Printer cartridge cleaning and maintenance device

Abstract

The device for cleaning and maintaining ink cartridges of a printer comprises a maintenance unit base, a horizontal rack and a vertical step-type guide rail; a carriage pushing slider assembly, comprising a carriage pushing slider, which is arranged above the maintenance unit base, guide columns are arranged on both sides of the slider, and a horizontal guide mechanism is arranged between the bottom and the maintenance unit base; an upper sliding gear, which is rotatably fixed above the carriage pushing slider, and a limiting column is also arranged on the upper sliding gear; a lower sliding gear, which is rotatably fixed below the carriage pushing slider, and the lower sliding gear is meshed with the horizontal rack on the maintenance unit base; a slider, which is provided with a longitudinal rack in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the carriage, the longitudinal rack is meshed with the upper sliding gear, a longitudinal guide mechanism is arranged between the slider and the carriage pushing slider, and a limiting member cooperating with the limiting column is arranged on the bottom surface; a scraper, which is fixed on the slider; a horizontal reset member, one end of which is fixed on the carriage pushing slider, and the other end is fixed on the maintenance unit base, so that the carriage pushing slider returns to an unused state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a cleaning and maintaining device for a printer ink box. Background Art

[0002] The existing cleaning and maintenance mechanism is linked in the direction of the carriage movement and then cleans the nozzle part. The cleaning mechanism and the nozzle of the nozzle are arranged in a horizontal manner for cleaning. In addition, the longitudinal cleaning is carried out by another driving force.

[0003] The above-mentioned existing cleaning and maintenance mechanism may mix the ink on the scraper blade to the adjacent nozzle when cleaning horizontally. When cleaning vertically, since the scraper blade and the carriage move in a perpendicular direction, the movement of the scraper blade requires other driving force, so the structure is complex and the cost is high. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies of the prior art and provide a printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device with a simple structure and low cost.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above problems is:

[0006] Printer cartridge cleaning and maintenance device, including

[0007] The maintenance unit base is provided with a horizontal rack in the direction of movement of the carriage, and a vertical step-type guide rail is provided on the frame parallel to the horizontal rack. The maintenance unit base is fixed on the printer;

[0008] The carriage pushes the slider assembly, including

[0009] The carriage pushes the slider, which is arranged above the maintenance unit base. Guide posts are arranged on both sides of the carriage push slider and are placed on the vertical step-type guide rails of the maintenance unit base. A horizontal guide mechanism is arranged between the bottom of the carriage push slider and the maintenance unit base.

[0010] A pushing part is arranged at the right end of the carriage pushing the slider, after the carriage moves to this position, the pushing part pushes the carriage pushing the slider forward;

[0011] The upper sliding gear is rotatably fixed above the carriage pushing slider in the vertical direction, and a limit column is also arranged in the vertical direction of the upper sliding gear;

[0012] A lower sliding gear is rotatably fixed below the carriage push slider in a vertical direction, and the lower sliding gear is meshed with a transverse rack on the base of the maintenance unit;

[0013] The slider is provided with a longitudinal rack in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage, the longitudinal rack is meshed with the upper sliding gear, a longitudinal guide mechanism is provided between the slider and the slider pushed by the carriage, and a limiter is provided on the bottom surface to cooperate with the limit column;

[0014] a scraper, fixed on the slide;

[0015] A horizontal reset member, one end of which is horizontally fixed on the carriage push slider, and the other end is horizontally fixed on the maintenance unit base. Through the restoring action of the horizontal reset member, the slider and the carriage push slider are restored to the starting position;

[0016] When cleaning and maintaining the printer ink cartridge, the carriage moves to the right, hits the push part, and drives the carriage to push the slider to the right. The lower sliding gear meshes with the rack on the maintenance unit base to rotate the lower sliding gear, thereby driving the upper sliding gear to rotate. The upper sliding gear meshes with the longitudinal rack on the slider to drive the slider to slide longitudinally, so that the horizontal movement of the carriage pushing the slider becomes the longitudinal movement of the slider to achieve a 90-degree turn of motion, thereby driving the longitudinal movement of the scraper on the slider to complete the scraping action of the scraper on the carriage nozzle;

[0017] After the carriage moves to the left, the horizontal reset member provides a restoring force when resetting to reset the maintenance device.

