KR20060049646A - Apparatus for regulating viscosity of ink - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an ink viscosity adjusting device installed on the flow path of the ink of the printing apparatus to measure and adjust the viscosity of the ink, which is installed on the flow path, the inlet and outlet through which the ink is introduced and discharged formed; A rotating shaft installed in the housing with at least one rotating blade rotating in accordance with the flow of the ink; A sensing member having a sensing object and installed on the rotating shaft to rotate together; And a sensor for detecting a sensing object of the sensing member.

Ink viscosity, viscosity control, viscosity measurement

Description

Ink viscosity regulator {Apparatus for regulating viscosity of ink}

1 is a view for explaining an example of the ink viscosity measurement method according to the prior art.

2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a printing apparatus employing an ink viscosity adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the ink viscosity control device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV 'of FIG. 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the ink passage member provided in the ink viscosity adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a partially cutaway perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the support member provided in the ink viscosity adjusting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a rotary blade provided in the ink viscosity control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the sensing member provided in the ink viscosity adjusting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

9 and 10 are partially cutaway perspective views schematically showing the configuration of the ink hydraulic pressure adjusting means provided in the ink viscosity adjusting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an ink viscosity adjusting device, and more particularly, to an ink viscosity adjusting device for adjusting the viscosity of an ink used in a printing apparatus in a predetermined range.

In a printing apparatus for printing a large amount of printed matter, the viscosity of the ink is very important. Since the ink itself contains a volatile solvent, its concentration tends to gradually increase over time. When the viscosity of the ink is changed in this way, not only the improvement of the printing quality can be expected, but also the flow path in the printing apparatus is blocked by the ink, which may cause the failure of the machine. Therefore, most printing apparatuses require a means for properly maintaining the viscosity of the ink within a predetermined range.

One of the conventional methods for measuring ink viscosity has been largely dependent on manual labor as shown in FIG. That is, after filling the container 1 with the hole 2 of a predetermined size at the bottom filled with ink, the viscosity of the ink was calculated by measuring the time that the ink escapes through the hole 2. This method was difficult to precisely measure because the measurement time was too long and the last drop of ink had to be measured. First of all, since the operator measures the ink viscosity discontinuously and adjusts it, there is a disadvantage that uniform viscosity maintenance is not guaranteed.

In addition, a method of measuring the viscosity of ink by providing a mechanical measuring device in the flow passage of ink has been proposed, but the ink flow passage of the measuring device is frequently blocked by ink having a relatively high viscosity. In this case, it was not easy to separate and wash the measuring device. Therefore, it is very economically disadvantageous to periodically change new measuring devices.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink viscosity adjusting device which is installed on a flow path of ink and can adjust it by always measuring the viscosity of ink.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ink viscosity control device capable of measuring an accurate viscosity of ink and removing ink by disassembling the device easily and conveniently when a clogging phenomenon occurs.

In order to achieve the above object, the ink viscosity adjusting device according to the present invention is installed on the flow path of the ink of the printing apparatus as an ink viscosity control device for measuring and adjusting the viscosity of the ink, is installed on the flow path A housing having an inlet and an outlet through which ink is introduced and discharged; A rotating shaft installed in the housing with at least one rotating blade rotating in accordance with the flow of the ink; A sensing member having a sensing object and installed on the rotating shaft to rotate together; And a sensor for sensing the sensing object of the sensing member.

Preferably, the present invention further includes at least one ink passage member for plural side flow passages through which the ink flows, to guide the ink flow in a straight line.

More preferably, the rotary blade and the ink passage member are alternately located.

In addition, the present invention is accommodated in the housing to accommodate the rotating shaft, the inlet includes a housing having an opening formed in communication with the inlet of the housing.

Here, at least one ink passage member in which the plurality of flow passages through which ink flows is drilled side by side is provided in the housing.

Preferably, the support means is detachably coupled to the discharge end of the housing to support the housing, the support means having a plurality of fine holes through which ink is discharged.

More preferably, the support means includes: a first support member coupled to the discharge end of the housing and having an opening formed therein so that ink can be discharged; And a second support member supporting the discharge end of the housing together with the first support member 260 and having the micropores formed therein.

Preferably, any one of the first and second support members is provided with an elastic piece for selectively opening and closing the outlet through which the ink flowing through the space between the inner circumferential surface of the housing and the outer circumferential surface of the housing is discharged.

Preferably, the present invention further includes elastic means for elastically biasing the support means.

