JP7345900B2 - printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus having a function of supporting intermittent feeding of a conveyor belt that conveys a printing object.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, printing apparatuses using screen plates have been provided, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1. The printing device described in Patent Document 1 includes a conveyor belt on which a cloth is attached and conveys the cloth, a drive roller that drives the conveyor belt, and a screen plate on which a pattern to be printed is formed and positioned on the surface of the cloth. , a printing unit having a squeegee, and a support base that supports the conveyor belt from below when the printing unit prints on fabric. A plate-making area is formed on the screen plate. The plate-making area has an area where ink is blocked and a hole through which ink passes. By pouring ink onto the screen plate and moving the squeegee across the surface of the screen plate while pressing the screen plate against the fabric, the ink passes through the holes in the screen plate and the fabric underneath the screen plate is printed. Ru. When the operation of the squeegee is completed, the fabric is intermittently fed by the drive roller and the conveyor belt, and the surface area of the fabric to be printed next is positioned below the screen plate, and printing is sequentially applied to the surface of the fabric.

Further, as a printing device, a printing device using an inkjet mechanism as shown in Patent Document 2, for example, is known. This printing device has a plurality of nozzles housed in a print head, and each nozzle ejects ink of a plurality of colors. The conveyor belt conveys the fabric intermittently at intervals of the printing pitch of the print head. Each time the fabric is transported intermittently, the print head is moved along the direction perpendicular to the fabric transport direction (the width direction of the fabric), and ink is ejected from the nozzles to print a pattern on the surface of the fabric.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-044330 Patent No. 5116542

In a printing device using a screen plate or an inkjet mechanism, the accuracy of intermittent feeding of fabric is rough, and conveyance errors may occur. If the fabric is conveyed over a distance shorter than the length of the printing pitch, a large overlap may occur between the previously printed portion and the subsequently printed portion, resulting in color unevenness. Furthermore, if the fabric is conveyed over a distance longer than the length of the printing pitch, a gap may be left between the previously printed portion and the later printed portion. As described above, if there is a conveyance error, accurate printing cannot be performed on the fabric. For this reason, there is a demand for reducing transport errors as much as possible and improving transport accuracy.

One of the causes of conveyance errors is the expansion and contraction of the conveyor belt itself. A conveyance belt of a printing device is generally an endless belt, and is stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller provided on an upstream side and a downstream side in a cloth conveying direction. A drive source such as a servo motor is connected to the drive roller. By intermittent operation of the drive source, the drive roller rotates and the conveyor belt is intermittently fed. Even if there is no error in driving the drive roller, when the conveyor belt itself expands and contracts, the conveyance position of the fabric deviates from the desired position, resulting in a conveyance error. In particular, the central portion of the conveyor belt in the conveyance direction is not supported by the drive roller or the driven roller like the upstream or downstream end portions, and is therefore susceptible to expansion and contraction. In addition, when the conveyor belt is moved intermittently while the lower surface of the central portion of the conveyor belt is in contact with the support base and supported by the support base, the conveyor belt is Elongation occurs in the center of the Although it depends on the material of the conveyor belt, an error of about ±0.3 mm may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing device having a function of suppressing expansion and contraction of a conveyor belt during intermittent feeding operations of the conveyor belt.

The printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveyor belt that supports a printing target from below and conveys it in the horizontal direction, a belt drive mechanism that moves the conveyor belt intermittently, and a belt drive mechanism that is arranged on the traveling path of the conveyor belt, A printing mechanism that prints on a target object, a support base that supports the conveyor belt from below during printing by the printing mechanism, and a belt feed support mechanism that supports intermittent feeding of the conveyor belt by the belt drive mechanism. have

According to the above configuration, since the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt is supported by the belt feed support mechanism, expansion and contraction of the conveyor belt can be suppressed, and accurate printing can be performed on the fabric.

In one embodiment, the belt feeding support mechanism supports the intermittent feeding operation of the conveying belt every time the belt driving mechanism performs the intermittent feeding operation of the conveying belt.

