阅读说明：本技术 底面曝光的3d打印设备、控制方法及控制系统 (Bottom exposure 3D printing equipment, control method and control system ) 是由 高晓飞 刘震 于 2020-12-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请公开一种底面曝光的3D打印设备、控制方法及控制系统。所述3D打印设备包括：包括透明的底面的容器,用于盛放待成型材料,以及在所述底面的待成型材料经选择性辐射后形成图案固化层；供料机构,与所述容器连通,用于在打印过程中至少一次地向所述容器中供应所述待成型材料；其中,至少一次向所述容器中所供应的待成型材料用于在其特性稳定期间形成有限层数的图案固化层。本申请提供的底面曝光的3D打印设备,利用供料机构或容器壁上的出料通道,有效限制容器内所盛放的待成型材料的体量,使得3D打印设备在随供随用的原则下,尽量减少待成型材料的剩余量。这有效减少因待成型材料不易在容器中长时间存放的问题,以及提高了材料的使用效率。(The application discloses a bottom exposure 3D printing device, a control method and a control system. The 3D printing apparatus includes: the container comprises a transparent bottom surface and is used for containing a material to be molded and forming a pattern curing layer after the material to be molded on the bottom surface is selectively radiated; a feeding mechanism in communication with the container for supplying the material to be formed into the container at least once during printing; wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of patterned cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stabilized. The application provides a 3D printing apparatus of bottom surface exposure utilizes discharge channel on feeding mechanism or the container wall, effectively restricts the volume of waiting to form material that holds in the container for 3D printing apparatus is along with supplying along with under the principle of usefulness, and the surplus of waiting to form material is reduced as far as possible. This effectively reduces the problem that the material to be molded is not easy to be stored in the container for a long time, and improves the use efficiency of the material.)

1. A bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus, comprising:

the container comprises a transparent bottom surface, is used for containing a material to be molded and forms a pattern curing layer after the material to be molded on the bottom surface is selectively radiated;

a feeding mechanism in communication with the container for supplying the material to be formed into the container at least once during printing;

wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of patterned cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stabilized.

2. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding mechanism comprises:

a feed passage for communicating with the container; and

and the flow control component is arranged on the feeding channel and used for controlling the flow of the feeding channel so as to limit the material to be molded in the container.

3. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding mechanism comprises:

the discharging component is used for conveying the material to be molded into the container;

a guide rail disposed along one side of the container;

and the sliding block is arranged on the guide rail and assembled with the discharging component, and is used for enabling the discharging component to move on the guide rail.

4. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, further comprising:

the smearing mechanism comprises a smearing part, wherein the distance between the smearing part and the bottom surface is a preset first height; the smearing part is used for spreading the material to be molded, which is provided by the feeding mechanism, in the container;

wherein the first height is between the layer height of the pattern cured layer to be manufactured and the height corresponding to the limited layer number.

5. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a control device for controlling the feeding mechanism and the smearing mechanism respectively so as to execute the following operations at least once during printing:

and controlling the smearing mechanism and the feeding mechanism to spread the material to be formed in the container at least once according to the number of the rest layers for manufacturing the 3D component.

6. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises: the discharging channel is arranged on the side wall of the container, is arranged at a position away from the bottom surface of the container by a preset second height, and is used for enabling the material to be molded, which is higher than the bottom surface of the container, to flow out of the container; wherein the second height is not greater than the height corresponding to the limited number of layers.

7. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: the recycling and storing mechanism is communicated with the feeding mechanism and the container so as to recycle the material to be molded; wherein, the recovery storage mechanism is communicated with the container through the discharge channel.

8. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the recycling storage mechanism includes a capacity adjustment member that moves therein for reducing a capacity of the recycling storage mechanism.

9. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: and the waste discharge device is communicated with the container and is used for discharging the material to be molded in the container.

10. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: the material mixing mechanism comprises at least two feeding holes and a discharging hole, and is used for mixing different raw materials received by the different feeding holes to form a material to be formed, and outputting the material to the feeding mechanism through the discharging hole.

11. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: and the temperature adjusting mechanism is used for adjusting the temperature of the material to be molded in the container so as to form a pattern cured layer when the energy is radiated.

12. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: and the liquid level detection mechanism is used for detecting and reflecting the volume of the material to be formed in the container so as to supply the material to be formed selectively by the feeding mechanism.

13. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a height of a material to be molded formed in one supply inside the container is between a micrometer level and a centimeter level.

14. A bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus, comprising:

a container comprising a transparent bottom surface for holding a material to be formed; the side wall of the container is provided with a discharge channel which is arranged at a position away from the bottom surface of the container by a preset height and is used for enabling the material to be molded, which is higher than the bottom surface of the container, to flow out of the container; wherein the height corresponds to a limited number of layers of the accumulated pattern cured layer;

an energy radiation system located below the bottom surface of the container for outputting energy to selectively radiate the material to be molded on the bottom surface through the bottom surface to form a pattern cured layer;

a member stage for attaching the pattern cured layer;

the Z-axis driving mechanism drives the component platform to move up and down so as to build a 3D component by accumulating the pattern curing layers on the component platform layer by layer;

a feeding mechanism in communication with the container for supplying the material to be formed into the container at least once during printing;

the control device is respectively connected with the energy radiation system, the Z-axis driving mechanism and the feeding mechanism and is used for controlling the energy radiation system to execute selective curing according to time sequence and controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism to lift up and down during the process of manufacturing the 3D component so as to realize the layer-by-layer accumulation of each pattern curing layer;

the control device also controls a feeding mechanism to supply the material to be molded into the container at least once according to the number of the remaining layers for manufacturing the 3D component.

15. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: the recycling and storing mechanism is communicated with the feeding mechanism and the container so as to recycle the material to be molded; wherein, the recovery storage mechanism is communicated with the container through the discharge channel.

16. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the recycling storage mechanism includes a capacity adjustment member that moves therein for reducing a capacity of the recycling storage mechanism.

17. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the feeding mechanism feeds the material to be molded in the container at least once for forming a limited number of patterned cured layers during stabilization of its characteristics.

18. The bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a height of a material to be molded formed in one supply inside the container is between a micrometer level and a centimeter level.

19. A control method characterized by a 3D printing apparatus for bottom surface exposure, the control method comprising:

according to the slice image radiation energy, selectively solidifying the material to be molded on the bottom surface of the container of the 3D printing device to form a pattern solidified layer;

adjusting the distance between the formed pattern curing layer and the bottom surface so as to fill the layer-high material to be molded between the bottom surface of the container and the pattern curing layer formed most recently;

adjusting the slice images according to a layer-by-layer printing sequence and repeating the steps to manufacture the 3D component through layer-by-layer accumulation of the pattern curing layers;

supplying a material to be molded into the container at least once during the above-described control process according to the number of remaining layers of the 3D member; wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of pattern cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stable; the limited number of layers is no greater than the number of layers required to fabricate the 3D member.

20. The control method according to claim 19, wherein the at least one step of supplying the material to be molded into the container is performed after the step of performing the selective curing; and/or before performing the step of adjusting the spacing between the peeled pattern cured layer and the bottom surface.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one step of supplying the material to be molded into the container comprises: -laying the supplied material to be shaped inside the container.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one step of supplying the material to be molded into the container comprises: recycling the material to be molded recovered from the container to the container.

23. The control method according to claim 22, wherein the step of cyclically supplying the material to be molded, which is recovered from the container, into the container comprises:

acquiring detection data reflecting the residual amount of the recycled material to be molded;

and according to the detection data, selecting to supply the recovered material to be molded and/or the externally stored material to be molded into the container.

24. The control method according to claim 19, wherein the height of the material to be molded formed in one supply in the container is formed in a micrometer-scale to centimeter-scale.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of supplying material to be molded into the container at least once according to the number of remaining layers of the 3D member comprises:

acquiring detection data reflecting the residual amount of the material to be molded in the container;

selectively supplying a material to be molded into the container based on the detection data.

26. The control method according to claim 19, characterized by further comprising: discharging the material to be molded in the container when the manufacturing of the 3D member is completed or after the characteristic of the material to be molded in the container is stabilized.

27. The control method according to claim 19, characterized by further comprising: adjusting the temperature of the material to be molded in the container so as to form a pattern cured layer upon the irradiation of the energy.

28. A control system, characterized by a 3D printing apparatus for bottom surface exposure, the control system comprising:

a storage device for storing at least one program;

processing means, coupled to said storage means, for executing and implementing the control method of any of claims 19 to 27 when running said at least one program.

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of 3D printing equipment, in particular to 3D printing equipment with exposed bottom surface, a control method and a control system.

