The present disclosure relates to a heat transferring device, and in particular a pen-barrel heat transferring device for printing.
A traditional pen barrel generally has a circular shape. In order to improve the aesthetic appearance of the pen, a pattern is often heat transferred onto the surface of the pen barrel. A conventional heat transferring device generally includes a pneumatic mechanism, a roller mechanism for heat transferring on the pen barrel, and a heating mechanism for heating the roller mechanism. When heat transferring on a pen barrel, the pneumatic mechanism pushes the roller mechanism downwards to contact the pen barrel and rotates the pen barrel in order to heat transfer a pattern from a pattern paper onto the outer surface of the pen barrel.
When a pen barrel has a circular shape, the roller mechanism stays in contact with the pen barrel during heat transferring, so a uniform force is applied along the length of the pen barrel. Since each face of the pen barrel receives a uniform force, the pen barrel rolls at an even speed.
As pen manufacturing technology improves, the aesthetic appearance of the pen also improves, and various shapes of pen barrels have appeared, such as triangle, quadrangle, or other irregular shapes. When heat transferring on pen barrels of triangle, quadrangle, or other irregular shapes, the roller mechanism cannot keep in contact with each face of the pen barrel as the conventional roller wheel is made of a very hard material. The result is that the roller mechanism cannot apply a uniform force on different faces of the pen barrel. Because each face of the pen barrel receives a nonuniform force, the roller mechanism cannot smoothly roll the pen barrel. Therefore, it is difficult to complete heat transferring and printing.
A solution to the technical problem of providing a pen-barrel heat transferring device that can apply a uniform force on each face of the pen barrel during heat transferring and is suitable for various shapes of pen barrels is solved by embodiments of the invention.
In order to solve the problem above, embodiments disclosed herein provide a pen-barrel heat transferring device including a roller mechanism and a rolling mechanism. The roller mechanism is adapted to apply heat and pressure from a roller wheel on a workpiece supported by the rolling mechanism. The roller mechanism includes an elastic force applying mechanism that elastically conforms to a shape of the workpiece. Also, instead of the workpiece being rotated by a roller wheel of the roller mechanism, the rolling mechanism is adapted to rotate the workpiece and also support the workpiece. So, the rotating workpiece causes the roller wheel to rotate.
The roller mechanism may include a roller wheel, and the elastic force applying mechanism may include a deformable rubber portion on the exterior of the roller wheel. The deformable rubber portion may cover the circumference and length of the exterior of the roller wheel.
The rolling mechanism may be connected to a driver adapted to rotate the workpiece.
The workpiece can be a pen barrel having a non-circular cross-sectional shape.
The roller mechanism may include a suspension frame, wherein the suspension frame includes an upper horizontal rod and a lower horizontal rod, and the elastic force applying mechanism is a rubber wheel having an elasticity sufficient to conform to a shape of the workpiece, wherein the rubber wheel is fitted over the lower horizontal rod, and the upper horizontal rod is coupled with the pneumatic mechanism.
In another embodiment, the elastic force applying mechanism includes a spring in contact with the roller mechanism, wherein the spring is adapted to elastically conform the roller mechanism to a shape of the workpiece.
The roller mechanism may include a rubber wheel and a suspension frame, wherein the suspension frame includes an upper horizontal rod and a lower horizontal rod, the rubber wheel is fitted over the lower horizontal rod, and the upper horizontal rod is coupled with a pneumatic mechanism via the spring.
The roller mechanism may include a roller wheel, and the elastic force applying mechanism may include a deformable rubber portion on the exterior of the roller wheel and also a spring in contact with the roller mechanism, wherein the rubber portion and the spring are both adapted to elastically conform to a shape of the workpiece.
The rolling mechanism may include a motor, a rotating wheel coupled to a die core rod, a base plate, and a base. The base is mounted on the base plate. The die core rod extends through the base and is coupled with the base via a shaft coupling. The rotating wheel is mounted at one end of the die core rod and is connected with the motor via a belt. The other end of the die core rod is adapted to support the workpiece.
A height-adjustable pneumatic pulley supporting mechanism may also be provided on the base plate opposite from the base to support the die core rod and the workpiece.
A pneumatic mechanism may include a cylinder with a shaft, and the shaft is coupled to the roller mechanism.
The heating mechanism connected to the roller mechanism may include an optical heating cover or an electric heating cover provided on the roller wheel.
In at least one embodiment, the roller mechanism includes a roller wheel, and the roller wheel is adapted to rotate upon applying pressure to a rotating workpiece.
In some embodiments, the heat transferring device is adapted to heat transfer print on pen barrels.
In comparison with prior art heat transferring devices, advantages of the disclosed embodiments may include the following. During heat transferring, the rolling mechanism rotates a pen barrel, and the elastic force applying mechanism of the roller mechanism applies an elastic force to keep the roller mechanism in contact with changing surface shapes of the pen barrel. Thus, the elastic force applying mechanism applies a uniform force at each different face of the pen barrel. Therefore, the device can heat transfer print the pen barrels of various non-circular shapes.
