CN112319053A - Cleaning device and cleaning method for ink-jet printing head - Google Patents
Cleaning device and cleaning method for ink-jet printing head Download PDFInfo
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- CN112319053A CN112319053A CN201911403551.1A CN201911403551A CN112319053A CN 112319053 A CN112319053 A CN 112319053A CN 201911403551 A CN201911403551 A CN 201911403551A CN 112319053 A CN112319053 A CN 112319053A
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- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 118
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 25
- 238000007641 inkjet printing Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 22
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 221
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 79
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 33
- 230000001154 acute effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- 238000005406 washing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 13
- 238000005507 spraying Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- CSCPPACGZOOCGX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Acetone Chemical compound CC(C)=O CSCPPACGZOOCGX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 18
- LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethanol Chemical compound CCO LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 18
- OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methanol Chemical compound OC OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 18
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 claims description 14
- KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Isopropanol Chemical compound CC(C)O KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 13
- VLKZOEOYAKHREP-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-Hexane Chemical compound CCCCCC VLKZOEOYAKHREP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 12
- TVMXDCGIABBOFY-UHFFFAOYSA-N octane Chemical compound CCCCCCCC TVMXDCGIABBOFY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 12
- 238000009210 therapy by ultrasound Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000007921 spray Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000004886 head movement Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 claims description 2
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- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
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Images
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Prevention or detection of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2/1652—Cleaning of print head nozzles by driving a fluid through the nozzles to the outside thereof, e.g. by applying pressure to the inside or vacuum at the outside of the print head
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Prevention or detection of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2/16552—Cleaning of print head nozzles using cleaning fluids
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Prevention or detection of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2002/16567—Cleaning of print head nozzles using ultrasonic or vibrating means
Landscapes
- Ink Jet (AREA)
Abstract
The invention discloses an ink-jet printing head cleaning device and a method thereof. The device includes washing tank and solvent steam generator, and solvent steam generator installs on the washing tank, and in solvent steam generator's shower nozzle orientation washing tank, solvent steam generator was used for forming solvent steam with the second solvent. The method comprises the following steps: (1) immersing the printing head into a first solvent for cleaning; (2) forming solvent vapor by the second solvent and spraying out the solvent vapor in a direction parallel to the liquid level of the first solvent; (3) rotating the printing head to enable the plane of the nozzle of the printing head to form an acute included angle with the liquid level of the first solvent, wherein the acute included angle faces the spraying direction of the solvent steam; (4) the print head is moved in the direction of the nozzle plane so that the nozzle plane is sequentially contacted with the solvent vapor, cleaning the nozzle plane. The device can effectively reduce the clean frequency of the printing head, improve the production efficiency, prolong the service life of the printing head and reduce the production cost.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of ink-jet printing, in particular to an ink-jet printing head cleaning device and an ink-jet printing head cleaning method.
Background
Inkjet printing is a modern manufacturing technique that is contactless, efficient and allows for precise deposition of materials. With the continuous development of ink jet printing technology, its application has been expanded from the pure printing field to the advanced fields of electronic manufacturing, life science, and additive manufacturing.
The nozzle plane clean state in the ink jet printing is shown in fig. 1 (a). During ink jet printing, ink tends to overflow and run at the nozzle, resulting in ink remaining on the nozzle plane, as shown in fig. 1- (b), a phenomenon known as "weeping". When the solvent in these suspensions begins to evaporate, solids are deposited on the nozzle plane, as shown in FIG. 1- (c). These hanging liquids and solids deposited on the nozzle plane may block the nozzle on the one hand and also affect the stability of the ink droplets, for example, causing the ink droplets to fluctuate in volume, speed, and angle of emergence, and satellite droplets, etc. Therefore, in the case of continuous industrial production using inkjet printing, it is necessary to regularly clean the hanging liquid on the nozzle plane and the solids that have been deposited.
