阅读说明：本技术 光照射装置以及印刷装置 (Light irradiation device and printing device ) 是由 田久保匡美 于 2019-01-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开的光照射装置具备：光照射部,在内部配置有发光元件,具备具有该发光元件的光能够通过的光照射面的壳体；和气体供给部,具备与所述壳体的所述光照射面的一部分连接的流路。优选所述流路具有相互连接的多个壁。优选所述光照射面具有所述发光元件的光能够通过的光通过部、和能够遮挡所述光的非光通过部,所述多个壁具有位于最接近所述光通过部的位置并且沿着所述光通过部的边缘被配置的第1壁。本公开的印刷装置具备：上述光照射装置；搬运部,将被印刷介质与所述光照射装置的所述光照射面对置地进行搬运；和印刷部,在所述被印刷介质的搬运方向的上游侧,与所述光照射装置相邻地配置。优选所述光照射装置被配置为所述第1壁位于所述光照射面与所述印刷部之间。(The disclosed light irradiation device is provided with: a light irradiation unit having a housing in which a light emitting element is arranged and which has a light irradiation surface through which light of the light emitting element can pass; and a gas supply unit having a flow path connected to a part of the light irradiation surface of the housing. Preferably, the flow path has a plurality of walls connected to each other. Preferably, the light irradiation surface includes a light passage portion through which light of the light emitting element can pass and a non-light passage portion capable of blocking the light, and the plurality of walls include a1 st wall located at a position closest to the light passage portion and arranged along an edge of the light passage portion. The printing device of the present disclosure includes: the light irradiation device described above; a conveying unit configured to convey a print medium to be printed in a manner to face the light irradiation surface of the light irradiation device; and a printing unit disposed adjacent to the light irradiation device on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of the print medium. Preferably, the light irradiation device is configured such that the 1 st wall is located between the light irradiation surface and the printing portion.)

1. A light irradiation device is provided with:

a light irradiation unit having a housing in which a light emitting element is arranged and which has a light irradiation surface through which light of the light emitting element can pass; and

and a gas supply unit having a flow path connected to a part of the light irradiation surface of the housing.

2. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1,

the flow path is connected to a part of the light irradiation surface from a side surface of the housing.

3. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1,

the flow path includes an exhaust port capable of exhausting gas, which is disposed in a region overlapping the light irradiation surface.

4. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1,

the flow path has a plurality of walls connected to one another.

5. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 4,

the light irradiation surface has: a light-passing portion through which light of the light-emitting element can pass and a non-light-passing portion capable of blocking the light,

the plurality of walls have a1 st wall located closest to the light passing portion and arranged along an edge of the light passing portion.

6. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 5,

the 1 st wall is inclined so as to be apart from the light passage portion in the light irradiation direction from one end of the light irradiation surface side.

7. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 5,

the 1 st wall contains a material that reflects light of the light emitting element.

8. A printing apparatus includes:

the light irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;

a conveying unit configured to convey a print medium to be printed in a manner to face the light irradiation surface of the light irradiation device; and

and a printing unit disposed adjacent to the light irradiation device on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of the print medium.

9. A printing apparatus includes:

the light irradiation apparatus of claim 5;

a conveying unit configured to convey a print medium to be printed in a manner to face the light irradiation surface of the light irradiation device; and

a printing unit disposed adjacent to the light irradiation device on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of the print medium,

the light irradiation device is configured such that the 1 st wall is located between the light irradiation surface and the printing portion.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a light irradiation device that can be used for curing ultraviolet curable resins, paints, and the like, and a printing device provided with the light irradiation device.

Background

As an example of the light irradiation device, a device using a semiconductor light emitting element such as a plurality of LED (light emitting diode) chips as a light source is known. Such a light irradiation device is used for a printing device or the like using a photocurable material (such as a resin or ink) such as an ultraviolet curable resin, and is widely used in applications including curing of the photocurable material (see, for example, JP 2008-a 244165).

