JPH0623751U - Hot melt inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] When new ink is replenished in the ink reservoir, the ink in the ink reservoir is melted faster than before, and the waiting time of the printing operation is shortened. In addition to the first power supply device 36 and the heating element 22 for melting the ink in the ink reservoir at the time of startup of the hot-melt ink jet printer, the ink storage is performed at the time of ink supply other than the startup thereof. The ink in the container is provided with a second power supply device 37 and a heating element 22 that can make the ink melting time shorter than the ink melting time by the first power supply device 36 and the heating element 22.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a hot melt inkjet printer.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, a hot-melt ink jet printer is known as a device that heats solid ink at room temperature to melt it, and ejects the melted ink onto paper by a well-known ink jet type ink ejection head for recording. ing.

In such a hot-melt ink jet printer, in order to melt solid ink at room temperature and print it on paper, the ink reservoir is heated and the ink jet head and the platen are also heated, Was maintained at a predetermined temperature.

Then, when the printer is started up, electric power is distributed and supplied in a well-balanced manner to the respective heat generating devices of the ink reservoir, the ink ejecting head, and the platen, and the ink reservoir, the ink ejecting head, and the platen are respectively provided. It was heated all at once until it reached the temperature.

Further, once they reach a predetermined temperature, the heat generating devices for heating the ink reservoir, the ink ejecting head, and the platen respectively have the respective temperatures of the ink reservoir, the ink ejecting head, and the platen. In response, power was intermittently supplied and each was maintained at a predetermined temperature.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the conventional hot-melt inkjet printer, when the printer is started up, electric power is distributed to the respective heat generating devices so that the ink reservoir, the ink jet head, and the platen are simultaneously heated. When the ink in the ink reservoir decreases and a new amount of ink at room temperature is replenished by a specified amount, the ink reservoir heats up even when the temperature of the ink reservoir drops and printing becomes impossible. The heating device is supplied with the same electric power as at the time of startup. Therefore, even in this case, the printing operation must be waited until the ink in the ink reservoir is melted, although the rise time is slightly shorter than that at the start-up because the ink reservoir has already warmed up. There was a problem to be solved.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and when new ink is replenished in the ink reservoir, the ink in the ink reservoir is melted faster than before. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot melt type ink jet printer which can shorten the waiting time of a printing operation.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve this purpose, the hot-melt ink jet printer of the present invention can generate a predetermined amount of heat in a unit time with an ink reservoir that stores ink, and the generated heat causes the ink reservoir to operate. The first heat generating means for heating and melting the ink stored in the ink reservoir, and a heat amount larger than the predetermined heat amount can be generated within a unit time, and the generated heat causes the ink storage Second heating means for heating the container to melt the ink in the ink reservoir faster than the first heating means melts the ink in the ink reservoir.

[0009]

[Action]

 In the hot-melt ink jet printer of the present invention having the above structure, ink is stored in the ink reservoir. In addition, the ink reservoir is heated by the heat generated by the first heat generating means capable of generating a predetermined amount of heat within a unit time, and melts the ink stored inside. Further, the ink reservoir is heated by the heat generated by the second heat generating means capable of generating a heat amount larger than the predetermined heat amount in a unit time, and the ink in the ink reservoir is heated by the first heat generating means. Melts the ink in the ink reservoir faster than it melts.

[0010]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

Near the center of the upper portion of the hot melt ink jet printer 10, a paper discharge port 12 for discharging the paper 11 on which recording is performed is provided. That is, in the discharge port 12, after characters and symbols are recorded on the paper 11 supplied from the supply port of the paper 11 by an ink jet head 14 (shown in FIG. 3) by a known inkjet method, The paper 11 is ejected.

In the upper part of the hot melt type inkjet printer 10 which is located on the front left side of the paper discharge port 12, four types of inks 15 of cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black are stored. The four ink reservoirs 16 for storing are arranged in a row.

As shown in FIG. 3, each ink reservoir 16 is composed of an ink container 17 for storing the replenished ink 15, and a cover 19 for covering the side and the upper side of the ink container 17. There is.