The belt feeding support mechanism may be a gap forming mechanism that forms a gap between the lower surface of the conveyor belt and the support base.

The belt feeding support mechanism may include an air hole formed in the support base, and an air supply mechanism that supplies air sent from the air hole toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt.

In another embodiment, the belt feeding support mechanism is a push-up mechanism that pushes up the conveyor belt and separates the conveyor belt from the support base.

In the other embodiment described above, the push-up mechanism includes a push-up member that comes into contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt to push up the conveyor belt, and an upper end of the push-up member that protrudes and retracts from the upper surface of the support base. The device may also include a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the push-up member.

The push-up member may be a push-up roller that rotates as the conveyor belt moves.

According to the present invention, since the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt is supported by the belt feed support mechanism, expansion and contraction of the conveyor belt can be suppressed, and fabric conveyance errors can be reduced to perform accurate printing. can.

1 is a side view showing the overall schematic configuration of a printing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the main parts of the conveyor belt and the support base, with some parts cut away. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the main parts of the conveyor belt and the support stand, with some parts cut away. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts of the printing device. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the overall schematic configuration of a printing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a printing device. It is a perspective view of a push-up mechanism. FIG. 7 is a side view showing another example of the push-up mechanism. FIG. 7 is a side view showing another example of the push-up mechanism. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another example of the overall schematic configuration of the printing device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show a printing device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The printing device 10 includes a conveyor belt 11 that supports the object to be printed from below and conveys it in the horizontal direction, a belt drive mechanism 12 that moves the conveyor belt 11 intermittently, and is arranged on the travel path of the conveyor belt 11 to perform printing. A printing mechanism 13 that prints on a target object, a support stand 14 that supports the conveyor belt 11 from below when the printing mechanism 13 prints, and a belt drive mechanism 12 that rotates the conveyor belt every time the conveyor belt 11 is intermittently fed. It has a belt feeding support mechanism 20 that supports the intermittent feeding operation of 11. Note that the intermittent feeding operation includes an operation of conveying the conveyor belt 11 a predetermined distance and an operation of stopping the conveyor belt 11, and refers to an operation of repeating the conveying operation and the stopping operation.

The printing target is, for example, cloth C. The material of the fabric C is not particularly limited, and various materials such as natural fibers such as cotton and silk, and artificial fibers such as polyester, rayon, and acetate can be used. The fabric is conveyed from the left side to the right side in FIG. 1, the direction in which the fabric is conveyed is referred to as the conveyance direction, and the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction is referred to as the width direction of the fabric.

The belt drive mechanism 12 includes drive rollers 12a, 12a provided on the upstream and downstream sides of the conveyance direction and driven to rotate, and a drive source (not shown) such as a servo motor connected to the rotation shaft of the drive rollers 12a, 12a. ). An endless conveyor belt 11 is stretched between drive rollers 12a, 12a, and the drive rollers 12a, 12a are rotated by a drive source to cause the conveyor belt 11 to perform an intermittent feeding operation. Note that a driven roller may be used instead of one of the driving rollers 12a.

The conveyor belt 11 is made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber, and has an adhesive layer (not shown) provided on its upper surface to support the fabric C. A long cloth C wound into a roll is disposed upstream of the conveyor belt 11, is fed out by a feed roller 15a, and pasted onto the conveyor belt 11 by a pasting roller 15b. The cloth C conveyed by the conveyance belt 11 has its surface printed, and then is wound up by a winding roller 15c on the downstream side. Further, the surface of the conveyor belt 11 is cleaned by a cleaning device (not shown) installed on the return path from the downstream drive roller 12a to the upstream drive roller 12a, and is cleaned by a gluing device (not shown). ) forms an adhesive layer on the surface.

