A PVC sheet inkjet printer

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of inkjet printer technology and discloses a PVC sheet inkjet printer, including a base frame, a conveyor belt, a belt drive mechanism, a cage, an inkjet unit, a UV lamp assembly, and an ink absorption assembly. The base frame is equipped with a moisturizing mechanism, which includes two guide rails extending forward and backward on the base frame, a carriage slidably mounted on the two guide rails, and a printhead moisturizing structure mounted on the carriage. The carriage is driven into or out of the cage by a displacement cylinder. The printhead moisturizing structure includes multiple moisturizing discs spaced forward and backward, the number of which corresponds one-to-one with the inkjet unit. This PVC sheet inkjet printer, through the automated movement of the carriage driven by the displacement cylinder, can synchronously trigger the moisturizing action during equipment shutdown, shift changes, or standby, causing the moisturizing discs to automatically enter the cage and precisely cover the corresponding printheads for moisturizing. This process requires no manual intervention, completely solving the problems of insufficient timeliness and operational negligence associated with manual maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of inkjet printer technology, and in particular to an inkjet printer for PVC sheets. Background Technology

[0002] PVC sheets are typically printed using UV inkjet printers, which not only produce delicate and clear patterns, such as realistic wood grain, stone grain, floral patterns, and abstract art patterns, but also add a unique decorative effect to PVC sheets. The coating formed after UV ink cures on PVC sheets is waterproof, sunproof, and scratch-resistant. Combined with the weather resistance of PVC itself, it can meet the durability requirements of PVC sheets under long-term friction and outdoor exposure.

[0003] UV inkjet printers spray UV ink onto the surface of PVC sheets and use ultraviolet light to quickly cure and form a coating. During machine downtime, shift changes, or standby periods, operators must manually perform a moisturizing procedure. This manual maintenance method not only increases labor costs but also suffers from insufficient maintenance timeliness. If maintenance is delayed due to operational negligence or long shift intervals, it can easily cause printhead clogging or performance degradation, affecting print quality and even shortening printhead lifespan.

[0004] It is evident that existing technologies still need improvement and enhancement. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a PVC board inkjet printer that can automatically moisturize the printhead on the inkjet unit.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A PVC sheet inkjet printer includes a base frame, a conveyor belt mounted on the base frame, a belt drive mechanism for driving the conveyor belt to circulate and transport PVC sheets, a cage frame mounted above the base frame, multiple inkjet units arranged at intervals in the cage frame, a UV lamp assembly and an ink absorption assembly mounted beside each inkjet unit; the base frame is provided with a humidification mechanism, which includes two guide rails extending forward and backward on the base frame, a carriage slidably mounted on the two guide rails, and a printhead humidification structure mounted on the carriage; the carriage is driven into or out of the cage frame by a displacement cylinder; the printhead humidification structure includes multiple humidification discs arranged at intervals in the forward and backward directions, the number of humidification discs being the same as and corresponding one-to-one with the inkjet units.

[0008] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, two cages are provided and arranged side by side in the middle of the conveyor belt, with a humidification mechanism provided upstream of one cage and a humidification mechanism provided downstream of the other cage.

[0009] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the base frame is provided with a stain removal mechanism for grinding and removing ink stains from the surface of the conveyor belt.

[0010] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the stain removal mechanism includes two side frames, a guide rod arranged laterally between the two side frames, a slide block slidably arranged on the guide rod, a grinding wheel machine set on the top of the slide block, a lead screw arranged laterally on the two side frames, a lead screw nut sleeved on the lead screw, and a lead screw drive structure for driving the lead screw to rotate. The lead screw nut is fixedly connected to the slide block, and the grinding wheel on the grinding wheel machine faces the conveyor belt.

[0011] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the side frame includes an upper frame plate fixed on the base frame and a lower frame plate whose relative position to the upper frame plate can be changed. The lower frame plate has a plurality of vertically extending waist-shaped holes, and the upper frame plate has threaded holes corresponding to the waist-shaped holes. The adjusting screw passes through the waist-shaped holes and engages with the threaded holes.

[0012] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the lead screw drive structure is a handwheel.