Background

The 3D printing technology is one of the rapid prototyping technologies, and usually uses liquid photosensitive resin, photosensitive polymer, and other materials as a curing material, divides a printing model into a plurality of cross-sectional layers, and then constructs an entity by layer-by-layer printing. The photocuring 3D printing equipment is high in forming precision and has wide application in the aspects of customizing commodities, medical jigs, prostheses and the like.

The 3D printing device can print out the solid object of the corresponding 3D member according to the three-dimensional model of the personalized design, and thus, the 3D printing device is used by manufacturers such as medical treatment and personalized product manufacturing. As the performance requirements of products manufactured by 3D printing apparatuses in the corresponding fields require, the materials used to manufacture the corresponding products are also continuously changing. This affects the printing process of the 3D printing device.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the related art, an object of the present application is to provide a bottom-exposure 3D printing apparatus, a control method, and a control system, which are used to solve the problem that the 3D printing apparatus affects the yield of manufactured 3D components due to the characteristics of the materials used by the 3D printing apparatus.

To achieve the above and other related objects, a first aspect of the present application provides a bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus, comprising: the container comprises a transparent bottom surface, is used for containing a material to be molded and forms a pattern curing layer after the material to be molded on the bottom surface is selectively radiated; a feeding mechanism in communication with the container for supplying the material to be formed into the container at least once during printing; wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of patterned cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stabilized.

The present application in a second aspect provides a bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus, comprising: a container comprising a transparent bottom surface for holding a material to be formed; the side wall of the container is provided with a discharge channel which is arranged at a position away from the bottom surface of the container by a preset height and is used for enabling the material to be molded, which is higher than the bottom surface of the container, to flow out of the container; wherein the height corresponds to a limited number of layers of the accumulated pattern cured layer; an energy radiation system located below the bottom surface of the container for outputting energy to selectively radiate the material to be molded on the bottom surface through the bottom surface to form a pattern cured layer; a member stage for attaching the pattern cured layer; the Z-axis driving mechanism drives the component platform to move up and down so as to build a 3D component by accumulating the pattern curing layers on the component platform layer by layer; a feeding mechanism in communication with the container for supplying the material to be formed into the container at least once during printing; the control device is respectively connected with the energy radiation system, the Z-axis driving mechanism and the feeding mechanism and is used for controlling the energy radiation system to execute selective curing according to time sequence and controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism to lift up and down during the process of manufacturing the 3D component so as to realize the layer-by-layer accumulation of each pattern curing layer; the control device also controls a feeding mechanism to supply the material to be molded into the container at least once according to the number of the remaining layers for manufacturing the 3D component.

The third aspect of the present application provides a control method for a bottom-surface-exposed 3D printing apparatus, the control method comprising: according to the slice image radiation energy, selectively solidifying the material to be molded on the bottom surface of the container of the 3D printing device to form a pattern solidified layer; adjusting the distance between the formed pattern curing layer and the bottom surface so as to fill the layer-high material to be molded between the bottom surface of the container and the pattern curing layer formed most recently; adjusting the slice images according to a layer-by-layer printing sequence and repeating the steps to manufacture the 3D component through layer-by-layer accumulation of the pattern curing layers; supplying a material to be molded into the container at least once during the above-described control process according to the number of remaining layers of the 3D member; wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of pattern cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stable; the limited number of layers is no greater than the number of layers required to fabricate the 3D member.

The present application in a fourth aspect provides a control system for a bottom-exposure 3D printing apparatus, the control system comprising: a storage device for storing at least one program; and the processing device is connected with the storage device and is used for executing and realizing the control method according to the third aspect when the at least one program is run.

To sum up, the 3D printing device, the control method and the control system for bottom surface exposure provided by the application have the following beneficial effects: the application provides a 3D printing apparatus of bottom surface exposure utilizes discharge channel on feeding mechanism or the container wall, effectively restricts the volume of waiting to form material that holds in the container for 3D printing apparatus is along with supplying along with under the principle of usefulness, and the surplus of waiting to form material is reduced as far as possible. This effectively reduces the problem that the material to be molded is not easy to be stored in the container for a long time, and improves the use efficiency of the material.

Drawings

The specific features to which this application relates are set forth in the appended claims. The features and advantages of the invention to which this application relates will be better understood by reference to the exemplary embodiments described in detail below and the accompanying drawings. The brief description of the drawings is as follows:

fig. 1 shows a schematic hardware structure of a bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus according to the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the feeding mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing another structure of the feeding mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the application mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of the application part and the spray head of the present application.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of the operation of the feeding mechanism and the application mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view showing the structure of the recycling storage mechanism and the container according to the present application.

Fig. 8 shows a structural example of the recycling storage mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 9 shows another schematic structure of the bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing flow of the 3D printing apparatus according to the present application.

Fig. 11 is a control flow diagram of the 3D printing apparatus according to the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application is provided for illustrative purposes, and other advantages and capabilities of the present application will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that describe several embodiments of the application. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that mechanical, structural, electrical, and operational changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments of the present application is defined only by the claims of the issued patent. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. Spatially relative terms, such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "lower," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used herein to facilitate describing one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments, not all embodiments, in the present application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

The 3D printing apparatus selectively cures layer by layer on the printing reference surface using an energy radiation system to accumulate the pattern cured layer by layer. The accumulated pattern cured layers result in a 3D member. In order to facilitate continuous printing, the material to be molded is contained in a container, and the material to be molded is not replenished in the process of manufacturing the 3D component as long as the material to be molded meets the material required for printing the 3D component. This results in the container typically containing a greater amount of material to be formed.

However, in some fields, in order to manufacture a 3D member suitable for performance requirements of the corresponding field, such as the field of medical instruments and the like, components in a material to be molded used by a 3D printing apparatus are relatively active, which makes it unsuitable for placing the material to be molded in the 3D printing apparatus for a long time. In other words, a large amount of materials to be molded are contained in the container of the 3D printing device, which is not favorable for the curing effect of layer-by-layer curing in the printing process.

For example, if the material to be formed is a mixed material, and the raw material components of the mixed material are slowly chemically changed in the printing environment, the mixed material is not conducive to layer-by-layer curing by the 3D printing apparatus after being mixed for a certain period of time (e.g., 1-2 hours). For another example, if the material to be formed contains relatively volatile components or undergoes relatively slow chemical reaction with other substances in the environment provided by the container, similar to the above example, the 3D printing apparatus uses such material to be formed to manufacture the corresponding 3D member, and a finished product with corresponding performance requirements cannot be obtained.

Since the change in the characteristics of the material to be molded in the above example is procedural, in order to allow for layer-by-layer manufacturing using such a material to be molded, the 3D printing apparatus may perform a layer-by-layer printing operation during a period in which the characteristics of the material to be molded are still stable in the procedure.

In order to manufacture the material to be molded with corresponding properties, such as biological properties, physical properties, etc., the 3D printing device needs to change the structure of printing with a large amount of the material to be molded. In some examples, the 3D printing apparatus employs a bottom-exposed overall structure that includes an energy radiation system at the upper end of the apparatus, a doctor blade system that allows for both coating and smoothing functions, and a component platform that sinks continuously from the print datum. Wherein the doctor blade system smoothes the feed material on the printing reference surface, and the selective radiation is carried out by the energy radiation system to generate a pattern cured layer; and (3) sinking the component platform to a layer height position, coating the material to be formed on the printing reference surface by the scraper system again, and leveling the material to be formed on the printing reference surface by analogy to finish layer-by-layer printing. In this example, since the component platform sinks layer by layer, the previously manufactured pattern cured layer is soaked in the not yet cured material to be molded, and the properties of the material to be molded are still changed, which may adversely affect the soaked pattern cured layers. For example, the new composition produced affects certain properties of the cured layer of the pattern, and the like.

In other examples, the 3D printing apparatus adopts a bottom-exposed whole machine structure, and the bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus has the characteristic of a small container, so as to perform layer-by-layer printing operation on the material to be molded. It includes: the device comprises an energy radiation system positioned at the bottom of the device, a container for containing the material to be formed, and a component platform which moves in an overall ascending trend from the bottom surface of the container. In the printing process, the 3D printing equipment does not estimate the material to be formed in the container, if the contained material to be formed is too much, the residual material to be formed is wasted, and otherwise, the printing task cannot be completed.

In order to comprehensively balance the problem of effectively reducing material waste and/or avoiding long-time contact between a solid structure after solidification and a material to be molded, the application provides a bottom surface exposed 3D printing device. The method is similar to the aforementioned bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus in that an energy radiation system in the 3D printing apparatus is located in a lower region of the whole apparatus and radiates energy to the transparent bottom surface of the container so as to cure the material to be molded located on the bottom surface through the bottom surface; the component platform moves in an overall upward trend starting from the bottom surface of the container. Thereby manufacturing a 3D member.