More preferably, the housing is provided with a plurality of shaft supports having an opening through which ink flows while a central through hole through which the rotating shaft passes is formed.

The apparatus may further include ink hydraulic pressure adjusting means for maintaining a constant inflow pressure of the ink flowing into the housing.

Preferably, the ink hydraulic pressure control means, the outlet for discharging the ink flowing through the space between the inner peripheral surface of the housing and the outer peripheral surface of the housing; And an elastic piece installed to selectively open and close the outlet by elastic force.

According to the present invention, the housing comprises a cylindrical small diameter portion having the inlet and having a relatively small diameter, and a large diameter portion having the discharge port and having a relatively larger diameter than the small diameter portion, and the housing Is comprised of a cylindrical part accommodated in the small diameter part of the said housing, and the extension part formed so that it may extend radially outward toward the large diameter part from the said cylindrical part.

Preferably, the sensing object is a permanent magnet.

More preferably, the housing has an open end, and further includes a cover for detachably covering the open end.

More preferably, the present invention is a container containing a solvent; And a solvent supply pump driven to supply the solvent contained in the container onto the flow path of the ink when the ink viscosity measured by the sensor is higher than a reference value.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be construed as having a conventional or dictionary meaning, and the inventors should properly introduce the concept of terms in order to best explain their invention. It should be interpreted as meanings and concepts in accordance with the technical spirit of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

2 schematically shows a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus employing an ink viscosity adjusting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The ink contained in the storage tank 10 is sent to the printing container 13 through the supply passage 12 by the driving force of the driving pump 11.

On the printing vessel 13, there is provided a printing roller 14 and a pressure roller 15 which rotates in contact with the printing roller 14.

The printed material 100 passes between the printing roller 14 and the pressure roller 15, and the printing roller 14 wets the ink contained in the printing container 13 to perform a printing operation.

The ink of the printing container 13 is circulated by returning to the storage tank 10 through the recovery passage 16 again.

Unexplained reference numeral 17 is an agitator for stirring the ink in the storage tank 10.

Ink viscosity control device 200 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is installed on the flow path of the ink, the inlet 201 of the ink viscosity control device 200 is an inlet extending from the supply passage 12 Ink is introduced in connection with the passage 19, while the discharge port 202 is connected with the discharge passage 20 facing the storage tank 10 to discharge the ink.

In addition, the inflow passage 19 is provided with an inflow pump 18 to suck the ink and supply it to the ink viscosity control device 200.

The ink viscosity adjusting device 200 measures the viscosity of the ink, and if the viscosity of the ink exceeds the reference value so that the solvent is additionally added. That is, the solvent 23 contained in the container 22 is introduced into the flow path of the ink by driving the solvent supply pump 21.

Figure 3 is a schematic configuration of the ink viscosity control device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in cross-sectional view.

Referring to the drawings, the ink viscosity control device of the present invention includes a housing 210 formed with an inlet 201 connected to the inlet passage 19 and an outlet 202 connected to the outlet passage 20.

The housing 210 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape so that the introduced ink flows, and preferably, an end portion opposite the inlet 201 is opened to allow assembly and disassembly of internal components. Specifically, the cover 220 may be detachably coupled to the open end. Preferably, one end of the cover 220 is coupled to the housing 210 by a hinge 221, and the other end thereof includes a latch ( 222 is provided and configured to be selectively fixed to the housing 210.

Preferably, the housing 210 is composed of a cylindrical small diameter portion 211 having a relatively small diameter, and a cylindrical large diameter portion 212 having a relatively large diameter extending from the small diameter portion 211.

The small diameter portion 211 of the housing 210 is coupled to the housing 230 for receiving the rotating shaft 240 that rotates in accordance with the flow of ink flowing as described below. The housing 230 includes a cylindrical portion 231 accommodated in the small diameter portion 211 of the housing 210 and a large diameter portion 212 of the housing 210 radially outward from the cylindrical portion 231. And an extension 232 extending toward it. Here, the cylindrical portion 231 is spaced apart from the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the small diameter portion 211 of the housing 210 at predetermined intervals, and a space in which ink can flow is formed therebetween. This space is for adjusting the inflow pressure of the ink as described later.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of spokes 233 are formed at the inlet end of the housing 230 so that the opening 233a is formed, and the housing 230 is the inlet through the opening 233a. In communication with the 201, ink may be introduced. A plurality of alignment protrusions 233b are formed on an outer circumferential surface near the end of the housing 230, and the alignment protrusions 233b have a housing inner surface when the housing 230 is accommodated in the housing 210. In contact with the receiver to allow the enclosure to be aligned in place.