The ink container 17 is made of aluminum having good heat conductivity. The ink container 17 has a pump portion 21 formed on the side. A tube 23 for guiding the ink 15 in the pump portion 21 to the ink jet head 14 is connected to the lower portion of the pump portion 21. In the pump section 21, a piston 27 arranged above the pump section 21 is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) to cause the ink 15 melted inside to pass through the tube 23 to eject the ink. Can be sent to. In addition, a detection device 39 for the molten ink 15 using a thermistor is arranged at a position of a predetermined height from the bottom of the ink container 17. The detection device 39 detects the amount of ink in the ink container 17 depending on whether it is in contact with the melted ink 15 in the ink container 17 or not, that is, the ambient temperature changes. Further, on the lower surface of the ink container 17, a planar heating element 22 that generates heat when an electric current flows is arranged adjacently. Electric power is supplied to the heating element 22 from either one of a first power source that supplies a constant voltage of 39 V and a second power source that supplies a constant voltage of 70 V. Further, a thermistor 53 for measuring the temperature of the ink container 17 is arranged adjacent to the lower surface of the ink container 17 on the side of the heating element 22.

Therefore, the ink 15 is melted in the ink container 17 when heated by the heat generation of the heat generating element 22 through the ink container 17, and when it is no longer heated by the heat generating element 22 from this state, it is melted by residual heat. From the state in which it is being released, heat is released to the surroundings and gradually solidifies.

Further, the cover 19 is formed of a resin having a high heat retaining property. A supply port 18 for supplying the ink 15 is formed above the ink container 17 of the cover 19, and the supply port 18 is covered by a lid 20 so as to be openable and closable.

Then, the solid ink 15 is supplied into the ink container 17 through the supply port 18 of the cover 19.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an operation switch 24 for a user to operate the operation of the hot melt inkjet printer 10 is provided near the right front corner of the upper portion of the hot melt inkjet printer 10. There is. A second power supply connection switch 25 is provided in the operation switch 24. The second power source connection switch 25 is a switch for selecting whether or not the heating element 22 provided below the ink container 17 is heated by the electric power supplied from the second power source.

Further, behind the operation switch 24, a display device (LCD) 26 made of liquid crystal for displaying various messages is provided. On the display device (LCD) 26, a message indicating the state of the hot melt ink jet printer 10 and the like is displayed.

Next, the electrical configuration of the hot melt inkjet printer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system 30 of the hot melt inkjet printer 10 of this embodiment.

The hot-melt inkjet printer 10 includes a control unit 31, a switch input circuit 32 to which an operation switch 24 including a second power supply connection switch 25 is connected, and a first power supply to which a heating element 22 is connected. One power supply device 36, a second power supply device 37 also including the second power source to which the heating element 22 is connected, an LCD driver 38 to which a display device (LCD) 26 is connected, and the presence or absence of the ink 15 are detected. A head heater driver to which a detection device 39, an analog / digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an A / D converter) 54 to which the thermistor 53 is connected, and a head heater 28 for heating the ink jet head 14 to 125 ° C. are connected. 29, a platen heater driver 34 to which a platen heater 33 for heating the platen to 60 ° C. is connected, A printer engine 42, to which an interface 40 to which an external device is connected and a printing mechanism 14a including the ink jet head 14 are connected, is connected via a bus 52.

The control unit 31 has a configuration in which a CPU 44, a ROM 46, a RAM 48, and a timer 50 are connected by a bus 52, and processes input data from the various input circuits, the interface 40, and the printer engine 42 described above. , Output data to the first power supply device 36, the second power supply device 37, the LCD driver 38, and the printer engine 42.

Under the control of the controller 31, the switch input circuit 32, the detection device 39, the A / D converter 54, the interface 40, the head heater driver 29 corresponding to the input data from the printer engine 42, and the platen heater. The driver 34, the LCD driver 38, the first power supply device 36, the second power supply device 37, and the printer engine 42 are operated to display a message by the display device (LCD) 26 and the ink container 17 by the heating element 22. While heating, printing is performed by the printing mechanism 14a.

