Printing apparatus and printing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9022514-B2
Application number	US-201414220469-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2014
Priority date	Mar 28, 2013
Publication date	May 5, 2015
Grant date	May 5, 2015

Abstract

A printing apparatus including a print head that performs a printing pass that ejects a photocurable liquid onto a printing medium while being displaced in a main scanning direction each time the print head is displaced in a sub-scanning direction by a displacing amount of a sub-scanning operation, a first irradiation unit that follows the print head displaced in the main scanning direction while radiating light onto an area that is larger than the displacing amount of a sub-scanning operation, and a second irradiation unit that irradiates the light towards an area where irradiation of the light has been completed by the first irradiation unit. Furthermore, an integrated quantity of light of the first irradiation unit is reduced and an integrated quantity of light of the second irradiation unit is increased, in accordance with the increase in the set number of printing passes to be carried out.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus, comprising:
a print head that performs a printing pass that ejects a photocurable liquid onto a printing medium while being displaced in a main scanning direction each time the print head is displaced in a sub-scanning direction by a displacing amount of a sub-scanning operation, the sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction;
a first irradiation unit that follows the print head displaced in the main scanning direction while radiating light that cures the liquid;
a second irradiation unit that irradiates the light towards an area where irradiation of the light has been completed by the first irradiation unit, wherein the second irradiation unit is arranged in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the first irradiation unit;
a controller that controls a first integrated quantity of light that is an integrated quantity of the light per unit area radiated on the printing medium by the first irradiation unit and that controls a second integrated quantity of light that is an integrated quantity of the light per unit area radiated on the printing medium by the second irradiation unit; and
a pass number setting unit that can set the number of printing passes that is performed from a plurality of numbers, wherein
the controller reduces the first integrated quantity of light and increases the second integrated quantity of light in accordance with an increase in the number of printing passes that is performed and that is set by the pass number setting unit.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller controls a total integrated quantity of light to be within a predetermined range regardless of the number of printing passes that is performed, the total integrated quantity of light being a sum of the first integrated quantity of light and the second integrated quantity of light.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller controls the first integrated quantity of light to become a predetermined value or larger regardless of the number of printing passes that is performed.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller controls an irradiation intensity of the light that is radiated by the first irradiation unit to become a predetermined value or larger regardless of the number of printing passes that is performed.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller flashes a light source of the first irradiation unit and a light source of the second irradiation unit such that each light source is turned on and off alternately to control an irradiation state of the light from the first irradiation unit and an irradiation state of the light from the second irradiation unit and controls a ratio between a lighting duration of each light source and a no-light duration of each light source to control the first integrated quantity of light and the second integrated quantity of light.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an irradiation intensity of the second irradiation unit is higher than an irradiation intensity of the first irradiation unit.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the second irradiation unit is provided upstream in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the print head and the first irradiation unit, and
a drive mechanism is further included that displaces the print head, the first irradiation unit, and the second irradiation unit downstream in the sub-scanning direction in an integrated manner.

8. A method of printing, comprising:
performing a printing pass that displaces a print head towards a main scanning direction while the print head ejects a photocurable liquid onto a printing medium each time the print head is displaced in a sub-scanning direction by a displacing amount of a sub-scanning operation, the sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction;
radiating light that cures the liquid while a first irradiation unit follows the print head, the print head being displaced in the main scanning direction, in the main scanning direction;
radiating light with a second irradiation unit towards an area where irradiation of light with the first irradiation unit has been completed, wherein the second irradiation unit is arranged in the sub-scanning direction relative to the first irradiation unit;
setting the number of printing passes that is performed from a plurality of numbers; and
reducing a first integrated quantity of light that is an integrated quantity of the light per unit area that is radiated on the printing medium by the first irradiation unit and increasing a second integrated quantity of light that is an integrated quantity of the light per unit area that is radiated on the printing medium by the second irradiation unit, in accordance with the set number of printing passes that is performed.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Fujisawa Kazutoshi

Classifications

• B41M7/0081

  using electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams · CPC title

• B41J3/28

  for printing downwardly on flat surfaces, e.g. of books, drawings, boxes {, envelopes, e.g. flat-bed ink-jet printers} · CPC title

• B41J11/002 Primary

  Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating · 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

• B41J11/00212 Primary

  Controlling the irradiation means, e.g. image-based controlling of the irradiation zone or control of the duration or intensity of the irradiation · CPC title