The cylindrical portion 231 of the housing 230 is provided with a shaft support 234 having an opening 234a through which a central through hole through which the rotating shaft 240 passes, and an ink flow therein is provided. Preferably, the shaft support 234 includes a plurality of spokes (not shown), similar to one end of the housing 230 shown in FIG. 4, and is configured such that an opening 234a is formed between the spokes. .

More preferably, the inner circumferential surface of the central through hole of the shaft support 234 is pointed to minimize the area in contact with the rotating shaft 240 so that friction resistance does not occur when the rotating shaft rotates.

Also, in the cylindrical portion 231 of the housing 230, an ink passage member 235 having a plurality of flow passages 235a having the same size over the entire area is drilled side by side. Plural numbers are installed.

The ink passage member 235 serves to provide a path such that the flow of ink flowing inside the housing 230 is straight, that is, to form a laminar flow.

The ink passage member 235 is provided at predetermined intervals, and is preferably alternately provided between the rotary blades coupled to the rotary shaft 240 as described below.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 235b denotes a center through hole through which the rotation shaft 240 passes.

According to the present invention, the rotating assembly is accommodated in the housing 230, and the rotating assembly includes the rotating shaft 240 and a plurality of rotating blades 250 coupled to the rotating shaft 240.

The rotation shaft 240 is rotatably coupled through the center through hole of the shaft support 234 provided in the housing 230 and the center through hole of the ink passage member 235. One end 241 of the rotating shaft 240 is supported in contact with one end of the housing 230, the other end is supported in contact with the support means coupled to the extension portion 232 of the housing 230. Preferably, one end of the housing 230 and both ends of the rotating shaft 240 in contact with the support means is pointed to minimize the frictional resistance.

The support means is coupled to cover the discharge end of the housing 230, and preferably includes a first support member 260 and a second support member 290.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first support member 260 is coupled to the discharge end of the housing 230, that is, the extension part 232, and an opening 260a is formed to allow ink to flow. have. The second support member 290 is supported by being in contact with the discharge end of the housing 230 together with the first support member 260, and a plurality of fine holes 290a for discharging ink in the housing 230. Is formed. More preferably, the second support member 290 is formed with a hollow 290b in which the central axis of the first support member 260 is inserted and supported, thereby stably securing the housing 230 by their mutual coupling. To support it.

In addition, the first and second support members 260 and 290 are both detachably coupled to the housing 230, so that the first and second support members 260 and 290 are easily detachable when the inside of the housing 230 needs to be cleaned and managed.

As another alternative, the first support member and the second support member may be integrated into one component.

An elastic means 300 is interposed between the support means and the cover 220 to elastically bias the support means with respect to the housing 230. Preferably, the elastic means 300 may include an elastic bracket 301 corresponding to the shape to provide a stable elastic force.

The rotary shaft 240 is coupled to a plurality of rotary blades 250, the configuration of which is shown in FIG. Referring to the drawings, the rotary blade 250 is composed of a plurality of wings 251 extending radially, and a rim 252 connecting the ends of the wings 251, the wing 251 An opening 250a through which ink flows is formed therebetween. The size and number of the wings may be appropriately designed in consideration of the viscosity and the measurement range of the ink.

According to the present invention, preferably the rotary blade 250 is installed between the ink passage member 235 of the housing 230. In other words, the rotary blade 250 and the ink passage member 235 are alternately provided. In such a configuration, even if the flow is distorted or turbulent flow occurs as the ink passes through the rotary vane 250, the ink can be changed back to a uniform laminar flow through the subsequent ink passage member 235, and thus has a stable flow. The viscosity of the ink can be measured.

In addition, the sensing member 270 is coupled to the rotating shaft 240 to rotate together with the rotating shaft 240, a detailed configuration of which is illustrated in FIG. 8. The sensing member 270 includes a plurality of branches 272 extending radially from the central body 271 in which the coupling hole 271a to which the rotating shaft 240 is coupled is formed. At the end, a sensing object 273 for measuring the rotation speed of the rotating shaft is attached.

Preferably, the sensing member 270 is designed to minimize the frictional force with the ink when rotating, it should be understood that the shape and structure of the branch portion can be variously modified according to this purpose.

