KR101892202B1 - Docking station for skin printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a docking station for a skin printer which prevents an ink remaining in a nozzle of a cartridge of a skin printer from interfering with ejection of the ink to generate droplets as well as prevents the nozzle from being clogged, and can maintain printing quality by always maintaining an optimal state of the nozzle of the cartridge. The docking station for a skin printer comprises: a docking station housing storing a plurality of cartridges which have nozzles through which the ink is ejected and store inks having different colors, and mounting the skin printer which has a roller for rolling along a skin; and a plurality of nozzle caps arranged on a position individually corresponding to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printer, and individually in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges.

Description

Docking Station for Skin Printer {DOCKING STATION FOR SKIN PRINTER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a docking station for a skin printer, and more particularly, to a docking station for a skin printer in which a nozzle of a cartridge of a skin printer can always maintain an optimum state to maintain print quality.

Recently, as interest in tattooing, body painting, etc. has increased, there is a growing demand for printers that can print on the skin.

In the case of tattooing or body painting, there is a problem in that accessibility is inadequate because it is required to be performed by a person having a specialized skill.

On the other hand, when a mobile printer is used, it is possible to easily print an image desired by the user on the skin and to use various images.

However, since the mobile printer prints on the skin, there is a problem that a lot of differences arise between the original print image that the user desires to print and the print result.

Specifically, in the conventional mobile printer, there is a problem that a difference in color image occurs between an original image and a skin color due to skin color, skin condition, etc. of a background person.

Accordingly, the applicant of the present invention has developed a skin printer in which a user holds a skin printer, moves along the skin to be printed, and ejects ink from the nozzles of the cartridge containing the ink, and prints a desired image on the skin.

On the other hand, when the nozzles of the cartridges are not managed, ink remaining in the nozzles of the cartridges interferes with the ejection of the ink, causing droplets to be formed, and the nozzles are clogged and the print quality can not be maintained.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,732 (entitled MAINTENANCE AND DOCKING STATION FOR A HAND-HELD PRINTER, registered on March 10, 2009)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a skin printer in which ink remaining in a nozzle of a cartridge of a skin printer prevents ink droplets from being generated, And to provide a docking station for a skin printer in which the nozzles of the cartridges can always maintain optimal conditions to maintain print quality.

An object of the present invention is to provide a docking station housing in which a plurality of cartridges having nozzles through which ink is ejected and accommodating inks of different colors are accommodated and on which a skin printer having rollers rolling along the skin is mounted; And a plurality of nozzle caps provided at positions corresponding respectively to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printer and in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges, respectively.

The ink cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid tank provided in the docking station housing to receive any one of the ink of the cartridge and the colorless colorless solvent, And a liquid discharging portion which is discharged toward the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges by capillary action.

And a plurality of absorption members provided respectively in the plurality of nozzle caps to absorb the liquid in the liquid tank and provide the liquid to the liquid discharge portion of the nozzle cap.

The adjacent pair of the nozzle caps may be spaced apart from each other.

Further comprising a plurality of chambers provided in the plurality of nozzle caps and communicating with the liquid discharging portion and collecting ink absorbed by the absorbing member and ink leaking from the nozzles of the cartridge, And the liquid may be discharged to the liquid discharge portion by capillary action.

And a pressure sensor provided in the docking station housing for measuring a pressure acting on the nozzle cap.

And a humidity sensor provided in the docking station housing for measuring the humidity of the nozzle cap.

And a nozzle cleaning unit provided in the docking station housing for wiping and cleaning ink adhering to the nozzle of the cartridge in contact with the nozzle cap.

And a roller receiving recess formed in the docking station housing for receiving the rollers of the skin printer.

And a sterilizing unit provided in the docking station housing for sterilizing the roller of the skin printer received in the roller receiving groove.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the ink remaining in the nozzle of the cartridge of the skin printer from interfering with the discharge of the ink to prevent the droplet from being generated and also to prevent the nozzle from being clogged, Quality can be maintained.

