JPH05131640A - Printing head of printer for metal plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the title printing head reduced in the consumption amount of ink, capable of printing a sharp character and capable of performing printing work even under environment much in the waste refuse or dust of the metal treatment site. CONSTITUTION:A shutter 13 changed over to either one of the state coming into contact with the tip part of a jet to close the same and a state separated from the jet to open the same is provided to a printing head main body and a flexible porous material 15 is attached to the surface opposed to the tip part of the jet of the shutter 13 and a cleaning solution supply means supplying a non-drying cleaning solution is provided to the flexible porous material 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print head of a printing device for metal plates, and more particularly to a low carbon steel plate, a coated steel plate,
An application-type non-permeable ink in which a print head is arranged so as to face a flat plate made of a metal such as a surface-treated steel plate, a stainless steel material or an aluminum material, and which is pressurized from an ejection jet provided in the print head. The present invention relates to a print head that prints dot matrix characters by ejecting (immediate dryness) without contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-mentioned print head, in order to prevent the quick-drying ink from solidifying in the jet jet supply system, the ink is supplied to the jet jet supply system only immediately before the start of printing. It is customary to print by doing so, and after the printing is completed, the ink is extracted from the supply system and the cleaning liquid is supplied instead.

[0003]

Therefore, the ink and the cleaning liquid may be consumed more for replacement to prevent drying than for printing, so that the ink and the cleaning liquid are consumed for replacement. However, there is a drawback that the consumption amount of the above is extremely large.

Further, the dots may be disturbed under the influence of the ink adhering to the surface of the print head, and in the extreme case, there is a problem that the printed characters cannot be read.

Further, it is easily affected by dust and dirt, and it is difficult to perform work in an environment in which a lot of dust and the like are suspended, such as in a site where steel plate processing (cutting work, welding work, etc.) is performed. There was a flaw.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the present invention is to reduce consumption of ink or the like, to print clear characters, and to remove dust and dirt on a metal processing site. An object of the present invention is to provide a print head of a printing device for a metal plate, which can perform a printing operation even in a dusty environment.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve such an object, a state in which a tip of an ejection jet is in contact with a print head main body to close it and a state in which it is separated from the ejection jet and opened. A shutter that can be switched to any of the following states is provided, a flexible porous material is attached to the surface of the shutter that faces the tip of the jet jet, and a non-drying cleaning liquid is supplied to the flexible porous material. It is characterized in that a cleaning liquid supply means is attached.

[0008]

In the print head having the above structure, when the print head is not used, the flexible porous material is made to contain the cleaning liquid and brought into contact with the tip of the jet to close the jet.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink in the jet jet from drying, and to prevent the ink from solidifying even when the print head is not used and the ink is kept in the jet jet. For this reason, when the print head is not used, it is not necessary to replace the ink in the ejection jet with the cleaning liquid.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the construction of the main parts of a printing device for steel plate. This printing device is installed in NC cutting machines, NC line marking dedicated machines, etc., and it is possible to perform high-speed and short-cutting on a steel plate with a series of programs without interrupting work from line marking to cutting by NC control. It is suitable for use in a system that can print dot-type character information in a time, which makes it possible to standardize and rationalize a processing site and to perform full automation.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a movable base mounted on a base (not shown) so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. An arm 3 is attached to the movable table 1 via a vertical movement device 2 so as to be movable up and down. A print head 5 is attached to the tip of the arm 3 via a swivel device 4 so as to swivel horizontally.

The print head 5 is positioned at an appropriate position above the steel material 7 by the moving table 1, the vertical movement device 2, and the turning device 4, and ink is ejected from the ejection jet 8 assembled inside in this state. Then, a predetermined symbol or character is printed on the steel material W.

