External ink supply system and ink-jet printing system

Abstract

The invention relates to an external ink supply system and an ink-jet printing system, the external ink supply system comprises an ink supply assembly and an air pressure control device, and the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in each ink barrel in the ink supply assembly; the ink supply assembly comprises a temporary storage barrel which is arranged close to the ink box and used for being communicated with the ink box of the printing device; the ink supply barrel is arranged outside the printing device, and the ink supply barrel communicates with the temporary storage barrel; the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in the ink supply barrel and the air pressure in the buffer barrel, so that the air pressure in the ink supply barrel is larger than that in the buffer barrel, and the functional liquid enters the buffer barrel from the ink supply barrel. And the air pressure in the buffer barrel is larger than that in the ink box, so that the functional liquid enters the ink box from the buffer barrel. The functional liquid in the ink supply barrel is fed into the buffer barrel and then is fed into the ink box of the printing device through the buffer barrel, so that the ink supply distance between the buffer barrel and the ink box is shortened, bubbles entering the ink box are reduced, the ink supply response is faster, and the ink supply amount is more accurately controlled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of inkjet printing, and in particular to an external ink supply system and an inkjet printing system. Background Art

[0002] Inkjet printing technology has been widely used in many traditional fields. In recent years, it has gradually been applied in flexible device fields such as OLED, RFID, thin-film solar cells, wearable flexible devices, PCB, smart skin, etc. The flexible electronics manufacturing process combining flexible electronics and inkjet printing is gaining more attention.

[0003] Inkjet printing is performed on an inkjet printing device. When working, the ink material used by the inkjet printing device is transported to the print head through the ink supply system, and then the ink material is evenly printed on the glass substrate through the print head to form the film layer structure required for the process. It can be seen that the ink supply system is an important component of the inkjet printing device, and whether the ink supply system is reasonably designed is directly related to the printing quality of the inkjet printing device.

[0004] In the related art, ink is stored in an ink cartridge, and a pump or air pressure is used to control the functional liquid in the ink cartridge to be supplied to the nozzle. In order to achieve continuous ink supply to the nozzle, it is also necessary to supply ink to the ink cartridge to ensure that the functional liquid in the ink cartridge is sufficient to ensure continuous ink supply to the nozzle. Generally, an ink barrel is arranged outside the printing device, and the functional liquid in the ink barrel is supplied to the ink cartridge by controlling the air pressure in the ink barrel and the ink cartridge. Since the ink barrel is arranged outside, it is also convenient to replace the ink barrel without stopping the machine to ensure sufficient functional liquid.

[0005] However, when printing on large-size panels, the overall size of the printing device is large. Since the ink barrel is arranged outside the printing device, the distance between the ink barrel and the ink cartridge is long, so the pipeline between the ink barrel and the ink cartridge is long. When supplying ink to the ink cartridge by air pressure, due to the long distance of the functional liquid delivery, in the process of delivering the functional liquid from the ink barrel to the ink cartridge by controlling the air pressure, bubbles are easily generated in the pipeline, and the bubbles are introduced into the ink cartridge, affecting the quality of the functional liquid in the ink cartridge; due to the long delivery pipeline, the functional liquid delivery process takes time, resulting in the failure to supply ink to the ink cartridge in time; in addition, there is a lot of functional liquid left in the pipeline. When the supply to the ink cartridge is stopped, the functional liquid in the pipeline will enter the ink cartridge together, so the amount of functional liquid supplied to the ink cartridge is difficult to control, and even overflow may occur. Summary of the invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide an external ink supply system and an inkjet printing system to solve the technical problems in the related art that when supplying ink to the ink cartridge, bubbles are easily filled into the ink cartridge, the functional liquid is not supplied in time, and the supply amount of the functional liquid is difficult to accurately control.

[0007] In a first aspect, an external ink supply system is provided, which includes an ink supply assembly and an air pressure control device, wherein the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in each ink barrel in the ink supply assembly; the ink supply assembly includes:

[0008] A cache bucket, the cache bucket is arranged close to the ink cartridge, and the cache bucket is used to communicate with the ink cartridge of the printing device;

[0009] An ink supply barrel, the ink supply barrel is arranged outside the printing device, and the ink supply barrel is connected to the buffer barrel;

[0010] Among them, the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in the ink supply barrel and the cache barrel, so that the air pressure in the ink supply barrel is greater than the air pressure in the cache barrel, so that the functional liquid enters the cache barrel from the ink supply barrel; and makes the air pressure in the cache barrel greater than the air pressure in the ink cartridge, so that the functional liquid enters the ink cartridge from the cache barrel.

