JP2010179533A - Fluid jetting apparatus and fluid jetting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform borderless printing for printing an image up to an end portion of a medium in a rotating direction of a rotating body by a fluid ejecting apparatus including a rotating body that rotates while holding the medium on a peripheral surface.
A fluid ejecting unit that ejects a fluid toward a medium, and a rotating body that rotates with a peripheral surface facing the fluid ejecting unit, the rotating body including an opening along an axial direction of the rotating body, And a rotating body that rotates while holding the medium on the peripheral surface in a state where an end of the medium in the rotation direction of the rotating body is positioned on the opening.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus and a fluid ejecting method.

  A fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid is already known, and an example thereof is an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) that ejects a fluid such as ink onto a medium to print an image. As one of the printing processes of the printer, there is a process (so-called borderless printing) for printing an image up to the edge of the medium (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In borderless printing, in order to print an image up to the edge of the medium, ink is ejected toward the edge. At this time, ink that protrudes from the end portion may occur. For this reason, in order to perform borderless printing, it is necessary to take measures so that the medium and the inside of the printer are not soiled by the ink protruding from the end.

  By the way, some printers have a fluid ejecting unit that ejects a fluid onto a medium, and a rotating body that rotates while facing the fluid ejecting unit while holding the medium on the circumferential surface. is there.

JP 2005-103761 A

  There is a need to perform borderless printing in which an image is printed to the end in the rotation direction of the medium held on the peripheral surface of the rotating body using the printer having the above configuration.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to rotate the rotating body with a fluid ejecting apparatus including a rotating body that rotates while holding the medium on the peripheral surface. In this case, borderless printing is performed to print an image on the edge of the medium.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the main invention is (A) a fluid ejecting unit that ejects fluid toward a medium, and (b1) a rotating body that rotates while facing a peripheral surface of the fluid ejecting unit. (B2) An opening is provided along the axial direction of the rotating body, and the medium rotates in the rotation direction of the rotating body while the medium is held on the peripheral surface while being positioned on the opening. A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising: a rotating body configured to rotate; and (C).
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the printer 1. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printer. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of a drum unit 30, a head unit 40, a UV irradiation unit 50, and an absorber unit 60. 4A is a perspective view showing the head unit 40, and FIG. 4B is a view when the head 42 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 4A. It is a figure which shows the drum unit 30 and the absorber unit 60. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a sheet S and a head 42 in borderless printing. It is the figure shown in the state which expand | deployed the surrounding wall 34 of the rotating drum 31. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which protruding ink that protrudes from an end portion in the orthogonal direction of the sheet S is absorbed by the absorber 61. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which protruding ink that protrudes from an end portion in the paper width direction of a sheet S is absorbed by the absorber 61.

  At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

  First, a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention includes (A) a fluid ejecting unit that ejects fluid toward a medium, and (b1) a rotating body that rotates while facing a peripheral surface of the fluid ejecting unit. b2) A rotation that includes an opening along the axial direction of the rotating body and rotates while holding the medium on the peripheral surface in a state where the end of the medium in the rotating direction of the rotating body is positioned on the opening. And having a body. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to perform borderless printing that prints an image on the edge of the medium in the rotation direction of the rotating body.

  Further, in the fluid ejecting apparatus, the rotating body is a hollow rotating drum, and the fluid ejecting unit is directed toward the medium so that no margin is formed at the end of the medium on the peripheral surface. And the opening is formed in a peripheral wall of the rotating drum, and allows the fluid protruding from the end of the fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting section to enter the rotating drum. The slit may be opposed to the fluid ejecting unit when the fluid ejecting unit ejects fluid toward the end. In such a fluid ejecting apparatus, the fluid protruding from the end of the medium is accommodated in the rotating drum through the slit, thereby preventing contamination by the fluid and appropriately performing borderless printing. Is possible.

  Further, in the fluid ejecting apparatus, the fluid ejecting section ejects fluid toward the medium so that no margin is formed at both ends of the medium on the peripheral surface in the rotation direction, and the rotation direction A pair of the slits arranged at intervals in the peripheral wall is formed in the peripheral wall, and the rotating drum rotates while holding the medium on the peripheral surface in a state where both ends in the rotation direction are positioned on the slit. It is also good to do. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to perform borderless printing so that no margin is formed at both ends of the medium on the circumferential surface in the rotation direction.