[0018] More specifically, the horizontal reset member is a spring, one end of which is fixed to another reset member fixing portion of the slider, and the other end of which is fixed to the reset member fixing portion of the maintenance unit base. The spring may also be a component with elastic restoring force.

[0019] More specifically, the horizontal guiding mechanism and the longitudinal guiding mechanism are both guide rail and guide seat mechanisms, and may also be other guiding mechanisms.

[0020] Preferably, a moisturizing component is further provided, including a moisturizing cover bracket, a moisturizing cover, and a support spring. The moisturizing cover bracket is detachably fixed on the slider, and the moisturizing cover is detachably fixed on the moisturizing cover bracket. A support spring is provided between the moisturizing cover bracket and the slider. When the moisturizing cover rises, the support spring presses the nozzle to cover the nozzle, so that the nozzle can be moisturized all the time, and the moisturizing cover and the moisturizing cover bracket can be conveniently replaced. When the scraper finishes scraping ink, the upper support limit column enters the arc limit portion to lock the carriage and the carriage-pushing slider to move together, and the carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider to continue to move right, and the carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider to rise through the step-type slide rail on the base of the maintenance unit, driving the slider and the moisturizing cover fixed thereon to rise, and a pressure is provided through the moisturizing cover bracket and the support spring to ensure the airtightness between the ink cartridge and the moisturizing cover.

[0021] Preferably, the moisturizing cover comprises a colored moisturizing cover and a black moisturizing cover, so that the colored nozzle and the black nozzle can be moisturized respectively.

[0022] Preferably, the bottom limiter of the slider is an arc-shaped limiter, which cooperates with the limiter column to ensure that the moisturizing cover and the nozzle are aligned in relative position up and down.

[0023] Preferably, a horizontal reset assembly is also provided, which includes a rocker arm and a torsion spring. The middle of the rocker arm is sleeved on the lateral axis of the carriage pushing slider and can rotate sideways. The lower end of the rocker arm is placed in a curved guide groove of the maintenance unit base. One end of the torsion spring is fixed on the rocker arm, and the other end is fixed on the carriage pushing slider. The upper end of the rocker arm exceeds the upper plane of the carriage pushing slider. When the carriage moves to above the carriage pushing slider, the upper end of the rocker arm can be pressed down.

[0024] The advantages of the present invention are that the printer carriage can be used as a power source to push the carriage to push the slider to move horizontally, and the longitudinal ink scraping action and cleaning and maintenance action can be realized without additional power. Moreover, the entire structure is simple. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device in a normal state (when not in use) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to an embodiment of the present invention when the ink cartridge is in the moisturizing position.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an exploded view of an ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of a maintenance unit base according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of a carriage pushing a sliding block viewed from the back in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 6 It is a bottom view of the ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of the front view of the sliding block pushed by the carriage in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the back side of the slider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Fig. 9 It is a top view of the ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A-A section view.

[0035] Fig.11 It is a diagram showing the coordination between the ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device and the carriage according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, the printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device includes a maintenance unit base 4, a carriage pushing slider 8, a slider 5, and a return spring 13.

[0038] The maintenance unit base 4 is provided with a positioning hole 45 and is fixed to the printer base (not shown) by screws.

[0039] A transverse rack 41 is provided on the maintenance unit base 4 in the direction of movement of the carriage, and cooperates with the lower sliding gear 9 .

[0040] The two sides of the above-mentioned horizontal rack 41 are slider guide strips 42, which cooperate with the slide groove 82 at the bottom of the slider 8 pushed by the carriage. Figure 5 , constituting a horizontal guiding mechanism between the maintenance unit base 4 and the carriage pushing slider 8, which can guide the carriage pushing slider 8 to move horizontally and smoothly.

[0041] The above-mentioned horizontal guiding mechanism can also be other guiding mechanisms, such as a guide rail and slider guiding mechanism.