1 is a perspective view of a docking station for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 1,
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state where a docking station for a skin printer and a skin printer are combined according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner of achieving them, will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, And is provided to fully convey the scope of the present invention to a technician.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. The terms " comprises "and / or" comprising "used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements in addition to the stated element. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification and "and / or" include each and every combination of one or more of the elements mentioned.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in a sense that is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In addition, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise.

As used herein, the term "part" or "module" refers to a hardware component, such as a software, FPGA, or ASIC, and a "component" or "module" performs certain roles. However, "part" or "module" is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A "module" or "module " may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and configured to play back one or more processors. Thus, by way of example, "a" or "module" is intended to encompass all types of elements, such as software components, object oriented software components, class components and task components, Microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables, as used herein. Or " modules "may be combined with a smaller number of components and" parts " or " modules " Can be further separated.

The terms spatially relative, "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper" And can be used to easily describe a correlation between an element and other elements. Spatially relative terms should be understood in terms of the directions shown in the drawings, including the different directions of components at the time of use or operation. For example, when inverting an element shown in the figures, an element described as "below" or "beneath" of another element may be placed "above" another element . Thus, the exemplary term "below" can include both downward and upward directions. The components can also be oriented in different directions, so that spatially relative terms can be interpreted according to orientation.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show a docking station for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Before describing the details of the docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, it is assumed that the skin printer 10 is mounted on the docking station 100 for a skin printer Brief description will be given.

The skin printer 10 includes a printer housing 11, a main roller 41, and a plurality of spacing rollers 45. [

The printer housing 11 forms the overall appearance of the skin printer 10 and has a box shape that the user can easily grasp and use.

The printer housing 11 is formed by combining an upper printer housing 13 and a lower printer housing 21 so that the cartridges 1a and 1b can be easily replaced.

In one area of the bottom surface of the lower printer housing 21, a printing head 31 for outputting an image is provided.

The printer housing 11 is provided with a storage portion 23 for storing a pair of cartridges 1a and 1b containing different colors of ink.

A pair of discharge holes 33a and 33b are formed in the printing head 31 so as to communicate with the accommodating portion 23 at intervals. The discharge holes 33a and 33b are provided corresponding to the pair of cartridges 1a and 1b, respectively. Different colors of ink are ejected from the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b to the ejection holes 33a and 33b, respectively.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the cartridge adjacent to the main roller 41 of the pair of cartridges will be referred to as a first cartridge 1a and the remaining cartridge will be referred to as a second cartridge 1b. The discharge holes through which the nozzles 3a and 3b of the first cartridge 1a are exposed are referred to as a first discharge hole 33a and the nozzles 3c and 3d of the second cartridge 1b, Is referred to as a second discharge hole 33b.

In this embodiment, inks of Y (yellow) and W (white) are independently received in the first cartridge 1a and the first and second nozzles 3a and 3b, respectively, And the nozzles 3b are spaced apart from each other with an interval therebetween. The second and third cartridges 1b and 3c receive ink of C (cyan) and magenta (Menta) colors independently and discharge ink of C and M colors, respectively, 3d are spaced apart at an interval.

The main roller 41 has a roll shape of a predetermined length and is rollable at one side of the printing head 31 of the printer housing 11 in the forward direction of the skin printer 10, for example. The main roller 41 serves to guide the printer housing 11 along the skin when the skin printer 10 prints on the skin.

The plurality of spacing rollers 45 are disposed between a pair of adjacent discharge holes 33a and 33b and are capable of rolling on the printer housing 11. [ A plurality of spacing rollers 45 separates the printer housing 11 from the skin and rolls along with the main roller 41 along the skin.

By providing the separation rollers 45 between the pair of discharge holes 33a and 33b of the printing head 31 of the printer housing 11 as described above, It is possible to prevent the discharged ink from contacting the printer housing 11 and spreading to the skin.

In addition, the skin printer 10 further includes a cover 51.