  Further, in the fluid ejecting apparatus, the fluid ejecting unit may be configured such that no margin is formed at both ends of the medium on the peripheral surface in the rotation direction and at both ends of the medium in the axial direction. A pair of axial slits as a pair of the slits, and a pair of intersecting slits that intersect the axial slits and are arranged at intervals in the axial direction. A pair of intersecting slits for allowing the fluid protruding from the end in the axial direction of the medium on the peripheral surface of the fluid ejected from the portion to enter the inside of the rotating drum is formed in the peripheral wall, The cross slit faces the fluid ejecting unit when the fluid ejecting unit ejects fluid toward the end of the medium on the peripheral surface in the axial direction, and the rotating drum rotates the rotation Both ends in the direction is located on said axial slit, and, in a state where both end portions in the axial direction is located on the intersecting slits, may be rotated while maintaining the medium at the periphery. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it becomes possible to perform borderless printing in which no margin is formed at the ends of all four sides of the medium.

  Further, in the fluid ejecting apparatus, a pair of first slits and a pair of second slits as a pair of the slits are formed in the peripheral wall, and an interval between the second slits in the rotation direction is the first slit. The rotating drum holds the first medium and the second medium whose length in the rotation direction is longer than the first medium on the peripheral surface, and the first medium When holding, when holding the first medium on the peripheral surface and holding the second medium with both end portions of the first medium in the rotation direction positioned on the first slit. Alternatively, the second medium may be held on the peripheral surface in a state where both end portions of the second medium in the rotation direction are positioned on the second slit. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to perform borderless printing on each of two types of media having different sizes, thereby realizing a highly versatile fluid ejecting apparatus.

  The fluid ejecting apparatus may further include an absorber that is disposed in the rotating drum and absorbs fluid, and the absorber is an exposed portion exposed by the slit of the absorber, from the end portion. It is good also as absorbing the fluid which protruded. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to appropriately process the fluid protruding from the end of the medium.

  In the fluid ejecting apparatus, the absorber is rotatable independently of the rotating drum in a state where the axial direction of the absorber is along the axial direction of the rotating drum, and the absorber is It is good also as having an absorber drive mechanism for rotating. With such a fluid ejecting apparatus, the fluid that protrudes from the end portion of the medium can be appropriately absorbed by the absorber.

  Further, (A) a rotating body that rotates, and has an opening along the axial direction of the rotating body, and when the medium is held on the peripheral surface, the end of the medium in the rotating direction of the rotating body Holding the medium on the peripheral surface with the medium positioned on the opening, and (B) the medium on the peripheral surface in the rotation direction while the peripheral surface is opposed to the fluid ejecting portion. It is also possible to implement a fluid ejection method having (C) by ejecting fluid from the fluid ejection section toward the medium on the peripheral surface so that no margin is formed at the end. With such a fluid ejection method, it is possible to perform borderless printing in which an image is printed on the edge of the medium in the rotation direction of the rotating body.

=== About the fluid ejection device according to the present invention ===
Hereinafter, an ink jet printer (hereinafter, printer 1) as an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the invention will be described.

  First, the outline of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the printer 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a sheet-like sheet S as an example of a medium. In the following description, a printer 1 that prints an image using the sheet S as a medium will be described.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a rotating drum 31 as an example of a rotating body and a head 42 as an example of a fluid ejecting unit. The rotating drum 31 rotates while holding the sheet S on its peripheral surface 33. At this time, the paper S is held on the peripheral surface 33 so that the paper width direction (the short direction of the paper S) coincides with the axial direction of the rotary drum 31, and the rotary drum 31 opposes the peripheral surface 33 to the head 42. Rotate while letting During the rotation of the rotary drum 31, the head 42 ejects ink toward the paper S on the peripheral surface 33. As a result of the ink ejected from the head 42 landing on the paper S on the peripheral surface 33, an image is printed on the paper S.

  Note that the printing ink is an example of a fluid, and in the present embodiment, it is an ultraviolet curable ink (hereinafter, UV ink) that is cured by receiving ultraviolet rays. However, the ink may be non-ultraviolet curable ink (that is, general water-based ink and oil-based ink).