For example, when a signal indicating that the second power source connection switch 25 has been pressed is input from the switch input circuit 32 when the new ink 15 is replenished, the heating element 22 is supplied from the second power source. The generated electric power is used to generate heat for a predetermined time.

The ROM 46 stores programs for performing these processes.

Further, the timer 50 outputs the predetermined signal after the time data stored in the ROM 46 is set in the memory provided inside the timer 50 and after the time corresponding to the set time data has elapsed. And is used to limit the power supply time to the heat-generating body 22 by the second power source.

Further, the detection device 39 outputs different signals depending on whether it is in contact with the melted ink 15 in the ink container 17 or not.

The operation of the hot melt inkjet printer 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flow charts showing the operation of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

First, the user opens the cover 20 of the cover 19 of the ink reservoir 16 to supply an appropriate amount of ink 15 into the ink container 17 as necessary, and then the power switch of the hot-melt ink jet printer 10 is turned on. Throw in. Then, the hot-melt ink jet printer 10 starts its operation, and the controller 31 controls the head heater 28 to heat the ink jet head to 125 ° C. and the platen heater 33 to heat the platen. Perform initial setting such as heating to 60 ° C (S10).

Next, the control unit 31 operates the first power supply device 36 in parallel with the heating of the ink jet head and the platen by the initial setting operation (S10), and the constant voltage of 39 volts of the first power supply is applied. The heating element 22 is caused to generate heat of about 78 watts (S11), and the ink container 17 is heated.

Then, the LCD driver 38 is driven, and the display device (LCD) 26 is caused to display a standby message “SHIBAKU ACTUAL DURING” indicating that the ink in the ink container 17 is being initialized and is being melted (S12). ), The user waits for the hot melt ink jet printer 10 to be used.

Then, the signal of the thermistor 53 converted by the A / D converter 54 is read, and the temperature of the ink container 17 heated by the heating element 22, that is, the ink 15 in the ink container 17 is read from the signal. The temperature is checked to determine whether the temperature of the ink container 17 is 99 ° C. or higher (S13).

If the heating by the heating element 22 is not sufficient and the temperature of the ink container 17 has not reached 99 ° C. yet, it is determined as “No” in the determination step S13, and the steps S11 and S12 are repeated. The use of the hot melt inkjet printer 10 is put on standby, and heating is continued until the temperature of the ink container 17 reaches 99 ° C.

When the temperature of the ink container 17 reaches 99 ° C. by being heated by the heating element 22, the ink 15 is completely melted as shown in FIG. 3, and therefore the determination in the determination step S 13 is “ "Yes", and in the next step S14, the display device (LCD) 26 is caused to display the print format information, and then the hot melt type ink jet printer 10 is made printable (S14).

In a normal environment, about 12 minutes after the power switch is turned on, the initialization is completed and the temperature of the ink container 17 reaches 99 ° C.

Then, it is determined whether or not the print start command data is input from the interface 40 (S15).

When the print start command data is input, the determination in the determination step S15 is “Yes”, and the next print processing step S16 is executed. In this print processing step S16, the data of characters and symbols input from an external device (not shown) via the interface 40 is converted into dot data for expressing the characters and symbols on the paper 11 and the printer. Send to the engine 42. Then, on the printer engine 42 side, the operation of the printing mechanism 14a is controlled to print characters and symbols on the paper 11 by the sent dot data.

After the printing step S16 is completed, it is determined whether the temperature of the ink container 17 is 101 ° C. or higher (S17).

On the other hand, even when the print start command data is not input and it is determined “No” in the determination step S15, it is determined whether the temperature of the ink container 17 is 101 ° C. or higher. (S17).

When the temperature of the ink container 17 that is being heated is 101 ° C. or higher and “Yes” is determined in this determination step S17, the control unit 31 causes the first power supply device 36 to determine whether the first power supply device 36 is operating. The power supply from one power source is stopped (S18). Thereby, the heating of the ink container 17 is stopped, and the deterioration of the ink due to the temperature of the ink container 17 rising too much is prevented.