The cover 51 is slidably coupled to the bottom of the lower printer housing 21, that is, to the printing head 31. The cover 51 reciprocates between a first position where the discharge holes 33a and 33b are closed and a second position where the discharge holes 33a and 33b are opened.

On the other hand, when the cover 51 moves from the first position to the second position, the movement of the cover 51 is restricted by the stopper 29 provided at the bottom of the lower printer housing 21. [

The printing head 31 of the skin printer 10 is disposed toward the user's skin while the cover 51 is moved to the second position and the main roller 41 and the separation roller 45 are printed The ink of different colors is ejected from the first nozzle 3a and the second nozzle 3b of the first cartridge 1a and then the ink of different colors is ejected from the third nozzle 1b of the second cartridge 1b, Ink of a different color from the third nozzle 3c and the fourth nozzle 3d is ejected along the printing path so that a desired image can be printed on the skin.

The docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a docking station housing 101, a liquid tank 111 and a plurality of nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. And a plurality of absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d.

The docking station housing 101 has a hollow cylindrical shape. In the docking station housing 101, the above-described skin printer 10 is mounted.

A pair of roller receiving grooves 103 in which the main roller 41 of the skin printer 10 and the plurality of spacing rollers 45 are accommodated are formed in the upper portion of the docking station housing 101.

The liquid tank 111 is provided at one side of the inside of the docking station housing 101 to receive the liquid. The liquid tank 111 is filled with liquid through a liquid injection port 105 provided on one side of the upper portion of the docking station housing 101. The remaining amount of liquid contained in the liquid tank 111 is displayed through the liquid remaining amount warning lamp 107 provided on the other side of the upper portion of the docking station housing 101. When the amount of liquid contained in the liquid tank 111 is less than a predetermined reference value, the liquid remaining amount warning lamp 107 emits light.

The liquid tank 111 is provided with a liquid having the same or similar composition as the ink contained in the skin printer 10. For example, the liquid tank 111 may be filled with a colorless solvent from which color components have been removed from the ink contained in the skin printer 10. That is, the liquid in this embodiment may be any one of the ink of the cartridges 1a and 1b, or the colorless solvent in which the color is removed.

The plurality of nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are provided in the docking station housing 101. The plurality of nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d are provided at positions corresponding to the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the pair of cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printer 10, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b, respectively. Each of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d has a rectangular sectional shape corresponding to the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the pair of cartridges 1a and 1b.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the nozzle caps corresponding to the first nozzle 3a and the second nozzle 3b of the first cartridge 1a are referred to as a first nozzle cap 121a and a second nozzle cap 121b And the nozzle caps corresponding to the third nozzle 3c and the fourth nozzle 3d of the second cartridge 2a are referred to as a third nozzle cap 121c and a fourth nozzle cap 121d.

The adjacent first nozzle cap 121a and second nozzle cap 121b are spaced apart from each other by the spacing grooves 123. Further, the adjacent third nozzle cap 121c and the fourth nozzle cap 121d are spaced apart from each other by the spacing grooves 123. As the first cartridge 1a and the second cartridge 1b are disposed apart from each other, the second nozzle cap 121b and the third nozzle cap 121c are spaced apart from each other.

As described above, since the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are disposed apart from each other, it is possible to prevent ink of different colors from being mixed with each other.

On the other hand, a liquid discharge portion 125 is provided in each of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. The liquid discharging portion 125 is finely cut in a slit shape so that capillary action occurs. The liquid discharge portion 125 discharges the liquid supplied from the liquid tank 111 toward the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the respective cartridges 1a and 1b by capillary action.

Though not shown in the respective nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d, fine holes, flaws, or irregularities may be formed. The ink leaking from the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d of the respective cartridges 1a and 1b, which contact the respective nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d through these fine holes, 121b, 121c and 121d after the ink remaining in the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d is impregnated into the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d by capillary action, 135b, 135c, and 135d to be described later. This makes it possible to prevent the ink remaining in the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the respective cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printer 10 from interfering with the ejection of the ink to generate droplets, , 3b, 3c, 3d can be prevented from being clogged.