  Further, the printer 1 can perform a process (so-called borderless printing) for printing an image up to the edge of the paper S on the peripheral surface 33. That is, the head 42 ejects ink toward the paper S so that no margin is formed at the end. In this embodiment, it is possible to perform borderless printing in which no margin is formed at the end portions of all four sides of the paper S (details will be described in the section on borderless printing described later).

<< Configuration of Printer 1 >>
Next, the configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the printer 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the drum unit 30, the head unit 40, the UV irradiation unit 50, and the absorber unit 60. 4A is a perspective view showing the head unit 40, and FIG. 4B is a view when the head 42 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 4A. FIG. 5 is a view of the drum unit 30 and the absorber unit 60 as viewed from the head 42 side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 includes a controller 10, a paper supply / discharge unit 20, a drum unit 30, a head unit 40, a UV irradiation unit 50, and an absorber unit 60.

  The controller 10 is a control device built in the printer 1. The controller 10 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 110 via the interface 11, and the CPU 12 passes the unit control circuit 14 via the program stored in the memory 13. The above units 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 are controlled. As a result, an image corresponding to the print data is printed on the paper S. The state in the printer 1 is monitored by the detector group 80, and the controller 10 controls each unit 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 based on the detection result.

  The paper supply / discharge unit 20 supplies and discharges the paper S, and includes a paper supply tray 21 and a paper discharge tray 22 (see FIG. 1). The sheets S in the sheet feed tray 21 are fed to the drum unit 30 one by one. The paper S on which an image is printed is sent to the paper discharge tray 22. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of paper S having different paper sizes are fed (discharged), and a paper feed tray 21 and a paper discharge tray 22 are provided for each type of paper S (FIG. For simplicity, each tray 21, 22 is shown one by one). More specifically, trays 21 and 22 for A3 size paper S and trays 21 and 22 for A2 size paper S are provided, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drum unit 30 includes the above-described rotating drum 31 and a drum driving mechanism 35 as a rotating body driving mechanism that rotates the rotating drum 31. The rotating drum 31 has a hollow shape, and its rotating shaft 32 is rotatably supported by a pair of frames 36 (see FIG. 1). The drum drive mechanism 35 rotates the rotary drum 31, and includes a drum motor 35a and a transmission mechanism 35b such as a gear train as shown in FIG. When the rotation of the drum motor 35a is transmitted to the rotation shaft 32 of the rotation drum 31 via the transmission mechanism 35b, the rotation drum 31 rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 32 in the rotation direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

  In this embodiment, there are two types of paper S to be fed (specifically, A3 size and A2 size), and the size of the paper S to be fed depends on the print data. Change. That is, the rotating drum 31 holds two types of paper S having different sizes on the circumferential surface 33. Here, of the two types of paper S, the orthogonal direction (the longitudinal direction of the paper S, in other words, the length of the paper S on the peripheral surface 33 in the rotational direction of the rotating drum 31) is orthogonal to the paper width direction. The shorter A3 size paper S corresponds to the first medium, and the longer A2 size paper S corresponds to the second medium.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, an axial slit 36 along the axial direction of the rotary drum 31 and a cross slit 37 that intersects (substantially orthogonal to) the axial slit 36 are formed on the peripheral wall 34 of the rotary drum 31. Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the head unit 40 has a head carriage 41. The head carriage 41 is supported by a pair of guide shafts 46 and 47 and reciprocates along the axial direction of the rotary drum 31. A head 42 is mounted on the head carriage 41. The head 42 has a nozzle surface 44 on which a plurality of nozzles are formed, and faces the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33 of the rotary drum 31 by the movement of the head carriage 41. During this time, the head 42 ejects UV ink from the nozzles toward the paper S. In this embodiment, five heads 42a to 42e (see FIG. 4A) having different colors of UV ink to be ejected are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the UV irradiation unit 50 includes an irradiation unit carriage 51. The irradiation unit carriage 51 is supported by a pair of guide shafts 56 and 57 and reciprocates along the axial direction of the rotary drum 31. An irradiation unit 52 is mounted on the irradiation unit carriage 51. The irradiation unit 52 includes a plurality of lamps 53 that are positioned downstream of the head 42 in the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31 and are aligned along the rotation direction. The irradiation unit 52 irradiates the sheet S with ultraviolet rays (UV) emitted from the lamp 53. As a result, the UV ink landed on the paper S is cured and fixed on the paper S.

