Intelligent multicolor ink supply device for tire tread production and control method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of industrial ink-jet printing, in particular to an intelligent multicolor ink supply device for tire tread production and a control method, and the intelligent multicolor ink supply device comprises an ink supply unit, a public ink path unit, a cleaning unit and an intelligent control unit; the control module is in signal connection with the driving source of each ink supply unit and the cleaning unit, and is configured to control the driving source of the target ink supply unit to start according to a pre-stored spraying program and a speed signal sent by the encoder, and control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism to be matched with the real-time moving speed of the tire tread; cross contamination between colors is avoided through a micro-volume public ink path, the synchronous precision is improved through encoder-stepping motor proportional synchronous control, and it is guaranteed that the thickness of sprayed lines or the concentration of color blocks are uniform and consistent at any production speed; therefore, multi-color ink supply spraying with high purity, high uniformity and high synchronization precision is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of industrial inkjet printing technology, and in particular to an intelligent multi-color ink supply device and control method for tire tread production. Background Technology

[0002] In the tire production process, in order to identify product models, trace quality, highlight brands, or achieve decorative appearance, it is usually necessary to mark lines on the tire tread surface. Traditional operation methods mainly rely on manual operation or simple single-color mechanical equipment, which have inherent defects such as low efficiency, large amount of returned rubber, poor precision, easy error, and high consumption.

[0003] With the increasing demand for automation, some multi-color ink supply or spraying systems have emerged and are being applied in this field. However, most existing technical solutions use partially shared ink delivery pipelines. When switching between different colors of ink, the residual ink from the previous color in the pipeline is difficult to completely remove, resulting in impure colors in subsequent sprayings and color mixing, which seriously affects the clarity and color accuracy of the markings. Traditional ink supply systems mostly rely on gravity flow or pneumatic pressure control, and their output flow is easily affected by factors such as pressure fluctuations and changes in ink viscosity. This directly leads to uneven line thickness and color depth on the tire surface, resulting in poor product appearance quality. Furthermore, the control logic of existing systems is relatively simple and cannot achieve real-time, high-precision synchronization with the speed of continuously moving tire production lines. When the production line speed changes, the ink supply cannot be automatically adjusted accordingly, resulting in inconsistent ink deposition per unit length of tire surface. In addition, cleaning is essential to reduce color pollution; however, the existing cleaning mechanisms are often complex in design and have lengthy cleaning processes, requiring a large amount of cleaning solvents and ink for rinsing. This not only increases production and operating costs but also reduces overall production efficiency due to the excessive cleaning time.

[0004] Therefore, to address the aforementioned issues, an intelligent multi-color ink supply device and control method for tire tread production is proposed. By using a micro-volume shared ink path, cross-contamination between colors is avoided. The encoder-stepper motor proportional synchronous control improves synchronization accuracy and ensures that the thickness of the sprayed lines or the concentration of color blocks are uniform at any production speed. This achieves high purity, high uniformity, and high synchronization accuracy in multi-color ink supply spraying. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the problems of color cross-contamination, uneven ink supply and insufficient synchronization accuracy in existing multi-color ink supply or spraying systems.

[0006] The technical solution of this invention is: an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production, comprising: Multiple independent ink supply units, each ink supply unit including an ink cartridge for storing ink of a specific color, a fluid delivery mechanism and a drive source for driving the fluid delivery mechanism; A common ink path unit, the inlet of which is fluidly connected to the outlet of the fluid delivery mechanism of all the ink supply units, and the outlet of which is connected to a printing actuator; the internal fluid channel volume of the common ink path unit is less than 0.005 ml. A cleaning unit, the outlet of which is in fluid communication with the common ink path unit, is used to inject cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit; An intelligent control unit includes an encoder and a control module that is signal-connected to the encoder; the encoder is used to detect the real-time moving speed of the tire tread and generate a corresponding speed signal. The control module is connected to the drive source of each ink supply unit and the cleaning unit signal, and is configured to: control the drive source of the target ink supply unit to start according to the pre-stored spraying program and the speed signal sent by the encoder, and control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism to match the real-time moving speed of the tire tread.

[0007] Preferably, the intelligent control unit of the device receives speed feedback signals from the production line and drives the precision pump mechanism of the target ink supply module in a proportional and synchronous manner according to the pre-stored digital program, while managing the cleaning process, thereby achieving mixed-color and highly uniform multi-color spraying on a high-speed production line.