Print head body 1 constituting the print head 5
A base end portion of an L-shaped arm 11 is rotatably attached in a vertical direction via a pin 12 to an air chuck 19 attached to 0, and a print head 5 is attached to a tip end of the L-shaped arm 11. The shutter 13 that can be switched between one of a state in which it abuts on the tip of the jet 8 inside and closes it (see FIG. 2) and a state in which it is opened apart from the jet 8 (see FIG. 3) It is detachably attached. The shutter 13 includes a plate-shaped base 14 and the base 14
The flexible porous material 15 made of, for example, a sponge or the like is attached to the upper surface of the flexible porous material 15. The shutter 13 is attached to the L-shaped arm 11 by externally fitting the holes 17 formed in the base 14 to the pins 16 and 16 planted in the L-shaped arm 11. It is designed to be easily attached and detached (see Fig. 5).

An auxiliary arm 21 is rotatably attached to the air chuck 19 via a pin 20. The auxiliary arm 21 is interlocked with the L-shaped arm 11, and is configured to simultaneously rotate symmetrically as the L-shaped arm 11 rotates.

An adjustment stopper 22 is attached to the auxiliary arm 21, which determines the rotational limit angle of the auxiliary arm 21 in the opening direction, and thus the rotational limit angle of the L-shaped arm 11 in the opening direction. Has been decided. Note that L
If the rotation angle of the character-shaped arm 11 is too wide, the shutter 13 inserted in the pin 16 may fall.

Air supply systems 24 and 25 are connected to the air chuck 19 of the print head body 10,
By supplying air from these air supply systems, both the L-shaped arm 11 and the auxiliary arm 21 are synchronously rotated.

Further, a cleaning liquid supply pipe 27 is attached to the print head main body 10 and is supplied when the shutter 13 is closed.
The non-drying cleaning liquid is supplied to the flexible porous material 15 on the shutter 11 via the. The base end of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing ink and cleaning liquid supply paths. FIG. 30 shows an air pipe extending from an air supply source. A filter 31 and a pressure reducing valve 32 are interposed in the air pipe 30, and its tip is branched. And one of the branched air pipes 3
Reference numeral 3 is connected to an air chuck 19 for opening and closing the shutter via a 4-way solenoid valve 34.

Further, a pressure reducing valve 36 and a two-way solenoid valve 37 are provided at the tip of the other branched air pipe 35 of the air pipe 30, and after the tip is branched, printing ink is formed. Bottle 39 and cleaning liquid bottle 4
0 and 0 in parallel. The discharge sides of the bottles 39 and 40 are connected to air pipes 44 connected to the jet jets of the print head body 5 via two-way solenoid valves 42 and 43, respectively.

The other branched side of the air pipe 35 is connected to the air pipe 44 via a two-way solenoid valve 45. The discharge-side pipe of the cleaning liquid bottle 40 is branched and connected to a supply pipe 27 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the flexible porous material 15 attached to the shutter 13 via a two-way solenoid valve. (Not shown). Reference numeral 48 denotes an ink purging nozzle extending from the two-way solenoid valve 49, which is a jet jet 8 in the print head.
Is for cleaning.

Next, the case of printing using the print head having the above construction will be described. When printing is performed using the above print head, the following procedure is performed. 1) First, the printing device is selected (offset movement). 2) Operate the solenoid valve 42 of the ink supply system to move the print head 5
Ink is injected into the jet 8 of. 3) The solenoid valve 34 of the air system associated with the ink supply system is operated to operate the air chuck 19, and the shutter 13
To the "open" state. 4) The solenoid valve 49 is opened, ink is passed through the jet 8 of the print head 5, and the jet 8 is cleaned (ink purge). 5) The swivel device 4 is operated to align the print head 5 with the predetermined origin position. 6) By operating the vertical movement device 2, the print head 5
Is lowered, and the distance to the steel plate W existing therebelow is maintained at a predetermined value. 7) The swivel device 4 and the vertical movement device 2 are operated to move the print head 5 to a predetermined position on the steel plate W (where printing is to be started). 8) Operate the solenoid valve 34 to bring the shutter 13 from the “open” state to the “closed” state via the air chuck 19.
As a result, the ink adhering around the ejection port of the ejection jet 8 of the print head body 10 is wiped off. At the same time, it also has the meaning of preventing ink from adhering to those locations in advance. 9) A command signal for printing is issued from a controller (not shown). 10) The vertical movement device 2 operates based on the above command signal, and the print head 5 is lowered to move the print head 5 at a constant distance (15 m
m) Position at a distance. 11) Printing start, based on a command signal from the control not shown, ink is jetted from the jet jet 8 to start printing. 12) After printing is completed, the vertical movement device 2 is operated to raise the print head 5 to a position away from the steel plate W by a predetermined distance (for example, 30 mm). 13) The vertical movement device 2 is operated again to return the print head 5 to the print start point. 14) Then, in this state, the shutter 13 of the print head 5
Closed. As a result, the ejection port of the ejection jet 8 is covered to prevent the ink from drying and the ink scattered around the ejection jet 8 on the lower surface of the print head 5 is wiped off. The above is one printing cycle.

