Rotatable Ink Supply Pipe Coupling for Stress Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printers face issues with stress on the distal end of ink supply tubes due to their rigidity, leading to potential cracking during movement, as larger diameters and wall thicknesses are required to prevent air penetration but increase rigidity, making them prone to fatigue failure.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an ink-jet printer design where the ink supply pipe's distal end and brancher are connected in a relatively rotatable manner, with branch pipes of high rigidity extending to ink-jet heads, dispersing force and reducing stress on the tube during movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the diameter and wall thickness of the tube are made large to prevent air penetration, then air penetration is reduced, but rigidity of the tube is increased making it difficult to absorb bending deformation force
Solution Approach 1:
The ink supply system is segmented into a fixed portion (ink cartridge and proximal tube section) and a movable portion (ink-jet head and distal tube section), connected through a rotatable coupling mechanism. This segmentation allows the tube to be divided into sections with different rigidity requirements, where the distal end can be more flexible to absorb movement forces while maintaining adequate air penetration prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection between the ink supply pipe and brancher is made dynamically rotatable rather than rigidly fixed. This dynamic connection allows the system to adapt to the reciprocating motion of the ink-jet head, enabling the tube to rotate and flex during movement, thereby absorbing bending forces while maintaining ink supply integrity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the tube is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then structural integrity is improved, but the tube cannot absorb bending deformation force during movement, leading to fatigue failure
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable connection mechanism introduces dynamic flexibility to the otherwise rigid tube structure. This allows the tube to accommodate reciprocating motion through controlled rotation at the connection point, dissipating bending forces and preventing fatigue failure while maintaining overall structural integrity for stable ink supply.
Solution Approach 2:
A rotatable coupling mechanism acts as an intermediary between the fixed ink supply pipe and the movable brancher. This intermediary component absorbs and accommodates the mechanical stress from reciprocating motion, protecting the tube from fatigue while ensuring continuous, stable ink flow to the nozzles.
3Device complexity
If the distal end portion of the tube repeatedly receives stress during movement, then the tube structure is simplified, but cracking due to fatigue failure is more likely to occur
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable connection creates a dynamic stress-relief mechanism that allows the tube to rotate and flex during the ink-jet head's reciprocating motion. This dynamic capability distributes and reduces peak stress concentrations at the distal end, preventing fatigue cracking while maintaining a relatively simple overall tube structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to reduce force acting, when an ink-jet head moves, on a distal end portion of an ink supply pipe connected to a brancher, to thereby prevent damage to the ink supply pipe as much as possible. An ink supplier, which supplies ink to respective ink introduction ports of at least one ink-jet head, has an ink supply pipe connected to an ink cartridge, a brancher to which a distal end portion of the ink supply pipe connected, and branch pipes extending from the brancher to the respective ink introduction ports. The brancher and the branch pipes are adapted to move integrally with the at least on ink-jet head, and in addition the distal end portion of the ink supply pipe and the brancher are connected to each other in a relatively rotatable manner.