JP2010162709A - Pad printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pad printing apparatus capable of performing a plurality of printings with different shapes of printing patterns, different printing styles or the like using one pad, and reducing the amount of the pads to reduce cost. <P>SOLUTION: In the pad printing apparatus, a transferring face 30 at the tip of the pad 3 is pushed on a printing plate coated with ink to transfer a printing pattern on the transferring face 30, the transferring face 30 is pushed on a face to be printed of an article to be printed to transfer the printing pattern on the face to be printed, the pad 3 consists of an expansion-deformable hollow elastic member, and a pressing means is provided for press-filling a filling material into the pad 3 to expand the pad 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pad printing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a printing apparatus for printing a printing pattern such as a character, a symbol, a figure, or a pattern on a curved surface to be printed, a pad printing apparatus such as that described in Patent Document 1 below has been provided. . This pad printing apparatus is a printing apparatus having a pad that can temporarily hold a printing pattern, and the printing pattern is applied to the transfer surface by pressing the transfer surface of the pad onto a printing plate coated with ink. Then, the printing pattern is transferred to the printing surface by pressing the transfer surface of the pad against the printing surface of the printing material. The pad described above is an elastic member made of silicone rubber or the like, and is formed in various variations such as a pin shape or a semi-cylindrical shape (bar shape) whose tip is rounded into a spherical shape.

JP-A-7-276607

However, in the above-described conventional pad printing apparatus, it is necessary to appropriately select a pad having an optimal shape, size, and hardness (elasticity) according to the print pattern, the shape of the printing surface, and the like. For example, when printing a large print pattern, it is necessary to use a pad having a transfer surface larger than at least the print pattern, and when the undulation of the printing surface is large and a large deformation is desired on the transfer surface It is necessary to use a soft (low hardness) pad.
In addition, it is necessary to select a pad having the optimum hardness according to the demand for the finish of the printed pattern. For example, it is necessary to use a hard pad when printing with sharp and sharp outlines of the print pattern, and on the contrary, use a soft pad when performing soft printing with blurred outlines of the print pattern. is there.
Therefore, when performing various types of printing with different printing patterns, printed surface shapes, and printed pattern finishes, a variety of pads with different shapes and elasticity must be prepared. In the case of performing them one by one, there is a problem of cost increase by preparing a large number of pads.

  In the present invention, the above-described conventional problems are taken into consideration, and a plurality of prints having different print pattern shapes, print formats, and the like can be performed using a single pad, thereby reducing the number of pads. An object of the present invention is to provide a pad printing apparatus capable of reducing the cost.

  In the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention, the transfer surface at the tip of the pad is pressed onto the printing plate coated with ink to transfer the printing pattern to the transfer surface, and the transfer surface is pressed against the printing surface of the substrate. In the pad printing apparatus for transferring a printing pattern to the printing surface, the pad is made of a hollow elastic member that can be expanded and deformed, and is provided with press-fitting means for press-fitting and filling the pad with a filler. It is characterized by having.

  With such a feature, the pad is expanded and deformed by press-fitting the filler into the hollow pad by the press-fitting means. Moreover, the hardness of a pad becomes high because a filler is press-fitted in the pad.

In the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that gas is used as the filler.
Thereby, when gas is press-fitted into the pad as a filler, the pad expands and an increase in pad hardness (decrease in elasticity) is suppressed. This is because the volume of the gas changes depending on the pressure, and therefore when the pressure (pressing) is applied to the pad into which the gas is pressed, the volume of the gas in the pad is compressed and the deformation of the pad is allowed.

Further, the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention may have a configuration in which a liquid is used as the filler.
Thereby, when a liquid is press-fitted into the pad as a filler, the pad expands and the hardness of the pad increases. This is because the volume of the liquid does not change due to the pressure, and therefore when the pressure (pressing) is applied to the pad into which the liquid is pressed, the deformation of the pad is regulated by the liquid in the pad.

