A resin curing mechanism and a Braille printer

Abstract

This application relates to a resin curing mechanism and a Braille printer. The resin curing mechanism includes a printhead with an extended printhead; it also includes a UV light source and a dimming mask; wherein, the UV light source is disposed near the nozzle of the printhead, and a dimming mask for adjusting the aggregation of the UV light source is disposed above the UV light source; the Braille printer includes a resin curing mechanism that can increase the curing rate while ensuring UV resin curing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of printing equipment technology, and in particular to a resin curing mechanism and a Braille printer. Background Technology

[0002] Braille printing uses specialized equipment and software to output raised characters to form Braille. The core requirement is to ensure that the raised dots can be clearly touched and recognized. Currently, Braille printing equipment is widely used in educational institutions, libraries, homes, and commercial settings for batch document processing. When printing Braille, the equipment should produce smooth, rounded dots with a diameter-to-height ratio between 0.6 and 0.8 for a clearer tactile experience. Existing technologies primarily employ the following techniques:

[0003] 1. Mold stamping method: Used in the early days, it involves pressing out raised dots using a mold, but it is easily flattened and has now been largely phased out.

[0004] 2. Foaming printing method: The current mainstream method, which uses foaming ink to expand after heating to form raised dots, which has good durability and tactile feel.

[0005] 3. Thermoplastic molding method: The resin sheet is softened by heating to form bumps, which is suitable for drafting applications.

[0006] 4. Three-dimensional imitation method: This method uses a photocopier and special light to create raised areas, and is suitable for small-batch printing.

[0007] 5. UV-cured inkjet printing: UV-cured inkjet printing is a cutting-edge technology that enables high-precision, large-format printing with smooth, rounded characters and high efficiency. However, despite its superior quality, the latest UV-cured inkjet printing still has drawbacks. For example, longer UV curing times can affect printing speed, while shortening the curing time can lead to a deterioration in UV curing quality during printing and transportation. Often, the outer layer is cured while the inner layer is not, making the print prone to drying and denting under pressure, thus affecting print quality. Therefore, how to cure the resin quickly and with high quality is key to improving printer efficiency and quality. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address or partially address the problems existing in related technologies, this application provides a resin curing mechanism and a Braille printer that can increase the curing rate while ensuring UV resin curing.

[0009] This application discloses a resin curing mechanism, including a nozzle with an extended nozzle configuration; it also includes a UV light source and a dimming cover;

[0010] A UV light source is installed near the nozzle, and a dimming cover for adjusting the focusing of the UV light source is installed above the UV light source.

[0011] Optionally, the UV light source includes a light source plate and a miniature UV lamp; the light source plate is arranged in a ring shape and connected to the nozzle, and the miniature UV lamp is arranged above the light source plate.

[0012] Optionally, the light source board has a through hole in its center for the nozzle to extend out, and the nozzle is inserted into the through hole in the center of the light source board; a connecting rod is connected to the top of the light source board, and one end of the connecting rod is connected to the dimming cover.

[0013] Optionally, the connecting rod can be an adjustable telescopic rod.

[0014] Optionally, the dimming cover includes a focusing cover and a sliding sleeve; the focusing cover is arc-shaped and fixedly mounted on the sliding sleeve, which is slidably mounted on the nozzle.

[0015] Optionally, a drive mechanism is connected to the dimming cover to drive it to move up and down.

[0016] Optionally, the drive mechanism is configured as a telescopic device and connected to the sliding sleeve.

[0017] Optionally, the UV light source uses miniature UV lamps, specifically 5-micron LED-UV lamps, which are evenly arranged at the nozzle of the nozzle. Three wavelengths can be selected, with the LED-UV lamps for each wavelength set at intervals.

[0018] A Braille printer includes a resin curing mechanism.

[0019] Optionally, the printer is a printer in which the printhead is stationary while the substrate moves.

[0020] The technical solution provided in this application may include the following beneficial effects:

[0021] This device directly cures the printed bumps by placing a UV light source at the printhead. At the same time, the UV light emitted by the UV light source is focused and adjusted so that most of the light directly irradiates the printed bumps, thereby quickly curing the printed bumps and avoiding quality problems in the subsequent transportation of the bumps.