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In such a light irradiation device, the light curing property of the light-curable resin is improved, and the heat radiation property of the light irradiation device is improved, thereby improving the reliability of the light irradiation device and the printing apparatus including the light irradiation device.

Means for solving the problem

The disclosed light irradiation device is provided with: a light irradiation unit having a housing in which a light emitting element is arranged and which has a light irradiation surface through which light of the light emitting element can pass; and a gas supply unit having a flow path connected to a part of the light irradiation surface of the housing.

The printing device of the present disclosure includes: the light irradiation device described above; a conveying unit for conveying the printing medium in a manner of being opposite to the light irradiation surface; and a printing unit disposed adjacent to the light irradiation device on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of the print medium.

Effect of invention

According to the light irradiation device and the printing apparatus of the present disclosure, curability can be improved, heat dissipation can be improved, and reliability can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a light irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a light emitting element in a light irradiation section of the light irradiation device shown in fig. 1, in which fig. 2 (a) is a plan view and fig. 2 (b) is a partial sectional view.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the light irradiation device shown in fig. 1 as viewed from the light irradiation surface side.

Fig. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a printing apparatus using the light irradiation apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, examples of a light irradiation device and a printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following are embodiments illustrating the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a light irradiation device 1 in a sectional view.

The light irradiation device 1 is used for curing a photocurable resin by irradiating light. The light irradiation device 1 is mounted on a printing device such as an offset printing device or an inkjet printing device using a photocurable resin as a printing material. Thus, the printing apparatus can print on the print medium 15 by attaching a photocurable resin (for example, an ultraviolet curable ink) to the print medium 15 of the printing apparatus, and then irradiating light from the light irradiation device 1 to cure the photocurable resin.

The light irradiation device 1 includes a light irradiation unit 2 and a gas supply unit 3. The light irradiation device 1 according to the present invention includes the light irradiation unit 2 and the gas supply unit 3, and when the photocurable resin is cured by the light irradiation from the light irradiation unit 2, the gas supply unit 3 can irradiate light while supplying gas between the light irradiation device 1 and the print medium 15. This reduces inhibition of the curing reaction due to reaction of, for example, radicals in the photocurable resin with oxygen in the atmosphere during light irradiation, and improves curability of the photocurable resin. The light irradiation device 1 can be manufactured by a conventionally known method.

The light irradiation unit 2 includes a light emitting element 4, and can irradiate light emitted from the light emitting element 4. The light irradiation section 2 includes: a light emitting element 4, a substrate 5 on which the light emitting element 4 is mounted, and a case 6 which houses the light emitting element 4 and the substrate 5.

Fig. 2 (a) and (b) schematically show an example of the light-emitting element 4 in the light irradiation device 1. Fig. 2 (a) is a plan view of the light-emitting element 4 and the substrate 5, and fig. 2 (b) is a partial sectional view of the light-emitting element 4 and the substrate 5.

The light emitting element 4 can emit light of such a predetermined wavelength as ultraviolet light or visible light. The light-emitting element 4 includes a plurality of semiconductor layers and a pair of electrodes. The plurality of semiconductor layers include an active layer, a p-type clad layer, and an n-type clad layer, and can emit light when a voltage is applied thereto via a pair of electrodes. The plurality of semiconductor layers may be semiconductor layers containing gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), or the like, for example. The pair of electrodes may be electrodes containing silver (Ag) or the like, for example.

The light emitting element 4 may be, for example, a semiconductor laser ld (laser diode) or a light emitting diode led (light emitting diode). The wavelength of the light emitting element 4 may be, for example, ultraviolet (near ultraviolet) light. Specifically, the peak of the spectrum of the wavelength may be, for example, 280 to 440 nm. The wavelength of light emitted from the light emitting element 4 may be, for example, a wavelength necessary for curing a photocurable resin printed on the print medium 15.