The printing mechanism 13 performs screen printing, for example, and is placed on the frame 16 (FIG. 2) of the printing device 10 above the fabric C attached to the conveyor belt 11 and vertically facing the support base 14. It is set in. The printing mechanism 13 includes a plate 13a, a printing unit 13b, and a moving mechanism (not shown) that moves the plate 13a and the printing unit 13b. The plate 13a has a screen (not shown) attached to the inside of a rectangular frame. The screen has minute holes perforated in accordance with the pattern to be printed. In the printing unit 13b, a pair of squeegee carriers reciprocate in the width direction along two guide frames extending along the width direction of the fabric C with the plate 13a in between. However, during the forward and backward movements, squeegee pressure is applied to the screen of the plate 13a. In printing by such a printing mechanism 13, first, the screen of the plate 13a is pressed against the surface of the cloth C, and then a squeegee moves on the screen. As a result, the ink on the screen passes through the micropores of the screen and reaches the fabric C, and a desired pattern is printed on the fabric C. The printing mechanisms 13 are provided according to the number of colors of ink to be used. For example, when ten colors of ink are used, ten printing mechanisms 13 are arranged along the conveyance direction. Note that FIG. 1 shows only one printing mechanism 13 for convenience of explanation. The printing mechanism 13 is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment, and may be an inkjet printing mechanism, for example.

The support stand 14 is provided below the forward transport belt 11 and is supported by the frame 16 of the printing device 10 . As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the support stand 14 has a plurality of air holes 21 passing through it in the vertical direction. A duct 22 with an open top that communicates with the air hole 21 is attached to the lower surface of the support base 14, and the duct 22 is connected via an air pipe 24 to an air supply mechanism 23 consisting of, for example, a blower fan. Air supplied from the air supply mechanism 23 passes through the duct 22, blows out from the air holes 21, and is sent toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11. This air supports the load of the conveyor belt 11 located on the support stand 14. The amount of air blown out per predetermined time and the speed of air blown out from each air hole 21 can be adjusted. By adjusting these, the conveyor belt 11 is lifted off the support base 14 and a gap is formed between the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and the support base 14, so that the upper surface of the support base 14 does not come into contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11. state. Note that the printing mechanism, fabric, and belt drive mechanism are not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The air hole 21 provided in the support base 14, the air pipe 24, and the air supply mechanism 23 constitute a belt feeding support mechanism 20. In this embodiment, the belt feeding support mechanism 20 is This is a gap forming mechanism that forms a gap between the lower surface and the support base 14. However, the belt feeding support mechanism 20 is not limited to one that forms a gap, and depending on the amount of air sent in per predetermined time and the speed of air jetted out from each air hole 21, the conveying belt 11 may be supported. The conveyor belt 11 may be in contact with the support base 14 without being lifted off the base 14 .

In this embodiment, the support stand 14 includes nine support plates 14A to 14I each having a length in the conveyance direction of 1200 mm, a length in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (width direction of the fabric C) of 2400 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm. , are arranged continuously in the transport direction. However, the support stand 14 is not limited to this configuration, and may be formed from one flat plate, and the number and size of the support plates are also arbitrary. In this embodiment, the diameter of each air hole 21 is set to about 2 mm.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a total of four ducts 22 are provided in the width direction of the fabric C on each of the second, fifth, and eighth support plates 14B, 14E, and 14H. The four ducts 22 are connected to one air supply mechanism 23 via air pipes 24. That is, in this embodiment, a total of three sets of one air supply mechanism 23 and four ducts 22 are provided on the support stand 14. Seven air holes 21 are provided in the transport direction and four air holes 21 are provided in the width direction of the fabric C in areas corresponding to the ducts 22 of each support plate 14B, 14E, and 14H. That is, a total of 48 air holes 21 are provided in each of the support plates 14B, 14E, and 14H.

