Supply Channel of a Liquid Metal Ink Supply System

Abstract

The present invention relates to a supply channel of a liquid metal ink supply system, which includes an ink cartridge, a supply pipe, a liquid solenoid valve, and a Luer connector; the ink cartridge is located above the ink supply system device, and the liquid metal is located therein, and the supply process is completed by using its own weight; the supply pipe is connected to the lower part of the ink cartridge to provide ink for the printing path of the liquid metal; the liquid solenoid valve is connected to the supply pipe, and at least two Luer connectors are spliced to form the supply pipe. The supply pipe is composed of Luer connectors, and has the advantages of easy disassembly, raw material saving, reuse, not easy to deform, and improved airtightness.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a supply channel of a liquid metal ink supply system, which is used in a liquid metal printer. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous progress of printed electronics technology, conductive fluids represented by liquid metals have emerged, making it possible to print liquid metal flexible electronic circuits for making printed wires, which not only revolutionizes the manufacturing mode of traditional rigid electronic circuits of PCB (printed circuit board), but also greatly reduces the manufacturing time and cost of electronic circuits. Liquid metal printing technology has unique advantages in the rapid manufacturing of electronic devices such as flexible circuits, PCB (printed circuit board), and antennas, and has a very broad application prospect. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides a supply channel of a liquid metal ink supply system, which has the advantages of easy disassembly, raw material saving, reuse, not easy to deform, and improved airtightness.

[0004] The present invention provides a supply channel of a liquid metal ink supply system. The liquid metal is located in the ink cartridge and completes the supply process by its own weight; the supply pipe is connected to the lower part of the ink cartridge and is used to transport the liquid metal to the printer, and the liquid solenoid valve is connected to the supply pipe; the supply pipe is formed by a luer connector.

[0005] Further, the luer connector includes luer connector I and luer connector II, and luer connector I and luer connector II are two relatively installed luer connectors.

[0006] Further, it further includes a nozzle, which is connected to the lowermost part of the supply pipe, and the liquid metal completes printing through the nozzle.

[0007] Further, a filter is also connected above the nozzle. The filter is provided with a filter element, and the filter element is a silica gel sheet having round holes with a diameter less than or equal to 0.2 mm.

[0008] Further, the ink cartridge further includes an ink outlet, which is located at the bottom of the ink cartridge and is used to connect the supply pipe.

[0009] Further, the ink cartridge further includes an ink inlet and an ink drain port, and the ink inlet and the ink drain port are also located at the bottom of the ink cartridge. According to the liquid level height of the liquid metal in the ink cartridge, the liquid metal in the ink cartridge is input or discharged.

[0010] Further, the ink cartridge further includes a liquid level gauge and a liquid level control board. The liquid level gauge is located in the ink storage cavity of the ink cartridge, and the liquid level control board is located above the ink cartridge. The liquid level gauge and the liquid level control board jointly control the liquid level height of the liquid metal in the ink cartridge.

[0011] Further, the ink cartridge further includes a negative pressure connector located on the side wall of the ink cartridge, which communicates the ink storage chamber with an external air pressure source.

[0012] Advantages of the present invention:

[0013] In addition to serving as a connection, the luer connector also acts as a conveying pipeline. Compared with the prior art where only an ink tube is used for conveying, it has the advantages of easy disassembly, raw material saving, reuse, non-deformation, and improved airtightness. When the ink supply system device needs to be disassembled and cleaned, the luer connector can be easily disassembled. In the prior art, if the ink tube is disassembled, it is relatively difficult; most of the time, it has to be disassembled by destroying the old ink tube, which means that a new ink tube needs to be replaced every time it is cleaned, resulting in waste. The ink tube is prone to deformation during disassembly, leading to air leakage and ink leakage, while the luer connector can ensure good airtightness even after repeated disassembly and assembly. Description of the Drawings

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid metal ink supply system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid metal ink supply system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 is a top view, sectional views along A-A and B-B of the ink cartridge 1 in the liquid metal ink supply system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 is the relationship between pressure values in the liquid metal ink supply system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Reference numerals: 1 - ink cartridge, 2 - level gauge I, 3 - level gauge II, 4 - level control board, 5 - locking nut, 6 - negative pressure interface, 7 - ink inlet, 8 - ink drain port, 9 - ink outlet, 10 - luer connector I, 11 - liquid solenoid valve, 12 - luer connector II, 13 - filter, 14 - nozzle. Detailed Embodiments