[0042] Vertical step-type guide rails 47 and 48 are respectively arranged on the frames 43 and 44 in the maintenance unit base 4 which are parallel to the horizontal racks, and cooperate with the guide posts 81 on both sides of the carriage push slider 8 to form a guiding mechanism, and the carriage push slider 8 is raised and lowered in the maintenance unit base 4 due to the steps in the guide rails.

[0043] A spring fixing portion 46 is provided at the front of the maintenance unit base 4, and one end of the spring 13 serving as a horizontal return member is fixed thereto.

[0044] A swing rod slide rail 49 is also provided at the front of the maintenance unit base 4, and its relationship with the swing rod 11 will be described in detail later.

[0045] like Figure 3 , 5 As shown, the carriage pushes the slider assembly, including

[0046] The carriage pushes the slider 8 , which is arranged above the maintenance unit base 4 , and the bottom slide groove 82 cooperates with the slider guide strip 42 , so that the carriage pushes the slider 8 to move smoothly on the maintenance unit base 4 .

[0047] Guide posts 81 are arranged on both sides of the carriage push slider 8, which cooperate with the step-type guide rails 47 and 48 of the maintenance unit base 4, so that the carriage push slider 8 can move smoothly on the maintenance unit base 4 and can also make the carriage push slider 8 rise and fall relative to the maintenance unit base 4.

[0048] The bottom back of the carriage push slider 8 is provided with a guide groove 82. Figure 5The guide groove 82 is mounted on the slider guide strip 42 of the maintenance unit base 4, and the two constitute a longitudinal guiding mechanism, so that the carriage pushes the slider 8 to move smoothly on the maintenance unit base 4.

[0049] A pushing portion 85 is provided at the right end of the carriage pushing slider 8. After the carriage moves to this position, the pushing portion 85 pushes the carriage pushing slider 8 forward.

[0050] The upper sliding gear 7 is rotatably fixed above the carriage pushing slider 8 by screws in the vertical direction, and a limiting column 71 is also arranged in the vertical direction of the upper sliding gear.

[0051] The lower sliding gear 70 is rotatably fixed below the carriage pushing slider 8 in the vertical direction by screws, and the lower sliding gear 70 is meshed with the transverse rack 41 on the base of the maintenance unit.

[0052] A guide rail 89 is also provided in the middle of the carriage pushing slider 8, which, together with the positioning column 59 on the back of the slider 5, also constitutes another longitudinal guiding mechanism, so that the slider 5 moves more smoothly and the slider 5 can also be positioned on the carriage pushing slider 8.

[0053] A lateral shaft 86 is also provided on the front side of the carriage pushing the slider 8. The middle part of the rocker arm 11 is rotatably fixed on the lateral shaft 86 by a screw. The lower end 111 of the rocker arm enters the swing rail 49 of the maintenance unit base 4. The carriage 2 pushes the upper end 112 of the rocker arm 11 to make the carriage push the slider 8 onto the upper plane.

[0054] The above-mentioned swing slide rail 49 is a curved slide rail, so that the lower end 111 of the swing rod moves outward during the process of rotation due to force, causing the upper end 112 of the swing rod 11 to move downward. In this way, the carriage pushes the swing rod 11, so that after the carriage pushes the slider 8 to reset, the swing rod 11 can be separated from the carriage, and the carriage and the swing rod 11 will not interfere with each other during printing.

[0055] The slider 5 is provided with a longitudinal rack 51 in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the carriage, and the longitudinal rack 51 is meshed with the upper sliding gear 7.

[0056] The bottom surface of the sliding block 5 is also provided with an arc-shaped limiting portion 52 which cooperates with the limiting column 71 of the upper sliding gear 7 .

[0057] Guide posts 53 are also provided on both sides of the slider 5. The guide posts 53 are inserted into the vertical guide rails 87 on both sides of the slider 8 to form a longitudinal guide mechanism, so that the slider 5 moves more smoothly.

[0058] Another positioning column 59 is also provided in the middle of the back of the slider 5 in the vertical direction, which is inserted into the guide rail 89 in the middle of the slider 8 to form another longitudinal guide mechanism. Figure 7 , 8 .

