Ink path system and ink path air pressure control method

Abstract

The invention discloses an ink path system and an ink path air pressure control method. The ink path system comprises an ink bottle, an ink pipe and an air pressure adjusting assembly. The ink bottle comprises a bottle body, and the bottle body is provided with an inner cavity. The number of the ink bottles is two, and the two ink bottles are communicated through the ink pipe. The number of the air pressure adjusting assemblies is two, the two air pressure adjusting assemblies are correspondingly arranged on the two ink bottles respectively, the air pressure adjusting assemblies are arranged on the ink bottles respectively, then pressure control in the two bottles can be achieved, stable, continuous and high-precision ink flow is provided for the circulating type spray head, the structure is simple, and practicability is high. Therefore, the flow velocity precision of ink flowing is ensured, and the oscillation generated by a pump, the oscillation caused by air pressure control and the like can be easily controlled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of inkjet technology, and in particular, relates to an ink path system and an ink path air pressure control method. Background Art

[0002] The fluidity of ink is very important in high-end and high-precision printing equipment such as OLED inkjet printing or bio-printing. If the ink does not circulate for a long time, it will cause ink precipitation, agglomeration, and poor flow, which can easily lead to interruption of the inkjet process or unstable ink supply, and even block the nozzle of the printhead, seriously affecting the life of the printhead. There are many factors that affect the ink supply pressure in the printing equipment, such as fluctuations in the ink path air pressure, fluctuations in the ambient air pressure, etc. In the relevant technical solutions, the ink supply system design of the inkjet printing equipment is not perfect, and there is still a problem that the ink supply pressure cannot provide a stable and continuous ink flow, which cannot meet the needs of OLED inkjet printing. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present application is to provide an ink circuit system and an ink circuit air pressure control method, which can solve at least one of the above problems.

[0004] The first aspect of the present application provides an ink path system, including an ink bottle, an ink tube and an air pressure regulating assembly; the ink bottle includes a bottle body, and the bottle body is provided with an inner cavity; there are two ink bottles, and the two ink bottles are connected through the ink tube; there are two air pressure regulating assemblies, and the two air pressure regulating assemblies are respectively arranged on the two ink bottles, and the air pressure regulating assembly includes a cover body, a driving member and an elastic membrane; the cover body is arranged on the top of the bottle body, and the cover body is connected to the inner cavity of the bottle body; the driving member is arranged in the cover body and fixedly connected to the cover body, and the driving member is provided with a push rod; the elastic membrane includes an elastic outer edge and an elastic surface, the elastic outer edge is connected to the elastic surface, the elastic outer edge is fixed to the inner wall of the cover body, the elastic surface is arranged below the driving member, and the push rod is connected to the elastic surface.

[0005] Therefore, the present application has at least the following beneficial effects: by respectively arranging air pressure control components on the ink bottles and adjusting the air pressure control components, fast and high-frequency air pressure control inside the ink bottles can be achieved, thereby providing a stable, continuous and high-precision ink flow for the circulating nozzle, achieving high-precision pressure control, and thus ensuring the flow rate accuracy of the ink flow.

[0006] According to some embodiments of the present application, an air pressure sensor is also provided on the inner wall of the ink bottle.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present application, the air pressure regulating assembly is further provided with an air valve, which also includes an air valve connected to the cover body and is used to control the air pressure in the ink bottle by opening and closing the air valve.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, a liquid level sensor is further provided on the bottom and side wall of the ink bottle.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, the ink circuit system further includes an ink pump, and the two bottles are connected to the ink pump through the ink tubes respectively.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, it also includes a base and a nozzle, the two ink bottles and the ink pump are installed on the base, the ink tube is arranged in the base, the nozzle is arranged under the base and connected to the base, and the two ink bottles are connected to the nozzles respectively.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, the base includes an upper shell, a connecting part and a bottom shell from top to bottom, the upper shell and the bottom shell are connected by the connecting part, the ink bottle and the ink pump are installed on the upper shell, an ink inlet and an ink outlet are provided under the bottom shell, the ink tube includes a liquid inlet tube and a liquid outlet tube, one of the ink bottles is provided with a liquid outlet, one end of the liquid outlet tube is connected to the liquid outlet, the other end of the liquid outlet tube extends from the ink outlet and is connected to the nozzle; the other ink bottle is provided with a liquid inlet, one end of the liquid inlet tube is connected to the liquid inlet, and the other end extends from the ink inlet and is connected to the nozzle.

