This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119, of European Patent Application EP 18 158 032.5-1019, filed Feb. 22, 2018; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a device for adjusting print heads on a print bar.
Print bars are used to print page-wide prints, for example in inkjet printing. A print bar typically includes a row of print heads that need to be adjusted relative to one another.
German Patent Application DE 10 2016 209 945 A1 uses different terminology for print bars and print heads. In that document, the print bar is called a print head and the print heads are called modules. Every module includes an adjustment device for adjusting the modules relative to one another and a carriage is provided. The carriage is successively movable to the modules and includes an actuating device for actuating the adjustment devices. In order to move the carriage from one module to another, a first motor drives a driving spindle for driving the carriage. Every module has an adjustment spindle supporting an adjustment wheel. By adjusting the carriage into a position opposite a module to be adjusted, the driving wheel is brought into meshing engagement with the adjustment wheel. Once the teeth mesh, the driving wheel may drive the adjustment wheel to adjust the module. A disadvantage is that an adjustment of all modules takes a long time. Since all modules are adjusted successively by a single common carriage, the entire adjustment process is very time-consuming.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a print head adjustment device, which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which provides short set-up times.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a device for adjusting print heads on a print bar, comprising motors disposed in a row and supported to be jointly movable, with every motor carrying a motor gearwheel and every gearwheel successively engageable with at least two respective adjustment gearwheels.
An advantage of the device of the invention is that it allows a plurality of print heads to be adjusted simultaneously and in parallel. This reduces set-up times.
Various further developments are possible:
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a print head adjustment device, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now in detail to the figures of the drawings, in which mutually corresponding elements have the same reference symbols, and first, particularly, to
The screws 5, 6 are of identical construction. Therefore, only the first screw 5 will be described in detail. The screw 5 has a cone 7 that is in contact with the print head 3 through a probe 8. The cone 7 and the probe 8 together form an advance wedge transmission. When the screw 5 is screwed tighter, the cone 7 pushes the print head 3 in the required direction. The screw 5 has a series of equidistant depressions 9 that engage with a spring-loaded pressure element 10. The depressions 9 form multiple locking mechanisms. The depressions 9 are formed as grooves that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the screw 5 to permit the pressure element 10 to engage with the depressions 9 irrespective of the screwing depth of the screw 5.
In addition, the screw 5 has an adjustment gearwheel 11 with a number of teeth corresponding to the number of depressions 9. Thus the multiple locking mechanisms ensure that when the screw 5 is incrementally turned, it only stops in angular positions that correspond to meshing positions of the gearwheel 11. The gearwheel 11 may be disposed on a shaft of the screw 5 or formed on the screw 5 as a screw head. If there is no series of depressions 9, the multiple locking mechanisms may alternatively be formed by the gearwheel 11 together with the pressure element 10, which engages with tooth gaps of the gearwheel 11. This would be a space-saving alternative.
Motors 13 are disposed in a row on a crossbar or rail 12 that extends in a direction parallel to the row of screws 5, 6. The rail 12 is supported for movement in a direction parallel to the row of screws 5, 6, i.e. parallel to the x-axis, preferably by using a drive 14 such as a pneumatic cylinder. If there is no drive 14, the rail 12 or row of motors 13 may alternatively be adjusted in a direction parallel to the x-axis by hand, Every motor 13 drives the two screws 5, 6 of a different print head 3. Thus a single motor 13 per print head 3 advantageously allows the print head 3 to be adjusted in both degrees of freedom.
A motor gearwheel 15 and a locking disc 16 are supported on a shaft of the motor 13. A spring-loaded pressure element 17 engages in depressions formed in the locking disc 16. Together, the locking disc 16 and the pressure element 17 form multiple locking mechanisms. The number of teeth of the gearwheel 15 corresponds to the number of depressions in the locking disc 16. If there is no locking disc 16, the multiple locking mechanisms may be formed by the gearwheel 15 together with a pressure element 17, which engages with the tooth gaps of gearwheel 15. This would be a space-saving alternative. The multiple position locks may be completely dispensed with if the angular position of the motor 13 is established and controlled to ensure that the teeth mesh properly.
The length of the toothing of the gearwheel 15 is extended to ensure that when the screw 5 is tightened, the gearwheel 11 will not disengage from gearwheel 15 despite the axial movement of the gearwheel 11 to be driven. Thus, the gearwheel 15 is preferably a toothed shaft. If the toothing of the gearwheel 15 is of normal length, the gearwheels 11 may alternatively be constructed as toothed shafts. The axis of rotation of the gearwheel 15 is oriented to be parallel with the axis of rotation of the gearwheels 11 of the screws 5, 6. The gearwheels 11, 15 are spur gears with a straight toothing.
The motors 13 may operate in parallel to adjust all of the print heads 3 firstly in terms of one degree of freedom and then in terms of the other degree of freedom. For this purpose, the motors 13 may be actuated individually, for instance when one print head 3 needs to be adjusted relative to the x-axis by a different amount than another print head 3.
The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
18158032 | Feb 2018 | EP | regional |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20080238959 | Kato | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20090244124 | Kondo | Oct 2009 | A1 |
20120182336 | Itoh | Jul 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
102016209945 | Jan 2017 | DE |
102016214253 | Feb 2018 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190255867 A1 | Aug 2019 | US |