When the roller mechanism further includes a suspension frame, the suspension frame includes an upper horizontal rod and a lower horizontal rod. The elastic force applying mechanism is a rubber wheel with elasticity. The rubber wheel is fitted over the lower horizontal rod, and the upper horizontal rod is coupled with the pneumatic mechanism. The rubber wheel has elasticity. Therefore, as the rubber wheel contacts the pen barrel in order to perform heat transferring, the rubber wheel will elastically deform according to the changing shape of the rotating pen barrel ensuring that the rubber wheel stays in contact with respective faces of the pen barrel and the respective faces of the pen barrel receive a uniform force.
When the roller mechanism further includes a rubber wheel and a suspension frame, the suspension frame includes an upper horizontal rod and a lower horizontal rod connected to the upper horizontal rod, and the rubber wheel is fitted over the lower horizontal rod. The elastic force applying mechanism is a spring, and the upper horizontal rod is coupled with the pneumatic mechanism via the spring. During heat transferring, the pneumatic mechanism pushes the suspension frame downwards via the spring. The suspension frame is lowered down and the rubber wheel presses against the rotating pen barrel. The spring will elastically deform according to the changing shape of the rotating pen barrel ensuring that the rubber wheel stays in contact with respective faces of the pen barrel and the respective faces of the pen barrel receive a uniform force.
When the roller mechanism further includes a suspension frame, the suspension frame includes an upper horizontal rod and a lower horizontal rod connected to the upper horizontal rod. The elastic force applying mechanism includes a rubber wheel with elasticity and a spring. The rubber wheel is fitted over the lower horizontal rod, and the upper horizontal rod is coupled with the pneumatic mechanism via the spring. During heat transferring, the pneumatic mechanism pushes the suspension frame downwards via the spring so that the rubber wheel presses on and performs heat transferring on the rotating pen barrel. The spring and the rubber wheel will elastically deform according to the changing shape of the rotating pen barrel ensuring that the rubber wheel stays in contact with respective faces of the pen barrel and the respective faces of the pen barrel receive a uniform force.
When the rolling mechanism includes a motor, a rotating wheel, a base plate, a base, and a die core rod, the pen barrel is mounted on the die core rod and is rotated by the motor driving the rotating wheel, which in turn rotates the die core rod and pen barrel. Therefore, the pen barrel rotates the roller wheel. The structure is simple and convenient to operate.
When the rolling mechanism further includes a pneumatic pulley supporting mechanism, and if the pen barrel is very long, one end thereof may be fitted over the die core rod, and the other end thereof may be located at the pneumatic pulley supporting mechanism. Thus, the horizontal position of the pen barrel during heating transferring is ensured. Further, the height of the pneumatic pulley supporting mechanism is adjustable, so the height of the pneumatic pulley supporting mechanism may be adjusted instantly according to the diameter of the pen barrel, thus facilitating mounting and dismounting of the pen barrel.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
With reference to
The roller mechanism 4 includes a roller wheel 7 for the application of heat and pressure to the workpiece 2. The roller wheel 7 may only passively rotate. That is, the rolling mechanism 3 rotates the pen barrel, and the roller wheel 7 rotates when applying pressure on the pen barrel. The roller mechanism 4 includes an elastic force applying mechanism 41 for applying an elastic force to the pen barrel. The elastic force applying mechanism 41 as used herein can be one or more members that allow the roller wheel 7 to elastically yield or conform to changes in the shape of the pen barrel to maintain pressure on the pen barrel even when the pen barrel is a shape other than circular. As described further below, in this embodiment, the elastic force applying mechanism is an elastic rubber portion 41 on the exterior of the roller wheel 7.
The pneumatic mechanism 1 includes a cylinder 11 and a cylinder bracket 12 to which the cylinder 11 is attached. The heating mechanism 60 can be an optical heating cover 61 or an electric heating cover 62.
In some embodiments, the wheel 7 is made with an inner metal core and an outer rubber cylinder. In some embodiments, the inner metal core can be electrically heated. The roller mechanism 4 further includes a suspension frame 42. The suspension frame 42 includes an upper horizontal rod 421 and a lower horizontal rod 422. The lower horizontal rod 422 connects to the upper horizontal rod 421 at both ends thereof with vertical support rods. In this embodiment, the elastic force applying mechanism 41 is the rubber portion 41 placed on the exterior of the roller wheel 7. For example, the roller wheel 7 can include a metal inner core that is heated and an outer rubber portion 41 that extends over the circumference and length of the metal core and behaves as the elastic force applying mechanism. Alternately, the entirety or a majority of the roller wheel 7 can be made from the elastic deformable rubber portion 41. The rubber portion 41 has sufficient elasticity that allows the rubber portion 41 to deflect and conform to changes in the shape of the pen barrel as the pen barrel rotates. The rubber portion 41 may have a hardness of 45˜65 Shore A durometer, for example. Exemplary rubber materials may include silicone, polyurethane, polyether, combinations of polyurethane and polyethers, and others. The upper horizontal rod 421 is rigidly coupled with the cylinder shaft 6 of the cylinder 11.