[0059] The scraper 10 is fixed on the upper surface of the slider 5 and is used to scrape away the waste ink accumulated on the nozzles.

[0060] The horizontal return spring 13 has one end fixed to another spring fixing portion 55 of the carriage pushing slider 8, and the other end fixed to the spring fixing portion 46 of the maintenance unit base 4. Through the restoring action of the horizontal return spring 13, the slider 5 and the carriage pushing slider 8 return to the starting position.

[0061] A horizontal response component is also provided, including:

[0062] The middle part of the swing rod 11 is sleeved on the support shaft 86 of the carriage push slider 8 and is fixed by screws, and the lower part 111 is limited in the guide groove 49 on the maintenance unit base 4, so that the lower part can be driven to move together by pushing the upper part;

[0063] Another horizontal return spring 12 is sleeved on the swing rod 11, one end 121 is fixed to the upper part 112 of the swing rod 11, and the other end 122 is fixed to the fixed part 88 of the carriage push slider 8, as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 .

[0064] The moisturizing assembly includes a black moisturizing cover assembly 3 and a color moisturizing cover assembly 9, so that the color nozzle and the black nozzle can be moisturized respectively.

[0065] The black moisturizing cover assembly 3 includes a moisturizing cover bracket 33, a moisturizing cover 31, and a support spring 32. The moisturizing cover bracket 33 is detachably fixed to the slider 5 by a buckle 331 at its end. The moisturizing cover 31 is directly inserted into the groove at the head of the moisturizing cover bracket 33 and is detachably fixed to the moisturizing cover bracket 33. A support spring 32 is arranged between the moisturizing cover bracket 33 and the slider 5. When the moisturizing cover rises, it covers the nozzle, and the support spring 32 can press the nozzle tightly, so that the nozzle can be moisturized all the time, and the moisturizing cover and the moisturizing cover bracket can be easily replaced.

[0066] The colored moisturizing cover assembly 9 is similar in structure and function to the black moisturizing cover assembly 3, and includes a moisturizing cover bracket 92, a moisturizing cover 91, and a support spring 93. The moisturizing cover bracket is detachably fixed to the slider, and the moisturizing cover is detachably fixed to the moisturizing cover bracket. A support spring is arranged between the moisturizing cover bracket and the slider. When the moisturizing cover rises, it covers the nozzle, so that the nozzle can be moisturized all the time. When necessary, the moisturizing cover and the moisturizing cover bracket can be conveniently replaced.

[0067] like Fig.11As shown, when the printer ink cartridge is cleaned and maintained, the carriage 2 moves to the right, hits the pushing portion 85, and drives the carriage to push the slider 8 to the right. The lower sliding gear 9 engages with the rack on the maintenance unit base 4 to rotate the lower sliding gear 9, thereby driving the upper sliding gear 7 to rotate. The upper sliding gear 7 engages with the longitudinal rack 51 on the slider 5 to drive the slider 5 to slide longitudinally, so that the horizontal movement of the carriage push slider 8 is transformed into the longitudinal movement of the slider 5 to achieve a 90-degree turn of movement, thereby driving the longitudinal movement of the scraper 10 on the slider 5, completing the scraping action of the scraper 210 on the carriage nozzle.

[0068] When the scraper 210 finishes scraping the ink, the limiting column 71 of the upper slider gear 7 enters the arc-shaped limiting portion 52 on the slider 5 and locks the carriage and the carriage-pushing slider 8, so that the carriage and the carriage-pushing slider 8 move together, and the carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider 8 to continue to move right, and the carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider 8 to rise through the step-type slide rail on the maintenance unit base 4, driving the slider 5 and the black moisturizing cover 31 and the color moisturizing cover 91 fixed thereon to rise, and a pressure is provided through the moisturizing cover bracket and the support springs 32 and 93 to ensure the airtightness between the ink cartridge and the moisturizing cover.

[0069] After the carriage 2 moves to the left, the horizontal return spring 13 provides a restoring force when it is reset, so that the maintenance device is reset.