  The absorber unit 60 absorbs the protruding ink (see FIG. 6) generated during borderless printing. The protruding ink is UV ink that protrudes from the edge of the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33 of the rotating drum 31 among the UV ink ejected from the head 42. The generation of the protruding ink will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the absorber unit 60 includes a cylindrical absorber 61. The absorber 61 is a main member of the absorber unit 60 and has an outer peripheral portion 63 made of sponge or the like. The absorber 61 is provided in the rotating drum 31 so as to be arranged concentrically with the rotating drum 31. The absorber 61 absorbs the protruding ink that has passed through the axial slit 36 and the intersecting slit 37 and entered the rotary drum 31 at the outer peripheral portion 63. More specifically, the absorber 61 receives and absorbs the protruding ink at the exposed portion 64 exposed by the axial slit 36 and the cross slit 37 of the absorber 61 (more specifically, the outer peripheral portion 63). In the following, of the exposed portion 64, the exposed portion exposed by the axial slit 36 is referred to as an exposed portion 64a (see FIG. 8), and the exposed portion exposed by the cross slit 37 is referred to as an exposed portion 64b (FIG. 9). reference).

  Furthermore, the absorber 61 of this embodiment can rotate independently of the rotating drum 31. More specifically, the absorber 61 is rotatably supported with its axial direction being along the axial direction of the rotary drum 31. The rotary shaft 31 of the rotary drum 31 is formed with a shaft insertion hole 32a (see FIG. 3) along the axial direction, and the rotary shaft 62 of the absorber 61 has play in the shaft insertion hole 32a. It is inserted in the state. On the other hand, the absorber unit 60 is provided with an absorber drive mechanism 65 for rotating the absorber 61. The absorber drive mechanism 65 includes an absorber motor 65a and a transmission mechanism 65b such as a gear train. (See FIG. 5). When the rotation of the absorber motor 68a is transmitted to the rotation shaft 62 of the absorber 61 via the transmission mechanism 68b, the absorber 61 rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 62 in the rotation direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the separate drive mechanisms 35 and 65 are provided for the rotating drum 31 and the absorber 61, respectively, and the rotating drum 31 and the absorber 61 are individually rotated. It is possible.

<< Operation Example of Printer 1 >>
Next, a printing operation as an operation example of the printer 1 having the above configuration will be described. The printing operation corresponds to the fluid ejection method according to the present embodiment.

  When the controller 10 receives print data from the host computer 110, it analyzes the contents of various commands included in the print data and controls each unit 20, 30, 40, 50, 70. Thereby, first, the drum drive mechanism 35 rotates the rotary drum 31 and the lamp 53 of the irradiation unit 52 is turned on. In this state, the paper S in the paper feed tray 21 is fed toward the rotary drum 31. The paper S fed to the rotary drum 31 is held by being wound around the circumferential surface 33 and rotates together with the rotary drum 31.

  While the paper S is rotating, the head ejects UV ink toward the paper S while facing the paper S. As a result, an image piece (image fragment) along the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31 is printed on one end side of the paper S in the paper width direction. Thereafter, as the rotating drum 31 rotates, the lamp 53 of the irradiation unit 52 faces the portion of the paper S on which the image piece is printed. As a result, the UV ink constituting the image piece is cured by receiving the ultraviolet rays, and the image piece is fixed on the paper S.

  After the image piece is fixed, when the rotary drum 31 rotates once, the head carriage 41 moves together with the head 42 by a predetermined distance from one end side to the other end side of the guide shafts 46 and 47. 56, 57 moves from one end side to the other end side by a predetermined distance). Then, the above-described steps (UV ink ejection step by the head 42 and ultraviolet irradiation step by the irradiation unit 52) are performed again. Thereafter, each time the rotating drum 31 makes one rotation, the head carriage 41 moves and the above-described steps are repeated. As a result, the image pieces are sequentially printed from one end side to the other end side of the sheet S in the sheet width direction, and finally, an image as a completed image is formed. Thereafter, the paper S on which the image is printed is peeled off from the rotary drum 31 and sent to the paper discharge tray 22. As a result, the printing operation ends.