Unlike the bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus in the foregoing example, the 3D printing apparatus further includes a feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism is communicated with the container and is used for supplying the material to be molded into the container at least once in the printing process; wherein the material to be molded supplied at least once into the container is used to form a limited number of pattern cured layers during the period in which the characteristics thereof are stable; the limited number of layers is no greater than the number of layers required to fabricate the 3D member.

In order to facilitate understanding of the bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus of the present application, please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware structure of the bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus.

Wherein the container 11 is used for containing a material to be molded, wherein the bottom surface of the container 11 is transparent. The material to be molded includes any liquid material which is easily cured by light, and examples of the liquid material include: a photocurable resin liquid, or a resin liquid doped with a mixed material such as ceramic powder or a color additive. The liquid material may also include any one or more of the following: a mixture of at least two materials that can produce a slow chemical reaction, a material that can produce a slow chemical reaction with a component in the air, or a material that is easily volatilized to change the composition/composition, etc. The liquid material has a consistency that is related to the material being mixed. For example, when 60% of the ceramic powder is doped in the photocurable resin liquid, the viscosity of the former is higher than that of the latter when 20% of the ceramic powder is doped.

The energy radiation system 14 is used to radiate patterning energy through the bottom surface of the container to form a corresponding patterned cross-section layer at the bottom surface. Wherein the energy radiation system 14 is installed below the 3D printing apparatus, which includes a scanning type energy radiation system or an area exposure type energy radiation system, for example.

Examples of the scanning energy radiation system include: the artificial tooth model comprises a laser emitter, a lens group and a vibrating lens group (not shown) which are positioned on an emitting light path of the laser emitter, wherein the lens group is used for changing the light path of the laser and adjusting the focusing position of a laser beam, the vibrating lens group is used for converting a slicing graph in the received artificial tooth model into a path of a drawing point and a connecting point, the laser beam is controlled to irradiate the surface of a material to be molded from an opening of a container according to the drawing point and the path, the material to be molded is scanned in a two-dimensional space of the surface, and the material to be molded scanned by the laser beam is solidified into a corresponding pattern solidified layer.

Examples of the surface-exposure energy radiation system include: LCD/LED display screen, DMD chip, controller, etc. The DMD chip (Digital micro mirror Device) is a technology for displaying visible Digital information. And the DMD chip emits light emitted by the light source to the projection screen after receiving the control signal of the image processing module. In a DLP-based 3D printing device, the projection screen is the bottom surface of the container. The DMD chip is viewed from the outside as a small mirror, and is packaged in a metal-glass sealed space, and in fact, the mirror is composed of hundreds of thousands or even millions of micromirrors, each micromirror representing a pixel, from which the projected image is composed. The controller projects the corresponding image onto the printing reference surface by controlling the DMD chip and the LCD/LED display screen.

The member platform 12 is used for attaching the pattern cured layer obtained after the energy radiation so as to form the 3D member by accumulation of the pattern cured layer. Specifically, the component platform 12 is exemplified by a component plate. The component platform 12 typically starts at a level one above the bottom surface of the container, and the cured layers of the respective patterns cured at the bottom surface are accumulated in an overall upward-moving manner to obtain the corresponding 3D component 2.

The Z-axis driving mechanism 13 includes a driving unit and a vertical moving unit, and the driving unit is configured to drive the vertical moving unit so that the vertical moving unit drives the component platform to move up and down. For example, the drive unit comprises a drive motor for driving the member platform to move up and down. The drive units are controlled by separate control instructions. Wherein, the control instruction comprises: the directional commands for indicating the ascending, descending or stopping of the component platform may even include parameters such as rotation speed/rotation speed acceleration, or torque/torsion. This facilitates precise control of the distance of descent of the vertical moving unit to achieve precise adjustment of the Z-axis. Here, the vertical moving unit includes a fixed rod with one end fixed on the component platform, and a meshing moving assembly fixed to the other end of the fixed rod, wherein the meshing moving assembly is driven by the driving unit to drive the fixed rod to move vertically, and the meshing moving assembly is, for example, a limiting moving assembly meshed by a toothed structure, such as a rack. As another example, the vertical moving unit includes: the positioning and moving structure comprises a screw rod and a positioning and moving structure sleeved on the screw rod, wherein two ends of the screw rod are connected to a driving unit in a rotating mode, an extending end of the positioning and moving structure is fixedly connected to a component platform, and the positioning and moving structure can be a ball screw, for example.

After the energy radiation system 11 finishes the radiation of the corresponding pattern cured layer, the Z-axis driving mechanism 13 drives the component platform 12 to move upwards to strip the pattern cured layer from the bottom surface of the container, and then moves downwards to form a high gap between the bottom surface of the container and the stripped pattern cured layer, and the gap is filled with the material to be formed so that the energy radiation system can perform selective radiation again.

It should be noted that the Z-axis drive mechanism shown in fig. 1 is a schematic illustration provided only for convenience of description, and is not limited to its positional relationship with the container 11. In some applications, the Z-axis drive mechanism 13 is disposed, for example, on the back plate side of the bottom-surface exposure 3D printing apparatus.

As described above, in order to reduce waste of the material to be molded and/or to ensure that the material to be molded provided in the printing process is in a stable period of its characteristics, the material to be molded contained in the container may be provided by the supply mechanism. The characteristic of the material to be formed mainly refers to a chemical characteristic, a physical characteristic and/or the like of the material to be formed, which changes along with time, and the characteristic can change linearly or nonlinearly along with time, and the speed of the change of the characteristic can be related to or unrelated to the temperature required in the printing process. The stabilization period of the characteristic is previously measured according to the material to be molded and the temperature or the like provided by the printing process, or is preset according to the activity of molecules/atoms of the material to be molded.

The stable period of the property of the material to be molded means a period of time for which the property of the material to be molded in the container is continued within the following conditions including: the material to be molded is adapted to be cured, and at least one of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the cured layer of the pattern after curing is in accordance with design requirements of the 3D member to be manufactured.

A technician can estimate the printing duration spent according to the number of layers and/or size of the manufactured 3D component, and if the printing duration does not exceed the stable period, data or a control strategy reflecting the printing duration or the stable period will not be prestored/preset for the 3D printing apparatus, and otherwise, the corresponding data or the control strategy will be preset. Wherein the data includes, but is not limited to, at least one of: the limited number of layers and volume corresponding to one-time feeding, the time length of the materials to be formed stored in the container (or called as the time interval for removing the materials to be formed in the container), and the like; examples of such control strategies include, but are not limited to: the operation mode of removing the material to be molded in the container and the like are performed during the printing process.

In order to limit the volume of material to be molded that is delivered into the container by the feed mechanism 16 at a single time, the feed mechanism 16 is designed to deliver the material to be molded such that the total height of the material to be molded within the container 11 for curing does not exceed the layer height normally required for the manufacture of 3D components.

Here, the supply mechanism supplies the material to be molded in the container at a time, and the volume thereof may be such that the number of layers of the pattern cured layer to be manufactured may be one layer, two layers, or more limited layers. In particular, the height of the supplied material to be shaped formed in the container may be in the order of micrometers to centimeters. For example in the range 0.001-20mm, for adapting the total layer height that can be printed during the stability of the properties of the different materials to be shaped.

In some examples, the feed mechanism supplies a predetermined volume of material to be formed into the container at a fixed volume. Wherein the volume of the supply may satisfy the number of printing layers, which may be one layer, two layers, or more limited layers. For example, the feeding mechanism feeds the material to be molded at regular time intervals. For another example, as shown in fig. 1, the feeding mechanism is controlled by a control device 15 of the 3D printing apparatus, and delivers a preset volume of the material to be molded according to the printing timing.

In other examples, the feed mechanism selectively supplies the volume of the material to be molded by detecting a quantity reflecting the remaining amount of the material to be molded in the container. For this purpose, the 3D printing apparatus further comprises a liquid level detection mechanism for detecting a volume reflecting the material to be molded in the container for the feeding mechanism to selectively supply the material to be molded. Wherein, the selective supply of the material to be molded means selectively supplying or not supplying the material to be molded; or selecting a volume for supplying the material to be molded, wherein the volume is the material to be molded with a volume of 0 under the limit of the limited number of layers, or the volume which can be manufactured with the limited number of layers and has a volume of v (v >0) determined according to the detection condition.

Wherein, the liquid level detection mechanism comprises a liquid level sensor and an assembling structure for assembling the liquid level sensor. Wherein the liquid level sensor includes at least one of: a sensor that detects the liquid level position based on the measured distance, a sensor that detects the liquid level position based on the detected liquid, and the like. Wherein the sensors for measuring the distance are usually mounted above the container, at a distance from the material to be shaped, or float in the material to be shaped to measure the relative displacement; examples thereof are: ultrasonic sensors, floating ball sensors, or laser sensors, etc. The sensor for detecting the liquid is generally mounted at a predetermined position to measure whether the material to be molded reaches the corresponding position; examples thereof are: capacitive sensors, photoelectric sensors, or conductive sensors, etc.