[0011] In some embodiments, the air pressure control device includes:

[0012] A positive pressure component, the positive pressure component comprising a positive pressure gas source and a plurality of positive pressure pipelines, the positive pressure gas source being connected to the ink supply barrel and the buffer barrel respectively through the plurality of positive pressure pipelines;

[0013] A negative pressure component, the negative pressure component comprising a negative pressure gas source and a negative pressure pipeline, the negative pressure gas source is connected to the buffer bucket through the negative pressure pipeline;

[0014] The main pipeline, the positive pressure pipeline and the negative pressure pipeline are connected to one end of the main pipeline through a three-way joint, and the other end of the main pipeline is connected to the cache bucket.

[0015] In some embodiments, the negative pressure assembly further includes a debubble pipeline, and the negative pressure gas source is connected to the buffer bucket through the debubble pipeline;

[0016] The air pressure control device also includes a three-way valve for an air circuit, the debubble pipeline is connected to a first input end of the air circuit three-way valve, the positive pressure pipeline is connected to a second input end of the air circuit three-way valve, and the negative pressure pipeline and the main pipeline are connected to an output end of the air circuit three-way valve through the three-way joint; or, the negative pressure pipeline is connected to a first input end of the air circuit three-way valve, the positive pressure pipeline is connected to a second input end of the air circuit three-way valve, and the debubble pipeline and the main pipeline are connected to an output end of the air circuit three-way valve through the three-way joint.

[0017] In some embodiments, the ink supply assembly is provided in multiple groups, and the multiple groups of ink supply assemblies supply ink to the multiple ink cartridges respectively.

[0018] In some embodiments, a low liquid level sensor, a middle liquid level sensor and a high liquid level sensor are sequentially arranged in the cache bucket from low to high;

[0019] When the low liquid level sensor senses a signal, ink needs to be supplied to the cache barrel; when the middle liquid level sensor senses a signal, ink supply to the cache barrel is stopped; when the high liquid level sensor senses a signal, an alarm is sounded and ink supply to the cache barrel is stopped.

[0020] In some embodiments, the ink supply assembly further includes a filter, and the filter is installed on a pipeline connecting the ink supply barrel and the buffer barrel.

[0021] In some embodiments, the external ink supply system also includes a waste liquid barrel, the cache barrel and the ink supply barrel are both connected to the waste liquid barrel, and the air pressure control device is connected to the waste liquid barrel to control the air pressure in the waste liquid barrel to deliver the functional liquid in the cache barrel to the waste liquid barrel.

[0022] In some embodiments, the external ink supply system further includes a plurality of weighing sensors, and the weighing sensors are arranged at the bottom of the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel, so as to measure the weight of the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel to know the ink content in the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel.

[0023] In some embodiments, the external ink supply system further includes a temperature protection device, wherein the temperature protection device includes:

[0024] A temperature sensor, the temperature sensor is used to detect the temperature near the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel;

[0025] A fire extinguishing device, wherein the jet port of the fire extinguishing device is aimed at the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel;

[0026] Wherein, when the temperature measured by the temperature sensor is higher than the safe temperature, the fire extinguishing equipment is activated.

[0027] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided by this application include:

[0028] An embodiment of the present application provides an external ink supply system. Due to the arrangement of the buffer barrel, the ink in the ink supply barrel is first sent to the buffer barrel, and then sent from the buffer barrel to the ink cartridge of the printing device, so as to avoid the pipeline between the ink supply barrel and the ink cartridge being too far, making it easier to quickly supply the ink to the ink cartridge and the ink supply amount is easier to accurately control. Specifically, the cache barrel is arranged close to the ink cartridge, and the pipeline between the cache barrel and the ink cartridge is relatively short. When the ink cartridge needs to be refilled with ink, the air pressure inside the cache barrel and the ink cartridge is controlled by an air pressure control device, so that the functional liquid is driven from the cache barrel to the ink cartridge by pressure, and the ink supply distance is greatly shortened. It is not easy to generate bubbles in the pipeline between the ink cartridge and the cache barrel, thereby reducing the bubbles in the ink cartridge and ensuring the printing quality. In addition, the ink enters the ink cartridge from the cache barrel faster, the ink supply response speed is faster, and the ink supply efficiency is higher, so as to ensure normal printing. Furthermore, the pipeline between the cache barrel and the ink cartridge is relatively short, and there is less ink in the pipeline. When the functional liquid in the ink cartridge is supplied, the ink in the pipeline will not affect the total amount of functional liquid in the ink cartridge, thereby improving the accuracy of ink supply to the ink cartridge and making the ink supply amount more controllable.