In addition, a sensor 280 is installed outside the housing 210 to detect the sensing object 273 installed in the sensing member 270.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a permanent magnet is employed as the sensing object 273, and thus, when the sensing member 270 rotates, the sensor 280 detects the permanent magnet in response to a change in magnetic field, thereby rotating the shaft. The number of revolutions of can be measured.

Alternatively, the sensing member 270 may be integrally manufactured with a magnetic plastic magnet or the like, and the sensor 280 may measure the rotation speed by sensing the same.

The ink viscosity adjusting device according to the present invention includes ink pressure adjusting means for maintaining a constant inflow pressure of the ink by bypassing when the incoming ink pressure is excessive.

The ink hydraulic pressure control means, as shown in Figure 3, the elastic piece is installed in the outlet 320 through which the ink flowing through the space between the inner peripheral surface of the housing 210 and the outer peripheral surface of the housing 230 is discharged 330. Preferably, the outlet 320 and the elastic piece 330 may be formed integrally with the support means, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

Specifically, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a passage through which ink flows is formed between the inner circumferential surface of the housing 210 and the outer circumferential surface of the housing 230, and preferably, the housing ( A plurality of openings 230a are formed in the 230.

A plurality of outlets 320 are formed at an outer portion of the second support member 290 coupled thereon to cover the opening 230a of the housing 230, and an elastic piece 330 is formed at the outlet 320. Is provided. Only one end of the elastic piece 330 is coupled to the support member, the other end is maintained as a free end. Therefore, the elastic piece 330 selectively opens and closes at least a portion of the outlet 320 by the elastic force.

Therefore, when the oil pressure of the ink flowing out through the outlet 320 is low, the elastic piece 330 closes most of the outlet 320 to allow only a small amount of ink to flow out. On the other hand, when the hydraulic pressure of the ink exiting through the outlet 320 is high, the elastic piece 330 is bent to open the outflow space of the ink so that a larger amount of ink flows out. As a result, the oil pressure of the ink may be appropriately adjusted by the elastic resistance of the elastic piece 330.

Although the present embodiment has been described as having the outlet and the elastic piece provided in the second support member, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, it should be understood that the outlet and / or the elastic piece may be selectively provided on any one of the first and second support members.

More preferably, the coupling portion between the housing 210 and the housing 230 and the support member 290 means for setting the mutual coupling position, that is, positioning projections (210a) (230b) and positioning grooves 230c and 290c may be formed, respectively. In particular, since the positioning projection 230b and the positioning groove 290c are coupled to each other while being pressed by the elastic means 300, the flow path of the ink for adjusting the flow path and the inflow pressure of the ink for measuring the viscosity The furnaces can be kept separate from each other.

Then, the operation of the ink viscosity control device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention having the configuration as described above will be described.

During operation of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the ink viscosity adjusting device 200 of the present invention measures the viscosity of ink in real time. Specifically, the ink flowing by the driving of the inflow pump 11 is introduced into the housing 210 of the ink viscosity control device 200 through the inflow passage 19.

Ink introduced into the housing 210 flows into the housing 230 through an opening 233a formed at one end of the housing 230 as shown by an arrow shown in FIG. Flow along the space formed between the inner circumferential surface of the 210 and the outer circumferential surface of the housing 230.

At this time, when the pressure of the incoming ink is out of a predetermined range, the flow amount of the ink is adjusted by the operation of the elastic piece 330 provided in the outlet 320 as described above.

On the other hand, the ink flowing into the cylindrical portion 231 of the housing 230 passes through the opening 234a of the shaft support 234 to reach the rotary blade 250, and thus the rotary blade 250 is the rotary shaft It will rotate about 240.

Subsequently, the ink passing through the rotary blade 240 passes through the flow passage 235a of the ink passage member 235, and the flow is straightened, and the ink exiting the flow passage 235a again rotates the blade 250. ) And rotate the rotor blades.

By repeating this operation, the rotating shaft 240 rotates, and the sensing member 270 coupled to the rotating shaft 240 also rotates at the same speed as the rotating blade. Then, the sensor 280 detects the sensing object 273 installed in the sensing member 270 to measure the rotation speed. Once the rotation speed is measured, the viscosity of the ink can be calculated according to the formula of hydrodynamics. For example, if the viscosity of the ink is increased, the flow rate is lowered, and thus the rotation speed of the rotating shaft will decrease. Since this calculation method is already well known in the art, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

If the measured result indicates that the viscosity of the ink exceeds a predetermined reference range, this signal is transmitted to a controller (not shown), and then the controller drives the solvent supply pump 21 to control the solvent contained in the container 22 ( 23) is maintained on the flow path of the ink to maintain the appropriate viscosity.

