KR100601714B1 - Inkjet printer including means of generating electricity - Google Patents

Abstract

An ink jet printer having a power generation means is disclosed. An inkjet printer according to the present invention includes a carriage transfer unit, a carriage guide for reciprocating carriage of the carriage and a magnetic pole formed therein, a coil unit for generating induced power by magnetic poles during the carriage reciprocating transfer, a power storage unit, and ink ejection. It includes a discharge control unit for controlling the. The apparatus may further include wireless communication means for transferring print data and control signals between the printer body and the discharge control unit. By such a configuration, it is easy to miniaturize the device and freely arrange components, and fundamentally prevent noise due to contact interference of the cable, disconnection / short circuit due to breakage of the cable, and inflow / radiation of harmful electromagnetic waves.

Carriage transfer unit, magnetic pole, power generation means, carriage guide, wireless communication means, inkjet printer

Description

Inkjet printer including means of generating electricity

1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a power supply and data transmission means in a conventional inkjet printer.

Figure 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a power supply and data transmission means in the inkjet printer of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a power supply and data transmission means in the inkjet printer of the present invention.

4 is a rear view of the carriage of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... printer body 20 ... cable

30 Carriage guide 40 ... Carriage feeder

41a, 41b ... carriage feed roller 42 ... carriage feed motor

43 Carriage transport belt 50 ... Carriage

51 Discharge control unit 52 Printhead cartridge

100 ... feed roller 310 ... stimulation

530 Power storage unit 540 Coil unit

P ... paper

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and in particular, in order to transfer power and print data required for ink ejection, to reduce harmful electromagnetic waves introduced and radiated through a cable connecting an inkjet printhead and an inkjet printer body, An inkjet printer for preventing malfunction.

Inkjet printers are designed to perform only printer functions or to combine functions with copiers, facsimiles and scanners. Inkjet printers are non-impact and have less printing noise than dot printers. In addition, there is an advantage that it is easy to reduce the size and weight of the device, and color printing is possible using a multi-color ink cartridge. The inkjet printhead ejects a small droplet of ink to a desired position on the recording paper. It is mounted on the carriage of the inkjet printer in the form of a cartridge connected to an ink reservoir or the like. An inkjet printhead uses thermal energy, a piezoelectric element, or the like as an ink discharge power source, and is manufactured to have high resolution by semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering.

1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a power supply and data transmission means in a conventional inkjet printer. Referring to this, the carriage conveying unit 40 for conveying the carriage 50 includes a carriage conveying motor 42, a carriage conveying roller 41a, 41b, and a carriage conveying belt 43. The carriage transfer motor 42 receives power from the printer body 10. The carriage conveying rollers 41a and 41b are connected to the carriage conveying motor 42, and the carriage conveying belt 43 surrounds the carriage conveying rollers 41a and 41b and travels on the track. The carriage transfer belt 43 is coupled to the carriage 50 in which the inkjet printhead is mounted in the form of a cartridge 52. The carriage 50 is transferred to a predetermined position according to the carriage 50 transfer signal sent from the control unit of the printer main body 10 to the carriage transfer motor 42. The carriage 50 is guided along the carriage guide 30. A bearing member (not shown) is interposed to lubricate the carriage 50 and the carriage guide 30. The ink ejection from the inkjet printhead to the paper is controlled by the ejection control unit 51 provided in the carriage 50. Power and printing data for ink ejection are transmitted from the printer body 10 to the ejection control unit 51 by the cable 20. Flexible cables 20 such as FPC (Flexible printed circuit) or FFC (Flexible flat cable) are used. Since the cable 20 is subjected to repeated bending loads during the reciprocating transfer of the carriage 50, disconnection / shorting due to fatigue breakage of the cable 20 is feared.

For ink ejection, a higher voltage and more current than the print data or the control signal must be supplied to the inkjet printhead. Therefore, a high voltage ink discharge current flows in the cable 20 together with print data and control signals. Such ink discharge power becomes a cause of inflow / emission of harmful electromagnetic waves by the cable 20.

The length of the cable 20 is lengthened in proportion to the span length over which the carriage 50 is conveyed. The width of the cable 20 is widened in proportion to the amount of power and data transferred. The cable 20 moving in conjunction with the round trip of the carriage 50 serves as an antenna of harmful electromagnetic waves. Harmful electromagnetic waves introduced / radiated into the large cable 20 may cause malfunction of the inkjet printer. The larger the size of the cable 20, the smaller the size of the inkjet printer, the less freedom of component placement, the noise generated by contact interference between the cable 20 and other components, disconnection / short circuit due to the breakage of the cable 20, There is a concern that the electromagnetic sensitivity to harmful electromagnetic waves is increased.

In order to increase the print resolution, a large number of inkjet printheads are integrated in a small area, and the inkjet printheads are simultaneously controlled on and off by the discharge control unit 51, so that the absolute value of harmful electromagnetic waves generated in the cable 20 is varied in various frequency ranges. Should be regulated in the

Conventional technology for this problem, there is a method using a guide rail for supplying driving power and print data and a contact electrode in sliding contact therewith, but the guide rail is laid throughout the span that the carriage is reciprocated. And there is a possibility of causing electromagnetic noise at the electrical contacts. In addition, power supply using wireless communication has a very inefficient problem.