The substrate 5 can support the light emitting element 4. The outer shape of the substrate 5 may be, for example, a flat plate. The planar shape of the substrate 5 may be, for example, a rectangular shape. The substrate 5 has a plurality of recesses, and the light emitting elements 4 are mounted in the recesses, respectively. The opening of the recess may be formed in a circular shape, for example.

The substrate 5 of this example is formed of a plurality of insulating layers 5a, 5 b. In other words, the substrate 5 has a plurality of insulating layers 5a, 5 b. The material of the insulating layers 5a and 5b may be, for example, ceramics such as an aluminum oxide sintered body, an aluminum nitride sintered body, a mullite sintered body, or a glass ceramic, or a resin such as an epoxy resin or a liquid crystal polymer. Although the substrate 5 of this example has 2 insulating layers 5a and 5b, the substrate 5 may be formed of 3 or more insulating layers.

The substrate 5 further has a wiring electrically connected to the light emitting element 4 via a bonding wire, for example. The material of the wiring may be, for example, tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), or the like.

The light emitting element 4 is sealed in the recess of the substrate 5 by a sealing material 7. The material of the sealing member 7 may be, for example, silicone resin. The light emitting element 4 in the light irradiation unit 2 according to the present invention is not necessarily sealed by the sealing material 7.

As shown in fig. 1, the light-emitting element 4 and the substrate 5 are housed in a case 6. The outer shape of the housing 6 may be, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 6 has a light irradiation surface 8. The light irradiation surface 8 is a surface that is capable of transmitting light of the light emitting element 4 disposed inside the housing 6 and faces the print medium 15. The light emitted from the light emitting element 4 housed in the housing 6 can be irradiated to the print medium 15 through the light irradiation surface 8. The light irradiation surface 8 does not have to have transparency to light of all wavelengths, and at least light of a wavelength necessary for curing the photocurable resin may be transmitted with a light amount necessary for curing.

Fig. 3 shows an example of the light irradiation device 1 viewed from the light irradiation surface 8 side. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the light irradiation device 1 viewed from the light irradiation surface 8 side. In fig. 3, the dotted line indicates the outer shape of the irradiation surface 8 (the same as the outer shape of the case 6 in this example).

The light irradiation surface 8 may have a light-shielding region. In this example, as shown in fig. 3, the light irradiation surface 8 includes: a light-passing portion 9 through which light from the light-emitting element 4 can pass, and a light-blocking non-light-passing portion 10 disposed so as to sandwich the light-passing portion 9. The non-light-passing portion 10 does not have to be light-shielding for all wavelengths of light, and may be light-shielding for the wavelengths of light passed by the light-passing portion 9. The non-light-transmitting portion 10 may be disposed so as to surround the light-transmitting portion 9.

The light passing portion 9 may be a plate-like member, for example. The housing 6 of the present disclosure is formed of a light-shielding material, in the same manner as the non-light-transmitting portion 10, except for the light-transmitting portion 9. An opening is formed in the surface of the housing 6 facing the print medium 15, and a plate-like member constituting the light transmitting portion 9 is fitted into the opening, thereby constituting the light irradiation surface 8 having the light transmitting portion 9 and the non-light transmitting portion 10.

The light irradiation surface 8 may be a flat surface, for example. The light irradiation surface 8 may have a rectangular shape, for example. When the light irradiation surface 8 has the light passage portion 9 and the non-light passage portion 10, the light passage portion 9 may have a belt shape (elongated rectangular shape), for example. The light transmitting portion 9 may be disposed from one end to the other end of the light irradiation surface 8 as shown in fig. 3, or may be surrounded by the non-light transmitting portion 10 and disposed to have a length shorter than the width of the light irradiation surface 8.

The material of the light passing portion 9 may be, for example, quartz glass, BK7, or the like. The material of the non-light-transmitting portion 10 may be, for example, aluminum (Al), stainless steel (SUS), copper (Cu), or the like. In the present disclosure, the housing 6 is formed of the same material as the non-light-passing portion 10 except for the light-passing portion 9. The housing 6 may be formed of a material different from the non-light-transmitting portion 10. The case 6 (except for the light irradiation surface 8) is formed of, for example, aluminum (a1), stainless steel (SUS), copper (Cu), or the like, from the viewpoint of excellent light-shielding properties and heat resistance and heat dissipation properties.