In the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the press-fitting unit is provided with a valve for opening and closing a flow path for supplying the filler into the pad.
Thereby, by opening the valve, the filler can be pressed into the pad through the flow path. On the other hand, by closing the valve, the press-fitting of the filler into the pad is stopped, and the shape of the pad is maintained.

Further, in the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention, the tip wall portion of the pad has a shape gradually reduced in diameter toward the tip side in the pressing direction, and the wall thickness of the tip wall portion is It is preferable that the size is gradually reduced as it goes to the front end side in the pressing direction.
Thus, when the filler is press-fitted into the pad, the pad extends in the pressing direction and the curvature of the transfer surface at the tip of the pad increases.

  According to the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention, the pad is expanded and deformed or the pad hardness is increased by press-fitting the filler into the hollow pad by the press-fitting means. A plurality of different types of printing can be performed with a single pad. Thereby, the number of pads can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

1 is a side view schematically showing a pad printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a half sectional view of a pad for explaining an embodiment of the invention. 1 is a side view schematically showing a pad printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view schematically showing a pad printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view schematically showing a pad printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a half sectional view of a pad for explaining other embodiments of the present invention.

  Embodiments of a pad printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A pad printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 presses a transfer surface 30 at the tip of a pad 3 onto a printing plate 2 coated with ink to transfer a print pattern onto the transfer surface 30, and the transfer surface 30 is transferred to a work X (printed material). ) To transfer the printing pattern onto the printing surface Y.
More specifically, the pad printing apparatus 1 includes, for example, a printing plate 2 engraved with characters, symbols, figures, patterns, etc., a pad 3 for temporarily holding a printing pattern transferred from the printing plate 2, and a hollow A press-fitting means 4 for press-fitting a filler into the pad 3, an ink reservoir 5 for storing ink to be applied on the printing plate 2, a squeegee 6 for scraping off excess ink on the printing plate 2, and the printing plate 2 are mounted. The printing platen 7 to be placed, the workbench 8 on which the workpiece X is placed, the pad moving means 9 for reciprocating the pad 3 between the printing plate 2 and the workpiece X, and the pad 3 are supported. And a pad support 10. The pad printing apparatus 1 includes an ink application unit (not shown) for applying ink onto the printing plate 2, a squeegee movement unit (not shown) for reciprocating the squeegee 6 along the upper surface of the printing plate 2, and the pad 3. Cleaning means (not shown) for removing residual ink adhering to the transfer surface 30.

  The ink reservoir 5 is an ink fountain that contains ink, and is a container having an open upper surface. A printing plate 7 is disposed on the ink reservoir 5, and the upper surface of the ink reservoir 5 is closed by the printing plate 7. The ink reservoir 5 is not limited to a closed container whose upper surface is closed by the printing platen 7, but may be an open container whose upper surface is open.

  The printing platen 7 is a pedestal that supports the printing plate 2 and is fixed on the ink reservoir 5. A rectangular recess 70 in plan view is formed on the upper surface of the printing platen 7, and the rectangular plate-shaped printing plate 2 is detachably fitted into the recess 70. The printing plate 2 is an intaglio in which a groove 20 of a printing pattern is engraved on the upper surface, and is held by being fitted inside the concave portion 70 of the printing plate base 7. The upper surface of the printing plate 2 is flush with the upper surface of the printing platen 7, and a squeegee 6 is disposed above the printing plate 2 and the printing platen 7.

  The squeegee 6 is a plate-like blade that is inclined with respect to the upper surfaces of the printing plate 2 and the printing platen 7, and the width of the squeegee 6 is at least larger than the width of the printing plate 2. The lower end surface of the squeegee 6 is inclined with respect to the surface of the squeegee 6 and is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the printing platen 7. Further, the squeegee 6 reciprocates on the inclined side along the upper surface of the printing plate 2 by a squeegee moving means (not shown).

  The work table 8 is a pedestal that supports the work X, and is disposed on the side of the printing plate 7. The work table 8 is provided with holding means (not shown) for holding the work X placed thereon.

