An inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces

Abstract

The present application discloses an inkjet mechanism for use on small-diameter workpieces. The inkjet mechanism for use on small-diameter workpieces includes a guide assembly and an inkjet assembly. The guide assembly includes a support rail, and the support rail includes a lifting portion. The inkjet assembly includes a plurality of motion units for inkjet printing. When the motion units move to the lifting portion, the motion units avoid the large-diameter portion of the tooling. Each motion unit passes over the workpiece mounted on the tooling. As the tooling drives the workpiece to rotate, each motion unit can spray ink on the surface of the workpiece, thereby completing the printing of the workpiece. The tooling has a large-diameter connecting portion, and the support rail of the guide assembly defines the motion path of each motion unit. The support rail is provided with a lifting portion corresponding to the large-diameter portion of the tooling. When the motion units move along the support rail to the position of the lifting portion, the motion units avoid the large-diameter portion of the tooling, preventing the motion units and the large-diameter portion of the tooling from touching each other, thereby ensuring that the small-diameter workpiece can be printed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of printing, and in particular to an inkjet mechanism applied to workpieces with small diameters. Background Art

[0002] During the surface printing process of the cylindrical workpiece, the workpiece needs to be placed on the tooling, and the tooling drives the workpiece to rotate. The inkjet mechanism can print on the surface of the workpiece when passing through the rotating workpiece.

[0003] When the diameter of the workpiece is small, the part of the tooling used to mount the workpiece also has a correspondingly smaller diameter, but the part of the tooling used to connect the rotating drive component needs to have a larger diameter, that is, the outer diameter of the tooling has multiple sizes.

[0004] To ensure the normal progress of the printing process, the inkjet mechanism needs to completely pass through the range of the workpiece during movement. However, the larger diameter part of the tooling will hinder the movement of the inkjet mechanism, making small-diameter workpieces difficult to fit into the current inkjet mechanism. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes an inkjet mechanism for use on a workpiece with a small diameter, which can avoid the large diameter portion of the workpiece through a lifting portion on a support rail.

[0006] According to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, an inkjet mechanism applied to a small-diameter workpiece includes a guide assembly and an inkjet assembly, the guide assembly includes a support rail, the support rail includes a lifting portion, and the height of the lifting portion gradually increases; the inkjet assembly includes a plurality of moving units for inkjet, each of the moving units is movably carried on the support rail, and when the moving unit moves to the lifting portion, the moving unit avoids the large-diameter part of the tooling.