Meanwhile, the ink passing through the housing 230 passes through the opening 260a of the first support member 260 and the micropores 290a of the second support member 290, and then discharged through the discharge port 202. It is discharged to the passage 20.

As described above, the ink viscosity adjusting device according to the present invention can not only correct the viscosity of the ink in real time, but also provide excellent effects in terms of cleaning and maintenance.

That is, when cleaning and washing are necessary due to ink sticking in the adjusting device, the cover 220 can be opened and the inside of the device can be easily opened. Then, when the first and second support members 260 and 290 are removed, the entire housing 230 can be taken out, so that cleaning and maintenance can be easily performed. This feature of the present invention not only facilitates the cleaning and maintenance of the ink viscosity control device but also enables the permanent use of the device.

According to the ink viscosity adjusting device of the present invention, since the viscosity of the ink circulated on the flow path of the ink during the printing operation process, it is possible to continuously measure in real time, thereby improving the print quality by immediately correcting the viscosity of the ink Not only can it extend the service life of the printing press.

In addition, the ink viscosity adjusting device of the present invention is designed in a configuration that is easy to disassemble and assemble, it is easy to clean and maintain, thereby allowing the permanent use of the device.

Claims (17)

An ink viscosity adjusting device installed on the flow path of the ink of the printing apparatus for measuring and adjusting the viscosity of the ink, A housing installed on the flow path and having an inlet and an outlet through which ink is introduced and discharged; A rotating shaft installed in the housing with at least one rotating blade rotating in accordance with the flow of the ink; A sensing member having a sensing object and installed on the rotating shaft to rotate together; And Ink viscosity control device comprising a; sensor for sensing the sensing object of the sensing member. The method of claim 1, And at least one ink passage member for drilling the plurality of flow passages through which the ink flows side by side to guide the ink to flow in a straight line. The method of claim 2, And the rotary blades and the ink passage member are alternately positioned. The method of claim 1, The ink viscosity adjusting device, characterized in that it is received in the housing so as to receive the rotating shaft, the inlet end includes a receiving body formed with an opening communicating with the inlet of the housing. The method of claim 4, wherein And at least one ink passage member in which the plurality of flow passages through which ink flows is drilled side by side. The method of claim 5, And the rotary blades and the ink passage member are alternately positioned. The method of claim 5, And a support means detachably coupled to the discharge end of the housing to support the housing, the support means having a plurality of micropores from which ink is discharged. The method of claim 7, wherein The support means, A first support member coupled to the discharge end of the housing and having an opening configured to discharge ink; And And a second support member supporting the discharge end of the housing together with the first support member 260 and having the micropores formed therein. The method of claim 8, One of the first and second support members, characterized in that the elastic piece for selectively opening and closing the outlet through which the ink flowing through the space between the inner peripheral surface of the housing and the outer peripheral surface of the housing by the elastic force is provided with Ink viscosity regulator. The method of claim 7, wherein Ink viscosity control device further comprises an elastic means for elastically biasing the support means. The method of claim 4, wherein In the housing, And a plurality of shaft supports having openings through which ink flows at the same time a center through hole through which the rotating shaft passes is formed. The method of claim 4, wherein Ink viscosity adjusting device further comprises an ink hydraulic pressure control means for maintaining a constant inlet pressure of the ink flowing into the housing. The method of claim 12, The ink hydraulic pressure control means, An outlet through which ink flowing through the space between the inner circumferential surface of the housing and the outer circumferential surface of the housing is discharged; And And an elastic piece installed to selectively open and close the outlet by elastic force. The method of claim 4, wherein The housing, The inlet is formed and consists of a cylindrical small diameter portion having a relatively small diameter, and the discharge port is formed and a large diameter portion having a relatively larger diameter than the small diameter portion, The housing is, And a cylindrical portion accommodated in the small diameter portion of the housing, and an extension portion formed to extend radially outward from the cylindrical portion toward the large diameter portion. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, The viscosity sensitive device, characterized in that the sensing object is a permanent magnet. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, The housing has an open end, And a lid for detachably covering the open end. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, A container containing a solvent; And And a solvent supply pump driven to supply the solvent contained in the container onto the flow path of the ink when the ink viscosity measured by the sensor is higher than a reference value.

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