[0008] Preferably, the common ink path unit includes a multi-channel manifold, and the outlets of the fluid delivery mechanisms of all the ink supply units are connected to multiple independent inlets of the multi-channel manifold via pipelines. The multi-channel manifold has a common outlet leading to the printing actuator, and the internal fluid channel volume is defined by the internal flow channel dimensions of the multi-channel manifold.

[0009] Preferably, the control module is configured to: proportionally control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism according to the speed signal, such that the amount of ink output by the fluid conveying mechanism per unit time is proportional to the moving speed of the tire tread.

[0010] Preferably, the drive source is a stepper motor, and the fluid delivery mechanism is a gear pump; the control module is configured to send proportional drive pulses to the stepper motor according to the pulse signal generated by the encoder, so as to drive the gear pump to rotate.

[0011] Preferably, the control module is further configured to: when the ink supply color needs to be switched according to the spraying program, after turning off the drive source of the current ink supply unit, automatically trigger the cleaning unit to perform a cleaning process on the common ink path unit.

[0012] Preferably, the printing actuator is a transfer roller, and the device further includes a lifting actuator for driving the transfer roller closer to or away from the tire tread, the lifting actuator being signal-connected to the control module.

[0013] Preferably, the cleaning unit includes a cleaning fluid storage tank and a cleaning fluid delivery pump. The outlet of the cleaning fluid delivery pump is in fluid communication with the common ink circuit unit, and its start and stop are controlled by the control module.

[0014] A control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device used in tire tread production, applied to the aforementioned device, includes the following steps: The tire tread movement speed signal is acquired in real time through an encoder; The control module makes a judgment based on the pre-stored spraying program. When the tire tread moves to the preset spraying start position, it starts the drive source of the ink supply unit corresponding to the target color. During the spraying process, the control module dynamically adjusts the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism of the ink supply unit according to the speed signal, so that it keeps synchronized with the real-time moving speed of the tire tread. When the spraying program indicates that the current color spraying is finished, the drive source of the current ink supply unit is turned off.

[0015] Preferably, after the step of "turning off the drive source of the current ink supply unit", the following is also included: The control module automatically starts the cleaning unit and injects cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit to perform cleaning. After the cleaning process is completed, the spraying procedure is used to determine whether it is necessary to switch to the next color. If so, the next target ink supply unit is prepared to be started.

[0016] Preferably, the pre-stored spraying program is generated by parsing the tire production process formula file. This program defines the colors to be sprayed at different widths of the tire tread and the corresponding position information.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. This invention reduces the physical space for color mixing through a micro-volume structure, and with timely automatic cleaning, avoids clogging and cross-contamination between colors, ensuring the purity of each color. By collecting production line speed signals in real time and controlling the gear pump speed with a strict mathematical ratio, the ink supply flow rate and the tread movement speed are dynamically matched, thus ensuring that the thickness of the sprayed lines or the concentration of color blocks are uniform at any production speed, and the product quality is not affected by production line fluctuations. This achieves high purity, high uniformity, and high synchronization accuracy in multi-color ink supply spraying. 2. The entire system of this invention is driven by digital programs, and the entire process from color selection and pump speed control to cleaning triggering is completed automatically. This not only improves production efficiency and stability, but also minimizes human intervention and operational errors, producing qualified tire treads at the fastest speed, greatly reducing returned glue, improving production efficiency, and reducing production costs. Moreover, due to the minimal waste of cleaning fluid and ink caused by the micro-volume, production consumption and operating costs are significantly reduced. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of the intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to the present invention. Figure 2 The diagram shown is a side view of the lifting actuator of the intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production of the present invention. Figure 3 The diagram shown is a top view of the fluid delivery mechanism of the intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to the present invention. Figure 4 The diagram shown is a schematic diagram of the common ink path unit of the intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production of the present invention. Figure 5 The diagram shown is a schematic flowchart of the control method steps of the intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production of the present invention. Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1. Ink supply unit; 101. Ink cartridge; 102. Fluid delivery mechanism; 103. Drive source; 2. Common ink path unit; 201. Multi-channel manifold; 3. Printing actuator; 4. Intelligent control unit; 5. Lifting actuator. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0020] Example 1 Please see Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The present invention provides an embodiment: an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production, comprising: Multiple independent ink supply units 1, each ink supply unit 1 including an ink cartridge 101 for storing ink of a specific color, a fluid delivery mechanism 102 and a drive source 103 for driving the fluid delivery mechanism 102; A common ink path unit 2, the inlet end of which is fluidly connected to the outlet end of the fluid delivery mechanism 102 of all ink supply units 1, and the outlet end of which is connected to a printing execution mechanism 3; the internal fluid channel volume of the common ink path unit 2 is less than 0.005 ml. A cleaning unit, the outlet of which is in fluid communication with the common ink path unit 2, is used to inject cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit 2; An intelligent control unit 4 includes an encoder and a control module connected to the encoder signal; the encoder is used to detect the real-time moving speed of the tire tread and generate a corresponding speed signal; The control module is connected to the drive source 103 of each ink supply unit 1 and the cleaning unit signal, and is configured to: control the drive source 103 of the target ink supply unit 1 to start according to the pre-stored spraying program and the speed signal sent by the encoder, and control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism 102 to match the real-time moving speed of the tire tread.