The support plate on which the air holes 21 are formed, the number of air holes 21, and the area in which they are provided are not limited to this embodiment and are selected as appropriate. It is sufficient if the frictional force between the conveyor belt 11 and the support stand 14 can be reduced. The air holes 21 may be formed in any region of the support base 14. Further, as long as air can be supplied to the air holes 21, the size and number of ducts 22, the number of air pipes 24, and the number of air supply mechanisms 23 are not limited. For example, one Two ducts 22 may be provided. Moreover, the air supply mechanism 23 may be provided in each of the plurality of ducts 22. In this case, the amount of air supplied from the air hole 22 communicating with the duct 22 can be adjusted for each air supply mechanism 23.

In this embodiment, the printing mechanism 13 is provided above the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th support plates 14A, 14C, 14D, 14F, 14G, and 14I where air holes 21 are not provided. However, the printing mechanism 13 may be provided above the support plates 14B, 14E, and 14H as long as the diameter of the air hole 21 is large enough not to affect the printing on the fabric C by the printing mechanism 13. . In addition, in FIG. 1, only the printing mechanism 13 above the support plate 14A is shown.

The drive source for driving the drive rollers 12a, 12a, the printing mechanism 13, and the air supply mechanism 23 are connected to a control device (not shown), and their operations are controlled by the control device.

The printing operation of the printing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment is as follows. First, the fabric C is conveyed below the printing mechanism 13 by the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt 11 and then stopped. Then, the plate 13a of the printing mechanism 13 is pressed against the fabric C from above, and the movement of the squeegee transfers ink to the fabric C from the micro holes provided in the plate 13a, thereby printing the fabric C. At this time, the surface of the support plate 14A of the support stand 14 comes into contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 to support the fabric C. Next, by the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt 11, the cloth C is conveyed and stopped so that the area of the cloth C to be printed next is located under the printing mechanism 13. Then, printing is performed on the area sent below the printing mechanism 13. Printing is performed on the cloth C by repeating these operations.

In the above printing operation, the air supply mechanism 23 supplies air to the air holes 21 of the support base 14 every time the belt drive mechanism 12 moves the conveyor belt 11 intermittently. That is, during the stop operation of the conveyor belt 11 immediately before the conveyance operation, air is supplied to the duct 22 via the air pipe 24 by the air supply mechanism 23 as shown by arrow A1 in FIG. The air is supplied to the air hole 21 of the support stand 14 (in the illustrated example, the support plate 14E). As a result, air is sent from the air hole 21 toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 as indicated by arrow A3, and the conveyor belt 11 is lifted from the support base 14, forming a gap between the conveyor belt 11 and the support base 14. and is in a state where it does not come into contact with the support stand 14. In this state, the conveyor belt 11 is conveyed by the belt drive mechanism 12, moved a predetermined distance and stopped, and then the supply of air by the air supply mechanism 23 is stopped. As a result, the conveyor belt 11 is lowered onto the support stand 14 and comes into contact with the support stand 14. Thereafter, printing is performed on the cloth C by the printing mechanism 13. In this way, during the conveyance operation of the conveyor belt 11, air is sent from the air hole 21 toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11, and the conveyor belt 11 is lifted from the support base 14, and the conveyor belt 11 and the support base 14 are separated. A gap is formed between them, so that they do not come into contact with the support base 14.

According to the above configuration, the air supply mechanism 23 supplies air to the air holes 21 of the support base 14, so that the conveyor belt 11 is supported from below by air while floating from the support base 14, and when the conveyor belt 11 moves, Since the frictional force generated between the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and the upper surface of the support base 14 is reduced, it is possible to prevent the central portion of the conveyor belt 11 from elongating, and it is possible to reduce conveyance errors. In this manner, the printing apparatus 10 of this embodiment can support the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt 11.

Note that the conveyor belt 11 may be intermittently fed by the belt drive mechanism 12 while the conveyor belt 11 is in contact with the support base 14 without forming a gap between the conveyor belt 11 and the support base 14. Even in this case, the conveyor belt 11 is supported from below by air, and the frictional force generated between the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and the upper surface of the support base 14 when the conveyor belt 11 moves is reduced, so that the conveyor belt 11 It is possible to prevent elongation from occurring in the central part of the paper, and to reduce conveyance errors.