[0013] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the cage frame is provided with a protective plate structure, and the base frame is provided with a protective cover structure for protecting the moisture-retaining mechanism.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Compared to the shortcomings of existing technologies that rely on operators to actively perform the moisturizing procedure, the PVC sheet inkjet printer provided by this invention features an innovative design for the moisturizing mechanism. Through a displacement cylinder driving the automated movement of the carriage, the moisturizing action can be triggered simultaneously during equipment shutdown, shift changes, or standby, allowing the moisturizing tray to automatically enter the cage and precisely cover the corresponding printhead for moisturizing. This process requires no manual intervention, completely solving the problems of insufficient timeliness and operational negligence associated with manual maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 A perspective view of the moisturizing mechanism of the PVC sheet inkjet printer provided by this utility model in its non-working state.

[0016] Figure 2 A perspective view of the moisturizing mechanism in operation of the PVC sheet inkjet printer provided by this utility model.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a 3D diagram of the moisturizing mechanism.

[0018] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the installation of a protective plate structure and a protective cover structure on a PVC sheet inkjet printer.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a 3D view of the stain removal mechanism.

[0020] Explanation of main component symbols: 11-Base frame, 12-Transmission belt, 13-Belt drive mechanism, 21-Cage frame, 22-Inkjet unit, 3-Humidification mechanism, 31-Guide rail, 32-Slide carriage, 34-Printhead humidification structure, 341-Humidification disc, 35-Positioning cylinder, 6-Stain removal mechanism, 61-Side frame, 611-Upper frame plate, 612-Lower frame plate, 613-Oval hole, 62-Guide rod, 63-Slide seat, 64-Grinding wheel, 65-Lead screw, 66-Lead screw nut, 67-Handwheel, 7-Guard plate structure, 8-Guard cover structure. Detailed Implementation

[0021] This utility model provides an inkjet printer for PVC sheets. To make the purpose, technical solution, and effects of this utility model clearer and more explicit, the following describes this utility model in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this utility model and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0022] Please see Figures 1 to 3 This utility model provides a PVC sheet inkjet printer, including a base frame 11, a conveyor belt 12 mounted on the base frame 11, a belt drive mechanism 13 for driving the conveyor belt 12 to circulate and transport PVC sheets, a cage frame 21 mounted above the base frame 11, multiple inkjet units 22 arranged at intervals in the cage frame 21, and UV lamps and ink suction components (not shown in the figure) mounted next to each inkjet unit 22; the base frame 11 is provided with a moisturizing mechanism 3, which includes two guide rails 31 extending forward and backward on the base frame 11, a slide 32 slidably mounted on the two guide rails 31, and a printhead moisturizing structure 34 mounted on the slide 32. The slide 32 is driven into or out of the cage frame 21 by a displacement cylinder 35; the printhead moisturizing structure 34 includes multiple moisturizing discs 341 arranged at intervals in the front and back, and the number of moisturizing discs 341 is the same as that of the inkjet units 22 and they correspond one-to-one.

[0023] The moisturizing tray 341 can be filled with highly absorbent sponge, non-woven fabric, or fiber cotton, and its surface is coated with a special moisturizing liquid for UV ink. The number of moisturizing trays 341 is the same as that of the inkjet unit 22, and they correspond one-to-one. Each moisturizing tray 341 fully covers the printheads on the entire inkjet unit 22, providing sufficient humidity to ensure that the nozzles of each printhead are kept moist.

[0024] During operation, the conveyor belt 12 circulates to transport PVC sheets, and multiple inkjet printers 22 arranged in a row within the cage 21 sequentially print patterns on the surface of the PVC sheets. After printing, UV lamps immediately cure the UV ink on the PVC sheets, forming a waterproof and scratch-resistant decorative coating. During this process, the ink suction assembly (possibly a negative pressure suction tube structure) helps collect splashed or floating ink particles, reducing ink splashing onto the conveyor belt 12.