[0021] The device’s intelligent control unit 4 receives speed feedback signals from the production line and drives the precision pump mechanism of the target ink supply module in a proportional and synchronous manner according to the pre-stored digital program, while managing the cleaning process, thereby achieving mixed-color and highly uniform multi-color spraying on a high-speed production line.

[0022] Furthermore, the common ink path unit 2 includes a multi-channel manifold 201. The outlets of the fluid delivery mechanisms 102 of all ink supply units 1 are connected to multiple independent inlets of the multi-channel manifold 201 via pipelines. The multi-channel manifold 201 has a common outlet leading to the printing actuator 3. The internal fluid channel volume is limited by the internal flow channel size of the multi-channel manifold 201. By miniaturizing the internal flow channel of the manifold, its total retention volume is strictly controlled to less than 0.005 ml. This micro-volume structure ensures that the amount of residual ink that needs to be replaced in the pipeline during color switching is extremely small, which is the basis for achieving fast and thorough cleaning.

[0023] Furthermore, the control module is configured to: proportionally control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism 102 according to the speed signal, so that the amount of ink output by the fluid conveying mechanism 102 per unit time is proportional to the moving speed of the tire tread; the control module internally sets a proportional coefficient K; during the spraying process, it receives the pulse signal generated by the encoder detecting the movement of the tire tread in real time, and multiplies this pulse frequency by the proportional coefficient K to calculate the pulse frequency that should be driven by the ink supply pump in real time; this ensures that the instantaneous output flow rate of the pump and the instantaneous linear velocity of the production line always maintain a constant proportional relationship, that is: pump speed ∝ production line speed; therefore, regardless of whether the production line accelerates, decelerates or runs at a constant speed, the amount of ink deposited on the tire tread per unit length can remain constant, fundamentally eliminating the problem of uneven spraying caused by speed fluctuations.

[0024] Furthermore, the drive source 103 is a stepper motor, and the fluid delivery mechanism 102 is a gear pump; the control module is configured to send proportional drive pulses to the stepper motor according to the pulse signal generated by the encoder, so as to drive the gear pump to rotate.

[0025] Stepper motors possess excellent open-loop position and speed control characteristics, while precision gear pumps have a fixed displacement per revolution. The frequency of pulses sent by the intelligent control unit 4 to the stepper motor determines the speed of the gear pump; therefore, the aforementioned "proportional follower control" is specifically manifested as follows: the control module ensures that the frequency of the drive pulses (F_motor) sent to the stepper motor is in a fixed proportion to the encoder pulse frequency (F_encoder), i.e., F_motor = K. F_encoder; By adjusting the coefficient K, the ink layer thickness for different process requirements can be precisely set.

[0026] Furthermore, the control module is also configured to automatically trigger the cleaning unit to perform a cleaning process on the common ink path unit 2 after shutting down the drive source 103 of the current ink supply unit 1 when the ink supply color needs to be switched according to the spraying program.

[0027] Once the spraying of a color is completed, the program will immediately shut down the stepper motor corresponding to the current color; at the same time, the control module will trigger the cleaning unit to start; the cleaning fluid is pumped into the micro-volume common ink path, quickly rinsing away the very little ink remaining inside, preparing a clean flow path for the injection of the next color; this process is fully automatic, requires no manual intervention, and is very fast and efficient due to the extremely small cleaning volume.