Taking the example that the liquid level detection mechanism detects the distance between the liquid level detection mechanism and the surface of the material to be molded, the distance data is used for feeding back the currently remaining material to be molded in the container to the feeding mechanism, and the feeding mechanism selectively outputs the material to be molded to supply and maintain the printing requirement for generating at least one pattern curing layer, so as to avoid the influence of the material shortage of the 3D printer on the printing purpose.

It should be noted that the liquid level detection mechanism is not only located above the container or in the container, but also can perform measurement according to the structure of the 3D printing apparatus to obtain detection data capable of reflecting the current material to be molded in the container.

In order to limit the volume of the material to be molded remaining in the container so that too much material to be molded does not remain in the container during printing, the length of time that the manufactured pattern cured layer is soaked in the material to be molded is reduced. In some examples, the container is provided with a discharge channel on the side wall at a position higher than the bottom surface of the container. The discharging channel is arranged at a position away from the bottom surface of the container by a preset height and is used for enabling the material to be molded, which is higher than the bottom surface of the container, to flow out of the container; wherein the second height corresponds to a limited number of layers of the cumulative patterned cured layer. In some embodiments, the discharge channel may be in communication with an external waste collection device for specialized waste disposal of the material to be formed. In other embodiments, the container, level sensing mechanism, and feeder cooperate to both reduce waste of material to be formed and to "beat-and-play". For example, the liquid level detection mechanism is arranged at a discharge channel of the container, the liquid level detection mechanism outputs detection data when detecting that the material to be molded flows out, and under the feedback mechanism provided by the liquid level detection mechanism, the feeding device selects that the material to be molded is not output any more within a preset pause duration, wherein the preset pause duration is determined based on the duration taken by the 3D printing device to manufacture the pattern curing layer with no more than the limited number of layers.

According to the material requirement of the 3D printing equipment for manufacturing the 3D component, the feeding mechanism is communicated with at least one external storage device so as to convey the raw materials stored by the storage device into a container to be used as the material to be molded. In some examples, the feeding mechanism is in communication with one magazine, and the feeding mechanism is in communication with each magazine via a hose.

In other examples, the supply mechanism is in communication with at least two external storage devices. The 3D printing equipment further comprises a material mixing mechanism, wherein the material mixing mechanism is used for mixing different raw materials received by different feed inlets to form a material to be molded, and the material is output to the feeding mechanism through the discharge outlet. Examples of the mixing mechanism include a screw type stirring part, a paddle type stirring part, a piston type stirring part, or the like. The mixing mechanism mixes a plurality of raw materials to form a material to be formed, and the material is supplied to the feeding mechanism from a channel between the discharge port and the feeding mechanism. The channel can be a pipeline for the material to be molded to flow autonomously under the action of gravity, or a controllable channel and the like. For example, a pump structure is arranged on the channel to pump the material to be molded in the mixing mechanism into the feeding mechanism. For feeding into the container, the feed mechanism may communicate with multiple channels of the container to ensure that the material to be formed is quickly leveled within the container.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic structural diagram of a feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism includes: a supply passage 161 and a flow control member 162.

The supply passage 161 is used for communicating with the container. In some examples, the feed channel is a tube made of a flexible material. Examples of the pipe made of the flexible material include any one of a plastic hose, a pipe capable of rotating in any direction, a metal pipe with telescopic adjustment, and the like. In other examples, the feed channel 161 is a rigid tube structure. For example, the supply mechanism is fixed to the container, and the supply passage 161 includes a pipe fitting for fitting the container and a pipe for feeding the material to be molded.

The flow control member 162 is provided on the supply passage for controlling the flow of the supply passage 161 to restrict the material to be molded supplied into the container. Wherein, the flow rate includes flow rate and/or on-off. The flow control part 162 can be arranged at the joint of the container side, the mixing device side or the storage device side; or in the middle of the feed channel 161. The flow control member 162 extracts the material to be molded by using a negative pressure principle, and examples thereof include a pump structure such as a peristaltic pump or a diaphragm pump. Alternatively, the flow control part 162 takes in the material to be molded by using the principle of a communicating vessel, which includes, for example, a lifting part carrying a storing device (or a mixing device), and the like.

Taking the pump structure as an example, the way of outputting the material to be molded at one time by the feeding mechanism includes: and according to the predetermined multiple relation between the volume of the material to be formed which is supplied into the container by the feeding mechanism at one time and the volume which is extracted by the pump structure at one time, the pump structure is enabled to extract the material to be formed for corresponding times, so that the feeding mechanism finishes the material to be formed which is supplied into the container at one time.

In order to improve the application uniformity, the feeding mechanism comprises, as a result of the low amount of material to be formed remaining in the container: a movable discharge member (such as a spray head) for uniformly discharging a single supply of the material to be molded into the container. To this end, please refer to fig. 3, which is a schematic structural diagram of the feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism further comprises: a guide rail 165 disposed along one side of the container; and a slider 166 provided on the guide rail and assembled with the head 164 for moving the head 164 on the guide rail 165.

In some examples, the spray head is connected to the magazine via a feed channel and is integrated with the flow control member. In other examples, the spray head is used in conjunction with the feed mechanism described above with reference to FIG. 2.

For example, the head includes a hollow tube provided along the main body of the applying part, the hollow tube is provided with a plurality of through holes, and the material to be molded is output into the container through the hollow tube and the through holes. Here, the size of each through hole may be the same or different. Use one side of hollow tube to be close to the pump structure, and the pump structure is kept away from to the opposite side as an example, owing to treat that forming material gets into from one side of hollow tube and the flow rate slows down gradually, so, in order to can evenly export, the through-hole aperture that the hollow tube is close to pump structure one side is less and keep away from the through-hole aperture of pump structure one side great to form the hollow tube structure of each through-hole crescent.

In order to increase the speed of the material to be molded flowing in the container, the 3D printing device further comprises an applying mechanism. Please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic structural diagram of the coating mechanism. Wherein the coating mechanism 17 includes a coating portion 171. The distance between the smearing part 171 and the bottom surface is a preset height; the smearing part is used for spreading the material to be molded, which is provided by the feeding mechanism, in the container.

Herein, for convenience of subsequent description, a height at which the spreading part is spaced from the bottom surface is referred to as a first height; the height to which the limited number of layers mentioned in the foregoing example corresponds is referred to as a second height. For example, the height of the discharge hole of the container from the bottom surface of the container is a second height; or the maximum height value formed by accumulation of the material to be formed in the container, which is supplied into the container at least once, is called as a second height; or the lower of the height of the discharge hole of the container from the bottom surface of the container and the maximum value of the height is called as a second height. Wherein the first height is between a single layer height of the pattern cured layer to be produced and the second height. For example, the first height may be slightly less than or equal to the single layer height, or the first height may be no greater than the second height. As another example, the first height is between higher than the monolayer layer and lower than the second height.

The smearing part is positioned in the container and can be in a lath shape, an L shape or a wedge-shaped structure. The smearing part is used for spreading at least one layer of high material to be molded on at least the area of the bottom surface of the container corresponding to the pattern cured layer. For this purpose, the applicator part can rotate in a curved manner in the container; or from one side of the container to the other to translate in a direction parallel to the bottom surface of the container. Correspondingly, the smearing mechanism further comprises a moving component which is assembled with the smearing part and provides a driving force in a manner of any one of the above examples by driving the smearing part so as to move the smearing part along the bottom surface of the container. Examples of such moving parts include, but are not limited to: a driving motor which enables the smearing part to rotate or translate. For example, one end of the smearing part is connected with a driving motor so as to rotate within a preset angle under the driving of the driving motor.

In some examples, the application mechanism further comprises: a guide rail, a slider provided on the guide rail, and a driving motor (not shown) connected to one end of the guide rail or the slider. In order to improve the use efficiency of the device, the guide rail and the slide block of the smearing mechanism can be shared with the guide rail and the slide block in the feeding mechanism.

Wherein, any guide rail of example is for example lead screw or rack, and any slider of example sets up on the guide rail, the one end of guide rail is connected the rotation driving motor, and one end fixed mounting of daubing the portion is on the slider. Under the action of the rotary driving motor, the guide rail drives the sliding block to provide reciprocating acting force, so that the smearing part arranged on the sliding block can be moved in a reciprocating mode in the container.