[0029] Placing the ink supply barrel outside the printing device not only saves space inside the printing device, but also facilitates the subsequent replacement of the ink supply barrel or the direct addition of functional liquid into the ink supply barrel, so as to maintain the ink supply barrel in a state of sufficient functional liquid. In addition, the amount of functional liquid in the buffer barrel does not affect the printing process. The capacity of the buffer barrel is greater than the volume of the ink cartridge, so the accuracy of the ink supply in the buffer barrel is not high, and it is difficult to have the problem of ink overflow. After the functional liquid is transported to the buffer barrel over a long distance, the bubble liquid generated is stored in the buffer barrel, and the bubbles are processed at the buffer barrel to improve the quality of the functional liquid delivered to the ink cartridge. Therefore, the long-distance functional liquid transportation between the ink supply barrel and the buffer barrel will not affect the printing quality, and meet the long-distance ink supply requirements of large-size panel printing devices to support the printing device to process large-size panels.

[0030] In a second aspect, an inkjet printing system is provided, comprising the external ink supply system as described above.

[0031] Another embodiment of the present application provides an inkjet printing system. Since the inkjet printing system includes the external ink supply system, the beneficial effects of the inkjet printing system are consistent with the beneficial effects of the external ink supply system, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0033] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an external ink supply system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an external ink supply system with multiple ink supply assemblies provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a cache bucket provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] In the figure: 1. ink supply barrel; 2. buffer barrel; 201. low liquid level sensor; 202. middle liquid level sensor; 203. high liquid level sensor; 301. positive pressure air source; 302. positive pressure pipeline; 401. negative pressure air source; 402. negative pressure pipeline; 403. debubbling pipeline; 5. main pipeline; 6. three-way valve of air circuit; 7. filter; 8. waste liquid barrel; 9. ink receiving tray; 10. solenoid valve; 11. proportional valve; 12. three-way valve of ink circuit; 13. manual valve; 14. ink cartridge. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0038] The embodiment of the present application provides an external ink supply system and an inkjet printing system, which delivers the functional liquid of the ink supply barrel into the buffer barrel, and then delivers it to the ink cartridge of the printing device from the buffer barrel, so as to shorten the ink supply distance between the buffer barrel and the ink cartridge, reduce the bubbles entering the ink cartridge, and achieve faster ink supply response and more accurate ink supply quantity control. The present application solves the technical problems in the related art that when supplying ink to the ink cartridge, it is easy to fill the bubbles into the ink cartridge, the functional liquid is not supplied in time, and the supply quantity of the functional liquid is difficult to accurately control.

[0039] Reference Figure 1 An external ink supply system includes an ink supply assembly and an air pressure control device, wherein the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in each ink barrel in the ink supply assembly to utilize the air pressure difference in different ink barrels to realize the transfer of functional liquid.

[0040] Reference Figure 1 The ink supply assembly includes a buffer barrel 2 and an ink supply barrel 1. The buffer barrel 2 is arranged near the ink cartridge 14. The buffer barrel 2 is used to communicate with the ink cartridge 14 of the printing device. The ink supply barrel 1 is arranged outside the printing device, and the ink supply barrel 1 is connected with the buffer barrel 2. After the ink supply barrel 1 delivers the functional liquid to the buffer barrel 2, the buffer barrel 2 delivers the functional liquid to the ink cartridge 14.

[0041] The volume of the buffer barrel 2 is smaller than that of the ink supply barrel 1, so it is convenient to arrange it inside the printing device and close to the ink cartridge 14 of the printing device. The ink supply barrel 1 is larger in volume and can hold a large amount of functional liquid inside. It is placed outside the printing device, and the ink supply barrel 1 is used to supply ink to the buffer barrel 2, and then the buffer barrel 2 supplies ink to the ink cartridge 14. The ink supply barrel 1 can be replaced or the functional liquid can be supplied to the ink supply barrel 1 to ensure that the functional liquid supply demand of the buffer barrel 2 can be continuously met.