[0025] When the equipment stops, changes shifts, or enters standby mode, the displacement cylinder 35 activates and drives the carriage 32 to move along the guide rail 31 towards the cage 21, causing the printhead moisturizing structure 34 on the carriage 32 to enter the cage 21. Since the number of moisturizing trays 341 is the same as the number of inkjet units 22 and they correspond one-to-one, each moisturizing tray 341 precisely covers the corresponding printhead tip, preventing the printhead from contacting outside air through physical sealing or moisturizing liquid immersion, thus preventing ink from solidifying or evaporating and drying inside the printhead. When the equipment needs to be restarted, the displacement cylinder 35 reverses the direction, driving the carriage 32 out of the cage 21, and the printhead returns to its working position, quickly entering printing mode without manual intervention.

[0026] Compared to existing technologies that rely on operators to actively perform moisturizing procedures, this invention innovatively designs the moisturizing mechanism 3. Through a displacement cylinder 35 driving the automated movement of the carriage 32, the moisturizing action can be triggered simultaneously during equipment shutdown, shift changes, or standby, causing the moisturizing tray 341 to automatically enter the cage 21 and precisely cover the corresponding nozzles for moisturizing. This process requires no manual intervention, completely solving the problems of insufficient timeliness and operational negligence associated with manual maintenance.

[0027] In this embodiment, two cages 21 are arranged side-by-side in the middle of the conveyor belt 12. The side-by-side arrangement of two cages 21 typically indicates that the equipment is equipped with more inkjet units 22 (e.g., four inkjet units 22 are arranged in each cage 21, for a total of eight units), significantly increasing the number of printheads. High-density printhead arrays require more timely and comprehensive cleaning and moisturizing. A moisturizing mechanism 3 is located upstream of one cage 21 and downstream of the other, fully utilizing the empty areas on both sides of the conveyor belt 12 and shortening the overall length of the PVC sheet inkjet printer.

[0028] During UV inkjet printing, ink splashes or floating particles are unavoidable when the printhead ejects ink. Some ink that does not adhere to the substrate surface will splash onto the conveyor belt 12, or float and settle on the surface of the conveyor belt 12, forming ink stains. The ink stains on the conveyor belt 12, after being cured by UV light, have extremely strong adhesion and are difficult to remove effectively using traditional wiping or solvent cleaning methods. The base frame 11 is equipped with a stain removal mechanism 6 below the conveyor belt 12 for polishing and removing ink stains from its surface. The stain removal mechanism 6 polishes and removes the cured ink stains on its surface in real time or periodically, preventing long-term accumulation of ink stains that could lead to unevenness on the surface of the conveyor belt 12.

[0029] See Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the stain removal mechanism 6 includes two side frames 61, a guide rod 62 laterally arranged between the two side frames 61, a slide block 63 slidably arranged on the guide rod 62, a grinding wheel 64 set on the top of the slide block 63, a lead screw 65 laterally rotatably arranged on the two side frames 61, a lead screw nut 66 sleeved on the lead screw 65, and a lead screw drive structure for driving the lead screw 65 to rotate. The lead screw nut 66 is fixedly connected to the slide block 63, and the grinding wheel on the grinding wheel 64 faces the conveyor belt 12. The ink stains formed after UV ink curing have extremely strong adhesion (traditional wiping or solvent cleaning is difficult to penetrate and remove), while the grinding wheel 64 can effectively remove the cured ink stains through direct physical friction between the high-speed rotating grinding wheel (usually using high-hardness, fine-grained abrasive, such as silicon carbide or alumina) and the surface of the conveyor belt 12. The grinding force of the grinding wheel can directly act on the interface between the ink stain and the conveyor belt 12. Compared with the slow penetration of chemical solvents or the localized force of manual scraping, the grinding wheel machine 64 can efficiently remove stubborn ink stains in a short time, solving the technical problem that traditional cleaning methods cannot overcome in removing ink stains.

[0030] The thickness of the ink stains after UV ink curing will dynamically change due to factors such as printing frequency and ink splashing amount (e.g., ink stains thicken after long-term continuous printing). At the same time, the conveyor belt 12 (e.g., made of rubber) will gradually wear down and thin due to long-term use. To address this, the side frame 61 includes an upper frame plate 611 fixed to the base frame 11 and a lower frame plate 612 whose relative position to the upper frame plate 611 can be changed. The lower frame plate 612 has multiple vertically extending oblong holes 613, and the upper frame plate 611 has threaded holes corresponding to the oblong holes 613. The adjusting screw passes through the oblong holes 613 and engages with the threaded holes.