[0012] The second aspect of the present application also provides an ink circuit air pressure control method, comprising the following steps:

[0013] The ink circuit air pressure control method is used to control the ink circuit system as described above, and the method includes:

[0014] Obtaining a preset air pressure value of the ink bottle and an actual air pressure value in the ink bottle, and determining whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal;

[0015] When the preset air pressure value is not equal to the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present application, when the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, controlling the push rod of the driving member to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle body includes:

[0017] When the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, determining the magnitude relationship between the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value;

[0018] When the preset air pressure value is greater than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward to increase the air pressure in the bottle;

[0019] When the preset air pressure value is less than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move downward to reduce the air pressure in the bottle.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present application, the ink circuit air pressure control method further includes:

[0021] Obtain the ambient air pressure value and make a state judgment on the ambient air pressure value;

[0022] When the ambient air pressure value fluctuates up and down, the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value of the air pressure sensor are obtained to determine whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal;

[0023] When the preset air pressure value is not equal to the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle.

[0024] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be partially given in the following description, partially become apparent from the following description, or be learned through the practice of the present application. Other functions of the data processing method and device provided in this specification will be partially listed in the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the ink path system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the air pressure regulating assembly of the ink circuit system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the air pressure regulating assembly of the ink circuit system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a base of an ink circuit system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 A flow chart of the ink circuit air pressure control method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 Another flow chart of the ink circuit air pressure control method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following description provides specific application scenarios and requirements of this specification, with the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the contents of this specification. Various local modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of this specification. Therefore, this specification is not limited to the embodiments shown, but to the widest scope consistent with the claims.

[0032] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific example embodiments and are not restrictive. For example, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used herein, the singular forms "one", "an" and "the" may also include plural forms. When used in this specification, the terms "include", "comprise" and / or "contain" mean the existence of the associated integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the existence of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups or other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups may be added in the system / method. The terms "first", "second" and the like are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated.

[0033] In view of the following description, these and other features of the present specification, as well as the operation and function of the related elements of the structure, and the economy of the combination and manufacture of the parts can be significantly improved. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification. However, it should be clearly understood that the drawings are for illustration and description purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this specification. It should also be understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0034] The present application is described in detail below through specific embodiments.

[0035] Based on the above, refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3 : The embodiment of the present application provides an ink circuit system, including an ink circuit system, including an ink bottle 100, an ink tube 200 and an air pressure regulating assembly 300; the ink bottle 100 includes a bottle body, and the bottle body is provided with an inner cavity; there are two ink bottles 100, and the two ink bottles 100 are connected through the ink tube 200; there are two air pressure regulating assemblies 300, and the two air pressure regulating assemblies 300 are respectively arranged on the two ink bottles 100, and the air pressure regulating assembly 300 includes a cover body 310, a driving member 320 and an elastic membrane 330; The cover body 310 is arranged on the top of the bottle body, and the cover body 310 is connected to the inner cavity of the bottle body; the driving member 320 is arranged in the cover body 310 and fixedly connected to the cover body 310, and the driving member 320 is provided with a push rod 321; the elastic membrane 330 includes an elastic outer edge 332 and an elastic surface 331, the elastic outer edge 332 is connected to the elastic surface 331, the elastic outer edge 332 is fixed to the inner wall of the cover body 310, the elastic surface 331 is arranged below the driving member 320, and the push rod 321 is connected to the elastic surface 331.

[0036] In actual use, the two ink bottles 100 are respectively set as the main ink bottle and the circulating ink bottle. The driving member 320 can be a linear push rod motor. The end of the push rod 321 of the linear push rod motor is connected to the elastic surface 331 of the elastic membrane 330. The elastic membrane 330 can be a rubber membrane. The push rod 321 is driven to move by the driving motor, and then the rubber membrane can be pulled. When the vacuum degree in the ink bottle 100 needs to be increased, the push rod 321 moves upward, the rubber membrane is pulled upward, the volume in the ink bottle 100 increases, the air pressure decreases, and the vacuum degree increases. Conversely, when the vacuum degree in the ink bottle 100 needs to be reduced, the push rod 321 moves downward, the rubber membrane moves downward, the volume in the ink bottle 100 decreases, the air pressure increases, and the vacuum degree decreases. By adjusting the rubber membrane to move up and down, the preset pressure of the ink bottle 100 is quickly reached. At the same time, the speed of change of air pressure is related to the movement speed of the piston push rod 321.