[0042] The air pressure control device controls the air pressure in the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2 to change the air pressure state in the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2. Specifically, the air pressure in the ink supply barrel 1 is greater than the air pressure in the buffer barrel 2, so that the functional liquid is sent from the ink supply barrel 1 to the buffer barrel 2 by using the air pressure difference, and the air pressure in the buffer barrel 2 is greater than the air pressure in the ink cartridge 14, so that the functional liquid is supplied to the ink cartridge 14.

[0043] With this arrangement, due to the arrangement of the buffer barrel 2, the ink in the ink supply barrel 1 is first sent to the buffer barrel 2, and then sent from the buffer barrel 2 to the ink cartridge 14 of the printing device, so as to avoid the pipeline between the ink supply barrel 1 and the ink cartridge 14 being too far, making it easier to quickly supply the ink to the ink cartridge 14, and the ink supply amount is easier to accurately control. Specifically, the buffer barrel 2 is arranged close to the ink cartridge 14, and the pipeline between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is relatively short. When the ink cartridge 14 needs to be refilled with ink, the air pressure inside the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is controlled by an air pressure control device, so that the functional liquid is driven from the buffer barrel 2 to the ink cartridge 14 by pressure, and the ink supply distance is greatly shortened. It is not easy to generate bubbles in the pipeline between the ink cartridge 14 and the buffer barrel 2, thereby reducing the bubbles in the ink cartridge 14 and ensuring the printing quality; in addition, the ink enters the ink cartridge 14 faster from the buffer barrel 2, the ink supply response speed is faster, and the ink supply efficiency is higher, so as to ensure normal printing; further, the pipeline between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is relatively short, and the ink in the pipeline is relatively less. When the functional liquid in the ink cartridge 14 is supplied, the ink in the pipeline will not affect the total amount of the functional liquid in the ink cartridge 14, thereby improving the accuracy of ink supply to the ink cartridge 14 and making the ink supply amount more controllable.

[0044] The ink supply barrel 1 is placed outside the printing device, which not only saves space inside the printing device, but also facilitates the subsequent replacement of the ink supply barrel 1 or the direct addition of functional liquid into the ink supply barrel 1, so as to maintain the ink supply barrel 1 in a state of sufficient functional liquid. In addition, the amount of functional liquid in the buffer barrel 2 does not affect the printing process. The capacity of the buffer barrel 2 is greater than the volume of the ink cartridge 14, so the accuracy of the ink supply in the buffer barrel 2 is not high, and it is difficult to have the problem of ink overflow. After the functional liquid is transported to the buffer barrel 2 over a long distance, the bubbles generated are also stored in the buffer barrel 2. The bubbles are processed at the buffer barrel 2 to improve the quality of the functional liquid delivered to the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, the long-distance functional liquid transportation between the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2 will not affect the printing quality, and meet the long-distance ink supply requirements of the large-size panel printing device to support the printing device to process large-size panels.

[0045] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 Specifically, the air pressure control device includes a positive pressure component, a negative pressure component and a main pipe 5. The positive pressure component is used to control the positive pressure in multiple ink barrels, and the negative pressure component is used to control the negative pressure in multiple ink barrels. The air pressure in the ink barrels is changed by positive pressure and negative pressure to achieve the air pressure difference between different ink barrels, and the air pressure control in the ink barrels is more flexible.

[0046] Specifically, the positive pressure assembly includes a positive pressure gas source 301 and a plurality of positive pressure pipelines 302, wherein the plurality of positive pressure pipelines 302 are respectively connected to different ink barrels, and the plurality of positive pressure pipelines 302 are all connected to the positive pressure gas source 301. In this embodiment, the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2 are both connected to the positive pressure pipeline 302 to apply positive pressure to the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2.

[0047] In this embodiment, the positive pressure gas source 301 is a nitrogen gas source to ensure that the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2 will not be oxidized when positive pressure is applied.