The traditional cleaning method is to clean the plane of the nozzle by cleaning liquid, then to blow by high-pressure nitrogen or to wipe by dust-free cloth, and finally to remove the residual cleaning liquid on the plane of the nozzle. Because the cleaning liquid has a high boiling point (generally 200-. Although the method of blowing with high-pressure nitrogen gas can quickly remove liquid on the plane of the nozzle, gas can enter the nozzle and form a cavity, which affects ink jet in a subsequent period of time, so that the most widely adopted method in industrial production is a dust-free cloth wiping method. The dust-free wiping method, as a contact cleaning method, can affect the hydrophobic coating on the plane of the nozzle. As shown in fig. 2, as the number of times of wiping increases, the contact angle of the nozzle plane with the ink gradually decreases, i.e., the hydrophobicity becomes poor. The phenomenon of fluid hanging is more serious due to the deterioration of the hydrophobicity of the nozzle plane. Cleaning of the inkjet print head can only be done more frequently to avoid the print quality being compromised, which reduces production efficiency and, at the same time, reduces the lifetime of the inkjet print head, thereby increasing production costs.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above, there is a need for an inkjet print head cleaning apparatus and a cleaning method thereof, which can effectively alleviate the problem of the rise of the print head cleaning frequency with the increase of the usage time, so as to ensure the production efficiency, and the service life of the print head can be prolonged, thereby being beneficial to reducing the production cost.
The utility model provides an inkjet printing head cleaning device, includes washing tank and solvent steam generator, the washing tank is used for supplying first solvent to hold, solvent steam generator installs on the washing tank, solvent steam generator's shower nozzle orientation in the washing tank, solvent steam generator is used for forming solvent steam with the second solvent and follows the shower nozzle blowout.
In one embodiment, the first solvent is a carrier solvent after removing a solute from the printing ink, and the surface tension of the second solvent is smaller than that of the first solvent.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus further comprises a solvent container for holding the second solvent, the solvent container being in communication with the solvent vapor generator;
and/or, the solvent steam generator is installed the inner wall of washing tank and is located the top position of washing tank, the injection direction of shower nozzle is the horizontal direction setting.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus further comprises at least one ultrasonic generator mounted within the cleaning tank.
In one embodiment, the ultrasonic generator is mounted at the bottom of the cleaning tank, and the ultrasonic generator is an ultrasonic vibrator.
In one embodiment, the inkjet print head cleaning device further comprises a first solvent replenishing mechanism, wherein the first solvent replenishing mechanism is communicated with the cleaning tank and is used for replenishing a first solvent into the cleaning tank;
and/or, the inkjet printing head cleaning device further comprises a waste liquid collecting mechanism, and the waste liquid collecting mechanism is communicated with the cleaning tank to be used for collecting the cleaning waste liquid in the cleaning tank.
An inkjet printhead cleaning method comprising the steps of:
(1) immersing a nozzle plane of a printing head into a first solvent for cleaning;
(2) forming a second solvent with surface tension smaller than that of the first solvent into solvent vapor and spraying out the solvent vapor;
(3) rotating the printing head to enable the plane of the nozzle of the printing head to form an acute included angle with the liquid level of the first solvent, wherein the opening of the acute included angle faces the spraying direction of the solvent steam;
(4) the printing head is controlled to move along the direction of the nozzle plane so that the nozzle plane is gradually contacted with the solvent steam, the solvent steam and the first solvent form a slope-shaped liquid surface at the contact position of the solvent steam and the nozzle plane, the surface tension of the slope-shaped liquid surface from top to bottom is gradually increased to form a surface tension gradient, and the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface forms a Marangoni flow from top to bottom under the surface tension gradient, so that the nozzle plane is cleaned.
In one embodiment, the acute included angle is 20-30 degrees;
and/or, the speed of the printing head movement in the step (4) is 2mm/s-15 mm/s;
and/or the solvent steam is generated by a solvent steam generator and is sprayed out through a spray head of the steam generator.
In one embodiment, step (1) further comprises the steps of: immersing the printing head in a first solvent, and cleaning the printing head by ultrasonic treatment, wherein the vibration frequency of the ultrasonic treatment is 20kHz-50kHz, and the power density is 0.3W/cm2The cleaning time is 180-300 s.
In one embodiment, the second solvent is at least one of isopropanol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane, and acetone.
In one embodiment, the second solvent is at least one of isopropanol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane, and acetone.
When the cleaning device for the ink-jet printing head is used for cleaning the printing head, the first solvent remained on the nozzle plane of the cleaned printing head is removed by utilizing the Marangoni Effect (Marangoni Effect), so that the cleaning of the hanging liquid and the deposited solid on the nozzle plane is completed under the condition of not contacting the nozzle plane, the influence of repeated wiping on the hydrophobic coating on the nozzle plane is avoided, the condition that the hydrophobicity gradually becomes worse is avoided, the rise of the cleaning frequency of the printing head along with the increase of the using time can be effectively relieved, the production efficiency is ensured, the service life of the printing head can be prolonged, and the production cost is reduced.