[0028] Furthermore, the control module is also configured to: when the ink supply color needs to be switched according to the spraying program, after turning off the drive source 103 of the current ink supply unit 1, automatically trigger the cleaning unit to perform a cleaning process on the common ink path unit 2; under the control of the control module, the drive transfer roller is lowered to contact the tire tread when spraying is required, and raised during spraying intervals or at the end; this contact transfer method has better adaptability and ink transfer efficiency for curved surfaces such as tire treads or surfaces that are not easy to spray.

[0029] Furthermore, the cleaning unit includes a cleaning fluid storage tank and a cleaning fluid delivery pump. The outlet of the cleaning fluid delivery pump is in fluid communication with the common ink circuit unit 2, and its start and stop are controlled by the control module.

[0030] A control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device used in tire tread production, applied to the aforementioned device, includes the following steps: The tire tread movement speed signal is acquired in real time through an encoder; The control module makes a judgment based on the pre-stored spraying program. When the tire tread moves to the preset spraying start position, it starts the drive source 103 of the ink supply unit 1 corresponding to the target color. During the spraying process, the control module dynamically adjusts the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism 102 of the ink supply unit 1 according to the speed signal, so that it keeps synchronized with the real-time moving speed of the tire tread. When the spraying program indicates that the current color spraying is finished, the drive source 103 of the current ink supply unit 1 is turned off.

[0031] Furthermore, after the step of "turning off the drive source 103 of the current ink supply unit 1", the following is also included: The control module automatically starts the cleaning unit and injects cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit 2 to perform cleaning. After the cleaning process is completed, the spraying program determines whether it is necessary to switch to the next color. If so, the next target ink supply unit 1 is prepared to be started.

[0032] Furthermore, the pre-stored spraying program is generated by parsing the tire production process formula file. This program defines the colors to be sprayed at different width positions on the tire tread and the corresponding position information. The program contains a complete spraying prescription: which position on the lateral side of the tread (width coordinates), how much ink (represented by the proportional coefficient K), and what color to spray. This allows the present invention to directly transform process requirements into precise equipment actions, realizing the digitization and intelligentization of production.

[0033] Through the above steps, this invention reduces the physical space for color mixing by using a micro-volume structure, and with timely automatic cleaning, avoids cross-contamination between colors, ensuring the purity of each color. By collecting production line speed signals in real time and controlling the gear pump speed with a strict mathematical ratio, the ink supply flow rate and the tread movement speed are dynamically matched, thus ensuring that the thickness of the sprayed lines or the concentration of color blocks are uniform at any production speed, and the product quality is not affected by production line fluctuations. This achieves high purity, high uniformity, and high synchronization accuracy in multi-color ink supply spraying.

[0034] Example 2 Optionally, this embodiment illustrates how the control method of the present invention is specifically implemented on the hardware device of the above embodiment.

[0035] A control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production includes the following steps executed cyclically by a PLC: S1: Speed ​​signal acquisition and position tracking; The PLC continuously reads pulse signals from the production line encoder, calculates the absolute movement length L_current of the tread in real time by accumulating the number of pulses, and compares it with the preset spraying start length L_start in the program. S2: Spraying Decision and Execution; When L_current ≥ L_start, it is determined that the tread has entered the painting area; the PLC determines the color C_current to be painted and the corresponding scaling factor K_current according to the program index; The PLC sends an "enable" signal to the stepper motor driver corresponding to color C_current, and immediately starts calculating and outputting drive pulses according to the formula F_motor = K_current × F_encoder to start precision ink supply; at the same time, if the transfer roller of embodiment 3 is used, it controls its descent. S3: Synchronous ink supply process; Throughout the entire spraying range (L_start ≤ L_current ≤ L_end), the PLC continuously executes the proportional calculation and pulse output in S2 to achieve real-time tracking of the ink supply speed with the production line speed; S4: Finishing of spraying and release of resources; When L_current ≥ L_end (spray end length), the PLC immediately stops outputting drive pulses, the stepper motor stops rotating, and the ink supply stops; then, a "disable" signal is sent to the stepper motor driver; S5: Automatic cleaning process; After the ink supply stops, the PLC automatically executes the cleaning subroutine: S51: Controls the opening of valves in the cleaning pipeline; S52: Start the cleaning fluid delivery pump, run for a preset time T_clean (e.g., 0.2 seconds), and inject a measured amount of cleaning fluid; S53: Stop the cleaning pump and close the valve; S6: Process iteration or standby; After cleaning is completed, the PLC increments the index of the current spraying position by one and reads the information of the next spraying segment (L_start_next, C_next, K_next). If there is a next spraying task, it returns to S1 and continues to track the tread position, preparing for the next start. If all tasks are completed, the system enters standby mode.