[0048] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The negative pressure assembly includes a negative pressure gas source 401 and a plurality of negative pressure pipelines 402. The plurality of negative pressure pipelines 402 are respectively connected to different ink barrels, and the plurality of negative pressure pipelines 402 are all connected to the negative pressure gas source 401. In this embodiment, the buffer barrel 2 is connected to the negative pressure pipeline 402 to apply negative pressure to the inside of the buffer barrel 2. In other embodiments, the ink supply barrel 1 is also connected to the negative pressure pipeline 402.

[0049] In this embodiment, the positive pressure gas source 301 is a vacuum generating device, which realizes negative pressure by pumping air.

[0050] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 , refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2Specifically, when the ink barrel is connected with the positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402, the positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402 are connected to one end of the main pipeline 5 through a three-way joint, and the other end of the main pipeline 5 is connected to the ink barrel, so as to reduce the number of pipelines directly connected to the ink barrel. In this embodiment, the positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402 are connected to one end of the main pipeline 5 through a three-way joint, and the other end of the main pipeline 5 is connected to the buffer barrel 2, so as to achieve positive and negative pressure regulation inside the buffer barrel 2.

[0051] With this arrangement, the main line 5 is used to connect the positive pressure line 302 and the negative pressure line 402 to the cache barrel 2, which reduces the pipeline connections on the cache barrel 2, simplifies the structure on the cache barrel 2, makes it easier to ensure the sealing state inside the cache barrel 2, and makes it easier to more accurately control the air pressure inside the cache barrel 2, thereby improving the accuracy of supplying the functional liquid from the cache barrel 2 to the ink cartridge 14.

[0052] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 , wherein the positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402 are both provided with a solenoid valve 10 to individually control the on-off of each positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402, so as to realize independent and precise control of each pipeline. The connection ends of the positive pressure gas source 301 and the negative pressure gas source 401 are also both provided with a solenoid valve 10 to control the on-off of the supply of the entire positive pressure and negative pressure. The positive pressure pipeline 302 and the negative pressure pipeline 402 are both provided with a proportional valve 11 to control the airflow on each route.

[0053] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The negative pressure assembly further includes a debubble pipeline 403, and the negative pressure gas source 401 is connected to the buffer barrel 2 through the debubble pipeline 403. Specifically, a solenoid valve 10 is also arranged on the debubble pipeline 403 to control the on and off of the debubble pipeline 403, and a proportional valve 11 is also arranged on the debubble pipeline 403 to control the gas flow rate.

[0054] With this arrangement, by additionally arranging the debubbling pipeline 403 , negative pressure is drawn into the buffer barrel 2 to perform a debubbling operation on the functional liquid in the buffer barrel 2 , so as to improve the quality of the functional liquid delivered to the ink cartridge 14 .

[0055] When removing bubbles, the negative pressure provided by the bubble removal pipeline 403 to the buffer barrel 2 is smaller than the negative pressure applied to the buffer barrel 2 by the negative pressure pipeline 402. By directly applying different negative pressures to the buffer barrel 2 through different pipelines, the air pressure in the buffer barrel 2 can be adjusted more directly and quickly. The process of increasing or decreasing the negative pressure is omitted, and the accuracy of air pressure control is improved.

[0056] It should be noted that if one pipeline is used to achieve two different states of negative pressure in the cache barrel 2, namely, the debubbling negative pressure and the functional liquid transfer negative pressure. When the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 is supplied to the cache barrel 2, it is necessary to gradually increase the airflow in the pipeline to increase the negative pressure in the cache barrel 2. Therefore, when the functional liquid is supplied to the cache barrel 2, the air pressure in the cache barrel 2 is unstable, and the amount of functional liquid is difficult to control. In addition, in the process of increasing the negative pressure in the cache barrel 2, time is required, so the cache barrel 2 cannot be inked in time, and the timeliness of inking is poor, and the ink cartridge 14 is prone to ink failure. During the debubbling operation, the airflow in the pipeline also gradually decreases. Therefore, when the debubbling operation starts, the negative pressure applied to the cache barrel 2 is relatively large, which can easily draw the functional liquid in the cache barrel 2 into the pipeline, causing air circuit failure.

[0057] Therefore, by arranging the debubbling pipeline 403 to debubble the buffer barrel 2, it is ensured that the air pressure is more stable, the functional liquid delivery is more stable, and the air circuit safety is higher.

