INK-JET PRINTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF PRINTING SEAMLESS CANS BY USING THE SAME PRINTING APPARATUS

• US 20140028771A1
• Filed: 04/23/2012
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamada, Koji, Hayashi, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 9,259,952 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/104
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0015 for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing selective coating B41J2/2114
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/002 Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0057 where an intermediate transfer member receives the ink before transferring it on the printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16508 connected with the printer frame
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16526 by applying pressure only
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16538 with brushes or wiper blades perpendicular to the nozzle plate
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16552 using cleaning fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/2117 Ejecting white liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4073 Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/40733 Printing on cylindrical or rotationally symmetrical objects, e. g. on bottles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/546 Combination of different types, e.g. using a thermal transfer head and an inkjet print head
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/40 Printing on bodies of particular shapes, e.g. golf balls, candles, wine corks sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design B41M5/035
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0088 by ink-jet printing

Abstract

An ink-jet printing apparatus for printing seamless cans comprising a mandrel wheel, a plurality of mandrels that can rotate and are provided on the mandrel wheel, and ink-jet printing stations for ink-jet printing images on at least the can walls on the outer surfaces of seamless cans fitted onto the mandrels, and a method of printing seamless cans by using the same apparatus. A plurality of ink-jet heads are arranged in each of the ink-jet printing stations to improve reproduceability of printing and productivity.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus for printing seamless cans comprising a mandrel wheel, a plurality of mandrels that can rotate and are provided on the mandrel wheel, and ink-jet printing stations for ink-jet printing images on at least the can walls on the outer surfaces of seamless cans fitted onto the mandrels,

Wherein the ink-jet printing is executed in at least one ink-jet printing station, and a plurality of ink-jet heads are arranged in the ink-jet printing station.

2. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink-jet heads arranged in the ink-jet printing station can be moved in the direction of height of the seamless cans fitted onto the mandrels.

3. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink-jet heads arranged in the ink-jet printing station are provided at positions facing each other with the seamless can fitted onto the mandrel therebetween.

4. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 1, wherein a false-curing station and a finishing varnish application station are successively provided at positions on the downstream of the ink-jet printing station.

5. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 1, wherein a plate-type printing station is provided at a position either upstream or downstream of the ink-jet printing station to print images on at least the can walls on the outer surfaces of the seamless cans by plate-type printing.

6. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 1, wherein a head-cleaning device coupled to the ink-jet heads is arranged in the ink-jet printing station.

7. The printing apparatus for printing seamless cans according to claim 6, wherein the head-cleaning device is shared by at least two ink-jet heads.

8. A method of printing images by ink-jet printing on at least the can walls on the outer surfaces of seamless cans, wherein the ink-jet printing is executed by using a plurality of ink-jet heads in at least one time of printing step.

9. The printing method according to claim 8, wherein the images are formed on at least the can walls on the outer surfaces of the seamless cans by moving the ink-jet heads in the direction of height.

10. The printing method according to claim 8, wherein the seamless cans on which the ink-jet printing is to be executed are the seamless cans on which the images have been printed by the plate-type printing.