[0007] The inkjet mechanism applied to small-diameter workpieces according to the embodiment of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects: the inkjet assembly includes a plurality of moving units, each moving unit passing over the workpiece mounted on the tooling, and since the tooling drives the workpiece to rotate, each moving unit can spray ink on the surface of the workpiece, thereby completing the printing of the workpiece; when the diameter of the workpiece and the loading part of the tooling is small, the tooling has a large-diameter connecting part, and the support rail of the guide assembly defines the movement path of each moving unit, and the support rail is provided with a lifting part corresponding to the large-diameter part of the tooling. When the moving unit moves along the support rail to the position of the lifting part, the moving unit avoids the large-diameter part of the tooling to avoid the moving unit and the large-diameter part of the tooling from touching each other, thereby ensuring that the small-diameter workpiece can be printed.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, the support rail also includes a first straight portion and a second straight portion, the lifting portion connects the first straight portion and the second straight portion, the height of the first straight portion is less than the height of the second straight portion, and the second straight portion is at the top of the large diameter part of the tooling.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, the guide assembly includes a first slide rail, the inkjet assembly includes a supporting component capable of moving along the first slide rail, and each of the moving units is movably disposed on the supporting component.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, the motion unit includes a mounting component, the mounting component is provided with a nozzle for inkjet, the mounting component is provided with a rolling component, and the rolling component abuts against the support rail.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, the motion unit further includes an elastic component, and the mounting component is connected to the supporting component via the elastic component.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present application, the mounting component is provided with a connecting rod, the supporting component is connected to a positioning component, the positioning component is provided with a guide structure, the connecting rod is inserted into the positioning component through the guide structure, and the elastic component is sleeved on the connecting rod.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the inkjet mechanism applied to small-diameter workpieces also includes a support plate, a second guide assembly is provided between the support plate and the guide assembly, and the guide assembly moves up and down relative to the support plate through the second guide assembly.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, the inkjet assembly also includes an inkjet housing, the inkjet housing is arranged on the supporting component, the moving unit is in the inner cavity of the inkjet housing, and the inkjet housing is provided with a height measuring device, and the height measuring device is used to measure the height of the inkjet assembly.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present application, the inkjet housing is provided with a light detection device, and the light detection device is used to provide light to the workpiece.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present application, the inkjet housing is provided with an anti-collision protection device, and the anti-collision protection device is arranged on the side of the inkjet assembly.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be given in part in the description below, and in part will become obvious from the description below, or will be learned through practice of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution disclosed in this application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments disclosed in this application, they are used to explain the technical solution disclosed in this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution disclosed in this application.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an inkjet mechanism applied to a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of an inkjet mechanism for a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application after an inkjet housing is opened;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a front view of an inkjet mechanism applied to a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of an inkjet mechanism for a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application, with the inkjet housing removed;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a front view of an inkjet mechanism for a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application, with the inkjet housing removed;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of an inkjet mechanism for a small-diameter workpiece according to an embodiment of the present application, in which a portion of the moving unit reaches the lifting portion and the supporting component is hidden;

[0025] Figure 7 This is a front view of an embodiment of the present application in which part of the moving unit of an inkjet mechanism applied to a small-diameter workpiece reaches the lifting part and the supporting component is hidden.

[0026] Reference numerals:

[0027] Tooling 101;

[0028] Guide assembly 200; lifting portion 201; first straight portion 202; second straight portion 203; first slide rail 204;

[0029] Inkjet assembly 300; support component 301; mounting component 302; nozzle 303; rolling component 304; elastic component 305; inkjet housing 306; support plate 307;

[0030] Height measuring device 401; light detection device 402; anti-collision protection device 403. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following describes in detail embodiments of the present application. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0032] In the description of this application, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientations, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on this application.

[0033] In the description of this application, "several" means more than one, "plurality" means more than two, "greater than," "less than," and "exceed" are understood to exclude the number itself, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the number itself. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is solely for the purpose of distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, implicitly specifying the number of the indicated technical features, or implicitly specifying the order of the indicated technical features.

[0034] In the description of this application, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, and connecting should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0035] In the description of this application, reference to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0036] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides an inkjet mechanism for small-diameter workpieces. The inkjet mechanism for small-diameter workpieces includes a guide assembly 200 and an inkjet assembly 300. The inkjet assembly 300 moves over the rotating workpiece and sprays ink onto the rotating workpiece, thereby completing the printing process. The workpiece is mounted on a fixture 101 and rotates under the drive of the fixture 101. The inkjet assembly 300 avoids the large-diameter portion of the fixture 101 through the guide assembly 200, preventing interference between the inkjet assembly 300 and the fixture 101, thereby ensuring normal printing.

[0037] Furthermore, the workpiece involved in this mechanism is a cylindrical workpiece with a small diameter. Specifically, the diameter of the workpiece is less than 30 mm.

[0038] At the same time, the tooling 101 involved in this mechanism is roughly formed into a columnar structure. The tooling 101 can be inserted into the inner cavity of the workpiece and fit tightly with the inner cavity of the workpiece, so that the tooling 101 and the workpiece form a whole. Specifically, the part of the tooling 101 that is inserted into the workpiece is called the loading part. It can be understood that the diameter of the workpiece is relatively small, and accordingly, the diameter of the tooling 101 is also relatively small. In addition, the tooling 101 needs to be connected to a rotation drive device to ensure that the tooling 101 rotates together with the workpiece. However, the tooling 101 is subject to the structural limitations of the rotation drive device and must have a large diameter portion for connecting to the rotation drive device, which is called a connecting portion.