[0058] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 Specifically, the air pressure control device also includes a three-way valve 6 for the air circuit, the debubble line 403 is connected to the first input end of the three-way valve 6 for the air circuit, the positive pressure line 302 is connected to the second input end of the three-way valve 6 for the air circuit, and the negative pressure line 402 and the main line 5 are connected to the output end of the three-way valve 6 for the air circuit through a three-way joint.

[0059] In this arrangement, the air circuit three-way valve 6 is used to switch the connection status between the debubble pipeline 403 and the positive pressure pipeline 302 and the main pipeline 5. On the one hand, the debubble pipeline 403 is connected to the buffer barrel 2 through the main pipeline 5, which simplifies the structure of the buffer barrel 2 and makes it easier to control the sealing state in the buffer barrel 2; on the other hand, the use of valve bodies is reduced, saving space.

[0060] In some embodiments, the negative pressure pipeline 402 is connected to the first input end of the gas circuit three-way valve 6, the positive pressure pipeline 302 is connected to the second input end of the gas circuit three-way valve 6, and the bubble removal pipeline 403 and the main pipeline 5 are connected to the output end of the gas circuit three-way valve 6 through a three-way connector.

[0061] There are multiple groups of ink supply components, and the multiple groups of ink supply components supply ink to multiple ink cartridges 14 respectively.

[0062] Specifically, multiple ink supply assemblies can be arranged according to the different types of ink required for printing. In this embodiment, three groups of ink supply assemblies are provided, and the three groups of ink supply assemblies respectively supply ink to three different ink cartridges 14 of the printing device. Preferably, the three ink supply assemblies respectively supply functional liquids of three colors: red, green and blue.

[0063] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3Among them, a low liquid level sensor 201, a middle liquid level sensor 202 and a high liquid level sensor 203 are arranged in the cache bucket 2 from low to high.

[0064] Specifically, when the low liquid level sensor 201 senses a signal, ink needs to be supplied to the buffer barrel 2. When the middle liquid level sensor 202 senses a signal, ink supply to the buffer barrel 2 is stopped. When the high liquid level sensor 203 senses a signal, an alarm is sounded and ink supply to the buffer barrel 2 is stopped.

[0065] In this configuration, a low liquid level sensor 201 is arranged to control the lowest liquid level in the buffer barrel 2, and the low liquid level is prompted to provide feedback that the functional liquid needs to be supplemented. A medium liquid level sensor 202 is arranged to provide the liquid level of the standard functional liquid to avoid overflow due to excessive supplementation of the functional liquid. A high liquid level sensor 203 is arranged to provide an alarm, so that it is discovered in time that there is too much functional liquid in the buffer barrel 2 and prompts to process it as soon as possible. In this embodiment, the alarm prompt includes an audible and visual alarm, etc.

[0066] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The ink supply assembly further includes a filter 7, which is installed on a pipeline connecting the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2.

[0067] In this arrangement, when the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 is sent to the buffer barrel 2, the functional liquid passes through the filter 7 to remove impurities and bubbles in the functional liquid before entering the buffer barrel 2 to improve the quality of the functional liquid.

[0068] Among them, electromagnetic valves 10 are arranged on the ink path between the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2, and on the ink path between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14, so as to control the opening and closing of the ink path.

[0069] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The external ink supply system further includes a waste liquid barrel 8, and the buffer barrel 2 and the ink supply barrel 1 are both connected to the waste liquid barrel 8. Solenoid valves 10 are arranged on the ink paths between the buffer barrel 2 and the waste liquid barrel 8, and between the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 to control the on and off of the ink paths.

[0070] The air pressure control device is connected to the waste liquid barrel 8 to control the air pressure in the waste liquid barrel 8 to deliver the functional liquid in the buffer barrel 2 to the waste liquid barrel 8. The functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 or the buffer barrel 2 is delivered to the waste liquid barrel 8 by forming an air pressure difference.

[0071] In this embodiment, the negative pressure pipeline 402 is connected to the waste liquid barrel 8 to provide a negative pressure environment in the waste liquid barrel 8, so that the functional liquid in other ink barrels can be pumped into the waste liquid barrel 8.

[0072] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2Specifically, in the ink path between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink supply barrel 1 , the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 are connected through the ink path three-way valve 12 .

[0073] Furthermore, valve bodies are arranged on both sides of the ink path three-way valve 12 in the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2, and the valve bodies include a manual valve 13 or a solenoid valve 10. The connection state of the buffer barrel 2, the ink supply barrel 1, and the waste liquid barrel 8 can be cut off at will through the two valve bodies.