Next, by observing the state of the detection device 39, it is determined whether or not the ink 15 should be replenished in the ink container 17 (S21).

When the molten ink 15 is present in the ink container 17 above the detection device 39, the determination in the determination step S21 is “No”, and it is determined whether or not the print start command data is input. Returning to S15, the above-described operation is repeated.

After that, if the temperature of the ink container 17 is lowered and the temperature is lower than 101 ° C., it is determined as “No” in the determination step S17, and the temperature of the ink container 17 is determined in the next step S19. It is determined whether the temperature is 99 ° C or lower. If the temperature of the ink container 17 has not yet dropped to 99 ° C. or lower, a “No” determination is made in this determination step S19, and then the determination step S21 of whether or not the ink 15 needs to be replenished.

On the other hand, if the temperature of the ink container 17 has dropped to 99 ° C. or lower, it is determined to be “Yes” in the determination step S19, and then the first power supply device 36 is driven to restart. Then, the heating element 22 is supplied with electric power from the first power source (S20). In this way, the heating element 22 is made to generate heat again, and the temperature of the ink container 17 is raised so that the temperature of the ink 15 will not drop too much and the ink 15 will not solidify.

Then, the process proceeds to the determination step S21.

As described above, by performing Step S15 to Step S21 described above, while the ink 15 is sufficiently present in the ink container 17 and the ink container 17 does not need to be replenished with the ink 15, The temperature of the ink 15 in the ink container 17 is maintained at 99 ° C. to 101 ° C., and the printing process (S16) is performed with the ink 15.

Then, when the ink 15 in the ink container 17 is used up by the printing operation in the print processing step S16 and becomes less, and the detection device 39 is exposed to the air as shown in FIG. When it is determined to be "Yes" in S21, a display device (LCD) 26 then displays a replenishment instruction message "Ink garimimasen" for prompting the user to replenish the ink 15 (S22).

Then, according to the above message, it is determined whether or not the ink has been supplied to the ink container 17 by the user (S23). This determination is performed by detecting the temperature of the ink container 17 rapidly when the ink 15 is replenished in the ink container 17, and the temperature is detected by the thermistor 53.

Then, while the ink 15 is not being replenished in the ink container 17 by the user, the determination in the determination step S23 is “No”, the process returns to step S17, and the steps S17 to S23 described above are repeated. While keeping the temperature of the ink 15 remaining in the ink container 17 at 99 ° C. to 101 ° C., the user waits for the user to replenish the ink 15 in the ink container 17 by the replenishment instruction message.

When the user replenishes the ink 15 into the ink container 17 according to the replenishment instruction message, the determination in the determination step S23 is “Yes”, and then the second power source of the second power supply device 37 is used. It is determined whether or not the second power supply connection switch 25 for supplying power to the heating element 22 is pressed and a drive command for the second power supply device 37 is input to the control unit 31 (S24).

When the user presses the second power supply connection switch 25 and the drive command of the second power supply device 37 is input to the control unit 31, it is determined as “Yes” in this determination step S24, Next, the LCD driver 38 is driven to display on the display device (LCD) 26 a standby message "SHIBAKU ACTUAL DUPLEX" indicating that the ink 15 in the ink container 17 is being melted (S25). In this way, the user is put on standby for use of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

Then, the supply of electric power to the head heater 28 and the platen heater 33 is stopped, and the heating of the platen and the ink jet head 14 is stopped (S26).

Further, by utilizing the power for the interruption, the second power supply device 37 is driven to supply the power to the heating element 22 by the second power source of the constant voltage of 70 V (S 27). The heating element 22, which is connected to the second power source and generates heat, heats the ink container 17 according to the intensity of the heat generation.

Next, after setting the timer 50 for 2 minutes, the timer 50 is driven to determine whether or not this 2 minutes has elapsed (S28).

While the two minutes set on the timer 50 have not elapsed, the determination in the determination step S28 is “No”, the process returns to the step S25, and the operations in the steps S25 to S28 described above are repeated.