In this embodiment, the air supply mechanism 23 operates in synchronization with the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt 11, and during the conveyance operation of the conveyor belt 11, the belt feed support mechanism 20 supplies air to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11. Air is supplied, and air is not supplied while the conveyor belt 11 is stopped and printing is being performed by the printing mechanism 13. However, if the supplied air does not affect the printing on the fabric C by the printing mechanism 13, the belt feed support mechanism 20 supplies air to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 even during the printing operation of the printing device 10. It may continue to be supplied. That is, during the printing operation from when the conveyor belt 11 performs an intermittent feeding operation to convey the fabric C and the printing on the roll-shaped fabric C by the fabric printing device 10 starts and ends, the belt feeding support mechanism 20 always Air may continue to be supplied toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11. In this case, there is no need to control the air supply mechanism 23 while the printing device 10 is operating.

Note that the belt feed support mechanism 20 is not limited to the above configuration, and may have any form as long as it can support the load of the conveyor belt 11 and reduce the frictional force between the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and the support base 14. . For example, an air injection device may be arranged on both sides of the support table 14 in the width direction and at a height that is aligned with the top surface of the support table 14, and the air injection device may be used to inject air during the conveyance operation of the conveyor belt, so that the conveyor belt 11 It may be a gap forming mechanism that lifts up and forms a gap.

5 to 7 show a printing apparatus 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the printing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the support stand 14 includes a set 14a of support plates 14A to 14C and a set 14b of support plates 14D to 14F, which are arranged at intervals in the conveying direction. The sets 14a and 14b are each constructed by arranging three support plates 14A to 14F in succession in the transport direction, similar to those in the first embodiment. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and each set of support plates 14A to 14F may be formed from one flat plate or any number of flat plates, and the support plates 14A to 14F may have different sizes. is also optional.

A push-up mechanism 30 constituting a belt feeding support mechanism is arranged between the support plate sets 14a and 14b. The push-up mechanism 30 pushes up the conveyor belt 11 to separate the conveyor belt 11 from the support base 14, and as shown in FIG. , an elevating mechanism 32 that raises and lowers the push-up member 31 such that the upper end of the push-up member 31 protrudes and retracts from the upper surface of the support base 14.

The push-up member 31 includes two push-up rollers 31A, 31A having substantially the same length as the length of the support base 14 in the width direction. The push-up rollers 31A, 31A are arranged at intervals in the direction perpendicular to the direction of transport, that is, along the width direction of the fabric C. Each of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A has a bearing or the like therein, is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 31a, contacts the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11, and rotates as the conveyor belt 11 moves. Note that the number of push-up rollers 31A, 31A may be one or three or more, but this reduces the frictional force between the conveyor belt 11 and push-up rollers 31A, 31A when the conveyor belt 11 moves. From the viewpoint, it is preferable that the number is small, and from the point of view of stably lifting the conveyor belt 11, it is preferable that the number is large, and in this embodiment, the number is two.

The lifting mechanism 32 is provided at both ends of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A in the length direction (width direction of the fabric), and as shown in FIG. The actuator includes a pair of guide frames 34, 34 fixed to a body (not shown), and an actuator consisting of, for example, a hydraulic cylinder 35. A shaft support groove 33a is formed on the inner surface of the movable plate 33, and both ends of the rotating shaft 31a of each push-up roller 31A, 31A are supported by the shaft support groove 33a. The end portions of the movable plate 33 in the length direction (conveying direction) are slidably supported in guide grooves 34a provided in the guide frames 34, 34. The hydraulic cylinder 35 includes a cylinder body 35a and a rod 35b that moves in and out of the cylinder body 35a, and the tip of the rod 35b is connected to the lower surface of the movable plate 33. As the rod 35b moves in and out, the push-up rollers 31A, 31A attached to the movable plate 33 move up and down along the guide frames 34, 34. When the rod 35b is pulled into the cylinder body 35a, the upper ends of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A are located below the upper surface of the support base 14, and when the rod 35b is extended from the cylinder body 35a, the push-up rollers 31A, 31A The upper end is located above the upper surface of the support base 14. When the push-up rollers 31A, 31A are in contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and push up the conveyor belt 11, the height from the upper surface of the support base 14 to the upper end of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A is set to about 5 to 10 mm. However, it is not limited to this.