  The pad moving means 9 includes a horizontal moving mechanism 90 that moves the pad 3 in the horizontal direction and a vertical moving mechanism 91 that moves the pad 3 in the vertical direction. The horizontal movement mechanism 90 includes a guide rail 92 disposed horizontally above the printing plate 2 (printing plate 7) and the workpiece X (working plate 8), and a slider 93 attached to the guide rail 92 so as to be able to travel. And a drive mechanism (not shown) that reciprocates the slider 93 along the guide rail 92. The vertical movement mechanism 91 includes a drive mechanism that is attached to the slider 93 and reciprocates the pad support portion 10 in the vertical direction. As a driving mechanism for the horizontal moving mechanism 90 and the vertical moving mechanism 91, a known driving mechanism can be used. For example, a driving mechanism including a cylinder and a piston, a driving mechanism including a motor and a ball screw, a motor, There are a drive mechanism composed of a rack-pinion, a drive mechanism composed of a motor, a gear and a belt.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pad support portion 10 includes a support shaft 11 connected to the movable portion 96 of the vertical movement mechanism 91, a base plate 12 provided at the lower end of the support shaft 11, and the support shaft 11. And an injection portion 13 projecting from the side surface. The support shaft 11 has a cylindrical shape (tubular) extending in the vertical direction, and the inside of the support shaft 11 is a flow path through which a filler flows. The upper end of the support shaft 11 is detachably connected to the movable portion 96 of the vertical movement mechanism 91, and the lower end of the support shaft 11 is inserted into through holes 12 a and 31 a of the upper wall portion 31 of the base plate 12 and the pad 3 described later. Via the pad 3. The base plate 12 is a plate material joined perpendicularly to the lower end of the support shaft 11. A through hole 12 a that communicates with the inside of the support shaft 11 is formed in the center portion of the base plate 12. The injection part 13 is an injection part for injecting a filler into the pad 3 via the support shaft 11, and has a cylindrical (tubular) shape extending in the horizontal direction. The inside of the injection part 13 is communicated with the inside of the support shaft 11 and serves as a flow path through which the filler flows.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pad 3 is an inflatable and deformable hollow elastic member made of, for example, silicone rubber or nitrile rubber, and is joined to the lower surface of the base plate 12. A lower surface of the pad 3 is formed with a transfer surface 30 that is pressed against the upper surface of the stamp plate 2 or the workpiece X. The transfer surface 30 moves the pad 3 downward by the vertical movement mechanism 91 described above. Thus, it is pressed against the upper surface of the stamp 2 or the work X.

  More specifically, the pad 3 has a hemispherical shape that bulges downward from the base plate 12, and includes a disk-shaped upper wall portion 31 bonded to the lower surface of the base plate 12, and a peripheral edge of the upper wall portion 31. And a hemispherical tip wall portion 32 gradually reduced in diameter toward the tip side in the pressing direction of the pad 3 (downward in the vertical direction). A through hole 31 a communicating with the through hole 12 a of the base plate 12 is formed in the central portion of the upper wall portion 31. The wall thickness of the tip wall portion 32 is gradually reduced according to the tip side in the pressing direction. That is, the tip wall portion 32 is formed so as to be thinner at a location closer to the lower end. The lower surface of the tip wall portion 32 is the transfer surface 30 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the press-fitting means 4 press-fills the pad 3 with a filler made of a gas such as air. More specifically, the press-fitting means 4 supplies the compressed gas in the air tank 40 into the injection part 13 via the flexible hose 41 connected to the discharge part 40a of the air tank 40, and the inside of the support shaft 11 from the injection part 13 It is injected into the pad 3 via. That is, the flexible hose 41, the injection part 13, and the support shaft 11 form a filler flow path. The press-fitting means 4 is provided with a valve 42 for opening and closing the flow path of the filler. The valve 42 is an open / close valve that is provided at the tip of the injection part 13 and opens and closes the tip of the injection part 13.