[0039] In tooling 101, the diameter of the loading section where the workpiece is located is smaller than the diameter of the connecting section, and the inkjet assembly 300 needs to be close to the workpiece surface for printing. When the inkjet assembly 300 reaches the larger-diameter connecting section, the inkjet assembly 300, or the ink carriage, in a conventional inkjet mechanism cannot avoid it, easily causing interference between the inkjet assembly 300 and the connecting section. Therefore, conventional inkjet mechanisms are unable to print workpieces with diameters less than 30 mm. By providing a guide assembly 200 to avoid the connecting section of tooling 101, the present application is able to adapt to printing on small-diameter workpieces.

[0040] In some examples, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the guide assembly 200 includes a support rail, and the support rail includes a lifting portion 201. The guide assembly 200 uses the lifting portion 201 to force the inkjet assembly 300 to avoid the large-diameter connection portion.

[0041] Furthermore, the inkjet assembly 300 includes several inkjet motion units. It is worth noting that each motion unit is filled with a different color of ink, thereby printing a different color pattern on the workpiece surface. Due to the diverse pattern requirements on the workpiece surface, any color may be printed on the workpiece surface near a connection. Therefore, each motion unit is capable of moving to a position on the workpiece surface near a connection.

[0042] Each motion unit is supported by a support rail, and a lifting portion 201 raises the height of the support rail. The position of the lifting portion 201 corresponds to the connection portion of the tooling 101. When the motion unit reaches the position of the lifting portion 201, the motion unit raises its height to avoid the connection portion. Specifically, the motion units are arranged horizontally, side by side, and independently of each other. Each motion unit can move up and down independently, allowing each motion unit to reach a position on the workpiece surface close to the connection portion, meeting the requirements of multi-color printing.

[0043] In some examples, the guide assembly 200 includes a first slide rail 204 that is horizontally disposed, and the inkjet assembly 300 includes a support component 301 that is slidably connected to the first slide rail 204 and moves along the first slide rail 204 .

[0044] In some examples, the support rail further includes a first straight portion 202 and a second straight portion 203. The lifting portion 201 connects the first straight portion 202 and the second straight portion 203. The height of the first straight portion 202 is less than the height of the second straight portion. The lifting portion 201 gradually increases in height from the first straight portion 202 to the second straight portion 203. It is understood that the lifting portion 201 is arranged at an angle.

[0045] The second linear portion 203 is located at the top of the connection portion of the tooling 101, while the first linear portion 202 is located away from the tooling 101 and the workpiece. The motion unit moves from the first linear portion 202 to the lifting portion 201, clearing the connection portion of the tooling 101 on the lifting portion 201. Upon reaching the lifting portion 201, the motion unit has completed printing and begins to move away from the workpiece surface. After reaching the lifting portion 201, the motion unit moves further to the second linear portion 203.

[0046] In some examples, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the motion unit includes a mounting component 302. Specifically, the mounting component 302 includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion connected to each other.

[0047] The horizontal portion is provided with a nozzle 303 for inkjet printing, and a first guide assembly is provided between the vertical portion and the support member 301. Specifically, the first guide assembly can be a slide rail or slider mechanism. The first guide assembly is used to guide the movement unit to move up and down relative to the support member 301, that is, to move in the vertical direction. This ensures that the movement unit can also move up and down along the lifting portion 201 during horizontal movement, thereby avoiding the connection portion of the tooling 101.

[0048] Specifically, mounting component 302 is provided with a rolling component 304. As will be appreciated, rolling component 304 is located on the vertical portion of mounting component 302 and is in rolling contact with the support rail. When the motion unit moves horizontally along the support rail, rolling friction is generated between mounting component 302 and the support rail via rolling component 304, thereby ensuring smooth horizontal movement of mounting component 302. Furthermore, rolling component 304 utilizes a bearing, which is connected to mounting component 302 via a rotating shaft.