Drawings
FIG. 1(a) is a schematic view of a nozzle in a clean state;
FIG. 1(b) is a schematic view showing a phenomenon of "liquid hanging" caused by ink remaining on the nozzle plane;
FIG. 1- (c) is a schematic representation of solids deposited at the nozzle plane;
FIG. 2 is a graph showing the change in hydrophobicity of the nozzle plane with an increase in the number of wiping times;
fig. 3 is a schematic view of an inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;
fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a part of the structure of the cleaning apparatus for an inkjet printhead according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Description of the reference numerals
10: an inkjet print head cleaning device; 100: a cleaning tank; 200: a solvent vapor generator; 300: a solvent container; 400: a first solvent replenishing mechanism; 500: a waste liquid collection mechanism; 600: an ultrasonic generator; 20: a print head; 21: a nozzle plane; a: a first solvent; b: solvent vapor; c: a slope-shaped liquid level; d: and (4) sharp corner positions.
Detailed Description
To facilitate an understanding of the invention, the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Example 1
Referring to fig. 3, the present embodiment provides an inkjet printhead cleaning device 10.
The inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus 10 includes a cleaning bath 100 and a solvent vapor generator 200. The cleaning tank 100 is used for holding a first solvent (shown at a in fig. 3 and 4). The solvent vapor generator 200 is installed on the cleaning tank 100, a nozzle of the solvent vapor generator 200 faces the cleaning tank 100, and the solvent vapor generator 200 is used for forming the second solvent into solvent vapor (shown at B in fig. 3 and 4) and spraying the solvent vapor from the nozzle. In the cleaning, the first solvent is a carrier solvent after the printing ink is removed of solute, and the first solvent has the same solvent composition as the ink used by the printing head in the inkjet printing. The surface tension of the second solvent is less than the surface tension of the first solvent.
The inkjet print head cleaning apparatus 10 of the present invention removes the first solvent remaining on the nozzle plane 21 of the print head 20 after cleaning by using the Marangoni Effect (Marangoni Effect) when cleaning the print head 20, and in particular, the nozzle plane 21 of the print head 20 is separated from the liquid surface of the first solvent at an angle, and at this time, the solvent vapor and the first solvent form a slope-shaped liquid surface (as shown at C in fig. 4) at a position in contact with the nozzle plane 21, on which the amount of the second solvent dissolved per unit surface area is substantially the same, and the volume of the first solvent is the smallest at a sharp corner position above the slope-shaped liquid surface, and the volume of the first solvent gradually increases downward along the slope, so that the specific gravities of the first solvent and the second solvent are different at different positions on the slope-shaped liquid surface, and the second solvent is the highest at a sharp corner position above the slope-shaped liquid surface, as shown at D in fig. 4, the proportion of the second solvent is gradually decreased downwards along the slope. Since the surface tension of the first solvent is high and the surface tension of the second solvent is low, a surface tension gradient is formed on the slope-shaped liquid surface, the surface tension at the position of a sharp corner at the upper part of the slope-shaped liquid surface is lowest, and the surface tension gradually increases downwards along the slope. Due to the existence of the surface tension gradient, a marangoni flow from top to bottom is formed in the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface based on the marangoni effect, as indicated by a curved arrow in fig. 4, the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface forms the marangoni flow from top to bottom under the surface tension gradient, so that the printing head 20 is separated from the liquid surface of the first solvent, the nozzle plane is cleaned, the first solvent cannot remain on the nozzle plane 21, and the purpose of non-contact cleaning is achieved.
The inkjet printhead cleaning device 10 further includes a solvent container 300 for containing a second solvent, the solvent container 300 being in communication with the solvent vapor generator 200.
In one embodiment, the solvent vapor generator 200 is installed on the inner wall of the cleaning tank 100 and located at the top of the cleaning tank 100, and the spraying direction of the spraying head is arranged in a horizontal direction.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus 10 further comprises at least one ultrasonic generator 600, the ultrasonic generator 600 being mounted within the cleaning tank 100. The present embodiment realizes cleaning of the print head 20 by providing the ultrasonic generator 600, and improves the cleaning effect by ultrasonic cleaning as well as non-contact cleaning.
In one embodiment, the ultrasonic generator 600 is installed at the bottom of the cleaning tank 100.
