JPH0516341A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] The present invention relates to an inkjet printer that prints on a printing medium such as recording paper conveyed along a platen with an inkjet head using a liquid ink, and raises the temperature of the printing medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet printer that can significantly reduce the ink drying time. An inkjet printer includes an inkjet head 11 that uses liquid ink, and a platen 12, and a print medium 10 that is conveyed along the platen 12.
The inkjet head 11 is used to print on 0. The platen 12 is composed of a rotatable roll 14 around which the print medium 100 is wound and conveyed, and a heat source 15 such as a ceramic heater built in the roll 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer for printing on a print medium such as recording paper conveyed along a platen with an ink jet head using liquid ink.

Inkjet printers have been rapidly growing in the field of low-end printers because of their quietness, high resolution, and simple and inexpensive printing process. In this printer, a liquid ink is used for an inkjet head, and the ink is given a property of not penetrating into a printing medium so as to improve a printing position.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink having such a property has a problem that it takes a long time to dry, and thus the hand and the paper are soiled. Therefore, in order to promote the drying of the ink, the platen is made of metal and a heater is provided on the back surface of the platen.
A method of heating the medium from the back side is used. FIG. 2 shows a conventional inkjet printer of this type. In the figure,
Reference numeral 1 is an inkjet head, 2 is a platen provided with a heater 3 on the back surface, 4 is a medium guide, and 100 is a recording paper (print medium).

[0004]

However, in the above construction, two sets of medium conveying rollers 5 must be provided separately from the platen 2, and the recording paper 100 is heated only at the portion along the platen 2. The temperature of the recording paper 100 did not rise so much, and the drying time could not be shortened significantly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer which can raise the temperature of a printing medium and greatly shorten the ink drying time.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ink jet printer which prints on a print medium conveyed along the platen with an ink jet head using liquid ink, wherein the platen is used. A constitution (first constitution) is characterized in that the constitution comprises a rotatable roll for winding and conveying the print medium and a heat source built in the roll.

Further, in the ink jet printer having the above-mentioned first constitution, a constitution (second constitution) is characterized in that alumina powder is welded to the surface of the roll.

In addition, in the ink jet printer having the above-mentioned first structure, a liner made of a material having a high friction coefficient is provided on the surface of the roll (third structure).

[0009]

The print medium is wound around the platen and conveyed. Since the contact area between the print medium and the platen is large, the feeding accuracy of the print medium is improved. Moreover, since the print medium can be sufficiently heated, the ink can be dried quickly.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the main structure of the ink jet printer of this embodiment. In the figure, 11 is an ink jet head, 12 is a platen, 13 is a medium conveying roller, and 16 is a medium guide.

The platen 12 is constructed by incorporating a ceramic heater (heat source) 15 into an aluminum roll 14 driven by a drive system (not shown) to rotate.
Although not shown in detail, alumina powder is welded to the surface of the roll 14 for the purpose of increasing the coefficient of friction and maintaining high heat conduction to the recording paper 100.

The ink jet head 11 is mounted on a carriage (not shown) and faces the platen 12. The ink jet head 11 moves along the platen 12 together with the carriage moving in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and operates at a predetermined time. Print. Further, the medium carrying roller 13 is provided on the roll 14 at a stage subsequent to the ink jet head 11 so that the recording paper 10 can be fed.
The recording paper 100 is pressed into contact with the recording paper 100 through 0 to play a role of giving a sufficient conveying force to the recording paper 100.

The recording paper 100 is guided and set by the medium guide 16 and wound around the platen 12 in a U-shape, and is fed with high accuracy. The surface temperature of the platen 12 is maintained at 40 to 60 ° C. by the heating by the built-in ceramic heater 15, and the platen 12 is in contact with the recording paper 100 well before the printing portion, so that the printing medium 100 is sufficiently preheated. . Further, the recording paper 100 is heated after printing until it is separated from the platen 12. Therefore, the drying time of the printed ink is as short as 10 seconds or less.

The surface of the platen 12 is required to have a high coefficient of friction and a high dimensional stability, and thus may be a thin rubber or resin liner.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, the drying time of the ink can be set to 10 seconds or less, and there is no practical problem. Further, it is possible to maintain high print feed accuracy with a small number of parts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main structure of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part structure of a conventional inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 inkjet head 12 Platen 14 rolls 15 Ceramic heater (heat source) 100 Recording paper (print medium)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location 8804-2C B41J 29/00 H

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet printer that prints on a print medium (100) conveyed along a platen (12) with an inkjet head (11) using liquid ink, wherein the platen (12) is the print medium 100. An ink jet printer comprising a rotatable roll (14) for winding and transporting a sheet, and a heat source (15) built in the roll (14). 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein alumina powder is deposited on the surface of the roll (14). 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein a liner made of a material having a high friction coefficient is provided on the surface of the roll (14).