15) For subsequent printing, the above 7) to
The operation of 14) is repeated. 16) After all printing is completed, the vertical movement device 2 is operated to raise the print head 5. 17) Subsequently, the air chuck 19 is operated to move the shutter 13 from the "closed" state to the "open" state, and the print head 5 is cleaned. The cleaning is performed by removing the ink from the jet 8 of the print head 5 and supplying the cleaning liquid instead, as is conventionally done. It should be noted that the cleaning of the print head 5 is performed, for example, only when holidays continue for two days or more and the ink in the jet jet 8 may dry. 18) With the above operation, the printing operation is completed. 19) The selection of the printing device is completed (offset movement).

It should be noted that, in the above-described embodiment, the shape and dimensions of the respective constituent elements shown are examples, and various changes can be made as necessary.

For example, although the air chuck 19 is used to open and close the shutter 13 in the above embodiment, the invention is not limited to this, and the shutter 1 is directly connected by an electromagnetic solenoid or the like.
3 may be opened and closed.

Further, in the above embodiment, sponge is used as the flexible porous material 15 for containing the cleaning liquid, which is placed on the upper surface of the shutter 13, but the invention is not limited to this, and a cloth such as a non-woven fabric may be used. You may use.

Furthermore, it is necessary to keep the flexible porous material 15 in a state that it constantly contains a cleaning liquid. To this end, a sensor for detecting the liquid content in the flexible porous material is provided, and when the signal emitted from the sensor exceeds a certain allowable range, the cleaning liquid supply system 27 jets the liquid to replenish it. Alternatively, the cleaning liquid may be automatically replenished at regular intervals without providing such a sensor.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the print head main body is either in contact with the tip of the jet jet to close it or in a state where the jet head is separated from the jet jet and opened. A cleaning liquid supply means for attaching a non-drying cleaning liquid to the flexible porous material, the flexible porous material being attached to the surface of the shutter facing the tip of the jet jet. Since it is attached, it is possible to prevent the ink in the jet jet from drying, and even when the print head is not used, the ink is not solidified while being kept in the jet jet. For this reason, when the print head is not used, it is not necessary to replace the ink in the ejection jet with the cleaning liquid.

Therefore, compared with the conventional one, the consumption of ink and cleaning liquid can be reduced, and the surface of the print head can be cleaned before printing, so that the ink adhered to the print head is affected. The dots are not disturbed, and are easily affected by dust and dirt, which enables printing work on site where steel plate processing (cutting work, welding work, etc.) is performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a print head.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an open state of a shutter in the print head.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the print head.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a print head.

FIG. 6 is a tilted diagram illustrating an ink and cleaning liquid supply system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Moving stand 2 Vertical movement device 4 Revolving device 5 Print head W Steel material 8 Jet jet 10 Print head body 11 L-shaped arm 13 Shutter 14 Base 15 Flexible porous material 16 Pin 19 Air chuck 27 Supply pipe

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A print head of a printing apparatus for a metal plate, comprising a print head main body and an ejection jet for ejecting ink for printing on a metal plate arranged facing the print head main body. The head body is provided with a shutter that can be switched between a state in which it is in contact with the tip of the jet jet to close it and a state in which it is opened apart from the jet jet, and at the tip of the jet jet of the shutter. A print head for a printing device for a metal plate, characterized in that a flexible porous material is attached to opposite surfaces, and a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a non-drying cleaning liquid is attached to the flexible porous material. ..