  Next, a method for using the pad printing apparatus 1 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the printing plate 2 is set by fitting the printing plate 2 in the recess 70 of the printing platen 7. Further, the work X is placed on the work table 8 and placed at a predetermined position, and the work X is held by holding means (not shown) to fix the work X at the predetermined position.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pad 3 is expanded by press-fitting and filling the pad 3 with the filler by the press-fitting means 4. More specifically, the discharge portion 40a of the air tank 40 is opened and the valve 42 is opened. Thereby, the compressed gas (filler) in the air tank 40 flows into the injection part 13 through the flexible hose 41, and flows into the pad 3 from the injection part 13 through the support shaft 11. When compressed gas flows into the pad 3, the internal pressure in the pad 3 rises, the pad 3 expands and the pad 3 is deformed. At this time, since the wall thickness of the tip wall portion 32 of the pad 3 is gradually reduced as it goes downward, the pad 3 extends downward in the vertical direction, and the curvature of the transfer surface 30 at the tip of the pad 3 is large. Become. Moreover, although the hardness of the pad 3 is increased by press-fitting and filling the filler into the pad 3, since the gas is injected as the filler, an increase in the hardness of the pad 3 (decrease in elasticity) can be suppressed. When the pad 3 is deformed into a predetermined shape, the valve 42 is closed. Thereby, the inflow of the compressed gas into the pad 3 is stopped, and the formation of the pad 3 is maintained.
In addition, it is also possible to perform printing without expanding the pad 3, and in that case, the above-described press-fitting step of the filler can be omitted.

  Further, after ink is applied to the upper surface of the printing plate 2 by an ink application means (not shown), the squeegee 6 is slid along the upper surface of the printing plate 2 by an unshown squeegee moving means, as shown in FIG. As a result, the ink is filled in the groove 20 of the printing plate 2 without a gap, and excess ink on the printing plate 2 is scraped off.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 is pressed against the upper surface of the printing plate 2 by the pad moving means 9. More specifically, in a state where the pad 3 is disposed vertically above the printing plate 2, the pad support portion 10 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 91, and the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 supported by the pad support portion 10 is moved. Press against the upper surface of the stamp 2. As a result, the ink in the groove 20 of the printing plate 2 adheres to the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3, and the print pattern is transferred to the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the pad 3 is moved to the position of the work X by the pad moving means 9, and the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 is pressed against the printing surface Y of the work X. Specifically, first, the pad support portion 10 is raised by the vertical movement mechanism 91, and the pad 3 supported by the pad support portion 10 is pulled up. Subsequently, a drive mechanism (not shown) of the horizontal movement mechanism 90 is driven to cause the slider 93 to travel along the guide rail 92 and move the pad 3 to a position vertically above the workpiece X. Thereafter, the pad support portion 10 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 91, and the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 supported by the pad support portion 10 is pressed against the printing surface Y of the workpiece X. As a result, the ink held on the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 adheres to the printing surface Y, and the printing pattern is printed on the printing surface Y.

Next, the pad support portion 10 is raised by the vertical movement mechanism 91, the pad 3 supported by the pad support portion 10 is pulled up, and the residual ink attached to the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 is removed by a cleaning unit (not shown).
Thus, the printing of the work X on the printing surface Y is completed.

  According to the pad printing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the pad 3 is expanded and deformed or the hardness of the pad 3 is increased by press-fitting the filler into the hollow pad 3 by the press-fitting means 4. A plurality of prints having different print pattern shapes, print formats, and the like can be shared by a single pad 3. Thereby, the quantity of the pad 3 can be reduced and cost reduction can be aimed at.

  Further, in the pad printing apparatus 1 described above, gas is used as the filler, and an increase in the hardness of the pad 3 can be suppressed. Therefore, the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 can be brought into close contact with the printing surface Y having a large undulation. It is possible to cope with the printing surface Y having various shapes.