Referring to fig. 5, a schematic structural view of the coating portion 171 and the nozzle 164 is shown. The cross-section of the nozzle 164 is funnel-shaped, and the bottom of the funnel has a separation height from the bottom of the container, which may be the same as the first height or slightly higher than the first height, and the separation height is not higher than the second height. In order not to spray the material to be shaped, the height of the gap is such that the bottom of the funnel is slightly below the surface of the material to be solidified in the container, i.e. immersed in the material to be solidified in the container. In addition, the tube body of the hollow tube is filled with the material to be formed, so that bubbles formed in the material to be formed in the coating process are reduced, and the curing quality of the pattern curing layer is prevented from being influenced by the bubbles. The spray head is assembled with the smearing part so as to integrally move with the smearing part.

In some applications, in order to prolong the period of stabilization of the material to be shaped of the mixed liquid inside the container, a corresponding mixing mechanism is also fitted at said spreading section, or slide, to move integrally with the spreading section. The material to be shaped which has just been mixed is thus laid on the bottom of the container.

Under the driving force provided by the above examples, the smearing part spreads the material to be formed provided by the feeding mechanism on the bottom surface of the container. Through the operation of paining portion, the material of waiting that the feed mechanism added is not only spread at the container bottom surface fast, can also effectively reduce the bubble interference in waiting to shape the material in the printing process.

For the example of a container with a discharge channel in the side wall, the discharge channel is arranged on the side or on both sides of the application part, so that the application part can discharge the blocked excess material to be formed from the discharge channel.

In some examples, please refer to fig. 6, which shows a schematic operation of the feeding mechanism and the applying mechanism. The outfeed channel 111 is located on a single side of the translation of the wiping portion 171. The head 164 is integrally translated from one side of the discharging passage 111 to the other side of the discharging passage with the coating portion 171, and since the bottom end of the coating portion 171 is lower than the bottom end of the head 164, the coating portion 171 provides a spraying space for the material to be molded ejected from the head 164, and during the movement, not only the material to be molded is uniformly replenished, but also the material to be molded higher than the first height portion is pushed to the other side of the container 11, for example, without affecting the area for manufacturing at least one pattern cured layer. Since the material to be molded is a viscous liquid, the fluidity thereof is slow, and therefore, the material to be molded is accumulated in a region where the at least one pattern cured layer is not produced, and after the 3D printing apparatus completes the printing operation of the at least one pattern cured layer, the coated portion is laid back on the bottom surface of the container 11 in the process of returning to the discharging passage side from the other side. If the material to be molded in the container is too much, the excess material to be molded is discharged from the discharging passage 111 by the application operation of the applying portion 171 to the discharging passage 111 side.

Based on the description of some examples above, the 3D printing apparatus includes a container with an outlet channel, so that the material to be molded stored in the container can be used to manufacture only a limited number of cured layers without replenishment. For example, the discharge channel of the container discharges the excess material to be formed under the action of the application part; for another example, the material to be molded in the container may reach the position of the discharge passage, so that the material to be molded which is too high flows out of the discharge passage. The discharged material to be molded, however, can still be recycled in the current unfinished process of manufacturing a 3D component, as it is still in a stable period of its properties.

To save printing materials, please refer to fig. 7, which is a schematic structural diagram of the recycling storage mechanism and the container. The 3D printing apparatus further includes: a recycling storage mechanism 18 communicating with the container 11 through the discharging passage 111 for conveying the collected material to be molded into the container by at least one feeding operation of the feeding mechanism during a period in which the characteristics of the material to be molded flowing out of the discharging passage are stabilized. In other words, the recovery storage mechanism 18 is also communicated with the container 11 through the supply passage 161 in the supply mechanism to recycle the material to be molded.

Wherein, retrieve and store the mechanism and contain the cavity structures that can store the material of treating the shaping at least, cavity structures can be totally closed cavity structures, perhaps is the U column structure. The cavity structure is communicated with the discharging channel. The recovery storage mechanism is also communicated with the feeding mechanism.

In some examples, the feed channel in the feed mechanism is connected to the recycling storage mechanism at one end and to a container (or a spray head) at the other end. The recycling and storing mechanism is also communicated with at least one external material storage device (or a material mixing mechanism). The feeding mechanism draws a corresponding volume of the material to be molded from the recovery storage mechanism in at least one feeding process so as to preferentially recycle the material to be molded discharged from the container. The recovery storage mechanism takes in the material to be molded from the outside when the material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism is insufficient for supplying the material to be molded next time.

In other examples, the feeding mechanism comprises a plurality of feeding channels, wherein one feeding channel is communicated with the recovery storage mechanism and the container (or the spray head), and the other feeding channels are communicated with an external storage device (or the mixing mechanism) and the container (or the spray head). The feeding mechanism preferentially extracts the material to be molded with a corresponding volume from the recovery storage mechanism so as to recycle the material to be molded in a stable period of the characteristics. When the material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism is insufficient to supply the material to be molded next time, the material to be molded is taken from the outside through the other feed passage.

In some applications, the aforementioned liquid level detection mechanism is also used to detect the liquid level position in the recovery storage mechanism, thereby feeding back the remaining amount of the material to be molded stored in the recovery storage mechanism to the feeding mechanism.

In some examples, the liquid level detection mechanism includes a plurality of liquid level sensors for detecting the material to be molded in the container and the material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism, respectively.

In other examples, the liquid level detection mechanism detects only detection data in the recovery storage mechanism, and reflects the stock amount of the material to be molded in the container and reflects the remaining material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism by the detection data.

For example, the feeding mechanism supplements the material to be molded into the container at intervals of a preset number of printing layers, and the surplus material to be molded is recovered into the recovery storage mechanism. And the liquid level sensor in the liquid level detection mechanism measures the distance data between the liquid level sensor and the surface of the material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism, and the distance data reflects the amount of the material to be molded stored in the recovery storage mechanism. Under the feedback of the detection data provided by the liquid level detection mechanism, the feeding mechanism selects to extract the replenishment from the recovery storage mechanism only once or to obtain the replenishment from the outside.

In some applications, referring to fig. 8, which shows a structural example of the recycling storage mechanism, in order to further improve the utilization rate of the material to be formed in the recycling storage mechanism, the recycling storage mechanism 18 further includes a capacity adjustment component 181 for adjusting the space for containing the material to be formed in the recycling storage mechanism. Therefore, the material to be molded can be conveniently extracted by the feeding mechanism.

Here, the capacity adjusting means divides the recovery storage mechanism into two chambers, one of which serves as a feeding chamber that communicates with the feeding mechanism for containing the recovered material to be molded. The other is a vacant chamber or a waste chamber. The capacity adjustment member makes the capacity of the two chambers adjustable by reciprocating.

The joint of the recycling storage mechanism and the discharge channel of the container is arranged in the middle of a cavity structure in the recycling storage mechanism or close to the position where the feeding mechanism extracts and supplies, and the initial position of the capacity adjusting part is positioned on one side of the cavity structure far away from the joint. When the capacity adjustment member is moved from the initial position to the position of the mouthpiece, the capacity of the material to be molded is reduced, thereby preventing the material to be molded from flowing into a space that cannot be extracted.

In some applications, the capacity adjustment component is fed back by detection data of the liquid detection mechanism. When the capacity adjusting part is positioned at the initial value and the detection data of the liquid detection mechanism indicate that the residual material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism is less than a capacity threshold value, the position of the capacity adjusting part is adjusted to reduce the capacity of the material to be molded stored in the recovery storage mechanism so as to improve the height of the liquid level in the storage space, thereby facilitating the extraction operation of the feeding mechanism.

In some examples, the capacity adjustment component includes a scraper structure and a moving structure. The width of the scraper structure is the same as or slightly narrower than the inner width of the cavity structure, so that the leakage of the material to be molded is reduced as much as possible in the process of reducing the capacity. The moving structure at least comprises a guide rail for moving the scraper structure. For example, the scraper structure is moved to an initial position by a force generated by the increase of the material to be molded in the cavity of the recovery storage mechanism, and is moved to an end position of a moving stroke by a negative pressure generated by the extraction of the feeding mechanism.

Unlike the previous example, the capacity adjustment part further includes a driving part of the squeegee structure, which is mounted on the guide rail and assembled with the squeegee structure. The driving member is exemplified by a linear motor. The driving member moves based on feedback of detection data of the liquid level detection mechanism.

In order to facilitate cleaning of the remaining material to be formed (also called scrap) or material no longer having stable properties, the material to be formed in the container needs to be discharged. In the opposite case, the material to be shaped in the container does not need to be discharged. In this example, the 3D printing apparatus further comprises a waste discharge device in communication with the container, the waste discharge device for discharging the material to be molded within the container.