The present invention provides an inkjet printer which reduces inflow / emission of harmful electromagnetic waves, facilitates downsizing and free placement of inkjet printers, and prevents disconnection / shorting due to noise and cable breakage due to cable interference. Has its purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the inkjet printer according to the present invention,

A carriage transfer unit configured to reciprocate a carriage on which the inkjet printhead is mounted;

A carriage guide for reciprocating the carriage and forming magnetic poles;

A coil unit provided in the carriage to generate induced power by magnetic poles during the round trip of the carriage;

A power storage unit provided in the carriage to store the induction power of the coil unit;

A discharge control unit which operates with power supplied from a power storage unit and controls ink discharge of the inkjet print head; It includes.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the inkjet printer further includes wireless communication means for transferring print data and control signals between the printer body and the discharge control unit.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 to 3 are explanatory views schematically showing power supply and data transmission means in the inkjet printer of the present invention. Referring to this, the ink ejection power in the inkjet printhead is not supplied through the cable in the printer body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power generation means includes a magnet pole 310 formed on the carriage guide 30 and a coil part 540 provided on the carriage 50. Mechanical energy of the carriage 50 reciprocated by the printer main body 10 power is converted into electrical energy by the power generating means. The direction of the induced current follows Fleming's right hand law. The generated electrical energy is stored in the power storage unit 530 provided in the carriage 50, and the ink is discharged using the power stored in the power storage unit 530 at the desired time when the discharge control unit 51 is desired. The feed roller 100 transfers the paper P to the ink discharge position.

The power storage unit includes a battery capable of charging and discharging. Alternatively, a power storage unit for charging / discharging induction power using a capacitor may be implemented.

The magnetizing force or magnetization interval of the magnetic pole 310, the material of the magnetic pole 310, the shape of the coil unit 540, and the like can be various embodiments in consideration of the power required for ink ejection. 4 is a rear view of the carriage 50 having the coil unit 540, and an embodiment of the coil unit 540 in consideration of the magnetization interval of the carriage guide 30 is illustrated.

When ink discharge is impossible due to excessive discharge of the power storage unit 530, the ink discharge is stopped and the carriage 50 is transferred for the purpose of generating power. Therefore, when the power for ink discharge is insufficient, the discharge control unit 51 stops the ink discharge, the carriage transfer unit 40 reciprocates the carriage 50 to charge the power storage unit 530.

In the cable 20, the wiring for supplying the ink discharge power is deleted, and only the wiring for transmitting print data and control signals is formed. Print data and control signals are weaker in voltage and current than in ink discharge power. As a result, the size of the cable 20 can be reduced, and harmful electromagnetic interference introduced / radiated through the cable 20 is reduced.

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) refers to a phenomenon in which harmful electromagnetic waves generated from various electrical and electronic equipment cause electromagnetic interference to communication or other devices. Electrical and electronic equipment is required to be electromagnetically robust against external electromagnetic environments. Recently, regulations on electromagnetic wave immunity have been tightened. Therefore, electromagnetic noise that is unnecessarily radiated from the electrical and electronic equipment should be suppressed. In addition, when the electrical and electronic equipment is exposed to the external electromagnetic environment, it should be possible to satisfy the electromagnetic compatibility by reducing the electromagnetic sensitivity of the device.

In view of the above needs, the inkjet printer of the present invention may further include wireless communication means for transferring print data and control signals between the printer body 10 and the discharge control unit 51. Power for ink discharge is supplied by the power generating means, and print data and control signals are transmitted by the wireless communication means. When the power generation means and the wireless communication means are provided, the cable 20 is removed to fundamentally eliminate the risk of influx / emission of harmful electromagnetic waves.

Examples of the wireless communication means include directional communication means using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and the like, a non-directional Bluetooth method, an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication means, and the like. Yes it is possible.

When directional communication means using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, or the like is used, there is a space constraint in which a wireless transmitter / receiver must be installed at positions opposite to the printer body 10 and the discharge control unit 51, respectively. Bluetooth is led by Ericsson, Sweden, which uses a specific frequency of 2 to 3 GHz, has a distance limit of about 10 meters and a transmission rate limit of about 1 Mbps, and is standardized in IEEE 802.

Ultra-WideBand (UWB) wireless communication technology is a revolutionary next-generation wireless transmission technology that uses very low power and transmits digital data at very high speeds in the ultra-wide frequency band. Since the frequency resources are limited in the field of wireless communication, the UWB communication method that can use the frequency resources more efficiently by sharing the frequency of the existing communication system has been studied in recent years. In addition, various commercialized wireless modules can be employed as the wireless communication means of the present invention.

As described above, the inkjet printer according to the present invention generates electric power required for ink ejection by reciprocating the carriage without supplying electric power to the cable, thereby reducing harmful electromagnetic waves flowing into the cable and radiating the cable. This prevents cable breakage and device malfunction. In addition, if the wireless communication means is further provided, the cable is essentially removed, so that the device can be miniaturized or freely placed, and the noise due to the interference of the cable and the disconnection / short circuit due to the breakage of the cable, and the inflow of harmful electromagnetic waves / Radiation and the like are fundamentally prevented.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the art belongs can make various modifications and other equivalent embodiments therefrom. Will understand. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the claims below.

Claims (5)

A carriage transfer unit configured to reciprocate a carriage on which the inkjet printhead is mounted; A carriage guide for reciprocating the carriage and forming a magnetic pole; A coil unit provided in the carriage to generate induced power by the magnetic poles during the round trip of the carriage; A power storage unit provided in the carriage to store the induction power of the coil unit; An ejection control unit which operates with electric power supplied from the power storage unit and controls ink ejection of the inkjet printhead; Inkjet printer comprising a. The method of claim 1, The power storage unit, the inkjet printer, characterized in that it comprises a battery or a capacitor capable of charging and discharging. The method of claim 1, And when the electric power for ink ejection is insufficient, the ejection control unit stops ejecting the ink, and the carriage transfer unit reciprocates the carriage to charge the power storage unit. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And a wireless communication means for transferring print data and control signals between the printer body and the discharge control unit. The method of claim 4, wherein The wireless communication means, ink-jet printer, characterized in that using the ultra-wideband (UWB: Ultra-WideBand) wireless communication method.

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