[0037] In the related technical solutions, a corresponding air pressure pump is usually set on the ink circuit or ink bottles with different heights are set to adjust the pressure of the ink circuit. However, these methods have a strong delay in air pressure control and it is difficult to achieve high-speed and high-precision air pressure control. In order to keep the ink in the nozzle flowing continuously, the two ink bottles need to maintain a pressure difference to promote the ink to flow from the main ink bottle to the circulating ink bottle. The present application sets air pressure regulating components 300 on the ink bottles 100 respectively, thereby achieving pressure control in the two bottles, providing a stable, continuous and high-precision ink flow for the circulating nozzle 700. The structure is simple, and only two ink bottles are used to achieve the function of resisting shock or air pressure fluctuations that can only be achieved by four ink bottles in the related technical solution, thereby ensuring the flow rate accuracy of the ink flow.

[0038] In some embodiments, an air pressure sensor 500 is further provided on the inner wall of the ink bottle 100. When the air pressure in the ink path is disturbed and fluctuates, the air pressure needs to be fine-tuned, and the circulating ink bottle air pressure sensor 500 and the main ink bottle air pressure sensor 500 can quickly provide the control system with air pressure data in the air bottle, and the preset pressure of the ink bottle 100 can be quickly reached by adjusting the up and down movement of the rubber membrane.

[0039] In order to achieve macro air pressure control, in some embodiments, the air pressure regulating assembly 300 is further provided with an air valve 340, which is connected to the cover body 310 and is used to control the air pressure in the ink bottle 100 by opening and closing the air valve 340. The opening and closing of the air valve 340 is controlled by the control system, and the air valve 340 is used as a macro controller of the air pressure in the ink bottle 100. Generally, it is a normally closed valve and is only used when the air pressure of the ink bottle 100 needs to be adjusted significantly or slowly. Optionally, the air valve 340 can be connected to an air source or a vacuum source through an air pipe 350.

[0040] In some embodiments, the bottom and side walls of the ink bottle 100 are also provided with a liquid level sensor. The liquid level in the main ink bottle and the circulating ink bottle can be monitored, and by monitoring the liquid level changes, abnormal fluctuations in the flow rate can be discovered in time. For example, when the liquid level drops suddenly faster, it may mean that the flow rate of the ink tube 200 increases, which may be due to an increase in the ink supply pressure. When the liquid level suddenly rises, it may be due to abnormal conditions such as blockage of the ink tube 200. Therefore, when abnormal fluctuations in the liquid level are found, the flow rate and air pressure state can be judged more accurately, and then it can be checked whether there is a problem with the air pressure control, and the air pressure value in the main ink bottle or the circulating ink bottle can be adjusted accordingly to maintain a stable ink supply. Optionally, the sensor can also use an ultrasonic sensor.

[0041] In order to keep the ink in the circulating ink bottle from being too full and the ink in the main ink bottle from being too low, in some embodiments, the ink circuit system further includes an ink pump 600, and the two bottles are connected to the ink pump 600 through the ink tube 200. The ink pump 600 can use a peristaltic pump to pump the ink from the circulating bottle into the main ink bottle. It should be noted that the ink pump can be replaced according to actual needs, as long as the ink pump flow rate is within the upper and lower limits of the flow rate required by the nozzle, and the materials in contact with the ink pump and the ink meet the ink compatibility requirements, and there is no restriction here.

[0042] In some embodiments, a base 400 and a nozzle 700 are also included. Two ink bottles 100 and an ink pump 600 are installed on the base 400. The ink tube 200 is disposed in the base 400 and extends along the base. The nozzle 700 is disposed under the base 400 and connected to the base 400. The two ink bottles 100 are connected to the nozzles 700 respectively.