<< About borderless printing >>
The printer 1 performs borderless printing as a process for printing an image by the above-described printing operation. In borderless printing, in order to print an image up to the end of the sheet S held on the circumferential surface 33 of the rotary drum 31, the head 42 ejects UV ink toward the end. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the head 42 (more specifically, the nozzle surface 44) is opposed to the end portion with a part of the head 42 slightly protruding outward from the end portion. In this state, since the head 42 ejects UV ink toward the end portion, as shown in the drawing, a part of the UV ink ejected from the head 42 is discarded without landing on the paper S. It is done. This UV ink to be discarded is a protruding ink. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the paper S and the head 42 in borderless printing, and only one head 42 is shown in order to simplify the drawing.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, borderless printing can be performed such that no margin is formed at the ends of all four sides of the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33. That is, the head 42 ejects UV ink toward both ends of the paper S in the paper width direction and both ends in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the paper width direction of the paper S. The protruding ink is generated every time the head 42 ejects UV ink toward the end of the paper S.

  On the other hand, as described in the background art section, if the protruding ink is left as it is, the paper S and the inside of the printer 1 are contaminated by the protruding ink. Therefore, in this embodiment, the protruding ink is caused to enter the inside of the rotating drum 31 and the absorbing ink provided in the rotating drum 31 is absorbed to prevent the contamination by the protruding ink. . In the following, measures for preventing contamination by the protruding ink will be described.

<< Prevention measures against contamination by protruding ink >>
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of axial slits 36 arranged on the peripheral wall 34 of the rotary drum 31 with a gap in the rotational direction of the rotary drum 31 and a gap in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31. Two pairs of intersecting slits 37 arranged with a gap between each other are formed. Each axial slit 36 has a rectangular shape, and its longitudinal direction is along the axial direction of the rotary drum 31. Each cross slit 37 also has a rectangular shape, and its longitudinal direction is along the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31. FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the peripheral wall 34 of the rotary drum 31 is developed. In FIG. 7, in order to show the holding position of the paper S on the circumferential surface 33 of the rotary drum 31, the paper S of each size is also shown.

  Hereinafter, one of the two pairs of the axial slits 36 is referred to as a pair of first axial slits 36a (corresponding to the first slit), and the other is a pair of second axial slits 36b (second It corresponds to a slit). Similarly, one of the two pairs of cross slits 37 formed is called a pair of first cross slits 37a, and the other is called a pair of second cross slits 37b.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the interval between the second axial slits 36b in the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31 is longer than the interval between the first axial slits 36a. More specifically, the interval between the first axial slits 36a is slightly shorter than the paper width of the A3 size paper S, and the interval between the second axial slits 36b is slightly larger than the paper width of the A2 size paper S. It is getting shorter. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the interval between the second cross slits 37b in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31 is longer than the interval between the first cross slits 37a. More specifically, the interval between the first cross slits 37a is slightly shorter than the orthogonal length of the A3 size paper S, and the interval between the second cross slits 37b is longer than the orthogonal length of the A2 size paper S. Slightly shorter.

  When the rotary drum 31 holds the A3 size paper S, both ends in the orthogonal direction of the paper S (both ends in the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31) are positioned on the first axial slit 36a. Both ends of the sheet S in the sheet width direction (both ends in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31) are positioned on the first intersecting slit 37a (see FIG. 7). In other words, the rotating drum 31 circulates the A3 size paper S with both ends in the orthogonal direction positioned on the first axial slit 36a and both ends in the paper width direction positioned on the first intersecting slit 37a. It rotates while being held by the surface 33.

  On the other hand, when the rotary drum 31 holds the A2 size paper S, both ends in the orthogonal direction of the paper S are positioned on the second axial slit 36b, and both ends in the paper width direction of the paper S are in the second intersection. It comes to be located on the slit 37b (refer FIG. 7). In other words, the rotating drum 31 circulates the A2-sized paper S with both ends in the orthogonal direction positioned on the second axial slit 36b and both ends in the paper width direction positioned on the second intersecting slit 37b. It rotates while being held by the surface 33.

