Inkjet recording device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9375951-B2
Application number	US-201314426388-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2013
Priority date	Sep 10, 2012
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

An inkjet recording device is provided. Two rails are each provided on left and right sides of a printer head, and three LED modules are provided on inner rows In and one LED module is provided on outer rows of the rails. These LED modules can move on the rails in a sub scanning direction. At a position, the LED modules become adjacent in a main scanning direction, whereby a total quantity of light becomes “200”. At other positions, the quantity of light is “100”. In this invention, providing the LED modules movably on the outer rows enables to configure a curing section at an arbitrary position, so that a required quantity of light can be obtained, whereby the printing speed does is not decreased; and further, the number of the LED modules can be suppressed, and cost for an ultraviolet lamps of a carriage can be reduced.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An inkjet recording device configured to move a printer head in a main scanning direction relative to a medium while discharging ink onto the medium, and including a lamp that causes the discharged ink to be exposed and cured in the main scanning direction of the printer head, the inkjet recording device comprising:
a plurality of irradiation units configuring the lamp and disposed in the main scanning direction relative to the printer head; and
a retaining unit that retains at least one irradiation unit among the plurality of irradiation units to be movable in a sub scanning direction perpendicularly intersecting the main scanning direction relative to the printer head, and
the irradiation units are provided at least on one side of the printer head from a printer head side to the main scanning direction, as an inner row and an outer row,
the irradiation units disposed in the inner row and the outer row are relatively movable in the sub scanning direction.

2. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1 , wherein
the retaining unit retains the plurality of irradiation units at a specific position in the sub scanning direction, and
a total quantity of light in the main scanning direction at the position is changed for a plurality of printing directions.

3. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1 , wherein
the retaining unit are rails, which are provided on both sides of the printer head in parallel and provided in the main scanning direction, and
each of the irradiation units is arranged respectively in the main scanning direction by being arranged with the rails.

4. The inkjet recording device according to claim 3 , wherein
a length of each of the rails is longer than a length of the printer head in the sub scanning direction, and projects out toward both sides of the printer head in the sub scanning direction.

5. An inkjet recording device configured to move a printer head in a main scanning direction relative to a medium while discharging ink onto the medium, and including a lamp that causes the discharged ink to be exposed and cured in the main scanning direction of the printer head, the inkjet recording device comprising:
a plurality of irradiation units configuring the lamp and provided in the main scanning direction of the printer head; and
a retaining unit that retains at least one irradiation unit among the plurality of irradiation units to be movable in a sub scanning direction perpendicularly intersecting the main scanning direction, wherein
the retaining unit creates contrasts in the total quantity of light in the main scanning direction between a specific position and other positions by retaining the plurality of irradiation units at the specific position in the sub scanning direction, and
when a feeding direction of the medium relative to the printer head changes from a forward direction to a reverse direction,
the retaining unit is capable of moving the irradiation units in the sub scanning direction so as to invert the total quantity of light in the forward direction.

6. An inkjet recording device configured to move a printer head in a main scanning direction relative to a medium while discharging ink onto the medium, and including a lamp that causes the discharged ink to be exposed and cured in the main scanning direction of the printer head, the inkjet recording device comprising:
a plurality of irradiation units configuring the lamp and provided in the main scanning direction of the printer head; and
a retaining unit that retains at least one irradiation unit among the plurality of irradiation units to be movable in a sub scanning direction perpendicularly intersecting the main scanning direction, wherein
in case of a magnitude of the total quantity of light in the main scanning direction at the specific position being made to differ from those of other positions, and provisionally curing the other positions with a small quantity of light and thereafter primarily curing the specific position,
in case where a feeding direction of the medium is a forward direction, the retaining unit moves and retains the irradiation unit so that a total quantity of light becomes large at a downstream side of the printer head relative to the medium, and
in case where the feeding direction of the medium is a reverse direction, the retaining unit moves and retains the irradiation unit to arrange the irradiation unit to be in an arrangement that is inverted in the sub scanning direction of the printer head, so that the total quantity of light becomes large at the downstream side of the printer head relative to the medium becomes large.

7. An inkjet recording device configured to move a printer head in a main scanning direction relative to a medium while discharging ink onto the medium, and including a lamp that causes the discharged ink to be exposed and cured in the main scanning direction of the printer head, the inkjet recording device comprising:
a plurality of irradiation units configuring the lamp and provided in the main scanning direction of the printer head; and
a retaining unit that retains at least one irradiation unit among the plurality of irradiation units to be movable in a sub scanning direction perpendicularly intersecting the main scanning direction, wherein
the irradiation units are configured of module members that:
have a large number of light emitting elements arranged in horizontal and vertical directions on a substrate, and
the irradiation units include:
a main scanning direction group of light sources configured to be capable of independently controlling the light emitting elements arranged in the main scanning direction as a whole among the large number of light emitting elements; and

a sub scanning direction group of light sources configured to be capable of independently controlling the light emitting elements arranged in the sub scanning direction as a whole among the large number of light emitting elements.

8. The inkjet recording device according to claim 7 , wherein
the sub scanning direction groups of light sources are further formed on both sides of the substrate, and
the main scanning direction group of light sources is formed between the sub scanning direction groups.

9. The inkjet recording device according to claim 7 , wherein
a plurality of main scanning direction groups of light sources is further included, and the light sources are formed adjacently in the sub scanning direction.

10. The inkjet recording device according to claim 7 , wherein
a plurality of sub scanning direction groups of light sources is further included, and the light sources are formed adjacently in the main scanning direction.

Assignees

• Mimaki Eng Kk

Inventors

• Tsuchiya Atsushi

Classifications

• C09D11/101

  Inks specially adapted for printing processes involving curing by wave energy or particle radiation, e.g. with UV-curing following the printing · 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

• B41J11/00214 Primary

  using UV radiation · CPC title