[0043] In some embodiments, the base 400 includes an upper shell 410, a connecting portion 420 and a bottom shell 430 from top to bottom, the upper shell 410 and the bottom shell 430 are connected by the connecting portion 420, the ink bottle 100 and the ink pump 600 are mounted on the upper shell 410, an ink inlet 431 and an ink outlet 432 are provided below the bottom shell 430, and the ink tube 200 includes a liquid inlet tube and a liquid outlet tube, wherein one ink bottle 100 is provided with a liquid outlet, one end of the liquid outlet tube is connected to the liquid outlet, and the other end of the liquid outlet tube extends from the ink outlet 432 and is connected to the nozzle 700; the other ink bottle 100 is provided with a liquid inlet, one end of the liquid inlet tube is connected to the liquid inlet, and the other end extends from the ink inlet 431 and is connected to the nozzle 700. In this way, the direction of ink flow is from the main ink bottle to the nozzle 700, the nozzle 700 to the circulating ink bottle, and finally from the circulating ink bottle to the main ink bottle.

[0044] The present application also provides an ink circuit air pressure control method, which is used to control the operation of the above ink circuit system, and includes the following steps:

[0045] S100, obtaining a preset air pressure value of the ink bottle and an actual air pressure value in the ink bottle, and determining whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal;

[0046] The preset air pressure value is the target air pressure value of the ink bottle, which is the target value initially set.

[0047] S200, when the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle. Thus, by dynamically adjusting the pressure in the ink bottle, the pressure in the ink bottle is accurately controlled, ensuring the stability and continuity of ink supply of the ink path system.

[0048] In another embodiment, since the ink circuit involved in the present application uses an ink pump 600, for example, when the rotation speed of the pump does not match the flow rate in the nozzle, this will cause the amount of ink in one side of the ink bottle to increase. When it reaches a certain level, the ink pump will accelerate under the control strategy, and the ink on the side with more ink will quickly decrease, causing the ink in the ink bottle on the side with a small amount of ink to increase. Then the pump will decelerate again, causing continuous oscillations, causing the volume of gas in the ink bottle to change, causing air pressure changes, affecting the process; and the ink pump itself will have flow fluctuations, that is, the ink pumped out will be pumped. In this way, improper control of the pump will cause oscillations in the flow of ink in the ink circuit. Oscillations will cause regular changes in the pressure in the ink bottle 100. At this time, after the circulating ink bottle air pressure sensor and the main ink bottle air pressure sensor obtain data changes, the pump oscillation can be offset by controlling the rubber membrane to move up and down.

[0049] In some embodiments, when the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle, including:

[0050] When the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, determining the magnitude relationship between the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value;

[0051] When the preset air pressure value is greater than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward to increase the air pressure in the bottle;

[0052] When the preset air pressure value is less than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move downward to reduce the air pressure in the bottle.

[0053] In actual use, the ink circuit system of the present application is mostly placed in the glove box. If the motion table in the glove box adopts an inflatable component such as an air flotation platform, and the air pressure change of the glove box is determined by the exhaust method of the glove box, a pressure relief valve is generally used, but the pressure relief valve will have overshoot when charging and discharging, so the air pressure fluctuation of the glove box will occur. Due to the delay of air pressure control, it is difficult to ensure that the air pressure of the glove box can always maintain a stable value, which affects the pressure change in the ink circuit, which will affect the spraying effect of the nozzle and the printing effect. Therefore, in some embodiments, the ink circuit air pressure control method also includes:

[0054] Obtain the ambient air pressure value and make a state judgment on the ambient air pressure value;

[0055] When the ambient air pressure value fluctuates up and down, the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value of the air pressure sensor are obtained to determine whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal;

[0056] When the preset air pressure value is not equal to the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle.

[0057] In this way, the pressure fluctuation in the glove box can be measured by setting up an additional ambient air pressure sensor 510, and then the fluctuation can be offset by combining the circulating ink bottle air pressure sensor and the main ink bottle air pressure sensor and using the up and down movement of the rubber membrane. Therefore, by controlling the rubber membrane, the pressure difference in the ink bottle can be kept stable and the pressure fluctuation in the glove box can be offset.

[0058] In summary, by setting air pressure control components on the ink bottles and adjusting the air pressure control components, it is possible to achieve fast and high-frequency air pressure control in the ink bottles, thereby providing a stable, continuous, and high-precision ink flow for the circulating nozzles, achieving high-precision pressure control, and thus ensuring the flow rate accuracy of the ink flow. Furthermore, when faced with the vibrations generated by the pump, the vibrations caused by the air pressure control, etc., they can also be easily controlled.