The waste discharge device can be connected to the discharge channel of the container or to the waste channel of the container. Wherein the waste channel is a channel disposed on the container other than the discharge channel. During printing, the waste channel is closed; conversely, during the cleaning of the material to be solidified, the waste channel is opened. In each example of the 3D printing apparatus including the recycling storage mechanism, the waste passage may further be a passage provided on the cavity structure of the recycling storage mechanism to discharge/not discharge the waste through the discharge passage and the cavity structure of the recycling storage mechanism. The closing and opening of the waste channel mentioned in the above examples may be performed manually. In some examples, the waste discharge device further comprises an application part to accelerate the waste discharge speed by the movement of the application part in the container.

In each example of the 3D printing apparatus including the recycling storage mechanism, the trash channel 183 may be opened/closed using a capacity adjustment part, as shown in fig. 8. Here, the scrap passage 183 is located away from the communicating position of the feeding mechanism and the recovery storage mechanism. For example, the waste passage 183 is provided at the side of the initial position corresponding to the capacity adjustment part 181 so that the waste passage 183 is shielded by the capacity adjustment part 181 such that the waste passage 183 is closed. When the scrap channel 183 is opened, the capacity adjustment unit 181 moves along the guide rails so that the discharge channel 111 communicates with the scrap channel 183. This makes it possible to provide a path for recycling the material to be formed during the printing process by means of a discharge channel or to discharge waste material during the waste material discharge process.

In some applications, the material to be manufactured has certain temperature requirements for the curing operation, or for maintaining the characteristics as stable as possible, and for this purpose, the 3D printing apparatus further includes a temperature adjusting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the temperature of the material to be molded in the container so as to form a pattern cured layer upon the energy radiation.

Wherein, the temperature regulating mechanism comprises a warming part and/or a cooling part. The heating parts (or the cooling parts) respectively enable the temperature of the material to be molded in the container to be higher (or lower) than the temperature of the raw material in the material storage device. The heating part can heat the temperature of the material to be formed by heat exchange, electric heating or other modes. The cooling part can reduce the temperature of the material to be formed through heat exchange, cooling and other modes. In some examples that include a mixing mechanism, the temperature adjustment mechanism is disposed in the mixing mechanism. In some examples including a recycling storage mechanism, the temperature adjustment mechanism is disposed in the recycling storage mechanism. In some examples involving an application mechanism, the temperature adjustment mechanism is disposed in the application mechanism.

The temperature adjusting mechanism can be arranged at least one of the container, the recovery storage mechanism, the feeding mechanism, the storage device, the mixing mechanism, each channel for conveying the material to be molded, or the whole machine case.

Please refer to fig. 9, which is a schematic structural diagram of a bottom-exposed 3D printing apparatus. Wherein the 3D printing apparatus includes: an energy radiation system (not shown), a container 51 with a transparent bottom surface, a member table 52, a Z-axis drive mechanism 52, a supply mechanism 56, a coating mechanism 57, a mixing mechanism 59, and a recovery storage mechanism 58. Wherein the illustration also includes two magazine devices 41A, 41B. The energy radiation system is located in the bottom region of the complete machine of the 3D printing device, below the container 51. One side of the container 51 is communicated with the cavity structure of the recovery storage mechanism 58 through a discharge channel; the container 51 and cavity structure may be integrally formed or assembled together. The discharge channel is spaced from the bottom surface of the container 51 by a limited number of total layer heights of the pattern cured layer. One side of the recovery storage mechanism 58 is communicated with the feeding channel of the feeding mechanism 57, and the other side far away from the feeding channel is provided with a waste discharge channel 583; the cavity structure of the recycling and storing mechanism 58 is provided with a capacity adjusting part 581, which takes the side of the waste discharging channel 583 as an initial position to divide the cavity structure into a feeding cavity and a waste cavity with adjustable capacity. The capacity-adjusting member 581 adjusts the capacity of the supply chamber when the discharge passage of the container 51 and the supply passage are co-located in one chamber. The capacity adjusting part 581 adjusts the capacity of the waste chamber when the discharging passage of the container 51 is co-located with the waste discharging passage. The recycling storage mechanism 58 is also in communication with a material mixing mechanism 59 to receive the mixed material to be formed. The head of the supply mechanism 56 and the application portion of the application mechanism 57 are assembled together. The applicator 57 has a plate-like applicator portion standing adjacent to but not against the bottom surface of the container 51, and is movable back and forth between one side of the discharge channel of the container and the opposite side thereof. The component platform 52 is fixed to the Z-axis driving mechanism 53, and is driven by the Z-axis driving mechanism 53 to perform a lifting motion.

The hardware mechanisms, hardware systems, and the like in the above examples perform cooperative operations by the control device in accordance with various control instructions output by the control timing, so that the 3D printing apparatus manufactures 3D members while maintaining only a small amount of the material to be molded in the container.

The control device is at least respectively connected with the Z-axis driving mechanism, the energy radiation system and the feeding mechanism, and is used for controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism and the energy radiation system to perform layer-by-layer printing based on the received 3D model file so as to obtain the 3D component; and controlling the feeding mechanism to replenish the container with the material to be molded at least once during printing. In some examples, the control device controls the feeding mechanism to provide the material to be molded, which can be used for manufacturing the limited number of patterned cured layers. In other examples, the 3D printing apparatus further includes a liquid level detection mechanism, and the control device outputs a control command for selecting the feeding to the feeding mechanism using detection data provided by the liquid level detection mechanism.

Here, the control system is an electronic device including a processor. For example, the control system is a computer device, an embedded device, or an integrated circuit integrated with a CPU.

Each interface unit is respectively connected with hardware devices which are independently packaged in the 3D printing equipment and transmit data through the interfaces, such as the Z-axis driving mechanism, the energy radiation system, the feeding mechanism and the like. The hardware device further comprises at least one of: a prompting device, a human-computer interaction device and the like. The interface unit determines its interface type according to the connected hardware device, which includes but is not limited to: universal serial interface, video interface, industrial control interface, etc. For example, the interface unit includes: USB interface, HDMI interface and RS232 interface, wherein, USB interface and RS232 interface all have a plurality ofly, and the USB interface can connect man-machine interaction device etc. RS232 interface connection detection device and Z axle actuating mechanism, HDMI interface connection energy radiation system.

The storage unit is used for storing files required by 3D printing equipment for printing. The file includes: a model file of the 3D component to be manufactured, a program file and a configuration file required for the CPU to run, and the like. The model file describes layered images, layer heights, and other printing-related attribute information (such as radiation duration, radiation power, or placement position) of the 3D component to be printed. The memory unit includes a non-volatile memory and a system bus. The nonvolatile memory is, for example, a solid state disk or a usb disk. The system bus is used to connect the non-volatile memory with the CPU, wherein the CPU may be integrated in the memory unit or packaged separately from the memory unit and connected to the non-volatile memory through the system bus.

The processing unit includes: a CPU or a chip integrated with a CPU, a programmable logic device (FPGA), and a multi-core processor. The processing unit also includes memory, registers, etc. for temporarily storing data. The processing unit sends out control instructions to each hardware device according to the time sequence through the interface unit. For example, the processing unit transmits the layered image to the energy radiation system after controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism to move the component platform to a distance position away from the preset printing reference surface, and repeatedly controls the Z-axis driving mechanism to drive the component platform to adjust and move to a new distance position away from the preset printing reference surface after the energy radiation system completes the selective curing, and executes the selective curing. And repeatedly and sequentially utilizing the layered images to selectively solidify the material to be molded in the range of the height of the layer above the bottom surface of the container so as to realize the 3D component accumulated layer by layer.

Please refer to fig. 10, which is a schematic diagram of a printing process of the 3D printing apparatus. The control means of the 3D printing apparatus controls at least: the energy radiation system, the Z-axis drive mechanism, and the feeding mechanism operate in cooperation.

In step S110, energy is output based on the slice image of the layer to be manufactured to selectively irradiate the material to be molded of the corresponding layer height on the bottom surface of the container to form a pattern cured layer.

The slice image is image data in a 3D model file and is obtained based on a closed curve surrounded by contour cross-sectional lines at a high position of a layer in the 3D component model. The 3D model file includes slice layer sequence, slice layer height of each slice layer, slice image, and other data.

The control device reads the slice images to be manufactured at present according to the sequence of the slice layers, and transmits the slice images to the energy radiation system, and the energy radiation system selectively radiates according to the slice images to form a pattern curing layer between the bottom surface of the container and the component platform.

In step S120, the distance between the formed pattern cured layer and the bottom surface is adjusted to fill the layer-high material to be molded between the bottom surface of the container and the pattern cured layer formed most recently.

After the pattern cured layer is formed in step S110, the control device controls the Z-axis drive mechanism to move in a direction away from the bottom surface of the container to peel the pattern cured layer from the bottom surface of the container, and controls the Z-axis drive mechanism to stop the member stage at a position one level higher than the position at the time of the previous curing operation. In this way, the material to be molded of the layer height of the layer to be manufactured is filled between the bottom surface of the container and the pattern cured layer formed most recently.

