Printing apparatus and method
AssigneeInca Digital Printers Limited
InventorsWilliam Ronald Stuart Baxter, Richard William Eve
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A printing apparatus is adapted for printing on a printing surface of a three-dimensional object 12. The apparatus comprises an inkjet printhead 14 having a plurality of nozzles, and being operative to effect relative movement of the printhead and the object, during printing, with a rotational component about an axis of rotation and with a linear component, in which the linear component is at least partially in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of rotation and wherein the nozzle pitch of the printhead is greater than the grid pitch to be printed onto the printing surface in the nozzle row direction. In preferred examples, a substantially helical path is printed on the surface and improved ink jet printing of three dimensional objects can be achieved.
Claims24
An inkjet printing apparatus for printing an image on a printing surface of a three-dimensional object located at a printing position, the apparatus being adapted to print the image on the printing surface by printing droplets at grid points of a print grid for the image, the grid points being spaced apart at a grid pitch, wherein the apparatus comprises:
- a handling apparatus for supporting the object such that the object extends out from the handling apparatus into a printing region, wherein the handling apparatus is operable to move the object into and away from the printing region;
- an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzles spaced apart at a nozzle pitch in a nozzle row direction, the printing apparatus being operative to effect relative movement of the printhead and the object, during printing, with a rotational component about an axis of rotation and with a linear component, in which the linear component is at least partially in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of rotation and wherein the nozzle pitch of the printhead is greater than the grid pitch of the image in the nozzle row direction;
- and
- wherein the printhead and the handing apparatus are operative to move with respect to each other and the handing apparatus is further operative to rotate the object with a variable angular velocity so that a printing surface of the object that is at non-constant radius with respect to the axis of rotation passes a nozzle of the printhead with a substantially constant linear velocity.
A method of inkjet printing an image on a printing surface of a three-dimensional object using an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzles spaced apart at a nozzle pitch in a nozzle row direction, comprising the steps of:
- supporting the object on a handling apparatus such that the object extends out from the handling apparatus towards a printing region;
- moving the object on the handling apparatus to a printing region;
- effecting relative movement of the printhead and the object, during printing, with a rotational component about an axis of rotation and with a linear component, in which the linear component is at least partially in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of rotation, wherein the nozzle pitch of the printhead is greater than a grid pitch in the nozzle row direction of the image to be printed onto the printing surface;
- and moving the object on the handling apparatus away from the printing region;
- and
- interleaving in the direction of printing.
Method of printing on a printing surface of a three-dimensional object using an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzles, the method comprising effecting relative movement of the printhead and the object during printing with a rotational component about an axis of rotation and with a linear component to print a plurality of spiral paths on the printing surface, wherein a plurality of nozzles are used to print each spiral path.
A method of printing on a printing surface of a three-dimensional object, the method comprising:
- providing an inkjet printhead including a plurality of nozzles,
- effecting relative movement of the printhead and the object during printing with a rotational component about an axis of rotation,
- wherein the printing surface of the object is at non-constant radius with respect to the axis of rotation, and wherein the object is rotated with a variable angular velocity with respect to the printhead so as to cause motion of the printing surface past a nozzle of the printhead with a substantially constant linear velocity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.