[0036] The pre-stored spraying program is automatically generated by the host computer based on the tire "formula" (process formula file). The parsing process includes: identifying the color code and length coordinate range in the formula, and querying the ink type database to obtain the basic ink volume parameters according to the code. Finally, a structured data list containing {length start point, length end point, color code, and proportional coefficient K} is generated and downloaded to the PLC. This method directly digitizes the process requirements, eliminates human translation errors, and realizes precise traceability and flexible management of production.

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production, characterized in that: include: Multiple independent ink supply units (1), each ink supply unit (1) includes an ink cartridge (101) for storing ink of a specific color, a fluid delivery mechanism (102) and a drive source (103) for driving the fluid delivery mechanism (102). A common ink path unit (2) has its inlet end connected to the outlet of the fluid delivery mechanism (102) of all the ink supply units (1) and its outlet end connected to a printing actuator (3); the internal fluid channel volume of the common ink path unit (2) is less than 0.005 ml; A cleaning unit, the outlet of which is in fluid communication with the common ink path unit (2), is used to inject cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit (2); An intelligent control unit (4) includes an encoder and a control module connected to the encoder; the encoder is used to detect the real-time moving speed of the tire tread and generate a corresponding speed signal. The control module is connected to the drive source (103) of each ink supply unit (1) and the cleaning unit signal, and is configured to: control the drive source (103) of the target ink supply unit (1) to start according to the pre-stored spraying program and the speed signal sent by the encoder, and control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism (102) to match the real-time moving speed of the tire tread.

2. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The common ink path unit (2) includes a multi-channel manifold (201), and the outlets of the fluid delivery mechanisms (102) of all the ink supply units (1) are connected to multiple independent inlets of the multi-channel manifold (201) via pipelines. The multi-channel manifold (201) has a common outlet leading to the printing actuator (3), and the internal fluid channel volume is defined by the internal flow channel size of the multi-channel manifold (201).

3. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module is configured to proportionally control the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism (102) according to the speed signal, such that the amount of ink output by the fluid conveying mechanism (102) per unit time is proportional to the moving speed of the tire tread.

4. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 3, characterized in that: The drive source (103) is a stepper motor, and the fluid delivery mechanism (102) is a gear pump; the control module is configured to send proportional drive pulses to the stepper motor according to the pulse signal generated by the encoder, so as to drive the gear pump to rotate.

5. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module is also configured to automatically trigger the cleaning unit to perform a cleaning process on the common ink path unit (2) after the current ink supply unit (1) is shut down and the drive source (103) of the ink supply unit (1) is turned off when the ink supply color needs to be switched according to the spraying program.

6. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing actuator (3) is a transfer roller. The device also includes a lifting actuator (5) for driving the transfer roller to approach or move away from the tire tread. The lifting actuator (5) is signal-connected to the control module.

7. The intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning unit includes a cleaning fluid storage tank and a cleaning fluid delivery pump. The outlet of the cleaning fluid delivery pump is in fluid communication with the common ink circuit unit (2), and its start and stop are controlled by the control module.

8. A control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production, applied to the device as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: The tire tread movement speed signal is acquired in real time through an encoder; The control module makes a judgment based on the pre-stored spraying program. When the tire tread moves to the preset spraying start position, the drive source (103) of the ink supply unit (1) corresponding to the target color is started. During the spraying process, the control module dynamically adjusts the conveying rate of the fluid conveying mechanism (102) of the ink supply unit (1) according to the speed signal, so that it keeps synchronized with the real-time moving speed of the tire tread. When the spraying program indicates that the current color spraying is finished, the drive source (103) of the current ink supply unit (1) is turned off.

9. The control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 8, characterized in that: Following the step of "turning off the drive source (103) of the current ink supply unit (1)," the following is also included: The control module automatically starts the cleaning unit and injects cleaning fluid into the common ink path unit (2) to perform cleaning; After the cleaning process is completed, it is determined whether to switch to the next color according to the spraying procedure. If so, the next target ink supply unit is prepared to be started (1).

10. The control method for an intelligent multi-color ink supply device for tire tread production according to claim 8, characterized in that: The pre-stored spraying program is generated by parsing the tire production process formula file. This program defines the colors to be sprayed at different widths of the tire tread and the corresponding position information.

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