In step S130, determining whether there are still unread slice images, if yes, repeating the above steps S110 and S120, and accumulating the pattern cured layers on the component platform layer by layer to form a 3D component described by the 3D model file; if not, printing is finished, and subsequent pickup operation is executed.

In the printing process, the control device further executes step S140 (not shown) to maintain a limited number of layers of the material to be molded in the container during the execution of the printing process. This step S140 may be performed during the execution of the aforementioned steps S110 to S130, in consideration of making the liquid as stable and non-flowing as possible during the curing process. For example, before or after step S110, or during the execution of step S120.

In step S140, the material to be molded is supplied into the container at least once according to the number of remaining layers in manufacturing the 3D member.

Here, the control device monitors the supply-demand relationship between the remaining number of layers of the 3D member to be manufactured and the number of layers of the pattern cured layer manufactured corresponding to the last feeding by the feeding mechanism by reading the number of layers of the 3D model file or the self-counting, and supplies the material to be molded into the container.

For example, the feeding mechanism feeds the material once to produce a patterned cured layer, and the control device controls the feeding mechanism to feed the material into the container once before each layer is produced.

As another example, the feeding mechanism feeds a volume per time corresponding to the number of patterned cured layers making N layers, 1< N < the total number of layers of the 3D member. The control device is preset with feeding data reflecting the volume value, such as the pumping times of a pump reflecting the volume value. The control device counts the number of the manufactured pattern curing layers according to the number of the manufactured pattern curing layers corresponding to the one-time feeding of the feeding mechanism, so that when the pattern curing layers with a plurality of numbers of layers are printed, the material is supplemented into the container once according to the preset number of the printing layers as an interval.

It should be noted that the volume of a single feed of the feeding mechanism described in the present application is not necessarily multiple of the number of layers of the pattern cured layer that can be produced.

In each of the above-mentioned examples of the 3D printing apparatus including the applying mechanism, the control device further controls the applying mechanism. Please refer to fig. 11, which is a flowchart illustrating a control method. Unlike the foregoing example of step S140, the present example is during the execution process of step S120 at least once in the printing process of the foregoing steps S110 to S130. For example, after printing a preset number of layers interval, the control process in the present example is executed. Wherein, the step S120 includes the following steps S210 and S230.

In step S210, the pattern cured layer is peeled off from the bottom surface.

Here, the control device controls the Z-axis drive mechanism to move away from the bottom surface of the container so that the pattern cured layer attached to the lower portion of the member stage is peeled off from the bottom surface of the container. The component platform is controlled to move above the smearing part so that the smearing part can perform smearing operation.

In step S220, the material to be molded supplied into the container is spread on the bottom surface of the container.

Taking the control device to control the driving motor in the coating mechanism and the pump structure in the feeding mechanism as an example, the coating part and the spray head are integrally moved from one side of the container to the other side, in the process, the tail end of the spray head is close to or immersed in the residual material to be molded in the container, and the supplemented material to be molded is spread in the container. In the process, the material to be formed in the container is smoothed by the spray head end or the smearing part so as to reduce bubbles entrapped in the liquid.

In some specific examples, the control device controls the pump structure according to the moving stroke of the coating part, so that the spray head outputs the material to be molded in the whole moving stroke.

In other specific examples, the control device controls the pump structure during the moving stroke of the smearing part according to preset feeding data corresponding to the primary feeding volume, so that the spray head outputs the material to be molded with the corresponding volume in the whole moving stroke.

In each of the above examples, the control device may supply the material to be formed which can be printed in one or more layers, using a unidirectional movement of the application portion. In supplying printable plural layers of the material to be molded, for example, between the two supplies, the control device controls the energy radiation system and the Z-axis drive mechanism to perform the continuous printing operation as in steps S110 to S130. As another example, between two supplies, the control device performs the steps of: performing step S110 by controlling the energy radiation system to form a pattern cured layer; executing step S210 by controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism to peel off the formed pattern cured layer from the bottom surface of the container and raise the pattern cured layer to a height higher than the applying part; the smearing mechanism is controlled to move the smearing part so as to smooth the material to be formed in the container; the following step S230 is executed by controlling the Z-axis drive mechanism; the next slice image is supplied to the energy radiation system in layer order, and step S110 is re-executed until the supply condition is satisfied. The feeding condition is determined based on a preset number of printing layers between two times of feeding or determined according to the number of layers of the material to be molded and the image curing layer which can be manufactured and is remained in the container.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned manner of feeding by controlling the pump structure is an example, and under the technical idea, the skilled person can control other feeding manners such as the lifting member mentioned in the above-mentioned example to lay the supplied material in the container during the movement of the coating portion.

In step S230, the distance between the peeled pattern cured layer and the bottom surface is adjusted so that the distance is filled with the material to be molded.

The control device controls the Z-axis driving mechanism to move towards the bottom surface of the container, and stops at a position where the pattern curing layer attached under the component platform is higher than the bottom surface of the container, so as to form a gap filled with the material to be molded. Under the control of the control device, the energy radiation system may selectively radiate according to the received slice image by performing step S110 to form a further pattern cured layer. With the determination condition in step S130, the manufacturing of the 3D member is completed.

In each of the above-mentioned examples of the 3D printing apparatus including the discharging passage provided on the side wall of the container and the recycling storage mechanism, the control process thereof is the same as or similar to each of the aforementioned examples in steps S210 to S230. In contrast, the feeding mechanism circulates and supplies the material to be molded recovered from the container to the container under the control of the control device during the feeding of the material to the container.

The control device evaluates the remaining amount of the material to be molded in the container by monitoring the printing process and monitoring the feeding process over time, whereby the control device controls the feeding mechanism to determine whether to supply the material to be molded and/or to determine the feeding amount of the material to be molded in the printing process mentioned in the above examples. Wherein the monitored printing process is used to reflect information about the materials required to manufacture the 3D component, such as, but not limited to, at least one of: the number of layers of the manufactured pattern cured layer, the size of the manufactured pattern cured layer, the number of layers of the pattern cured layer to be manufactured, the size of the pattern cured layer to be manufactured, and the like. The historical feeding process being monitored includes information reflecting the material supplied to manufacture the 3D component, such as, but not limited to, at least one of: feeding interval data, single-feed amount data, and a relationship between the portion to be manufactured and the single-feed amount data, and the like.

For example, the material to be molded remaining in the container is estimated based on the number and size of layers of the manufactured pattern cured layer, and the feeding interval data and the single-feed amount data; the supply-and-demand relationship of the remaining material to be molded and the remaining pattern cured layer to be manufactured is evaluated based on the number of layers and the size of the pattern cured layer to be manufactured, thereby determining whether to supply the material to be molded and/or determining the supply amount of the material to be molded.

In some embodiments, in each of the above-mentioned examples of the 3D printing apparatus including the liquid level detection mechanism, the control of the feeding mechanism by the control device may further be based on detection data reflecting a position of the liquid level in the container, which is provided by the liquid level detection mechanism. Here, the timing of feeding the material to be molded into the container is determined based on the detection data under the control of the control device. For example, under the technical idea of the implementation manner of step S140, the control device executes steps S310 and S320 (both not shown) during the feeding process using each example as in step S140 or using each example as in step S220.

In step S310, detection data reflecting the remaining amount of the material to be molded in the container is acquired.

Wherein, according to the type of the liquid level sensor configured by the liquid level detection mechanism and the position where the liquid level sensor is placed, the corresponding detection data includes but is not limited to: distance data, data on whether or not it is soaked by liquid, etc.

For example, the level sensor is a distance measuring sensor mounted above the container, and the detection data provided by the level sensor is the detection data for measuring the distance between the level sensor and the surface of the material to be molded. The detection data reflects whether the material to be molded in the container reaches a preset warning distance value or not so as to determine that the amount of the material to be molded remaining in the container is too small.

For another example, if the liquid level sensor is a liquid sensor mounted at a preset height of the side wall of the container or at the discharge channel of the container, the liquid level sensor provides detection data indicating whether the material to be molded in the container reaches a corresponding preset height. And the control device determines that the amount of the material to be formed in the container is too much or too little according to the preset position height data of the liquid sensor.

In step S320, a material to be molded is selectively supplied to the container according to the detection data.

Wherein the control device determines whether the material to be molded remaining in the container satisfies the requirement of manufacturing the pattern cured layer of the at least one layer, thereby determining whether to supply the material to be molded and/or determining the supply amount of the material to be molded, with the detection data as feedback of the remaining amount of the material to be molded in the container.