On the other hand, when the set 2 minutes have elapsed after driving the timer 50, the determination in the determination step S28 becomes “Yes”, and the power supplied from the second power source to the heating element 22 is stopped. The heating of the platen and the ink jet head 14 is restarted (S29).

As described above, the temperature of the ink container 17 rises up to about 99 ° C. due to the heating by the heating element 22 which is heated by the second power source being connected to the timer 50 for 2 minutes. If the heat of the head heater 28 and the platen heater 33 is cut off for 2 minutes, the temperature of the ink jet head 14 and the platen will drop a little. It has no effect on the printing operation.

Then, the process returns to step S13.

On the other hand, when the second power supply connection switch 25 is not operated and the drive command of the second power supply device 37 is not input, the determination in the determination step S24 is “No”, and the first The power supply device 36 is operated, the heating element 22 is caused to generate heat by the first power source, and the process returns to step S11 for heating the ink container 17.

In this case, it takes about 4 minutes, which is about twice as long as when the power is supplied from the second power source, until the temperature of the ink container 17 rises to 99 ° C.

Then, after the ink 15 is melted by each power supply, printing becomes possible again (S13: Yes), and the printing process (S16) according to the input of the printing command is performed.

As described above, according to the hot-melt inkjet printer 10 of the present embodiment, when the solid ink 15 is replenished except when the hot-melt inkjet printer 10 is started up, the ink jet head and the ink jet head are selected by the switch. The power supplied to the platen is used for melting the replenished solid ink 15, and the unprintable state at the time of replenishing the solid ink 15 is about 1/2 time compared to the case where the power is not used. Therefore, the hot melt ink jet printer 10 can be quickly returned to a printable state.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the second power source is selectively connected to the heating element 22 by the second power source connection switch 25, but after the solid ink is replenished in the ink container 17 (S23: Yes). ), And the second power source may be automatically connected to the heating element 22.

Further, in this embodiment, the heat generation amount of the heat generating element 22 is changed by changing the power supply voltage. However, the resistance value of the heat generating element 22 is changed or the heat generation amount of the heat generating element 22 is changed by the phase control of the AC power supply. You may make it available.

[0069]

[Effect of device]

 As is clear from the above description, according to the hot-melt inkjet printer of the present invention, when new ink is replenished in the ink reservoir, the ink in the ink reservoir is melted faster than before. This has the effect of shortening the waiting time for printing operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system 30 of a hot melt ink jet printer 10 of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the ink reservoir 16 in a state where the ink 15 in the ink container 17 is melted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the ink reservoir 16 in a state where the ink 15 in the ink container 17 has decreased and the solid ink 15 needs to be replenished.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the hot melt inkjet printer 10.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Hot Melt Inkjet Printer 11 Paper 15 Ink 16 Ink Reservoir 17 Ink Container 22 Heating Element 36 First Power Supply Device 37 Second Power Supply Device

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A hot-melt ink jet printer which is supplied with an ink which is solid at room temperature and melts when heated, and which jets the ink onto a paper for recording, and an ink reservoir for storing the ink, and a unit for storing the ink. A predetermined heat amount that can generate a predetermined amount of heat within a time period, heats the ink reservoir by the generated heat, and melts the ink stored in the ink reservoir; A large amount of heat can be generated within a unit time, and the generated heat heats the ink reservoir to melt the ink faster than the ink in the ink reservoir is melted by the first heat generating means. A hot-melt type ink jet printer having a second heat generating means. 2. The amount of heat generated by the second heat generating means is
The hot melt ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the hot melt inkjet printer is performed for a predetermined time after a predetermined input signal is input. 3. The hot melt according to claim 1, wherein the first heating means comprises a heating element and a first power supply source capable of supplying the heating element with electric power at a predetermined voltage. Inkjet printer. 4. The second heating means comprises a heating element and a second power supply source capable of supplying power to the heating element at a voltage higher than the predetermined voltage. The hot melt inkjet printer described in 3.