  As a result, when the head 42 ejects UV ink toward the end in the orthogonal direction so that no margin is formed at the end in the orthogonal direction of each sheet S (the end in the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31), The axial slit 36 located immediately below the direction end is opposed to the head 42 (specifically, the portion of the nozzle surface 44 that protrudes outward from the end in the orthogonal direction). At this time, out of the UV ink ejected from the head 42, the protruding ink that protrudes from the end portion in the orthogonal direction passes through the axial slit 36 and enters the inside of the rotating drum 31. That is, the axial slit 36 is a slit for allowing the protruding ink that protrudes from the end portion in the orthogonal direction of the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33 to enter the rotary drum 31.

  For the protruding ink that has passed through the axial slit 36 and entered the rotary drum 31, as shown in FIG. 8, the exposed portion 64 a exposed by the axial slit 36 in the outer peripheral portion 63 of the absorber 61. And is absorbed by the exposed portion 64a. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the protruding ink that protrudes from the end portion in the orthogonal direction of the sheet S is absorbed by the absorber 61.

  Similarly, when the head 42 ejects UV ink toward the end in the paper width direction so that no margin is formed at the end of the paper S in the paper width direction (the end in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31), the paper width direction The intersecting slit 37 positioned immediately below the end portion is opposed to the head 42 (specifically, the portion of the nozzle surface 44 that protrudes outward from the end portion in the paper width direction). At this time, out of the UV ink ejected from the head 42, the protruding ink that protrudes from the end portion in the paper width direction passes through the intersecting slit 37 and enters the inside of the rotating drum 31. That is, the intersecting slit 37 is a slit for allowing the protruding ink that protrudes from the end of the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33 in the sheet width direction to enter the rotary drum 31.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the protruding ink that has passed through the cross slit 37 and entered the rotary drum 31 is received by the exposed portion 64 b exposed by the cross slit 37 in the outer peripheral portion 63 provided in the absorber 61. And is absorbed by the exposed portion 64b. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink 61 that protrudes from the end in the paper width direction of the paper S is absorbed by the absorber 61.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even if the protruding ink is generated with the borderless printing, the protruding ink is kept in the rotating drum 31. Further, in the present embodiment, the protruding ink that has entered the rotating drum 31 is absorbed by the absorber 61 provided in the rotating drum 31 and is held in the absorber 61.

=== Effectiveness of Printer 1 of this Embodiment ===
As described above, the printer 1 according to this embodiment can perform borderless printing in which an image is printed on one end portion in the orthogonal direction of the paper S (one end portion in the rotation direction of the rotary drum 31). . That is, in the printer 1 of the present embodiment, even if the protruding ink that protrudes from the end in the orthogonal direction is generated, the protruding ink is accommodated in the rotary drum 31 through the slit 36 (an example of an opening). It is possible to prevent contamination by the protruding ink.

  In the present embodiment, a pair of axial slits 36 are formed in the peripheral wall 34 of the rotating drum 31 at intervals in the rotational direction of the rotating drum 31, and both ends in the orthogonal direction of the paper S are axial slits. The rotating drum 31 rotates while holding the sheet S on the circumferential surface 33 while being positioned on the upper surface 36. That is, the printer 1 of the present embodiment can perform borderless printing so that no margin is formed at both ends of the paper S in the orthogonal direction.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a pair of axial slits 36 and a pair of intersecting slits 37 arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31 are formed in the peripheral wall 34. The rotating drum 31 rotates while holding the sheet S on the peripheral surface 33 in a state where both ends in the orthogonal direction are located on the axial slit 36 and both ends in the paper width direction are located on the cross slit 37. . With this configuration, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform borderless printing in which no margin is formed at the end portions of all four sides of the paper S.

  In the present embodiment, a pair of first axial slits 36 a (corresponding to first slits) and second axial slits 36 b (corresponding to second slits) are formed in the peripheral wall 34. Then, when the rotary drum 31 holds the A3 size paper S (corresponding to the first medium), the two ends of the paper S in the orthogonal direction are positioned on the first axial slit 36a. When S is held by the circumferential surface 33 and A2 size paper (corresponding to the second medium) is held, both ends in the orthogonal direction of the paper S are positioned on the second axial slit 36b. The sheet S is held on the peripheral surface 33. As a result, in the present embodiment, borderless printing is performed on each of the two types of paper S having different sizes (particularly the length in the orthogonal direction) so that no margin is formed at both ends in the orthogonal direction. Is possible.