[0031] Loosen the adjusting screws and quickly adjust the lower frame plate 612 to the target height. When the ink stains are thick, bring the grinding wheel closer to the conveyor belt 12 to increase the grinding pressure and thoroughly remove stubborn ink stains. When the ink stains are thin or the conveyor belt 12 is worn, move the grinding wheel away from the conveyor belt 12 to reduce the contact pressure between the grinding wheel and the belt, and avoid over-grinding that could damage the belt surface. After confirming the height, tighten the fixing screws to rigidly fix the lower frame plate 612 and the upper frame plate 611, ensuring the stability of the grinding wheel machine 64 during the grinding process.

[0032] In this embodiment, the lead screw drive structure is a handwheel 67. Operators can manually rotate the handwheel 67 to directly control the forward and reverse rotation of the lead screw 65, thereby driving the grinding wheel 64 to move. When stubborn ink stains are observed on the conveyor belt 12 (such as in the edge area), the handwheel 67 can be manually rotated to allow the grinding wheel 64 to reciprocate at the target location for targeted and enhanced cleaning.

[0033] See Figure 5 As shown, the cage frame 21 is equipped with a protective plate structure 7, and the base frame 11 is equipped with a protective cover structure 8 for protecting the moisturizing mechanism 3. The protective plate structure 7 on the cage frame 21 forms a closed or semi-closed protective space for the core operating areas such as inkjet printing and UV curing: on the one hand, it can block the leakage of ultraviolet radiation during the operation of the UV lamp group, and on the other hand, it can intercept ink splashes and atomized ink particles generated during the inkjet unit 22 printing process. When the moisturizing mechanism 3 is not in operation, the cover can cover the moisturizing mechanism 3 in the protective space, reducing the equipment maintenance costs and failure risks of the moisturizing mechanism 3 caused by external pollution.

[0034] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and are not intended to 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 utility model.

[0035] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows for communication; 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 utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0036] It is understood that those skilled in the art can make equivalent substitutions or changes based on the technical solution and inventive concept of this utility model, and all such substitutions or changes should fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A PVC sheet inkjet printer, characterized in that, The system includes a base frame, a conveyor belt mounted on the base frame, a belt drive mechanism for driving the conveyor belt to circulate and transport PVC sheets, a cage frame mounted above the base frame, multiple inkjet printers arranged at intervals in the cage frame, and UV lamps and ink absorption components mounted next to each inkjet printer. The base frame is equipped with a humidification mechanism, which includes two guide rails extending forward and backward on the base frame, a slide carriage slidably mounted on the two guide rails, and a printhead humidification structure mounted on the slide carriage. The slide carriage is driven into or out of the cage frame by a displacement cylinder. The printhead humidification structure includes multiple humidification discs arranged at intervals in the forward and backward directions, the number of which corresponds to the number of inkjet printers.

2. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 1, characterized in that, Two cages are provided and arranged side by side in the middle of the conveyor belt. One cage has a humidification mechanism at its upstream end and the other cage has a humidification mechanism at its downstream end.

3. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base frame is equipped with a stain removal mechanism below the conveyor belt for grinding and removing ink stains from the surface of the conveyor belt.

4. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 3, characterized in that, The stain removal mechanism includes two side frames, a guide rod horizontally arranged between the two side frames, a slide block slidably arranged on the guide rod, a grinding wheel machine set on the top of the slide block, a lead screw horizontally rotatably arranged on the two side frames, a lead screw nut sleeved on the lead screw, and a lead screw drive structure for driving the lead screw to rotate. The lead screw nut is fixedly connected to the slide block, and the grinding wheel on the grinding wheel machine faces the conveyor belt.

5. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The side frame includes an upper frame plate fixed on the base frame and a lower frame plate whose relative position to the upper frame plate can be changed. The lower frame plate has multiple vertically extending oblong holes, and the upper frame plate has threaded holes corresponding to the oblong holes. The adjusting screw passes through the oblong holes and engages with the threaded holes.

6. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lead screw drive structure is a handwheel.

7. The PVC sheet inkjet printer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cage frame is equipped with a protective plate structure, and the base frame is equipped with a protective cover structure for protecting the moisture-retaining mechanism.

Images