In one embodiment, the ultrasound generator 600 is an ultrasound transducer. As shown in fig. 3, the number of ultrasound transducers is three. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments the number of ultrasound transducers may also be one, two, four, etc.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning device 10 further includes a first solvent replenishment mechanism 400. The first solvent replenishing mechanism 400 is in communication with the cleaning tank 100 for replenishing the first solvent into the cleaning tank 100.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning device 10 further includes a waste collection mechanism 500. The waste liquid collecting mechanism 500 communicates with the cleaning tank 100 for collecting the cleaning waste liquid in the cleaning tank 100. Waste liquid collection mechanism 500 can effectively retrieve the washing waste liquid to exportable to waste liquid treatment mechanism avoids the direct emission of washing waste liquid.
In one embodiment, the inkjet printhead cleaning device 10 may effect movement of the printhead 20 by an external drive mechanism. The driving mechanism is used for mounting and connecting the printing head 20, and the driving mechanism is used for driving the printing head 20 to move. The drive mechanism is not shown in figures 3 and 4. The setting of actuating mechanism can realize beating printer head 20 automated movement, practices thrift the manpower, improves and washs degree of automation.
In summary, the inkjet print head cleaning device 10 of the embodiment improves the cleaning effect through ultrasonic cleaning and non-contact cleaning, achieves automatic cleaning of the liquid hanging and the deposited solid on the nozzle plane 21 without contacting the nozzle plane 21, avoids the condition that the hydrophobic coating on the nozzle plane 21 is affected by repeated wiping and gradually becomes poor in hydrophobicity, can effectively alleviate the rise of the cleaning frequency of the print head 20 along with the increase of the service time, thereby ensuring the production efficiency, and can prolong the service life of the print head 20 and reduce the production cost.
Example 2
The embodiment provides an inkjet printhead cleaning method.
The cleaning method of the ink jet printing head comprises the following steps:
(1) the print head 20 is immersed in a first solvent for cleaning, the first solvent having the same solvent composition as that of the ink used for the print head in the inkjet printing.
(2) And forming solvent vapor by the second solvent and spraying the solvent vapor in a direction parallel to the liquid surface of the first solvent, wherein the surface tension of the second solvent is less than that of the first solvent. The second solvent is at least one of isopropanol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane and acetone.
(3) The print head 20 is rotated so that its nozzle plane 21 makes an acute angle with the liquid surface of the first solvent, the acute angle alpha (as shown in fig. 3) being 20-30 deg., and the opening of the acute angle being directed in the solvent vapor ejection direction.
(4) The print head 20 moves along the direction of the nozzle plane 21 to make the nozzle plane 21 gradually contact with the solvent vapor, the solvent vapor and the first solvent form a slope-shaped liquid surface (as shown in C in fig. 4) at the contact position with the nozzle plane 21, the surface tension of the slope-shaped liquid surface from top to bottom is gradually increased to form a surface tension gradient, and the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface forms a marangoni flow from top to bottom under the surface tension gradient, so that the nozzle plane 21 is cleaned.
(5) The printhead 20 leaves the cleaning tank 100 and the cleaning is complete.
The present invention utilizes marangoni effect to remove the first solvent remaining on the nozzle plane 21, when the printing head 20 is rotated by a certain angle, a slope-shaped liquid surface as shown in C in fig. 4 is formed between the three-phase contact line, that is, the nozzle plane 21 of the printing head 20 and the liquid surface of the first solvent, when the printing head 20 leaves the liquid surface of the first solvent, the solvent vapor of the second solvent is generated at the slope-shaped liquid surface, the solvent vapor part of the second solvent is dissolved into the first solvent at the slope-shaped liquid surface, because the amount of the second solvent dissolved in the unit surface area is basically the same at the slope-shaped liquid surface, and the volume of the first solvent is gradually increased downward along the slope at the position of the sharp corner at the upper part of the slope-shaped liquid surface, the specific gravities of the first solvent and the second solvent are different at different positions on the slope-shaped liquid surface, and at the position of the sharp corner at the upper part of the slope, as shown at D in fig. 4, the specific gravity of the second solvent is highest, and gradually decreases downward along the slope. Since the surface tension of the first solvent is high and the surface tension of the second solvent is low, a surface tension gradient is formed on the slope-shaped liquid surface, the surface tension at the position of a sharp corner at the upper part of the slope-shaped liquid surface is lowest, and the surface tension gradually increases downwards along the slope. Due to the existence of the surface tension gradient, a flow of marangoni is formed in the first solvent on the slope liquid surface from top to bottom based on the marangoni effect, as indicated by the curved arrow in fig. 4, and the first solvent on the nozzle plane 21 is pulled back into the first solvent. Thus, the first solvent does not remain on the nozzle plane 21 after the print head 20 is separated from the liquid surface of the first solvent.