[0074] With this arrangement, by simply connecting the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 and supplying ink to the waste liquid barrel 8 through the ink supply barrel 1, the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 can be sampled to determine whether the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 meets the demand, thereby ensuring the printing quality.

[0075] Furthermore, the waste liquid barrel 8 is also connected to an ink receiving tray 9 of the low-frequency printing area to collect the functional liquid of the low-frequency printing.

[0076] Optionally, the external ink supply system further comprises a plurality of weighing sensors, and weighing sensors are arranged at the bottom of the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 .

[0077] In this arrangement, by measuring the weight of the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8, the ink content in the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 can be known, and whether the ink supply barrel 1 or the waste liquid barrel 8 needs to be replaced can be known.

[0078] The ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 are both arranged in an ink box, and the ink box is arranged outside the printing device to provide a placement position for the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8.

[0079] The external ink supply system further includes a temperature protection device, which includes a temperature sensor and a fire extinguishing device. The temperature sensor is used to measure the temperature near the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8, and the fire extinguishing device is used to cool the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 or extinguish the open fire at the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8.

[0080] It should be noted that the functional liquid has a low ignition point, generally around 42 degrees. When the functional liquid in the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 flows through the air pressure difference, the temperature of the functional liquid is easily increased, which poses a fire risk.

[0081] In this embodiment, the temperature sensor is installed in the ink box and is used to detect the temperature near the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 .

[0082] The jetting port of the fire extinguishing device is aimed at the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8. The fire extinguishing device includes a fire extinguisher.

[0083] In this way, when the temperature measured by the temperature sensor is higher than the safe temperature, the fire extinguishing device is activated to reduce the temperature at the ink supply barrel 1 and the waste liquid barrel 8 or extinguish the open fire to ensure safety. In this embodiment, the safe temperature includes 40 degrees.

[0084] An embodiment of the present application provides an external ink supply system. Due to the arrangement of the buffer barrel 2, the ink in the ink supply barrel 1 is first sent to the buffer barrel 2, and then sent from the buffer barrel 2 to the ink cartridge 14 of the printing device, so as to avoid the pipeline between the ink supply barrel 1 and the ink cartridge 14 being too far, making it easier to quickly supply the ink to the ink cartridge 14, and the ink supply amount is easier to accurately control. Specifically, the buffer barrel 2 is arranged close to the ink cartridge 14, and the pipeline between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is relatively short. When the ink cartridge 14 needs to be refilled with ink, the air pressure inside the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is controlled by an air pressure control device, so that the functional liquid is driven from the buffer barrel 2 to the ink cartridge 14 by pressure, and the ink supply distance is greatly shortened. It is not easy to generate bubbles in the pipeline between the ink cartridge 14 and the buffer barrel 2, thereby reducing the bubbles in the ink cartridge 14 and ensuring the printing quality; in addition, the ink enters the ink cartridge 14 faster from the buffer barrel 2, the ink supply response speed is faster, and the ink supply efficiency is higher, so as to ensure normal printing; further, the pipeline between the buffer barrel 2 and the ink cartridge 14 is relatively short, and the ink in the pipeline is relatively less. When the functional liquid in the ink cartridge 14 is supplied, the ink in the pipeline will not affect the total amount of the functional liquid in the ink cartridge 14, thereby improving the accuracy of ink supply to the ink cartridge 14 and making the ink supply amount more controllable.

[0085] The ink supply barrel 1 is placed outside the printing device, which not only saves space inside the printing device, but also facilitates the subsequent replacement of the ink supply barrel 1 or the direct addition of functional liquid into the ink supply barrel 1, so as to maintain the ink supply barrel 1 in a state of sufficient functional liquid. In addition, the amount of functional liquid in the buffer barrel 2 does not affect the printing process. The capacity of the buffer barrel 2 is greater than the volume of the ink cartridge 14, so the accuracy of the ink supply in the buffer barrel 2 is not high, and it is difficult to have the problem of ink overflow. After the functional liquid is transported to the buffer barrel 2 over a long distance, the bubble liquid generated is stored in the buffer barrel 2, and the bubbles are processed at the buffer barrel 2 to improve the quality of the functional liquid delivered to the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, the long-distance functional liquid transportation between the ink supply barrel 1 and the buffer barrel 2 will not affect the printing quality, and meet the long-distance ink supply requirements of the large-size panel printing device to support the printing device to process large-size panels.