As described above, the gas supply unit 3 can supply gas to the space in the region between the light irradiation device 1 and the print medium 15. By supplying the gas in this manner, the oxygen concentration in the environment around the photocurable resin printed on the print medium 15 can be reduced, and the inhibition of the curing reaction due to the reaction between the radicals generated by irradiating the photocurable material with light and the oxygen can be reduced. As a result, the curability of the photocurable material can be improved.

As shown in fig. 1, the gas supply unit 3 includes: a flow path 11 connected to a part of the light irradiation surface 8 from a side surface of the housing 6, a supply port 12 connected to a pipe for supplying gas to the flow path 11, and an exhaust port 13 for supplying gas (exhausting gas) from the flow path 11 to the print medium 15. Supplied from the gas supply section 3 to the light irradiation device 1 and the print medium 15The intermediate gas is supplied from the supply port 12 to the flow path 11, flows through the flow path 11, and is exhausted from the exhaust port 13. The gas exhausted from the exhaust port 13 is supplied to a space in a region between the light irradiation device 1 and the print medium 15. In order to reduce the reaction between the radical and oxygen in the photocurable material, the gas to be supplied may be, for example, nitrogen (N) gas substantially containing no oxygen₂). The gas to be supplied may be an inert gas having low reactivity with the radicals contained in the photocurable material, and may be, for example, argon (Ar) gas.

The flow path 11 has a plurality of walls 14. In this example, the flow path 11 is formed by a plurality of walls 14. That is, a space surrounded by the plurality of walls 14 connected to each other becomes the flow path 11. The walls 14 forming the flow path 11 may be formed of a metal material such as aluminum (a1), stainless steel (SUS), or copper (Cu), or a resin material such as acrylic.

A part of the plurality of walls 14 of the flow path 11 is fixed to the housing 6, and the gas supply section 3 is fixed to the light irradiation section 2. A part of the plurality of walls 14 is fixed to the housing 6, for example, via an adhesive, or is fixed to the housing 6 by screw fastening.

In this example, the supply port 12 and the exhaust port 13 are located at both ends of the flow path 11. The opening surrounded by the plurality of walls 14 in the flow path 11 may be configured to function as the supply port 12 and the exhaust port 13, or an opening provided in one wall of each of the plurality of walls 14 may function as the supply port 12 and the exhaust port 13. The supply port 12 is connected to a gas supply source via a pipe. The exhaust port 13 may be provided with a porous member such as a sponge through which gas can pass. The exhaust port 13 may be configured by disposing a plurality of holes in a predetermined portion of a wall facing the print medium 15.

The flow path 11 is connected to a part of the light irradiation surface 8. That is, a part of the plurality of walls 14 constituting the flow path 11 is in contact with the light irradiation surface 8. Here, in the conventional light irradiation device, when mounted on the printing device, the light irradiation device may scatter from the printing unit or the print medium, and for example, the light curable resin adhering to the light irradiation surface absorbs light and generates heat, and thus, for example, the cover glass or the like used in the light passage unit 9 may be broken. In contrast, the light irradiation device 1 according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, and the flow path 11 of the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 3 as needed is disposed in a part of the light irradiation surface 8, thereby improving the heat radiation performance of the light irradiation surface 8. As a result, the light irradiation surface 8 can be reduced from being broken.

In the present disclosure, the light irradiation surface 8 has a light passage portion 9 and a non-light passage portion 10, and the flow path 11 is connected only to the non-light passage portion 10 to prevent the irradiation of light from the light passage portion 9 from being blocked.