[0022] This device differs from other Braille printing curing methods in that it performs a curing process simultaneously with printing, followed by subsequent curing. This means that during actual operation, by the time all the raised dots on the substrate have been printed, the first printed dots have already undergone preliminary curing. This additional curing step during subsequent transport and curing reduces curing time and lowers the risk of raised dot sagging and flow deterioration, thereby improving overall print quality. It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not limit this application. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The above and other objects, features and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the more detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals generally represent the same components in the exemplary embodiments thereof.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure shown in one embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure shown in another embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure label:

[0027] 1. Spray nozzle;

[0028] 2. UV light source;

[0029] 21. Light source board; 22. Miniature UV lamp; 23. Connecting rod;

[0030] 3. Dimming cover; 31. Condenser cover; 32. Sliding sleeve;

[0031] 4. Drive mechanism;

[0032] 5. Connecting frame; 51. Ring plate; 52. Connecting shaft. Detailed Implementation

[0033] Embodiments of this application will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While embodiments of this application are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that this application may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make this application more thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of this application to those skilled in the art.

[0034] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used in this application to describe various information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0035] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and 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, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0036] Unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0037] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a resin curing mechanism and a Braille printer. The technical solutions of this application embodiment are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] like Figure 1 The resin curing mechanism shown includes an original printhead 1. In this application, the printhead 1 is extended to facilitate the installation of other components. Specifically, the mechanism also includes a UV light source 2 and a dimming cover 3. The UV light source 2 is positioned near the nozzle of the printhead 1, and a dimming cover 3, which adjusts the concentration of the UV light source 2, is positioned above it. Thus, by directly placing the UV light source 2 at the printhead 1, the printed Braille dots are directly and initially cured. Simultaneously, the UV light emitted by the UV light source 2 is concentrated and adjusted so that most of the light directly illuminates the printed dots, thereby quickly curing the printed Braille dots and preventing quality problems during subsequent transport. Unlike other Braille printing curing methods, this device performs a curing process simultaneously with printing, followed by subsequent curing steps. This means that during actual operation, when all the raised dots on the substrate are printed, the first printed dots have already undergone preliminary curing. This additional curing step during subsequent transport and curing reduces curing time and the risk of raised dot sagging and flow deterioration, thereby improving overall printing quality.

[0039] In one embodiment, due to the extremely small size of the printhead, traditional ultraviolet lamps are not suitable as the UV light source. Therefore, this application requires the use of novel miniature LED-UV lamps to directly place the light source at the printhead 1. One approach is to directly mount these lamps onto the printhead 1. Ideally, this method involves embedding the miniature UV lamp 22 into the printhead 1 to avoid interfering with its operation. Another approach is as follows... Figure 2 As shown, the UV light source 2 includes a light source plate 21 and a miniature UV lamp 22. The miniature UV lamp 22 is first arranged above and on the side of the light source plate 21. Then, the light source plate 21 is set in a ring shape and connected to the print head 1. This does not change the original structure of the print head and facilitates the placement of the UV lamp.

[0040] In one embodiment, connecting the UV light source 2 to the printhead 1 makes it inconvenient to replace the printhead 1. This application provides a design that is not integrated with the printhead 1. Specifically, the light source plate 21 has a through hole in its center for the printhead 1 to extend out, and the printhead 1 is inserted into the through hole in the center of the light source plate 21. A connecting rod 23 is connected to the top of the light source plate 21, and one end of the connecting rod 23 is connected to the dimming cover 3. In this way, the overall structure of the printhead is not affected and there is no contact with the printhead, which facilitates the replacement and maintenance of the printhead.

[0041] In one embodiment, the gap between the UV light source 2 and the printing bump has a significant impact on the printing quality. Therefore, in order to facilitate adjustment and prevent the UV light source 2 from getting too close to the bump and generating a temperature higher than the optimal curing temperature, the connecting rod 23 is a telescopic rod that can be extended and adjusted. Initially, when the temperature is low, the UV light source 2 can approach the printing bump to provide a suitable curing temperature. When high temperatures are generated after a long working time, the connecting rod 23 retracts to adjust the gap to prevent the temperature from getting too high. Therefore, a temperature sensor can be set at the appropriate position to monitor the temperature and use it as a control signal for adjustment.