The drive source for driving the drive rollers 12a, 12a, the printing mechanism 13, and the actuator (hydraulic cylinder 35) of the lifting mechanism 32 are connected to a control device (not shown), and their operations are controlled by the control device. .

Regarding the printing operation of the printing apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment, the differences from the printing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be explained.

In the printing operation, during the stop operation of the conveyor belt 11 immediately before the conveyance operation, the rod 35b of the hydraulic cylinder 35 of the elevating mechanism 32 expands, the movable plate 33 rises, and the upper ends of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A touch the support base 14. The conveyor belt 11 is lifted above the upper surface of the conveyor belt 11 and separated from the support base 14. As the push-up rollers 31A and 31A rise, the conveyor belt 11 is lifted from the support base 14 and is brought into a state where it does not come into contact with the support base 14. In this state, the conveyor belt 11 is conveyed by the belt drive mechanism 12 and moves a predetermined distance. At this time, the push-up rollers 31A, 31A rotate as the conveyor belt 11 moves. This rotation reduces the frictional force between the push-up rollers 31A, 31A and the conveyor belt 11, and prevents the conveyor belt 11 from expanding or contracting under the influence of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A. When the conveyor belt 11 moves a predetermined distance and stops, the rod 35b of the hydraulic cylinder 35 is retracted into the cylinder body 35a, the movable plate 33 is lowered, and the push-up rollers 31A, 31A are moved higher than the top surface of the support base 14. It will be in the lower position. As a result, the conveyor belt 11 is lowered onto the support stand 14 and comes into contact with the support stand 14. Thereafter, printing is performed on the cloth C by the printing mechanism 13. In this manner, during the conveyance operation of the conveyor belt 11, the conveyor belt 11 is lifted from the support stand 14 by the elevating mechanism 32, and the conveyor belt 11 is brought into a state in which it does not come into contact with the support stand 14.

According to the above configuration, the push-up rollers 31A, 31A lift the conveyor belt 11 every time the conveyor belt 11 is intermittently fed and move it away from the support base 14, so that the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and the support when the conveyor belt 11 moves. Since no frictional force is generated between the belt 14 and the upper surface of the table 14, it is possible to prevent the central portion of the conveyor belt 11 from elongating, thereby reducing conveyance errors. In this manner, the printing apparatus 10 of this embodiment can support the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt 11.

The push-up rollers 31A, 31A do not rotate with the movement of the conveyor belt 11, and may be rod-shaped members. In this case, when the conveyor belt 11 is conveyed by the belt drive mechanism 12 and moves a predetermined distance, the push-up rollers 31A, 31A contact the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11, but do not rotate. Even in this case, the frictional force between the push-up rollers 31A, 31A and the conveyor belt 11 is smaller than in the prior art.

Further, the structure of the elevating mechanism 32 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be any structure as long as it can lift the push-up rollers 31A, 31A. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the lifting mechanism 32 may be a rodless cylinder 40. The rodless cylinder 40 includes, for example, a cylinder tube 40b disposed between base portions 40a, 40a at upper and lower positions, which are fixed to the frame 16 or the base (not shown) of the printing device 10, etc. A piston (not shown) is accommodated in 40b, and a slide body 40c is provided on the outer peripheral surface of cylinder tube 40b so as to be slidable along cylinder tube 40b. The piston and the slide body 40c move together due to magnetic coupling force, and by moving the piston with air, for example, the slide body 40c moves to follow the movement of the piston.

