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EP-4737122-A1 - SHEET EMBELLISHING SYSTEM AND METHOD AS WELL AS COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM

EP4737122A1EP 4737122 A1EP4737122 A1EP 4737122A1EP-4737122-A1

Abstract

A sheet embellishing system (10) that subjects a sheet to embellishment, while conveying the sheet, includes a varnish-discharging unit (46) that discharges and applies ultraviolet curable varnish to the sheet, a UV irradiation unit (48) that is movable to a first position (P1) and a second position (P2) downstream in a sheet conveying direction from the first position (P1) and upstream from a transfer device (16), and that performs irradiation by UV rays to the varnish through the varnish-discharging unit (46), and a position determining unit (22) that determines at which of the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated. The transfer device (16) executes transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by UV rays. A total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit (48) is smaller when the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be at the first position (P1) as compared to when determined to be at the second position (P2).

Inventors

  • OZAKI, NAOTO
  • TSUNODA, KAZUTAKA
  • KANEDA, Takanori

Assignees

  • Duplo Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251030

Claims (15)

  1. A sheet embellishing system (10) that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet, the sheet embellishing system (10) comprising: a varnish-discharging unit (46) that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet (UV) curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet; a UV irradiation unit (48) that is capable of being disposed at a first position (P1), and a second position (P2) that is on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet from the first position (P1) and on an upstream side in the conveying direction from a position at which a transfer device is disposed, and that performs irradiation of the varnish that is applied by UV rays; the transfer device that executes predetermined transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by the UV rays; and a position determining unit (22) that determines at which of the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated, wherein a total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit (48) is smaller in a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the first position (P1) as compared to a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the second position (P2).
  2. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 1, further comprising: a moving mechanism (49) that is configured to be capable of changing a position of the UV irradiation unit (48) between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2).
  3. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 2, wherein the moving mechanism (49) includes a slide rail (49A) that extends from the first position (P1) to the second position (P2), and a slider (49B) that is provided on the UV irradiation unit (48) and that is slidably movable between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) following the slide rail (49A).
  4. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claims 2 or 3, further comprising: an accepting unit (21) that accepts a first user input for selecting a first mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform full-curing of the varnish at the second position (P2), and a second user input for selecting a second mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform half-curing of the varnish at the first position (P1); and a position control unit (25) that controls the moving mechanism (49) to move the UV irradiation unit (48) to the second position (P2) in a case of accepting the first user input, and to move the UV irradiation unit (48) to the first position (P1) in a case of accepting the second user input.
  5. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the position determining unit (22) determines at which of the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated, on the basis of a sensing result of a position sensor (50) that senses that the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated at the first position (P1) and the second position (P2).
  6. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 5, further comprising: an accepting unit (21) that accepts a first user input for selecting a first mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform full-curing of the varnish at the second position (P2), and a second user input for selecting a second mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform half-curing of the varnish at the first position (P1); and an alarm unit (24) that issues a predetermined warning in at least one case of a case in which the first user input is accepted but the UV irradiation unit (48) is not sensed by the position sensor (50) as being situated at the second position (P2), and a case in which the second user input is accepted but the UV irradiation unit (48) is not sensed by the position sensor (50) as being situated at the first position (P1).
  7. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an accepting unit (21) that accepts a first user input for selecting a first mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform full-curing of the varnish at the second position (P2), and a second user input for selecting a second mode in which the UV irradiation unit (48) emits UV rays to perform half-curing of the varnish at the first position (P1), wherein the position determining unit (22) determines a position of the UV irradiation unit (48) on the basis of the user input regarding the mode to be executed, that was accepted by the accepting unit (21).
  8. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the sheet embellishing system (10) is configured such that a UV irradiation range is narrower when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the first position (P1), than when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the second position (P2).
  9. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 8, further comprising: a shielding member that has an opening through which UV rays emitted by the UV irradiation unit (48) pass when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the first position (P1), and that shields UV rays other than the UV rays passing through this opening.
  10. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 9, further comprising: an adjusting member that adjusts a size of the opening.
  11. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claims 1 to 7, wherein the sheet embellishing system (10) is configured such that a UV emission distance is longer when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the first position (P1), than when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the second position (P2).
  12. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claims 1 to 7, wherein a position of the UV irradiation unit (48) is higher when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the first position (P1), than when the UV irradiation unit (48) is at the second position (P2).
  13. The sheet embellishing system (10) according to Claim 12, further comprising: a height adjusting mechanism that adjusts a height of the UV irradiation unit (48) at the first position (P1) or at the second position (P2).
