Method and apparatus for ink jet printing on textiles
US6467898B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 30, 2001 |
| Grant date | Oct 22, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 30, 2021 |
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 partially cured with UV light 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 an amount of unpolymerized monomers and polymerization reactants and byproducts that is less than a food industry packaging standard of 100 PPM, and as low as 10 PPM. 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 multi-colored design under the control of a programmed controller. UV curable ink is jetted onto the fabric with a dot volume of about 75 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…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.