Method and apparatus for UV ink jet printing on fabric and combination printing and quilting thereby
US6312123A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 3, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 6, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 3, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD05D2305/22
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Ink jet printing is provided onto fabric using ultraviolet (UV) light curable ink. The ink is first cured with UV light to about a 90-97% cure, and then is subjected to heating to more completely cure the ink and to remove by evaporation or otherwise, the uncured monomers and producing a printed image of ink having less than 100 PPM of uncured monomers, and as low as 10 PPM of uncured monomers. The printing is provided in a quilting machine having a quilting station and a printing station located upstream of the quilting station. Preferably, at the printing station, only a top layer of fabric is printed with a multicolored design under the control of a programmed controller. UV curable ink is jetted at a dot density of about 180.times.254 dots or more per inch per color, each dot of about 80 picoliters. A conveyor moves the printed fabric from the printing station through a UV curing station where a UV curing light head moves either with the print head or independent of the print head to expose the deposited drops of UV ink with a beam of about 300 watts per linear inch of energy, at a rate that applies about 1 joule per square centimeter. The conveyor then conveys the fabric throu…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.