Example 3
The embodiment provides an inkjet printhead cleaning method.
The cleaning method of the ink jet printing head comprises the following steps:
(1) the print head 20 is immersed in a first solvent that has the same solvent composition as the ink used by the print head in ink jet printing. The print head 20 is cleaned by the ultrasonic processing. The vibration frequency of ultrasonic treatment is 20kHz-50kHz, and the power density is 0.3W/cm2The cleaning time is 180-300 s.
(2) And forming solvent vapor by the second solvent and spraying the solvent vapor in a direction parallel to the liquid surface of the first solvent, wherein the surface tension of the second solvent is less than that of the first solvent. The second solvent is at least one of isopropanol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane and acetone.
(3) The print head 20 is rotated so that its nozzle plane 21 makes an acute angle with the liquid surface of the first solvent, the acute angle being 20-30, and the opening of the acute angle facing the solvent vapor ejection direction.
(4) The print head 20 is moved in the direction of the nozzle plane 21 at a speed of 2-15 mm/s so that the nozzle plane 21 is in turn in contact with the solvent vapour. The solvent vapor and the first solvent form a slope-shaped liquid surface (as shown in a position C in fig. 4) at a position where the solvent vapor and the first solvent are in contact with the nozzle plane 21, the surface tension of the slope-shaped liquid surface from top to bottom is gradually increased to form a surface tension gradient, and the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface forms a marangoni flow from top to bottom under the surface tension gradient, so that the nozzle plane 21 is cleaned.
(5) The printhead 20 leaves the cleaning tank 100 and the cleaning is complete.
Example 4
The present embodiment provides an inkjet printhead cleaning method implemented by the inkjet printhead cleaning device 10 of embodiment 1.
The cleaning method of the ink jet printing head comprises the following steps:
(1) immersing the print head 20 in the first solvent in the cleaning tank 100, with the nozzle plane 21 of the print head 20 always facing downward and being completely submerged by the first solvent; the print head 20 is ultrasonically cleaned by the ultrasonic generator 600. The ultrasonic generator 600 has a vibration frequency of 20kHz-50kHz and a power density of 0.3W/cm during ultrasonic treatment2The cleaning time is 180-300 s.
(2) The second solvent is formed into solvent vapor by the solvent vapor generator 200 and is sprayed out from the spray head of the solvent vapor generator 200 in a direction parallel to the liquid surface of the first solvent, and the surface tension of the second solvent is smaller than that of the first solvent. The second solvent is at least one of isopropanol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane and acetone.
(3) The print head 20 is rotated so that its nozzle plane 21 makes an acute angle with the liquid surface of the first solvent, the acute angle being 20-30, and the opening of the acute angle facing the solvent vapor ejection direction.
(4) The drive mechanism drives the print head 20 to move at a speed of 2mm/s to 15mm/s in the direction of the nozzle plane 21 (in the direction of the linear arrow in fig. 4) so that the nozzle plane 21 comes into contact with the solvent vapor in sequence. The solvent vapor cleans the nozzle plane 21 in the process that the marangoni effect pulls the first solvent remaining on the nozzle plane 21 back into the first solvent in the cleaning tank 100.
(5) The drive mechanism drives the printhead 20 away from the cleaning tank 100 and the cleaning is complete.
