinding unit that unwinds a base material,
a printing unit that performs printing on the base material unwound from the unwinding unit,
a winding unit that winds up the base material subjected to the printing by a printing portion provided in the printing unit,
a drive roll that is disposed in a stage previous to the printing portion and supplies the base material to the printing portion;
a drive roll actuator that rotates the drive roll;
a plate cylinder that is disposed in the printing portion and performs printing on the base material,
a dancer actuator disposed between the plate cylinder and another drive roll to vary a tension of the base material by changing a path line length of the base material;
a tension detection device that is disposed in a stage previous to the printing portion and detects the tension of the base material; and
a tension control device that controls the drive roll actuator and the dancer actuator in accordance with a result of the detection by the tension detection device to compensate for a variation in the tension of the base material in a stage previous to the printing portion, wherein,
when compensating for the variation in the tension of the base material, the tension control device controls the drive roll actuator so that a tension variation in a predetermined low frequency band is inhibited, and controls the dancer actuator so that a tension variation in a predetermined high frequency band is inhibited,
the roll-to-roll printing apparatus seamlessly performs printing on the base material using a roll-to-roll method.

2. The roll-to-roll printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the dancer actuator is disposed between the drive roll and the plate cylinder.

3. The roll-to-roll printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the tension control device uses the dancer actuator to perform feedback control on the drive roll actuator for the drive roll disposed in a stage previous to the dancer actuator and perform feed-forward control on the drive roll actuator for the drive roll disposed in a stage subsequent to the dancer actuator.

4. The roll-to-roll printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the drive roll has a large inertia compared to the dancer actuator.

5. The roll-to-roll printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a dancer that is disposed in a stage previous to the drive roll and allows a predetermined load to be applied to the dancer via a roll, wherein the dancer actuator has a small inertia compared to the dancer when changing the path line length of the base material.

Assignees

• Asahi Chemical Ind
• Sumitomo Heavy Industries

Inventors

• Suzuki Keita
• Matsubara Shinya
• Hitomi Taishi
• Ikeda Makoto
• Miyoshi Kiyoto
• Ando Takatora

Classifications

• B41F13/02 Primary

  Conveying or guiding webs through presses or machines · CPC title

• B65H2511/112

  of a loop, e.g. a free loop or a loop of dancer rollers · CPC title

• B65H23/1888

  and controlling web tension · CPC title

• B41F33/06 Primary

  for starting or stopping operation of sheet or web feed · CPC title