A pair of rodless cylinders 40 are provided for each push-up roller 31A, and the pair of rodless cylinders 40 are arranged at both ends of each push-up roller 31A (in the width direction of the fabric C), and the rotation shafts of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A The tips at both ends of 31a are fixed to slide body 40c, respectively. As the slide body 40c moves up and down, the push-up rollers 31A and 31A move up and down so that their upper ends are between an upper position and a lower position with respect to the upper surface of the support base 14. In addition, a movable plate is attached to each slide body 40c of the pair of rodless cylinders 40, and the tips of both ends of the rotating shafts 31a of the two push-up rollers 31A, 31A are fixed to each movable plate, and the pair of rodless cylinders 40, the two push-up rollers 31A, 31A may be moved simultaneously.

The elevating mechanism 32 may be a cam mechanism 50 shown in FIG. The cam mechanism 50 includes a rotating body 51 as a driving cam that rotates by rotation of a motor (not shown), and a rod-shaped member 52 as a driven cam arranged above the rotating body 51. The rotating body 51 has a circular disk portion 51a whose central portion is attached to the output shaft 51c of the motor, and a protrusion portion 51b that projects outward from the disk portion 51a. At the lower end of the rod-shaped member 52, a roller 52a is provided which can rotate freely due to the rotation of the rotor 51, in order to reduce the frictional force between the rod-shaped member 52 and the rotating body 51. The ends of the rotating shafts 31a of the push-up rollers 31A, 31A are fixed. When the protruding portion 51b faces upward due to the rotation of the output shaft 51c of the motor, the rod-shaped member 52 is lifted, and the push-up rollers 31A, 31A fixed to the rod-shaped member 52 are raised. When the protruding portion 51b faces in a direction other than the upward direction, for example, in the lateral direction or in the downward direction, the rod-shaped member 52 and the push-up rollers 31A, 31A fixed to the rod-shaped member 52 descend.

Further, the push-up member 31 is not limited to the push-up rollers 31A, 31A, but can come into contact with the lower surface of the conveyor belt 11 and push up the conveyor belt 11, so that the conveyor belt 11 does not contact the upper surface of the support base 14. It may be in any form. For example, the push-up member 31 may be a spherical body rotatably supported by the base, or may include a plurality of spherical bodies.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the push-up mechanism 30 is arranged between the two sets of support plates 14a and 14b, but the arrangement position of the push-up mechanism 30 is not limited to this, and for example, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the support base 14 may include three sets of support plates 14a to 14c, and the push-up mechanism 30 may be disposed between each set of support plates 14a to 14c. In FIG. 10, between the set 14a of support plates 14A, 14B and the set 14b of support plates 14C, 14D, 14E, and between the set 14b of support plates 14C, 14D, 14E and the set 14c of support plates 14F, 14G. A push-up mechanism 30 is disposed at each of the two. Furthermore, the push-up mechanisms 30 may be arranged at both ends of the support base 14 in the transport direction.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10 Printing device 11 Conveyor belt 12 Belt drive mechanism 13 Printing mechanism 14 Support stand 20 Belt feed support mechanism 21 Air hole 22 Duct 23 Air supply mechanism 30 Push-up mechanism 31 Push-up members 31A, 31A Push-up roller 32 Lifting mechanism 33 Movable plate 35 Hydraulic cylinder C Fabric (printing target)

Claims (3)

a conveyor belt that supports the print target from below and conveys it horizontally;
a belt drive mechanism that causes the conveyor belt to perform an intermittent feeding operation;
a printing mechanism that is placed on the travel path of the conveyor belt and that prints on the printing target;
a support stand that supports the conveyor belt from below during printing by the printing mechanism;
a belt feeding support mechanism that supports intermittent feeding of the conveyor belt by the belt drive mechanism ;
The belt feeding support mechanism includes an air hole formed in the support base, and an air supply mechanism that supplies air sent from the air hole toward the lower surface of the conveyor belt. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt feeding support mechanism supports the intermittent feeding operation each time the belt drive mechanism performs the intermittent feeding operation of the conveyor belt. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt feeding support mechanism is a gap forming mechanism that forms a gap between the lower surface of the conveyor belt and the support base.

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