[0070] When the carriage runs at a fast speed, the carriage pushes the maintenance unit rocker 11 to drive the carriage to push the slider 8 to move, so that the whole mechanism is reset. The maintenance unit rocker spring 12 provides a torsion force to push the maintenance unit rocker 11 downward to ensure that after resetting, the carriage will not hit the maintenance unit rocker 11 when printing.

[0071] In this embodiment, the horizontal direction refers to the direction of movement of the carriage, the longitudinal direction refers to the direction on the horizontal plane perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage, and the vertical direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the moving surface of the carriage.

Claims

1. A printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device, characterized in that: include: The maintenance unit base is provided with a horizontal rack in the direction of movement of the carriage, and a vertical step-type guide rail is provided on the frame parallel to the horizontal rack. The maintenance unit base is fixed on the printer; The carriage pushes the slider assembly, including The carriage pushes the slider, which is arranged above the maintenance unit base. Guide posts are arranged on both sides of the carriage push slider and are placed on the vertical step-type guide rails of the maintenance unit base. A horizontal guide mechanism is arranged between the bottom of the carriage push slider and the maintenance unit base. A pushing part is arranged at the right end of the carriage pushing the slider, after the carriage moves to this position, the pushing part pushes the carriage pushing the slider forward; The upper sliding gear is rotatably fixed above the carriage pushing slider in the vertical direction, and a limit column is also arranged in the vertical direction of the upper sliding gear; A lower sliding gear is rotatably fixed below the carriage push slider in a vertical direction, and the lower sliding gear is meshed with a transverse rack on the base of the maintenance unit; The slider is provided with a longitudinal rack in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage, the longitudinal rack is meshed with the upper sliding gear, a longitudinal guide mechanism is provided between the slider and the slider pushed by the carriage, and a limit piece cooperating with the limit column is provided on the bottom surface of the slider; a scraper, fixed on the slide; A horizontal reset member, one end of which is horizontally fixed on the carriage push slider, and the other end is horizontally fixed on the maintenance unit base. Through the restoring action of the horizontal reset member, the slider and the carriage push slider are restored to the starting position; When cleaning and maintaining the printer ink cartridge, the carriage moves to the right, hits the push part, and drives the carriage to push the slider to the right. The lower sliding gear meshes with the rack on the maintenance unit base to rotate the lower sliding gear, thereby driving the upper sliding gear to rotate. The upper sliding gear meshes with the longitudinal rack on the slider to drive the slider to slide longitudinally, so that the horizontal movement of the carriage pushing the slider becomes the longitudinal movement of the slider to achieve a 90-degree turn of motion, thereby driving the longitudinal movement of the scraper on the slider to complete the scraping action of the scraper on the carriage nozzle; After the carriage moves to the left, the horizontal reset member provides a restoring force when resetting to reset the maintenance device.

2. The printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The horizontal reset member is a spring.

3. The printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The horizontal guiding mechanism and the longitudinal guiding mechanism are both guide rail and guide seat mechanisms.

4. The printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A moisturizing component is also provided, including a moisturizing cover bracket, a moisturizing cover, and a support spring. The moisturizing cover bracket is detachably fixed on the slider, and the moisturizing cover is detachably fixed on the moisturizing cover bracket. A support spring is provided between the moisturizing cover bracket and the slider. When the moisturizing cover rises, the support spring presses the nozzle to cover the nozzle. When the scraper finishes scraping ink, the limit column enters the limit part to lock the carriage and the carriage-pushing slider to move together. The carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider to continue to move right, and the carriage pushes the carriage-pushing slider to rise through the step-type slide rail on the base of the maintenance unit, driving the slider and the moisturizing cover fixed thereon to rise, and a pressure is provided by the moisturizing cover bracket and the support spring to ensure the airtightness between the ink cartridge and the moisturizing cover.

5. The printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The moisturizing cover comprises a colored moisturizing cover and a black moisturizing cover.

6. The printer ink cartridge cleaning and maintenance device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that: The bottom surface limiting member of the slider is an arc-shaped limiting portion.

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