[0049] In some examples, the motion unit further includes an elastic component 305, through which the mounting component 302 is connected to the support component 301. Specifically, when the mounting component 302 is supported on the first straight portion 202 via the rolling component 304, the length of the elastic component 305 is relatively long, and the elastic force exerted by the elastic component 305 on the mounting component 302 is relatively small; when the mounting component 302 is supported on the lifting portion 201, the length of the elastic component 305 gradually decreases, and the elastic force exerted by the elastic component 305 on the mounting component 302 gradually increases; it is understood that when the mounting component 302 is supported on the second straight portion 203, the length of the elastic component 305 is relatively short, and the elastic force exerted by the elastic component 305 on the mounting component 302 is relatively large, thereby ensuring that the rolling component 304 always maintains close rolling contact with the support rail, preventing the rolling component 304 from detaching from the support rail.

[0050] Furthermore, when the moving unit descends from the second straight portion 203 along the lifting portion 201 to the first straight portion 202 , the elastic component 305 can drive the moving unit to return to a larger length. Specifically, the elastic component 305 is a spring.

[0051] In some examples, the mounting component 302 is provided with a connecting rod, and the supporting component 301 is connected with a positioning component, specifically, the positioning component is kept horizontal.

[0052] The positioning component is equipped with guide structures, the number of which is equal to the number of connecting rods. Specifically, the guide structures are formed as hole structures, and the shape of the hole structures corresponds to the outer diameter of the connecting rods. The connecting rods are inserted into the guide structures and can move up and down within the guide structures. The guide structures guide the connecting rods in vertical movement, preventing horizontal shaking of the connecting rods. Because the connecting rods are mounted on the mounting component 302, the guide structures also guide the mounting component 302 in vertical movement.

[0053] Specifically, when the elastic component 305 is a spring, the elastic component 305 is sleeved on the connecting rod.

[0054] In some examples, the inkjet mechanism for a small-diameter workpiece further includes a support plate 307 . The support plate 307 is fixed in position and is used to connect to the guide assembly 200 .

[0055] A second guide assembly is provided between the support plate 307 and the guide assembly 200. Specifically, the second guide assembly can be implemented as a slide rail or slider mechanism. The guide assembly 200 can be moved up and down relative to the support plate 307 via the second guide assembly, thereby adjusting the height of the guide assembly 200, and thus adjusting the height of the inkjet assembly 300, to accommodate the workpiece mounted on the tooling 101.

[0056] In some examples, the inkjet assembly 300 further includes an inkjet housing 306, which is disposed on the support component 301 and covers each moving unit in the inner cavity. It is understood that the inkjet housing 306 plays a certain protective role for each moving unit.

[0057] The inkjet housing 306 is provided with a height measuring device 401 , which is used to sense the height of the inkjet assembly 300 and guide the height adjustment process of the inkjet assembly 300 .

[0058] At the same time, a secondary ink path structure is fixedly provided inside the inkjet housing 306 , which is connected to each nozzle 303 and delivers ink of different colors to each nozzle 303 to ensure the printing requirements of different colors for the workpiece.

[0059] In some examples, the inkjet housing 306 is provided with a light detection device 402, which is used to provide light to the workpiece to complete the detection process.

[0060] In some examples, the inkjet housing 306 is provided with an anti-collision protection device 403 . The anti-collision protection device 403 is formed as a plate-shaped structure and is located on a side of the inkjet assembly 300 .

[0061] Specifically, when the inkjet assembly 300 moves from the first straight portion 202 to the second straight portion 203, the anti-collision protection device 403 is located in front of the inkjet assembly 300. If an obstacle unexpectedly appears in the movement path, the obstacle may cause a certain impact on the anti-collision protection device 403, but will not affect the various moving units inside the inkjet housing 306.

