Floating Cleaning Heads for Nozzle Plate Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial printing devices face challenges in efficiently cleaning nozzle plates due to the deflection of cleaning bars, which compromises positioning accuracy and leads to suboptimal results.
Innovation Solution
A digital printing device with a cleaning bar that features floating cleaning heads supported by elastic means, allowing them to adapt their height to the printing modules and maintain a consistent distance from the nozzle plates, preventing contact and ensuring efficient cleaning without excessive complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the cleaning bar is extended to span below multiple printing modules, then the cleaning coverage is improved, but the bar undergoes substantial deflection that compromises positioning accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning bar is divided into multiple segments, each supporting a cleaning head for a specific printing module. This segmentation allows each segment to be shorter and stiffer, reducing deflection while maintaining overall cleaning coverage across multiple modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning heads are made movable relative to the cleaning bar through elastic means (springs), allowing them to dynamically adjust their position. This dynamic adjustment compensates for bar deflection and maintains accurate positioning despite the extended bar span.
2Productivity
If the cleaning bar operates at a very short distance from the nozzles, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but the risk of damaging the nozzles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning heads are equipped with elastic means (springs) that allow them to move dynamically. This enables the cleaning heads to maintain a very short distance from the nozzle plates for efficient cleaning while automatically retracting if contact is detected, thus preventing nozzle damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic mounting provides self-regulating contact control. The springs automatically adjust the cleaning head position based on resistance encountered, allowing the system to self-regulate the distance and prevent damage without external control systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If a rigid cleaning bar is used to maintain positioning accuracy, then positioning precision is improved, but the device complexity and construction difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using one long rigid bar, the system uses multiple shorter rigid segments. Each segment maintains positioning accuracy for its local area while being simpler to construct than a single extended rigid structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state of the cleaning head mounting from rigid to elastic. This allows the use of simple rigid bars while achieving accurate positioning through the elastic adaptation of the cleaning heads themselves.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures accurate and efficient automatic cleaning of nozzle plates by maintaining a predefined distance from the nozzles, preventing damage and achieving optimal cleaning results despite the deflection of the cleaning bar.
Implementation Method 1
the elastic means are compression springs interposed between said bar body and a stop surface of said cleaning heads
Implementation Method 2
compression springs interposed between said bar body and a stop surface of said cleaning heads
Implementation Method 3
Said operating portion is preferably a suction opening connected to suction means
Data Source
AI summary
A digital printing device, comprising a nozzle plates' cleaning bar (9) equipped with a plurality of cleaning heads (22) supported in a floating manner by a bar body (23), so as to adapt their own height to the one of an overlying printing module comprising a specific nozzle plate corresponding to the cleaning head (22).