The light passage section 9 may be disposed so as to be shifted from the central portion of the light irradiation surface 8 in the direction opposite to the position where the flow path 11 is disposed. In this case, the area of the non-light-passing portion 10 where the flow channel 11 is located can be increased, and the heat dissipation of the light irradiation surface 8 can be improved.

One of the walls 14 of the flow path 11 may also serve as the casing 6. In this case, the gas flowing through the flow path 11 can directly contact the surface of the casing 6 constituting a part of the flow path 11, and therefore, the heat radiation performance of the casing 6 can be improved. Therefore, the heat dissipation of the case 6 is improved at the portion where the flow path 11 is connected to a part of the light irradiation surface 8.

As shown in fig. 1, the flow path 11 may be connected to a side surface of the housing 6 continuous with the light irradiation surface 8. As a result, the heat dissipation can be improved not only on the light irradiation surface 8 of the housing 6 but also on the side surface of the housing 6 by the gas flowing through the flow channel 11.

The wall 14 and the casing 6 constituting the flow path 11 may be formed of materials having the same thermal conductivity. In this case, both the walls 14 and the housing 6 are deformed by the difference in thermal expansion between them, or the flow path 11 is prevented from falling off the housing 6. In this case, when the casing 6 is one wall constituting the flow path 11, the wall also serving as the casing 6 functions as the casing 6. The heat conductivity of the walls 14 constituting the flow path 11 may be the same as the heat conductivity of the casing 6, and the flow path 11 and the casing 6 may be formed of different materials.

In the gas supply unit 3, the gas discharge port 13 capable of discharging the gas supplied to the print medium 15 may be disposed in a region overlapping the light irradiation surface 8. Specifically, at least a part of the outer edge of the exhaust port 13 may be located inside the outer edge of the light irradiation surface 8 when the exhaust port 13 is viewed in a perspective view in a plan view. As a result, since the gas in the flow path 11 is exhausted from the exhaust port 13, the gas in the flow path 11 can easily pass through the region overlapping the light irradiation surface 8, and the heat radiation performance of the case 6 can be improved. Further, it is more effective if all the outer edge of the exhaust port 13 is located inside the outer edge of the light irradiation surface 8.

In this case, the exhaust port 13 is located closer to the print medium 15 than the light irradiation surface 8, according to the height of the flow path 11 with respect to the light irradiation surface 8 (the height of the wall constituting the flow path 11).

The plurality of walls 14 constituting the flow path 11 include a1 st wall 14a located closest to the light passing section 9 among the plurality of walls 14, and a 2 nd wall 14b located closest to the print medium 15.

The 1 st wall 14a may be disposed along an edge of the light passing portion 9. That is, if explained in the present disclosure, since the light passing portion 9 of the present disclosure is a belt shape extending from one end to the other end of the light irradiation surface 8, the 1 st wall 14a of the present disclosure is arranged from one end to the other end of the light irradiation surface 8 along the outer edge of the light passing portion 9. As a result, for example, the uniformity of the light distribution incident on the printing medium 15 can be improved by utilizing the fact that the light from the light passing portion 9 is reflected by the 1 st wall 14a and enters the printing medium 15.

The 1 st wall 14a may be inclined so that the flow path 11 becomes narrower as approaching from the light irradiation surface 8 to the to-be-printed medium 15. That is, the 1 st wall 14a may be inclined so as to be apart from the light passing portion 9 in the irradiation direction of light from one end on the light irradiation surface 8 side. As a result, it is possible to reduce the light irradiated through the light irradiation surface 8 from being blocked by the 1 st wall 14 a.

The 1 st wall 14a may be formed of a metal material. In this case, since the surface of the 1 st wall 14a has metallic luster and functions as a good light reflecting surface, the light incident on the 1 st wall 14a from the light irradiation surface 8 can be reflected toward the printing medium 15, and thus, for example, the curability of the photocurable resin printed on the printing medium 15 can be improved.