The plurality of absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d are provided on the plurality of nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d, respectively. Similar to the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d, the plurality of absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d are spaced apart from each other to prevent ink of different colors from mixing with each other.

These absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c and 131d absorb the liquid in the liquid tank 111 and provide the liquid to the liquid discharging unit 125 of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. That is, the liquid in the liquid tank 111 absorbed by the absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d is collected in the chambers 135a, 135b, 135c, and 135d and then discharged to the liquid discharging unit 125, 3b, 3c, and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b in contact with the caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d.

Here, the absorbent members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d may be made of a porous absorbent material such as a fiber or a sponge capable of absorbing liquid, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d of the docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention include chambers 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d.

The chambers 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d are provided in the bottom regions of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d so as to communicate with the liquid discharge portions 125 of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d .

The ink leaking from the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b in contact with the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d is supplied to the chambers 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d, 121b, 121c, and 121d by a capillary phenomenon action through a bump or bump. The liquid in the liquid tank 111 absorbed by the absorbing members 131a, 131b, 131c, and 131d is collected in the chambers 135a, 135b, 135c, and 135d. On the other hand, the mixed liquid of the ink and the liquid collected in the chambers 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d is discharged to the liquid discharging portion 125 by the capillary phenomenon and contacted with the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d The nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b, respectively.

In addition, the docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a pressure sensor 141.

The pressure sensor 141 is provided in the docking station housing 101 to measure the pressure acting on the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. That is, the pressure sensor 141 is located below the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d, and detects the pressure of the skin printer 10 and the docking station 100 Or whether or not the skin printer 10 is correctly docked to the docking station 100. [ The pressure data measured by the pressure sensor 141 can be displayed through a pressure display lamp 109 provided on the other side of the upper portion of the docking station housing 101. That is, if the pressure data measured by the pressure sensor 141 is lower than the reference pressure value, the light is emitted through the pressure indicating lamp 109 to indicate that the skin printer 10 and the docking station 100 are not correctly docked, .

In addition, the docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a humidity sensor 145.

The humidity sensor 145 is provided in the docking station housing 101 to measure the humidity around the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. The humidity sensor 145 may be disposed around each of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d, but only in the vicinity of the first nozzle cap 121a and the third nozzle cap 121c as in this embodiment .

The nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d of the pair of cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printer 10 are connected to the docking station 100 on the basis of the humidity data measured by the humidity sensor 145 It is possible to judge whether the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d are positioned correctly or not and whether or not the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d are in an optimum state. For example, when the humidity data measured by the humidity sensor 145 is lower than the reference humidity value, the skin printer 10 and the docking station 100 may not be correctly docked, Or that each of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d does not maintain an optimum state.

The docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes nozzle cleaning units 151a and 151b.

The nozzle cleaning portions 151a and 151b in this embodiment are provided in pairs in accordance with the number of cartridges 1a and 1b. The nozzle cleaning portions 151a and 151b are provided on the docking station housing 101 so as to be spaced along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. The nozzle cleaning portions 151a and 151b wipe and clean ink adhering to the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b in contact with the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. The ink cleaned through the nozzle cleaning portions 151a and 151b is collected and collected into the chambers 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d of the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d. The nozzle cleaning portions 151a and 151b may be made of a porous absorber such as a fiber or a sponge capable of absorbing ink, but are not limited thereto.

In addition, the docking station 100 for a skin printer according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a sterilizing unit 161.

The sterilizing unit 161 sterilizes the main roller 41 and the plurality of spacing rollers 45 of the skin printer 10 which are provided in the docking station housing 101 and are accommodated in the pair of roller receiving grooves 103 . As the sterilizing unit 161, an ultraviolet ray generating unit or a medicine generating unit for irradiating ultraviolet rays may be provided. The pair of roller receiving grooves 103 is formed with a slit 165 for irradiating or spraying a sterilizing medium such as ultraviolet ray or medicine supplied from the sterilizing section 161 to the rollers 41 and 45.