[0086] Another embodiment of the present application provides an inkjet printing system, comprising the external ink supply system as described above.

[0087] Another embodiment of the present application provides an inkjet printing system. Since the inkjet printing system includes the external ink supply system, the beneficial effects of the inkjet printing system are consistent with the beneficial effects of the external ink supply system, which will not be repeated here.

[0088] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0089] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0090] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. An external ink supply system, characterized in that: It includes an ink supply assembly and an air pressure control device, wherein the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in each ink barrel in the ink supply assembly; the ink supply assembly includes: A cache bucket, the cache bucket is arranged close to the ink cartridge, and the cache bucket is used to communicate with the ink cartridge of the printing device; An ink supply barrel, the ink supply barrel is arranged outside the printing device, and the ink supply barrel is connected to the buffer barrel; Among them, the air pressure control device controls the air pressure in the ink supply barrel and the cache barrel, so that the air pressure in the ink supply barrel is greater than the air pressure in the cache barrel, so that the functional liquid enters the cache barrel from the ink supply barrel; and makes the air pressure in the cache barrel greater than the air pressure in the ink cartridge, so that the functional liquid enters the ink cartridge from the cache barrel.

2. The external ink supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air pressure control device comprises: A positive pressure component, the positive pressure component comprising a positive pressure gas source and a plurality of positive pressure pipelines, the positive pressure gas source being connected to the ink supply barrel and the buffer barrel respectively through the plurality of positive pressure pipelines; A negative pressure component, the negative pressure component comprising a negative pressure gas source and a negative pressure pipeline, the negative pressure gas source is connected to the buffer bucket through the negative pressure pipeline; The main pipeline, the positive pressure pipeline and the negative pressure pipeline are connected to one end of the main pipeline through a three-way joint, and the other end of the main pipeline is connected to the cache bucket.

3. The external ink supply system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The negative pressure assembly further includes a debubble pipeline, and the negative pressure gas source is connected to the buffer barrel through the debubble pipeline; The air pressure control device also includes a three-way valve for an air circuit, the debubble pipeline is connected to a first input end of the air circuit three-way valve, the positive pressure pipeline is connected to a second input end of the air circuit three-way valve, and the negative pressure pipeline and the main pipeline are connected to an output end of the air circuit three-way valve through the three-way joint; or, the negative pressure pipeline is connected to a first input end of the air circuit three-way valve, the positive pressure pipeline is connected to a second input end of the air circuit three-way valve, and the debubble pipeline and the main pipeline are connected to an output end of the air circuit three-way valve through the three-way joint.

4. The external ink supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The ink supply assembly is provided with a plurality of groups, and the plurality of groups of ink supply assemblies supply ink to the plurality of ink cartridges respectively.

5. The external ink supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The buffer bucket is provided with a low liquid level sensor, a middle liquid level sensor and a high liquid level sensor in order from low to high; When the low liquid level sensor senses a signal, ink needs to be supplied to the cache barrel; when the middle liquid level sensor senses a signal, ink supply to the cache barrel is stopped; when the high liquid level sensor senses a signal, an alarm is sounded and ink supply to the cache barrel is stopped.

6. The external ink supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ink supply assembly also includes a filter, and the filter is installed on a pipeline connecting the ink supply barrel and the buffer barrel.

7. The external ink supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a waste liquid barrel, the cache barrel and the ink supply barrel are both connected to the waste liquid barrel, and the air pressure control device is connected to the waste liquid barrel to control the air pressure in the waste liquid barrel to deliver the functional liquid in the cache barrel to the waste liquid barrel.

8. The external ink supply system according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a plurality of weighing sensors, which are arranged at the bottom of the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel, so as to know the ink content in the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel by measuring the weight of the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel.

9. The external ink supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a temperature protection device, the temperature protection device comprising: A temperature sensor, the temperature sensor is used to detect the temperature near the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel; A fire extinguishing device, wherein the jet port of the fire extinguishing device is aimed at the ink supply barrel and the waste liquid barrel; Wherein, when the temperature measured by the temperature sensor is higher than the safe temperature, the fire extinguishing equipment is activated.

10. An inkjet printing system, characterized in that: Comprising the external ink supply system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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