The 2 nd wall 14b is a wall located closest to the print medium 15, and is preferably located parallel to the transported print medium 15. The exhaust port 13 is disposed in the 2 nd wall 14b as an outlet for the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 3 to the space between the light irradiation device 1 and the print medium 15. This can shorten the distance between the print medium 15 and the exhaust port 13, and achieve a favorable effect of gas supply.

When the exhaust port 13 is disposed in the 2 nd wall 14b, the 2 nd wall 14b may be parallel to the light irradiation surface 8. In this case, for example, since the light irradiation surface 8 is generally arranged parallel to and facing the print medium 15, the 2 nd wall 14b is parallel to the light irradiation surface 8, and thus the gas can be blown out from the exhaust port 13 at the shortest distance to the print medium 15.

Fig. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a printing apparatus 100 using the light irradiation apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

The printing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: the light irradiation device 1 described above; a conveying unit 16 that conveys the print medium 15 so as to face the light irradiation surface 8 of the light irradiation device 1; and a printing unit 17 that prints on the print medium 15 conveyed by the conveying unit 16, and is disposed adjacent to the light irradiation device 1 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the print medium 15. In the printing apparatus 100, the conveyance unit 16 conveys the printing medium 15, the printing unit 17 prints and adheres the photocurable resin on the printing medium 15, and the light irradiation device 1 irradiates the photocurable resin printed on the printing medium 15 with light to cure the photocurable resin, thereby performing desired printing on the upper surface (front surface) of the printing medium 15.

The conveyance unit 16 sequentially passes the print medium 15 from the printing unit 17 to the light irradiation device 1. For example, as shown in this example, the conveying unit 16 includes: a mounting table 18 on which the print medium 15 moves, and a pair of conveying rollers 19, 19 disposed opposite to each other and rotatably supported. The conveying unit 16 is configured to convey the print medium 15 supported by the mounting table 18 between a pair of conveying rollers 19, and to convey the print medium 15 in a conveying direction toward the printing unit 17 and the light irradiation device 1 by rotating the conveying rollers 19, 19 in opposite directions to each other.

The printing unit 17 has a function of printing a photocurable material on the printing medium 15 conveyed by the conveying unit 16. The printing unit 17 is, for example, an inkjet printing device configured to eject droplets containing a photocurable material from an ejection port onto the print medium 15 and attach the droplets to the print medium 15. In this example, although the ultraviolet curable ink is used as the photocurable material, for example, a photosensitive resist is used as the photocurable material.

According to the printing apparatus 100 of the present invention, since the above-described effects of the light irradiation apparatus 1 can be similarly achieved, the improvement in the curing property of the photocurable material and the improvement in the heat radiation property in the light irradiation apparatus 1 can improve the reliability.

Further, in the printing apparatus 100 of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the light irradiation device 1 and the printing portion 17 are arranged with the gas supply portion 3 of the light irradiation device 1 interposed therebetween. In the printing apparatus 100 of the present disclosure, the 1 st wall 14a of the light irradiation device 1 is preferably located between the light irradiation surface 8 and the printing unit 17. In this case, since the gas supply portion 3 is located between the light irradiation portion 2 of the light irradiation device 1 and the printing portion 17, the portion facing the printing portion 17 that blocks the light irradiated from the light irradiation portion 2 of the light irradiation device 1 toward the print medium 15 becomes a portion, and thus a part of the light irradiated from the light irradiation portion 2 toward the print medium 15 enters the printing portion 17, and clogging of the discharge hole of the printing portion 17 can be reduced. At the same time, a part of the light irradiated from the light passage portion 9 of the light irradiation surface 8 of the light irradiation device 1 toward the print medium 15 is reflected by the 1 st wall 14a toward the print medium 15, and the effect of light irradiation to the print medium 15 can be improved.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

1 light irradiation device

2 light irradiation part

3 gas supply part

4 light emitting element

5 base plate

6 casing

8 light irradiation surface

9 light passing part

10 non-light-passing part

11 flow path

14 multiple walls

14a 1 st wall

15 to-be-printed medium

16 conveying part

17 printing part

100 printing device.