  In the pad printing apparatus 1 described above, when the pad 3 is expanded by press-fitting and filling the pad 3 with a filler, the shape of the pad 3 is maintained by closing the valve 42 when the pad 3 is deformed into a predetermined shape. Therefore, the pad 3 can be easily deformed into a predetermined shape.

  Further, in the pad printing apparatus 1 described above, the wall thickness of the tip wall portion 32 of the pad 3 is gradually reduced toward the tip side, and when the filler is press-fitted into the pad 3, the pad 3 extends downward. In addition, since the curvature of the transfer surface 30 of the pad 3 is increased, the contact area between the pad 3 and the workpiece X when the pad 3 is pressed against the workpiece X can be increased. Thereby, the printing area by this pad 3 can be expanded.

The embodiment of the pad printing apparatus according to the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, gas is used as the filler, but in the present invention, a liquid such as water can also be used as the filler. Thereby, when the filler (liquid) is press-fitted and filled in the pad 3, the hardness of the pad 3 increases. Thereby, sharp printing can be performed and the outline of the printing pattern printed on the to-be-printed surface Y can be made clear. In this case, as the press-fitting means for press-fitting the filler into the pad 3, for example, a configuration using a pump capable of pumping liquid can be considered.

  In the above-described embodiment, the hemispherical pad 3 is used in which the wall thickness of the tip wall portion 32 is gradually reduced as it goes to the tip side. However, the present invention may use a pad of another shape. Is possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the bellows portion 33 may be suspended from the periphery of the upper wall portion 31, and the lower end of the bellows portion 33 may be closed by a spherical tip wall portion 34. Furthermore, in the present invention, pads having various shapes can be used. For example, a semi-cylindrical pad can be used, or a chevron pad can be used. Furthermore, the present invention can be used in combination with a plurality of pads.

  In the embodiment described above, the valve 42 is provided at the tip of the injection portion 13. However, in the present invention, the position of the valve 42 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the valve is provided on the support shaft 11. May be provided, or may be provided at an intermediate portion of the flexible hose 41, or may be provided at the discharge portion 40a of the air tank 40. Further, in the present invention, the valve 42 can be omitted. For example, when the filling material is press-fitted into the pad 3 using a pump for feeding the filling material, the drive of the pump is controlled. It is possible to adjust the press-fitting amount of the filler.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the injection portion 13 is protruded from the support shaft 11 and the filler is supplied into the pad 3 through the inside of the support shaft 11, but the present invention has such a configuration. It is not limited to. For example, an injection part may be provided in the base plate 12. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a plurality of injection parts. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of injection parts are evenly arranged around the support shaft 11.

  In addition, in the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention, it is possible to replace suitably the component in above-mentioned embodiment with a well-known component, and you may combine the above-mentioned modification suitably.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pad printing apparatus 2 Printing plate 3 Pad 4 Press-in means 30 Transfer surface 32, 34 Tip wall part 42 Valve | bulb X Workpiece (printed material)
Y surface to be printed

Claims (5)

The transfer surface at the tip of the pad is pressed onto the printing plate coated with ink to transfer the print pattern to the transfer surface, and the transfer surface is pressed against the print surface of the substrate to transfer the print pattern to the print surface. In the pad printing device to
The pad is made of a hollow elastic member capable of expanding and deforming,
A pad printing apparatus comprising press-fitting means for press-fitting a filling material into the pad to expand the pad. The pad printing apparatus according to claim 1.
A pad printing apparatus using gas as the filler. The pad printing apparatus according to claim 1.
A pad printing apparatus, wherein a liquid is used as the filler. The pad printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A pad printing apparatus, wherein the press-fitting means is provided with a valve for opening and closing a flow path for supplying the filler into the pad. In the pad printing device according to claim 1,
The tip wall portion of the pad has a shape gradually reduced in diameter toward the tip side in the pressing direction,
The pad printing apparatus, wherein the wall thickness of the tip wall portion is gradually reduced toward the tip side in the pressing direction.

Images