  As described above, borderless printing is performed by forming a pair of axial slits 36 on the peripheral wall 34 corresponding to the size type of the paper S and setting the slit interval according to the size of each paper S. As the printer 1 to be used, the printer 1 having high versatility is realized. In view of this point, the present invention is not limited to the form in which two pairs of axial slits 36 are formed as in the present embodiment, and three or more pairs of axial slits 36 may be formed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the absorber 61 is provided in the rotary drum 31, and the absorber 61 protrudes from exposed portions 64 a and 64 b of the outer peripheral portion 63 exposed by the axial slit 36 and the cross slit 37. To absorb. In this way, if the protruding ink that has entered the rotating drum 31 is absorbed by the absorber 61, processing for the protruding ink (for example, processing for removing the protruding ink from the printer 1) can be appropriately performed.

  Furthermore, the absorber 61 of the present embodiment can rotate independently of the rotary drum 31 in a state where the axial direction of the absorber 61 is along the axial direction of the rotary drum 61. In addition, an absorber driving mechanism 65 for rotating the absorber 61 is provided. As a result, the protruding ink can be appropriately absorbed by the absorber 61.

  If it explains easily, if the case where the rotating drum 31 and the absorber 61 rotate integrally is assumed, the rotation state of the rotating drum 31 will change with the ink absorption by the absorber 61 (for example, a weight balance will change). There is a risk. Such a change in the rotation state of the rotary drum 31 may affect the image quality of the printed image. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the rotating drum 31 and the absorber 61 rotate without interfering with each other. That is, the rotating drum 31 rotates without being affected by the ink absorption of the absorber 61. For this reason, the rotation state of the rotating drum 31 does not change before and after ink absorption by the absorber 61.

  Further, when the absorber 61 rotates, the area (ink absorption area) that actually absorbs ink in the exposed portions 64a and 64b is switched. As a result, localization of the ink absorption region is suppressed, and the protruding ink can be absorbed over a wide range in the circumferential direction of the absorber 61. That is, it is possible to cause the absorber 61 to efficiently absorb the protruding ink, and thus to maintain the absorption performance. In order to switch the ink absorption region accurately, the absorber driving mechanism 65 rotates the absorber 61 so that the absorber 61 rotates at an angular velocity different from that of the rotary drum 31 during the rotation of the rotary drum 31. (It is preferable that the angular velocity of the rotating drum 31 and the angular velocity of the absorber 61 are relatively prime).

=== Other Embodiments ===
As described above, the printing operation by the printer 1 as an example of the fluid ejecting apparatus and the printer 1 as an example of the fluid ejecting method according to the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment. It is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes the equivalents thereof.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 1 (so-called serial printer) including the head 42 that moves in the axial direction of the rotary drum 31 as the head carriage 41 moves is described. However, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be a printer (a so-called line printer) that has a head 42 that is fixed at a predetermined position without moving, and ejects ink so as to form dots corresponding to the paper width at a time.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 1 that ejects ink is described as an example of the fluid ejecting apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Injects liquids other than ink (in addition to liquids, including liquids in which functional material particles are dispersed, liquids such as gels) and fluids other than liquids (solids that can be jetted as fluids) It can also be embodied in a fluid ejecting apparatus that discharges or discharges. For example, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display in a dispersed or dissolved state, and a biochip. It may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects bioorganic matter to be used, or a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resins to form fluid injection devices that inject lubricating oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements, etc. A fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto a substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a gel, and a solid such as a powder such as toner. A fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects may be used. The present invention can be applied to any one of these fluid ejecting apparatuses.

