Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11964467-B2
Application number	US-202217699782-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2022
Priority date	Mar 30, 2021
Publication date	Apr 23, 2024
Grant date	Apr 23, 2024

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a liquid discharge head, an irradiation unit, a carriage, and a moving unit. The liquid discharge head discharges a liquid including a metallic ink and a color ink onto a recording medium. The irradiation unit irradiates the liquid on the recording medium with light. The liquid discharge head and the irradiation unit are mounted on the carriage. The moving unit perform a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement. The liquid discharge head discharges the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in the main scanning movement and discharges the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in the same main scanning movement in which the metallic ink is discharged. The irradiation unit irradiates the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged, with the light in the same main scanning movement.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a liquid discharge head configured to discharge a liquid onto a recording medium, the liquid including a metallic ink and a color ink;
an irradiation unit configured to irradiate the liquid on the recording medium with light;
a carriage on which the liquid discharge head and the irradiation unit are mounted;
a moving unit configured to perform a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement, the main scanning movement in which the carriage is moved relative to the recording medium in a main scanning direction, the sub-scanning movement in which the carriage is moved relative to the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction; and
a controller configured to:
control the liquid discharge head to discharge the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in the main scanning movement,
control the liquid discharge head to discharge the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in the same main scanning movement in which the metallic ink is discharged, and
control the irradiation unit to irradiate the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged, with the light in the same main scanning movement.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein each of the metallic ink and the color ink is ultraviolet curable.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the liquid discharge head includes:
a metallic ink discharge head configured to discharge the metallic ink; and
a color ink discharge head configured to discharge the color ink, and
wherein the color ink discharge head and the irradiation unit are disposed on each side of the metallic ink discharge head on the carriage, and the color ink discharge head is closer to the metallic ink discharge head than the irradiation unit is.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the main scanning movement includes a forward main scanning movement in which the carriage is moved forward in the main scanning direction and a backward main scanning movement in which the carriage is moved backward in the main scanning direction, and
wherein the color ink discharge head is configured to discharge the color ink after the metallic ink discharge head has discharged the metallic ink, in each of the forward main scanning movement and the backward main scanning movement, and
wherein the irradiation unit is configured to irradiate the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged with the light in each of the forward main scanning movement and the backward main scanning movement.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the liquid discharge head includes:
a metallic ink discharge head configured to discharge the metallic ink; and
a color ink discharge head configured to discharge the color ink, the color ink discharge head disposed upstream from the metallic ink discharge head in a direction of the main scanning movement, and
wherein the irradiation unit is disposed upstream from the color ink discharge head in the direction of the main scanning movement.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the main scanning movement includes a forward main scanning movement in which the carriage is moved forward in the main scanning direction and a backward main scanning movement in which the carriage is moved backward in the main scanning direction,
wherein the liquid discharge head includes:
a forward metallic ink discharge head configured to discharge the metallic ink in the forward main scanning movement;
a forward color ink discharge head disposed upstream from the forward metallic ink discharge head in a direction of the forward main scanning movement and configured to discharge the color ink in the forward main scanning movement;
a backward metallic ink discharge head configured to discharge the metallic ink in the backward main scanning movement; and
a backward color ink discharge head disposed upstream from the backward metallic ink discharge head in a direction of the backward main scanning movement and configured to discharge the color ink in the backward main scanning movement, and

wherein the irradiation unit includes:
a forward irradiation unit disposed upstream from the forward color ink discharge head in the direction of the forward main scanning movement and configured to irradiate the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged with the light in the forward main scanning movement; and
a backward irradiation unit disposed upstream from the backward color ink discharge head in the direction of the backward main scanning movement and configured to irradiate the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged with the light in the backward main scanning movement.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the metallic ink or the color ink includes a solvent.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the metallic ink or the color ink includes water.

9. An image forming method comprising:
discharging a liquid onto a recording medium, the liquid including a metallic ink and a color ink;
irradiating the liquid on the recording medium with light;
performing a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement, the main scanning movement in which positions where the liquid is discharged and the light is emitted are moved relative to the recording medium in a main scanning direction, the sub-scanning movement in which the positions where the liquid is discharged and the light is emitted are moved relative to the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction;
discharging the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in the main scanning movement;
discharging the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in the same main scanning movement in which the metallic ink is discharged; and
irradiating the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged, with the light in the same main scanning movement.

10. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, the method comprising:
discharging a liquid onto a recording medium, the liquid including a metallic ink and a color ink;
irradiating the liquid on the recording medium with light;
performing a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement, the main scanning movement in which positions where the liquid is discharged and the light is emitted are moved relative to the recording medium in a main scanning direction, the sub-scanning movement in which the positions where the liquid is discharged and the light is emitted are moved relative to the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction;
discharging the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in the main scanning movement;
discharging the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in the same main scanning movement in which the metallic ink is discharged; and
irradiating the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged, with the light in the same main scanning movement.

Assignees

• Tsuchiya Yuki
• Matsuki Yuusuke
• Mezaki Daisuke
• Tsukamura Kiyoshi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsuchiya Yuki
• Matsuki Yuusuke
• Mezaki Daisuke
• Tsukamura Kiyoshi

Classifications

• B41J11/00214 Primary

  using UV radiation · CPC title

• B41J2/21

  for multi-colour printing · CPC title

• B41J11/00218

  Constructional details of the irradiation means, e.g. radiation source attached to reciprocating print head assembly or shutter means provided on the radiation source · CPC title

• B41J11/00216

  using infrared [IR] radiation or microwaves · CPC title