[0062] During the actual implementation process, first, the workpiece is placed on the tooling 101 to complete the loading of the workpiece, and the workpiece is ensured to be tightly connected to the tooling 101 so that the workpiece can rotate with the tooling 101; secondly, the guide assembly 200 is height-adjusted relative to the support plate 307 through the second guide assembly. During this process, the guide assembly 200 also drives the inkjet assembly 300 to adjust its height to the same extent so that the inkjet assembly 300 is suitable for the height of the workpiece; thirdly, the support component 301 moves horizontally along the first slide rail 204, and the moving unit on the support component 301 passes through the first straight portion 202, the lifting portion 201 and the second straight portion 203 in sequence. When the moving unit moves to the lifting portion 201, the moving unit is raised at a position on the surface of the workpiece close to the connection part, thereby avoiding the connection part of the tooling 101. Each moving unit follows this movement mode to ensure that each moving unit can move to a position on the surface of the workpiece close to the connection part, so that each color of ink can cover the entire position of the workpiece surface, thereby completing multi-color printing of small-diameter cylindrical workpieces.

[0063] In some optional embodiments, the functions / operations mentioned in the block diagram may not occur in the order mentioned in the operation diagram. For example, depending on the functions / operations involved, the two boxes shown in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously or the boxes can sometimes be executed in reverse order. In addition, the embodiments presented and described in the flow chart of the present application are provided in an exemplary manner for the purpose of providing a more comprehensive understanding of the technology. The disclosed method is not limited to the operations and logic flows presented herein. Optional embodiments are contemplated in which the order of the various operations is changed and the sub-operations described as a part of a larger operation are performed independently.

[0064] The embodiments of the present application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications can be made within the scope of knowledge possessed by ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the purpose of the present application. In addition, the embodiments of the present application and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other unless there is a conflict.

Claims

1. An inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces, characterized in that: include: A guide assembly, the guide assembly including a support rail, the support rail including a lifting portion, the height of the lifting portion gradually increasing; An inkjet assembly, the inkjet assembly comprising a plurality of motion units for inkjet, each of the motion units being movably supported on the support rail, and when the motion unit moves to the lifting portion, the motion unit avoids the large-diameter portion of the tooling; In which, the guide component includes a first slide rail, the inkjet component includes a supporting component that can move along the first slide rail, and each of the moving units can be arranged on the supporting component so as to be movable up and down; the moving unit includes an installation component, the installation component is provided with a nozzle for inkjet, and the installation component is provided with a rolling component, and the rolling component contacts the support rail.

2. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support rail further includes a first straight portion and a second straight portion, the lifting portion connects the first straight portion and the second straight portion, the height of the first straight portion is smaller than the height of the second straight portion, and the second straight portion is at the top of the large diameter portion of the tooling.

3. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motion unit further includes an elastic component, and the mounting component is connected to the supporting component via the elastic component.

4. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mounting component is provided with a connecting rod, the supporting component is connected with a positioning component, the positioning component is provided with a guide structure, the connecting rod is plugged into the positioning component through the guide structure, and the elastic component is sleeved on the connecting rod.

5. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inkjet mechanism for small-diameter workpieces further comprises a support plate, a second guide assembly is provided between the support plate and the guide assembly, and the guide assembly moves up and down relative to the support plate via the second guide assembly.

6. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inkjet assembly further includes an inkjet housing, which is disposed on the supporting component. The motion unit is located in the inner cavity of the inkjet housing. The inkjet housing is provided with a height measuring device for measuring the height of the inkjet assembly.

7. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inkjet housing is provided with a light detection device, and the light detection device is used to provide light to the workpiece.

8. The inkjet mechanism for small diameter workpieces according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inkjet housing is provided with an anti-collision protection device, and the anti-collision protection device is arranged on the side of the inkjet component.

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