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0021] It should be noted that the technical features in the embodiments of the present invention may be combined with each other without conflict. Specific embodiments:

[0023] See Figures 1-3 , the liquid metal ink supply system in the specific embodiments of the present invention mainly includes an ink cartridge 1, a liquid level gauge I 2, a liquid level gauge II 3, a liquid level control board 4, a lock nut 5, a negative pressure interface 6, an ink inlet 7, an ink drain 8, an ink outlet 9, a Luer connector I 10, a liquid solenoid valve 11, a Luer connector II 12, a filter 13, and a nozzle 14.

[0024] The ink cartridge 1 is located above the ink supply system, and the liquid metal is contained therein. The supply process is completed by its own weight. The interior of the ink cartridge 1 has two interconnected ink storage chambers separated by a wall portion and communicating at the bottom of the chamber. The two ink storage chambers are respectively provided with a liquid level gauge I 2 and a liquid level gauge II 3 to measure the liquid level heights H1 and H2 in the two ink storage chambers respectively. The actual liquid level height of the ink cartridge 1 is H, and H = (H1 + H2) / 2; the negative pressure interface 6 is located on the side wall of the ink cartridge 1 and communicates with one of the ink storage chambers; the ink inlet 7, the ink drain 8, and the ink outlet 9 are all located at the bottom of the ink cartridge 1. The ink inlet 7 and the ink drain 8 input or discharge the liquid metal in the ink cartridge 1 according to the change of the actual liquid level height H of the ink cartridge 1. The ink outlet 9 is connected to the supply channel to provide ink for the printing path of the liquid metal; the liquid solenoid valve 11 is connected to the supply pipeline to control the liquid metal in the supply channel; the nozzle 14 is connected to the bottom of the supply pipeline, and the liquid metal is printed through the nozzle 14.

[0025] The liquid metal ink supply system further includes a lock nut 5, and the liquid level gauge I 2 and the liquid level gauge II 3 are respectively fixed above the ink cartridge 1 through the lock nut 5.

[0026] Among them, the Luer connector I 10 and the Luer connector II 12 are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the liquid solenoid valve 11, jointly forming a supply pipeline. The Luer connector I 10 and the Luer connector II 12 not only play a connecting role but also act as a conveying pipeline. According to the actual supply needs and the design requirements of the machine size, the Luer connectors can be single or multiple, and supply channels are formed by splicing, without the need to use plastic tubes or other types of ink tubes to form a supply path. Compared with only using ink tubes for conveying in the prior art, it has the advantages of easy disassembly, raw material saving, reuse, not easy to deform, and improved airtightness. When the ink supply system needs to be disassembled and cleaned, the Luer connectors can be easily disassembled. In the prior art, if the ink tube is disassembled, it is relatively difficult, and most of the time, it has to be disassembled by damaging the old ink tube, which means that a new ink tube needs to be replaced every time it is cleaned, which is a waste; the ink tube is prone to deformation during disassembly, resulting in air leakage and ink leakage of the ink tube, while the Luer connectors can ensure good airtightness after repeated disassembly and assembly.

[0027] The working process of the liquid metal ink supply system in the specific embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

[0028] See Figure 1 , the ink cartridge 1 is divided into left and right two ink storage chambers, the two ink storage chambers are connected at the bottom, and the left and right two ink storage chambers are respectively equipped with a liquid level gauge I 2 and a liquid level gauge II 3, as well as a liquid level control board 4. In addition, the ink cartridge 1 is also provided with an ink inlet 7, an ink drain port 8, and an ink outlet 9.

[0029] The liquid metal ink enters the ink cartridge 1 from the ink inlet 7 on the left ink storage chamber. The liquid level gauge I 2 first starts to measure the liquid level height H1, and then the liquid metal ink flows into the right ink storage chamber through the ink channel connecting the left ink storage chamber and the right ink storage chamber. At this time, the liquid level gauge II 3 also starts to measure the liquid level height H2. The actual liquid level height H of the liquid metal in the ink cartridge 1 = (H1 + H2) / 2, and the preset liquid level height on the liquid level control board 4 is H0.