1 printer, 10 controller, 11 interface, 12 CPU, 13 memory, 14 unit control circuit, 20 paper feed / discharge unit, 21 paper feed tray, 22 paper discharge tray, 30 drum unit, 31 rotary drum, 32 rotary shaft, 32a shaft insertion Hole, 33 peripheral surface, 34 peripheral wall, 35 drum drive mechanism, 35a drum motor, 35b transmission mechanism, 36 axial slit, 36a first axial slit, 36b second axial slit, 37 cross slit, 37a first cross slit 37b Second axial slit, 40 head unit, 41 head carriage, 42, 42a to 42e head, 44 nozzle plate, 46 guide shaft, 47 guide shaft, 50 UV irradiation unit, 51 irradiation unit carriage, 52 irradiation unit, 53 Lamp, 56 Guide shaft, 57 Guide shaft, 60 Absorber unit, 61 Absorber, 62 Rotating shaft, 63 Outer periphery, 64, 64a, 64b Exposed part, 65 Absorber drive mechanism, 65a Absorber motor, 65b Transmission mechanism, 80 Detector Group, 110 host computer, S paper

Claims (8)

A fluid ejecting unit that ejects fluid toward the medium;
A rotating body that rotates while facing a peripheral surface to the fluid ejecting unit,
A rotating body having an opening along the axial direction of the rotating body, and rotating while holding the medium on the peripheral surface in a state where an end portion of the medium in the rotating direction of the rotating body is positioned on the opening; ,
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising: The fluid ejection device according to claim 1,
The rotating body is a hollow rotating drum,
The fluid ejecting section ejects fluid toward the medium so that no margin is formed at the end of the medium on the peripheral surface;
The opening is a slit that is formed in the peripheral wall of the rotating drum, and allows the fluid that protrudes from the end of the fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting unit to enter the rotating drum.
The slit is opposed to the fluid ejecting unit when the fluid ejecting unit ejects fluid toward the end. The fluid ejection device according to claim 2,
The fluid ejecting section ejects a fluid toward the medium so that no margin is formed at both ends of the medium on the peripheral surface in the rotation direction;
A pair of the slits arranged at intervals in the rotation direction is formed in the peripheral wall,
The fluid ejecting apparatus, wherein the rotating drum rotates while holding a medium on the peripheral surface in a state where both end portions in the rotation direction are positioned on the slit. The fluid ejection device according to claim 3, wherein
The fluid ejecting section ejects fluid toward the medium so that no margin is formed at both ends in the rotation direction of the medium on the peripheral surface and at both ends in the axial direction of the medium;
A pair of axial slits as the pair of slits;
A pair of intersecting slits that intersect with the axial slit and are arranged at intervals in the axial direction, and of the fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting unit, the medium on the peripheral surface in the axial direction A pair of intersecting slits for allowing the fluid protruding from the end to enter the inside of the rotating drum is formed in the peripheral wall,
The cross slit is opposed to the fluid ejecting unit when the fluid ejecting unit ejects a fluid toward an end of the medium on the peripheral surface in the axial direction,
The rotating drum holds the medium on the peripheral surface in a state where both ends in the rotation direction are positioned on the axial slit and both ends in the axial direction are positioned on the intersecting slit. A fluid ejecting apparatus that rotates. In the fluid ejection device according to claim 3 or 4,
A pair of first slits and a pair of second slits as a pair of the slits are formed in the peripheral wall,
The interval between the second slits in the rotation direction is longer than the interval between the first slits,
The rotating drum holds a first medium and a second medium whose length in the rotation direction is longer than the first medium on the peripheral surface,
When holding the first medium, hold the first medium on the peripheral surface in a state where both ends of the first medium in the rotation direction are positioned on the first slit,
When holding the second medium, the second medium is held on the peripheral surface in a state where both ends of the second medium in the rotation direction are positioned on the second slit. Fluid ejecting apparatus. The fluid ejection device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
An absorber disposed in the rotating drum and absorbing fluid;
The fluid absorber according to claim 1, wherein the absorber absorbs the fluid protruding from the end portion at an exposed portion exposed by the slit of the absorber. The fluid ejection device according to claim 6, wherein
The absorber is rotatable independently of the rotating drum, with the axial direction of the absorber being along the axial direction of the rotating drum,
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising an absorber driving mechanism for rotating the absorber. When a medium is held on a circumferential surface of a rotating body that rotates and has an opening along the axial direction of the rotating body, an end of the medium in the rotating direction of the rotating body is on the opening. Holding the medium on the peripheral surface in a positioned state;
While the circumferential surface is opposed to the fluid ejecting portion, a fluid is directed from the fluid ejecting portion toward the medium on the circumferential surface so that no margin is formed at the end portion in the rotation direction of the medium on the circumferential surface. Spraying,
A fluid ejection method comprising:

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