  14. A sheet embellishing method that uses a sheet embellishing system (10) that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet, and that includes a varnish-discharging unit (46) that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet, a UV irradiation unit (48) that is capable of being disposed at a first position (P1), and a second position (P2) that is on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet from the first position (P1) and on an upstream side in the conveying direction from a position at which a transfer device is disposed, and that performs irradiation of the varnish that is applied by UV rays, and the transfer device that executes predetermined transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by the UV rays, the sheet embellishing method comprising: determining at which of the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated; and controlling the UV irradiation unit (48) such that a total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit (48) is smaller in a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the first position (P1) as compared to a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the second position (P2).
  15. A computer-readable medium, containing instructions that, when executed by a computer installed in a sheet embellishing system (10) that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet including a varnish-discharging unit (46) that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet, a UV irradiation unit (48) that is capable of being disposed at a first position (P1), and a second position (P2) that is on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet from the first position (P1) and on an upstream side in the conveying direction from a position at which a transfer device is disposed, and that performs irradiation of the varnish that is applied by UV rays, and the transfer device that executes predetermined transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by the UV rays, cause the computer to execute: determining at which of the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) the UV irradiation unit (48) is situated; and controlling the UV irradiation unit (48) such that a total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit (48) is smaller in a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the first position (P1) as compared to a case in which the UV irradiation unit (48) is determined to be situated at the second position (P2).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to a sheet embellishing system, and a computer-readable medium. 2. Description of the Related Art Technology, in which transfer material such as foil or the like is transferred onto varnish applied to the surface of a sheet, is known. There also is known technology in which a transfer web is brought into close contact with varnish applied onto the surface of a sheet, thereby transferring surface features of the transfer web to the varnish. Such technology is capable of forming varnish-coated regions that are only coated by varnish, and transfer regions where transfer processing such as foil stamping or the like is executed on varnish, on the surface of the sheet. Varnish-coated regions are formed by, for example, performing full-curing of varnish in the varnish-coated regions, using a UV irradiation unit for full-curing, which performs complete full-curing of varnish. Transfer regions are formed by, for example, performing half-curing of varnish using a UV irradiation unit for half-curing, which performs curing of varnish to a half-cured state, at a level of not being completely cured, and while the transfer web is in close contact with this varnish in the half-cured state, performing full-curing of the varnish, using a separate UV irradiation unit. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-167109 describes such technology. In conventional sheet embellishing systems, there is a need to provide both a UV irradiation unit for full-curing of varnish-coated regions and a UV irradiation unit for half-curing of transfer regions. This has led to high costs of sheet embellishing systems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure has been made in light of the foregoing circumstances, and an exemplary object of an aspect thereof is to provide sheet embellishing technology that enables sheet embellishing to be performed at low costs. In order to solve the foregoing problem, a sheet embellishing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a sheet embellishing system that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet. The sheet embellishing system includes a varnish-discharging unit that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet (UV) curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet, a UV irradiation unit that is capable of being disposed at a first position, and a second position that is on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet from the first position and on an upstream side in the conveying direction from a position at which a transfer device is disposed, and that performs irradiation of the varnish that is applied by UV rays, the transfer device that executes predetermined transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by the UV rays, and a position determining unit that determines at which of the first position and the second position the UV irradiation unit is situated. A total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit is smaller in a case in which the UV irradiation unit is determined to be situated at the first position as compared to a case in which the UV irradiation unit is determined to be situated at the second position. A sheet embellishing method according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a sheet embellishing method that uses a sheet embellishing system that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet, and that includes a varnish-discharging unit that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet,a UV irradiation unit that is capable of being disposed at a first position, and a second position that is on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet from the first position and on an upstream side in the conveying direction from a position at which a transfer device is disposed, and that performs irradiation of the varnish that is applied by UV rays, andthe transfer device that executes predetermined transfer processing on the varnish irradiated by the UV rays, the sheet embellishing method includingdetermining at which of the first position and the second position the UV irradiation unit is situated, andcontrolling the UV irradiation unit such that a total light intensity of UV rays by which the varnish is irradiated by the UV irradiation unit is smaller in a case in which the UV irradiation unit is determined to be situated at the first position as compared to a case in which the UV irradiation unit is determined to be situated at the second position. Another aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable medium, containing instructions that, when executed by a computer installed in a sheet embellishing system that subjects a sheet to embellishment while conveying the sheet including a varnish-discharging unit that discharges varnish that is ultraviolet curable, and applies the varnish to the sheet,a UV irradiation unit that is