[0030] When H < H0, the liquid level in the ink cartridge 1 is on the low side, and the liquid metal continues to be conveyed through the ink inlet 7 until H = H0; when H > H0, the liquid level in the ink cartridge 1 is on the high side, and the liquid metal is discharged out through the ink drain port 8 until H = H0; when H = H0, the ink inlet 7 and the ink drain port 8 are closed, and H = H0 is always maintained.

[0031] See Figure 4, in the liquid metal ink supply system of the present invention, the ink cartridge 1 is above the print head 14. Therefore, the system adopts a negative pressure control method to balance the pressure generated by the gravity of the ink, so that the ink will not leak out of the print head 14. A negative pressure interface 6 is provided on the ink cartridge 1 to connect devices such as an air pump that can provide an air pressure source. The set pressure of the air pressure source is P2, the atmospheric pressure is P0, the resistance pressure of the system itself is P3, and the pressure generated by the liquid level difference from the ink cartridge 1 to the print head 14 is P1. The magnitude of the set pressure P2 is set according to P0, P3, and P1. From the force balance, P1 + P2 = P0 + P3 can be obtained. Since P1 is much larger than P3, P2 is less than the standard atmospheric pressure P0 and is vacuum or negative pressure.

[0032] Since P1 = ρgH, so P2 = P0 + P3 - P1, where: P1 is the pressure generated by the liquid level difference from the ink cartridge 1 to the print head 14; P2 is the set pressure of the air pressure source; P3 is the resistance pressure of the system itself; P0 is the atmospheric pressure.

[0033] If the system leaks air, ink leakage or dripping will occur at the print head 14. Therefore, a liquid solenoid valve 11 is added below the ink outlet 9. The solenoid valve 11 is in a closed state when it is not powered on and is in an open state when it is powered on. The purpose of adding the solenoid valve 11 is to prevent the liquid metal ink from leaking when the liquid metal ink supply system is not used for a long time or the system leaks air.

[0034] A filter 13 is also provided below the liquid solenoid valve 11. The filter 13 can not only filter out particulate impurities with a diameter exceeding 0.2 mm in the liquid metal ink, but also adsorb oxides in the liquid metal ink. The filter 13 needs to be replaced regularly. The filter element inside the filter 13 can be made of a silica gel sheet with round holes having a diameter less than or equal to 0.2 mm. Relevant experiments show that the silica gel sheet can adsorb oxides in the liquid metal.

Claims

1. A supply channel of a liquid metal ink supply system, characterized in that: The liquid metal is located in the ink cartridge (1) and completes the supply process by its own weight; The supply pipe is connected below the ink cartridge (1) and is used to convey the liquid metal to the printer; The supply pipe is formed by a Luer connector; It further includes a nozzle (14), which is connected at the bottom of the supply pipe. The liquid metal completes printing through the nozzle (14). A filter (13) is also connected above the nozzle (14). A filter element is provided in the filter (13), and the filter element is a silica gel sheet with round holes having a diameter less than or equal to 0.2 mm; The Luer connector includes a Luer connector I (10) and a Luer connector II (12), and the Luer connector I (10) and the Luer connector II (12) are two relatively installed Luer connectors; The ink cartridge (1) further includes an ink outlet (9), which is located at the bottom of the ink cartridge (1) and is used to connect the supply pipe; The ink cartridge (1) further includes an ink inlet (7) and an ink drain port (8). The ink inlet (7) and the ink drain port (8) are also located at the bottom of the ink cartridge (1), and the liquid metal in the ink cartridge (1) is input or discharged according to the liquid level height of the liquid metal in the ink cartridge (1); The ink cartridge (1) further includes a liquid level gauge and a liquid level control board (4). The liquid level gauge is located in the ink storage chamber of the ink cartridge (1), and the liquid level control board (4) is located above the ink cartridge (1). The liquid level gauge and the liquid level control board (4) jointly control the liquid level height of the liquid metal in the ink cartridge (1); The ink cartridge (1) further includes a negative pressure connector (6), which is located on the side wall of the ink cartridge (1) and communicates the ink storage chamber with an external air pressure source; The interior of the ink cartridge (1) is two interconnected ink storage chambers, separated by a wall portion. The two ink storage chambers are connected through an ink channel at the bottom inside the ink cartridge. The two ink storage chambers are respectively provided with a liquid level gauge I (2) and a liquid level gauge II (3).

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