In summary, the present invention utilizes marangoni effect to remove the first solvent remaining on the nozzle plane 21, when the print head 20 is rotated by a certain angle and the print head 20 is separated from the liquid surface of the first solvent, a slope-shaped liquid surface as shown in fig. 4 is formed between the three-phase contact line, i.e. the nozzle plane 21 of the print head and the liquid surface of the first solvent, at this time, the solvent vapor of the second solvent is generated at the slope-shaped liquid surface, the solvent vapor part of the second solvent is dissolved into the first solvent at the slope-shaped liquid surface, because the amount of the second solvent dissolved in the unit surface area is substantially the same at the slope-shaped liquid surface, and the volume of the first solvent is gradually increased downward along the slope at the position of the sharp corner at the upper part of the slope-shaped liquid surface, the specific gravities of the first solvent and the second solvent are different at different positions on the slope-shaped liquid surface, and at the position of the sharp corner, the second solvent has the highest specific gravity, and the specific gravity of the second solvent gradually decreases downwards along the slope. Since the surface tension of the first solvent is high and the surface tension of the second solvent is low, a surface tension gradient is formed on the slope-shaped liquid surface, the surface tension at the position of a sharp corner at the upper part of the slope-shaped liquid surface is lowest, and the surface tension gradually increases downwards along the slope. Due to the existence of the surface tension gradient, a flow of marangoni is formed in the first solvent on the slope liquid surface from top to bottom based on the marangoni effect, as indicated by the arrows in fig. 4, and the first solvent on the nozzle plane 21 is pulled back into the first solvent. Thus, the first solvent does not remain on the nozzle plane 21 after the print head 20 is separated from the liquid surface of the first solvent.
The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.
The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.
Claims (10)
1. The cleaning device for the ink-jet printing head is characterized by comprising a cleaning tank and a solvent steam generator, wherein the cleaning tank is used for containing a first solvent, the solvent steam generator is installed on the cleaning tank, a spray head of the solvent steam generator faces the interior of the cleaning tank, and the solvent steam generator is used for forming solvent steam from a second solvent and spraying out the solvent steam from the spray head.
2. The inkjet printhead cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the first solvent is a carrier solvent after removal of a solute from a printed ink, and the surface tension of the second solvent is less than the surface tension of the first solvent.
3. The inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a solvent container for holding the second solvent, the solvent container in communication with the solvent vapor generator;
and/or, the solvent steam generator is installed the inner wall of washing tank and is located the top position of washing tank, the injection direction of shower nozzle is the horizontal direction setting.
4. The inkjet printhead cleaning device of any of claims 1-3, further comprising at least one sonicator, said sonicator mounted within said cleaning tank.
5. The inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus of claim 4, wherein the ultrasonic generator is mounted at a tank bottom of the cleaning tank, the ultrasonic generator being an ultrasonic vibrator.
6. The inkjet printhead cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a first solvent replenishment mechanism in communication with the cleaning tank for replenishing the first solvent into the cleaning tank;
and/or, the inkjet printing head cleaning device further comprises a waste liquid collecting mechanism, and the waste liquid collecting mechanism is communicated with the cleaning tank to be used for collecting the cleaning waste liquid in the cleaning tank.
7. A method of cleaning an ink jet print head comprising the steps of:
(1) immersing a nozzle plane of a printing head into a first solvent for cleaning;
(2) forming a second solvent with surface tension smaller than that of the first solvent into solvent vapor and spraying out the solvent vapor;
(3) rotating the printing head to enable the plane of the nozzle of the printing head to form an acute included angle with the liquid level of the first solvent, wherein the opening of the acute included angle faces the spraying direction of the solvent steam;
(4) the printing head is controlled to move along the direction of the nozzle plane so that the nozzle plane is gradually contacted with the solvent steam, the solvent steam and the first solvent form a slope-shaped liquid surface at the contact position of the solvent steam and the nozzle plane, the surface tension of the slope-shaped liquid surface from top to bottom is gradually increased to form a surface tension gradient, and the first solvent on the slope-shaped liquid surface forms a Marangoni flow from top to bottom under the surface tension gradient, so that the nozzle plane is cleaned.
8. The inkjet printhead cleaning method of claim 7, wherein the acute included angle is 20 ° -30 °;
and/or, the speed of the printing head movement in the step (4) is 2mm/s-15 mm/s;
and/or the solvent steam is generated by a solvent steam generator and is sprayed out through a spray head of the steam generator.
9. The inkjet printhead cleaning method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the step (1) further comprises the steps of: immersing the printing head in a first solvent, and cleaning the printing head by ultrasonic treatment, wherein the vibration frequency of the ultrasonic treatment is 20kHz-50kHz, and the power density is 0.3W/cm2The cleaning time is 180-300 s.
10. The inkjet printhead cleaning method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second solvent is at least one of isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, methanol, n-octane, n-hexane, and acetone.
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| CN201911403551.1A CN112319053A (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2019-12-30 | Cleaning device and cleaning method for ink-jet printing head |
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| CN201911403551.1A CN112319053A (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2019-12-30 | Cleaning device and cleaning method for ink-jet printing head |
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