Although the sterilizing unit 161 is illustrated as being accommodated in the docking station housing 101 in the present embodiment, the sterilizing unit 161 is provided outside the docking station housing 101, The rollers 41 and 45 accommodated in the receiving groove 103 may be sterilized.

4, when the cover 51 of the skin printer 10 is moved to the second position, as shown in Fig. 3, the skin printer 10 is moved to the position shown in Fig. To the docking station 100 according to the embodiment.

The liquid stored in the liquid tank 111 of the docking station 100 is supplied to the nozzle caps 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d of the docking station 100 through the absorption members 131a, 131b, 131c and 131d And a small amount of ink leaks from each of the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printers 10 and reaches the nozzles 3a of the cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printers 10 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are kept dry and moist, so that the optimum state is always maintained and print quality can be maintained.

The ink remaining in the nozzles 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of the cartridges 1a and 1b of the skin printer 10 can be discharged by the docking station 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is possible to prevent the nozzle 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d from being clogged as well as to prevent the droplet from being generated.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

10: Skin printer
11: Printer housing
31: Printing head
41: main roller
45: spacing roller
51: cover
100: Docking station
101: Housing for docking station
111: liquid tank
131a, 131b, 131c, 131d; Absorbing member
141: Pressure sensor
145: Humidity sensor
151a, 151b: nozzle cleaning unit

Claims (10)

A docking station housing for receiving a plurality of cartridges having nozzles through which ink is ejected and containing different colors of ink, and a skin printer having rollers rolling along the skin;
A plurality of nozzle caps provided at positions respectively corresponding to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printers and in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges, respectively; And
And a liquid tank which is provided in the docking station housing and accommodates any one of the ink of the cartridge or the colorless colorless solvent,
Wherein the plurality of nozzle caps include a liquid discharging portion which is discharged toward the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges by a capillary developing action of the liquid provided from the liquid tank. delete The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a plurality of absorbing members provided respectively in the plurality of nozzle caps for absorbing the liquid of the liquid tank and providing the liquid to the liquid ejecting portion of the nozzle cap. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a pair of adjacent nozzle caps are spaced apart from each other. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising a plurality of chambers provided in the plurality of nozzle caps and communicating with the liquid discharging portion and collecting ink absorbed by the absorbing member and ink leaking from the nozzles of the cartridge,
Wherein a mixed solution of the ink and the liquid collected in the chamber is discharged to the liquid discharge portion by capillary action. A docking station housing for receiving a plurality of cartridges having nozzles through which ink is ejected and containing different colors of ink, and a skin printer having rollers rolling along the skin;
A plurality of nozzle caps provided at positions respectively corresponding to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printers and in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges, respectively; And
And a pressure sensor provided in the docking station housing for measuring a pressure acting on the nozzle cap. A docking station housing for receiving a plurality of cartridges having nozzles through which ink is ejected and containing different colors of ink, and a skin printer having rollers rolling along the skin;
A plurality of nozzle caps provided at positions respectively corresponding to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printers and in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges, respectively; And
And a humidity sensor provided in the docking station housing for measuring the humidity of the nozzle cap. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a nozzle cleaning unit provided in the docking station housing for cleaning and cleaning ink adhering to the nozzle of the cartridge in contact with the nozzle cap. The method according to claim 1,
And a roller receiving recess formed in the docking station housing for receiving the rollers of the skin printer. A docking station housing for receiving a plurality of cartridges having nozzles through which ink is ejected and containing different colors of ink, and a skin printer having rollers rolling along the skin;
A plurality of nozzle caps provided at positions respectively corresponding to the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges of the skin printers and in contact with the nozzles of the plurality of cartridges, respectively; And
And a sterilizing portion provided in the docking station housing for sterilizing the rollers of the skin printer.

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