[0059] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device, or unit can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0060] The above is a description of a specific embodiment of the present specification. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recorded in the claims can be performed in an order different from that in the embodiments and still achieve the desired results. In addition, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific order or a continuous order to achieve the desired results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0061] In addition, certain terms in this specification have been used to describe embodiments of this specification. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment" and / or "some embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this specification. Therefore, it can be emphasized and should be understood that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, specific features, structures or characteristics may be appropriately combined in one or more embodiments of this specification.

[0062] Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments of the application disclosed herein are explanations of the principles of the embodiments of this specification. Other modified embodiments are also within the scope of this specification. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are only used as examples and not as limitations. Those skilled in the art can adopt alternative configurations according to the embodiments in this specification to implement the application in this specification. The embodiments of this specification are not limited to the embodiments accurately described in the application.

Claims

1. An ink path system, characterized in that: include: An ink bottle, the ink bottle comprising a bottle body, the bottle body being provided with an inner cavity; Ink tube, there are two ink bottles, and the two ink bottles are connected through the ink tube; An air pressure regulating assembly, wherein there are two air pressure regulating assemblies, and the two air pressure regulating assemblies are respectively arranged on the two ink bottles, and the air pressure regulating assembly comprises: A cover body, which is disposed above the bottle body and is communicated with the inner cavity of the bottle body; A driving member, which is disposed in the cover body and fixedly connected to the cover body, and the driving member is provided with a push rod; The elastic membrane comprises an elastic outer edge and an elastic surface, wherein the elastic outer edge is connected to the elastic surface, the elastic outer edge is fixed to the inner wall of the cover body, the elastic surface is arranged below the driving member, and the push rod is connected to the elastic surface.

2. An ink path system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the ink bottle is also provided with an air pressure sensor.

3. The ink path system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air pressure regulating assembly is also provided with an air valve, which is connected to the cover body and is used to control the air pressure in the ink bottle by opening and closing the air valve.

4. The ink path system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom and side wall of the ink bottle are also provided with liquid level sensors.

5. The ink path system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an ink pump, and the two bottles are connected to the ink pump through the ink tubes respectively.

6. An ink path system according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a base and a nozzle, the two ink bottles and the ink pump are installed on the base, the ink tube is arranged in the base, the nozzle is arranged below the base and connected to the base, and the two ink bottles are connected to the nozzles respectively.

7. An ink path system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The base includes an upper shell, a connecting portion and a bottom shell from top to bottom, the upper shell and the bottom shell are connected by the connecting portion, the ink bottle and the ink pump are installed on the upper shell, an ink inlet and an ink outlet are provided below the bottom shell, the ink tube includes a liquid inlet tube and a liquid outlet tube, one of the ink bottles is provided with a liquid outlet, one end of the liquid outlet tube is connected to the liquid outlet, the other end of the liquid outlet tube extends from the ink outlet and is connected to the nozzle; the other ink bottle is provided with a liquid inlet, one end of the liquid inlet tube is connected to the liquid inlet, and the other end extends from the ink inlet and is connected to the nozzle.

8. A method for controlling ink path air pressure, characterized in that: The ink circuit air pressure control method is used to control the operation of the ink circuit system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the method comprises: Obtaining a preset air pressure value of the ink bottle and an actual air pressure value in the ink bottle, and determining whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal; When the preset air pressure value is not equal to the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle.

9. The ink path air pressure control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: When the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle, including: When the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are not equal, determining the magnitude relationship between the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value; When the preset air pressure value is greater than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward to increase the air pressure in the bottle; When the preset air pressure value is less than the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move downward to reduce the air pressure in the bottle.

10. The ink path air pressure control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Obtain the ambient air pressure value and make a state judgment on the ambient air pressure value; When the ambient air pressure value fluctuates up and down, the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value of the air pressure sensor are obtained to determine whether the preset air pressure value and the actual air pressure value are equal; When the preset air pressure value is not equal to the actual air pressure value, the push rod of the driving member is controlled to move upward or downward to adjust the air pressure in the bottle.

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