[0042] In one embodiment, since the light emitted by the LED-UV lamp is not entirely direct light, an arc-shaped dimming cover 3 is designed to increase power and adjust the dimming point. Simultaneously, the nozzle of the nozzle 1 is designed to be conical or arc-shaped to prevent direct ultraviolet light from clogging the nozzle. Figure 2 As shown, the light-adjusting cover 3 includes an arc-shaped focusing cover 31 and a cylindrical sliding sleeve 32. The focusing cover 31 is arc-shaped and fixedly mounted on the sliding sleeve 32 to reflect and concentrate scattered light. The sliding sleeve 32 is slidably mounted on the nozzle 1. In this way, by focusing ultraviolet light with the focusing cover 31 and adjusting the focused light point by sliding the sliding sleeve 32 up and down to irradiate the protrusion, the light concentration increases the power and irradiation area, while reducing the amount of ultraviolet light irradiating the nozzle and preventing nozzle clogging.

[0043] In one embodiment, the focusing of the UV light source 2 will also change due to the adjustment of the UV light source 2. Therefore, it is necessary to make adaptive adjustments. In this application, a drive mechanism 4 is connected to the dimming cover 3 to drive it to move up and down. The drive mechanism 4 is set as a telescopic device and connected to the sliding sleeve 32. This allows the dimming cover 3 to be adjusted to achieve adaptive changes in the focusing point.

[0044] In one embodiment, since different UV resins have different wavelength requirements for ultraviolet light, the UV light source 2 uses a miniature UV lamp 22, which is a 5-micron LED-UV lamp. Of course, larger ones can also be used, but the maximum should not exceed 20 microns. They are evenly arranged at the nozzle of the nozzle 1, and the wavelength range is selected from short, medium and long wavelengths. The LED-UV lamps of each wavelength range are set at intervals, so that different wavelength irradiation can be achieved by turning on the lamps of the corresponding wavelengths.

[0045] In one embodiment, a Braille printer is provided that utilizes the resin curing mechanism mentioned in the above embodiments.

[0046] In one embodiment, the printer is one in which the printhead 1 is fixed while the substrate moves. This avoids the resin curing mechanism affecting the printhead. The resin curing mechanism is detachably fixed to the printer body at the printhead. Specifically, the connection is made via a connecting bracket 5, which includes a connecting shaft 52 and a ring plate 51 for fastening the drive mechanism 4. The ring plate 51 is fixedly connected to the connecting shaft 52, and the drive mechanism 4 is suspended below the ring plate 51 by screws. Three mechanisms can be provided if necessary, at least one of which is a telescopic mechanism, and the other two are guide shafts; alternatively, all three can be telescopic mechanisms.

[0047] Finally, it should be noted that in this document, relationships such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "include," "contain," or any other variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0048] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Various embodiments of this application have been described above. The above description is exemplary and not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles, practical applications, or improvements to the technology in the market of the embodiments, or to enable other those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A resin curing mechanism comprising a showerhead (1), characterized by: The nozzle (1) is elongated; further comprising a UV light source (2) and a light adjustment cover (3); The UV light source (2) comprises a light source plate (21) and a micro UV lamp (22); wherein the light source plate (21) is arranged in a ring shape, with a through hole in the center for the nozzle (1) to extend out, and the nozzle (1) is inserted into the center through hole of the light source plate (21); the micro UV lamp (22) is arranged above the light source plate (21); a connecting rod (23) is connected above the light source plate (21), one end of the connecting rod (23) is connected with the light adjustment cover (3); the connecting rod (23) is a telescopic rod that can be adjusted in length; The light adjustment cover (3) comprises a light collecting cover (31) and a sliding sleeve (32); the light collecting cover (31) is arranged in an arc shape and is fixedly arranged on the sliding sleeve (32), and the sliding sleeve (32) is slidingly connected to the nozzle (1); a driving mechanism (4) is connected to the light adjustment cover (3) to drive the light adjustment cover (3) to move up and down; the driving mechanism (4) is arranged as a telescopic device and is connected to the sliding sleeve (32); wherein the UV light source (2) is arranged near the nozzle (1), and the light adjustment cover (3) is arranged above the UV light source (2) to adjust the polymerization of the UV light source (2).

2. The resin curing mechanism of claim 1, wherein: The UV light source (2) adopts a micro UV lamp (22), which is a 5-micron LED-UV lamp, uniformly arranged at the nozzle (1), and three wave bands are selected, and the LED-UV lamps of each wave band are arranged at intervals.

3. A Braille printer characterized by: The Braille printer comprises the resin curing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 or 2.

4. The Braille printer of claim 3, wherein: The Braille printer is a printer in which the nozzle (1) is fixed and the printing material moves.

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