With reference to
The operating procedure of the pen-barrel heat transferring device 10 is as follows. Before heat transferring, the pen barrel 2 is fixed on the die core rod 34, and a pattern paper is provided on the surface of the pen barrel 2. The pattern paper may include heat-sensitive ink. Then, the heating mechanism 60 is started to heat the roller wheel 7. The temperatures for heat transfer printing of particular printing inks are known in the art. Next, the cylinder 11 is started and pushes the suspension frame 42 downwards so that the roller wheel 7 is lowered and presses against the pen barrel 2 through the pattern paper. The motor 51 rotates the wheel 31 and the die core rod 34, which in turn causes the pen barrel 2 and the roller wheel 7 to rotate in opposite directions. The heat and pressure applied by the roller wheel 7 causes the pattern on the pattern paper to transfer onto the surface of the pen barrel 2. If the pen barrel 2 is circular, the roller wheel 7, particularly, the rubber portion 41, will uniformly deform as the pen barrel 2 rotates. If the pen barrel 2 is a shape other than a circle, such as a triangle, quadrangle, or other irregular shape, the rubber portion 41 will elastically deform according to the shape of the respective faces of the pen barrel 2 as the pen barrel rotates. The rubber portion 41 will deform more when the roller wheel 7 presses against a corner of the triangle or quadrangle, for example. The rubber portion 41 ensures that the roller wheel 7 maintains contact and pressure on the respective faces of the pen barrel 2 during rotation so that heat transfer can occur between the roller wheel 7 and the pen barrel 2. Furthermore, the respective faces of the pen barrel 2 can receive a uniform force.
With reference to
The roller mechanism 4 includes a roller wheel 7 for the application of heat and pressure to the workpiece 2. The roller wheel 7 may only passively rotate. That is, the rolling mechanism 3 rotates the pen barrel, and the roller wheel 7 rotates when applying pressure on the pen barrel. The roller mechanism 4 includes an elastic force applying mechanism 5 for applying an elastic force to the pen barrel with the rolling mechanism. The elastic force applying mechanism 5 as used herein can be one or more members that allow the roller wheel 7 to elastically yield or conform to changes in the shape of the pen barrel to maintain pressure on the pen barrel even when the pen barrel is a shape other than circular. As described further below, in this embodiment, the elastic force applying mechanism is a spring 5.
The pneumatic mechanism 1 includes a cylinder 11 and a cylinder bracket 12 to which the cylinder 11 is attached. The heating mechanism 60 can be an optical heating cover 61 or an electric heating cover 62.
In some embodiments, the wheel 7 is made with an inner metal core and an outer rubber cylinder 41. In some embodiments, the inner metal core can be electrically heated. In some embodiments, the roller wheel 7 can be made wholly or entirely from rubber. The roller mechanism 4 further includes a suspension frame 42, and the suspension frame 42 includes an upper horizontal rod 421 and a lower horizontal rod 422. The lower horizontal rod 422 connects to the upper horizontal rod 421 at both ends thereof with vertical support rods. The roller wheel 7 is fitted over the lower horizontal rod 422. In this embodiment, the elastic force applying mechanism is the spring 5. The spring 5 allows the roller mechanism 4, including the frame and roller wheel 7, to adjust position, such as height, based on changes in the shape of the pen barrel 2. The upper horizontal rod 421 is coupled with the cylinder shaft 6 of the cylinder 11 via the spring 5. The spring 6 can take the form of a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, a gas spring, and others, or any combination.
With reference to
The operating procedure of the pen-barrel heat transferring device 20 is as follows. Before heat transferring, the pen barrel 2 is fixed on the die core rod 34, and a pattern paper is provided on the surface of the pen barrel 2. The pattern paper may include heat-sensitive ink. Then, the heating mechanism 60 is started to heat the roller wheel 7. The temperatures for heat transfer printing of particular printing inks are known in the art. Next, the cylinder 11 is started and pushes the suspension frame 42 downwards via the spring 5 so that the roller wheel 7 is lowered and presses against the pen barrel 2 through the pattern paper. The motor 51 rotates the wheel 31 and the die core rod 34, which in turn causes the pen barrel 2 and the roller wheel 7 to rotate in opposite directions. The heat and pressure applied by the roller wheel 7 causes the pattern on the pattern paper to transfer onto the surface of the pen barrel 2. If the pen barrel 2 is circular, the spring 5 will uniformly deform as the pen barrel 2 rotates. If the pen barrel 2 is a shape other than a circle, such as a triangle, quadrangle, or other irregular shape, the spring 5 will elastically deform according to the shape of respective faces of the pen barrel 2 as the pen barrel rotates. The spring 5 will deform more when the roller wheel 7 presses against a corner of the triangle or quadrangle, for example. The spring 5 ensures that the roller wheel 7 maintains contact with the respective faces of the pen barrel 2 during rotation so that heat transfer can occur between the roller wheel 7 and the pen barrel 2. Furthermore, the respective faces of the pen barrel 2 can receive a uniform force.
The structure of another embodiment of a heat-transferring device disclosed herein is similar to that of the embodiment shown in
As shown in
While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011 1 0450187 | Dec 2011 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130169730 A1 | Jul 2013 | US |