In some specific examples, the control device determines whether to supply the material to be molded and/or determines the supply amount of the material to be molded, based on the detected detection data and data reflecting the material usage amount of the remaining pattern cured layer to be manufactured. Wherein the data reflecting the material usage of the remaining pattern cured layer to be manufactured includes, but is not limited to, at least one of: the number of layers of all the remaining pattern cured layers, the size of all the remaining pattern cured layers, and the matching relationship between the number of layers and/or the size of the remaining pattern cured layers and the corresponding threshold conditions, and the like. The control device obtains the remaining material to be molded in the container by using the detection data; obtaining data reflecting the material usage of the remaining pattern cured layer to be manufactured according to the monitoring of the printing process; and determining to output/not output a corresponding control command to the feeding mechanism by using the supply-demand relation of the two, wherein the control command comprises information for determining to supply the material to be molded and/or determining the feeding amount of the material to be molded.

For example, if it is detected by the inspection data that the remaining material to be molded in the container satisfies the manufacturing of the pattern cured layer of n1 layers and the remaining number of layers is n2(< n1), it is determined that the feeding is not performed. For another example, if it is detected by the inspection data that the remaining material to be molded in the container satisfies the pattern cured layer for manufacturing n1 layers and the remaining number of layers is n3(> n1) layers, the material to be molded to be supplied with the (n3-n1) layers or the (n3-n1 +. DELTA.n) layers is determined, where DELTA.n is a redundant amount to prevent a shortage of supply due to a measurement error.

Here, similar to the aforementioned steps S140 and S220, the control device controls the feeding mechanism to feed the material to be molded into the container so as to maintain the material to be molded in the container for forming the at least one patterned cured layer. Unlike the foregoing steps S140 and S220, in some examples, the control device controls the feeding period of the feeding mechanism, the number of times of pumping by the pump structure, or the like to reflect the feeding amount of the material to be molded that is supplied. In other examples, the control device controls the amount of material supplied by the supply mechanism by including data reflecting the amount of material supplied in the control instruction. In still other examples, the control device controls the number of times the feed mechanism feeds by adjusting the feed interval. The above-mentioned examples of the supply materials may be implemented individually or in combination, and are not limited herein.

In other embodiments, in each example where the liquid level sensor in the liquid level detection mechanism detects the remaining amount of the material to be molded recovered in the cavity structure of the recovery storage mechanism in the 3D printing apparatus, the control device performs the following steps S410 and S420 (both not shown). For convenience of description, the detection data provided by the liquid level detection mechanism described below to reflect the remaining amount in the cavity structure is referred to as second detection data, and the detection data provided by the liquid level detection mechanism in the foregoing example to reflect the remaining amount in the container is referred to as first detection data.

In step S410, second detection data reflecting the remaining amount of the recovered material to be molded is acquired.

For example, the liquid level sensor is a distance measuring sensor mounted above the cavity structure of the recycling storage mechanism, and the second detection data provided by the liquid level sensor is second detection data for measuring the distance between the liquid level sensor and the surface of the material to be molded. The second detection data reflects whether the material to be molded stored in the cavity structure reaches a preset warning distance value or not, so as to determine whether the recovered material to be molded can be supplied for at least one subsequent feeding.

If the liquid level sensor is a liquid sensor with a preset height assembled in the cavity structure of the recycling storage mechanism, the second detection data provided by the liquid level sensor is whether the material to be molded in the cavity structure of the recycling storage mechanism reaches the corresponding preset height or not. The second detection data reflects whether the material to be molded stored in the cavity structure reaches a preset warning distance value or not, so as to determine whether the recovered material to be molded can be supplied for at least one subsequent feeding.

In step S420, the recycled material to be molded and/or the externally stored material to be molded are selected to be supplied into the container according to the second detection data.

Here, in a manner similar to the foregoing steps S140 and S220, the control device controls the feeding mechanism to feed the material to be molded into the container so as to maintain the material to be molded in the container for forming at least one patterned cured layer. In the control process, the control device preferentially recycles the material to be molded in the recovery storage device within a stable period of the characteristics of the recovered material to be molded so as to reduce the waste of raw materials.

In some examples, the control device determines whether the recovered material to be molded provides a preset limited number of layers of the material to be molded within a preset interval according to the second detection data, and selects to supply the recovered material to be molded and/or an externally stored material to be molded into the container.

For example, if it is detected by the second detection data that the recovered material to be molded satisfies the requirement of manufacturing the pattern cured layer of which the preset limited number of layers is n 1', the material to be molded is selected to be supplied from the recovery storage mechanism. For another example, if the second detection data detects that the material to be molded remaining in the container does not satisfy the requirement of manufacturing the pattern cured layer with n 1' layers, the external storage device (or mixing mechanism) and the feeding mechanism are selectively controlled to cooperate to feed the material to be molded into the container. For another example, if the second detection data detects that the material to be molded remaining in the container does not meet the requirement of manufacturing the pattern cured layer with n 1' layers, the external storage device (or the mixing mechanism) is selectively controlled to feed the material to be molded into the recovery storage mechanism; and if the material to be molded of the recovery and storage mechanism is determined to meet the requirement of manufacturing the preset limited number of n 1' of pattern cured layers according to the second detection data detected again, the material to be molded is selected to be provided from the recovery and storage mechanism. For another example, if it is detected by the second detection data that the material to be molded remaining in the container does not satisfy the requirement of manufacturing the pattern cured layer with n 1' layers, the material to be molded, which can be recycled, is extracted from the recovered storage mechanism by selectively controlling the feeding mechanism, and the shortage in the recovered storage mechanism is supplied to the feeding mechanism by controlling an external storage device (or a material mixing mechanism).

In other examples, in combination with the control processes of steps S310-S320, the control device controls the feeding mechanism to feed the material to be molded into the container to maintain the material to be molded in the container for forming at least one patterned cured layer. In the control process, the control device preferentially recycles the material to be molded in the recovery storage device within a stable period of the characteristics of the recovered material to be molded so as to reduce the waste of raw materials.

For example, if it is detected by the first detection data that the remaining material to be molded in the container satisfies manufacturing of n 1-layered pattern cured layers and the number of remaining layers is n3(> n1) layers, and it is detected by the second detection data that the material to be molded in the recovery storage means satisfies manufacturing of (n3-n1 +. DELTA.n) layers, the supply means is selectively controlled to supply the material to be molded of the (n3-n1) layers or the (n3-n1 +. DELTA.n) layers through the recovery storage means, where DELTA.n is a redundant amount to prevent insufficient supply due to measurement errors.

As another example, if it is detected by the first detection data that the remaining material to be molded in the container satisfies the manufacturing of n1 layers of the pattern cured layer, the remaining number of layers is n3(> n1) layers, and it is detected by the second detection data that the material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism does not satisfy the manufacturing of (n3-n1 +. DELTA.n) layers, the feeding mechanism is selectively controlled to take the tape-printed material less than the manufacturing (n3-n1 +. DELTA.n) layers from the recovery storage mechanism, and the feeding mechanism is controlled to take the remaining material to be molded from the storage device or the compounding mechanism, where DELTA.n is a redundant amount to prevent the insufficient feeding due to the measurement error.

In each example in which the recovery storage mechanism further includes the capacity adjustment means, for example, under the technical idea of the manner of execution of step S140, the control device further executes step S510 (not shown) in the process of performing the feeding with each example as in step S140, or the process of performing the feeding with each example as in step S220, or the process of performing the feeding with each example as in steps S310 to S320, or the process of performing the feeding with each example as in steps S410 to S420.

In step S510, the capacity of the feed chamber in the recycling storage mechanism is adjusted. This is advantageous in improving the utilization of the recovered material to be molded.

In some examples, the control device adjusts the position of the primary capacity adjustment member to reduce the capacity of the feed chamber until the end position is adjusted after each use of the recovered material to be molded, starting from the initial position of the capacity adjustment member, according to the feed amount of the primary feed.

In order to improve the adjustment accuracy, in other examples, a liquid level sensor of the liquid level detection mechanism is provided on the side of the feed chamber, and the control device adjusts the position of the capacity adjustment member based on the acquired second detection data. For example, when the second detection data reflects that there is less material to be molded in the recovery storage mechanism, the control device adjusts the position of the capacity adjustment member to reduce the capacity of the supply cavity, thus facilitating the supply mechanism to extract the material to be molded in the supply cavity. For example, when the second detection data is reflected in the recovery storage mechanism, the material to be molded is more, the control device adjusts the position of the capacity adjustment component to increase the capacity of the feed cavity, so that the material to be molded in the feed cavity is effectively prevented from overflowing.

In each example of the 3D printing apparatus including the temperature adjustment mechanism, the control device or the temperature adjustment mechanism adjusts the temperature of the material to be molded in the container based on the detected temperature data so as to form the pattern cured layer upon the energy irradiation.

The control device or the temperature adjusting mechanism can adjust the heating part and/or the cooling part by detecting the temperature data of at least one position of the container, the recovery storage mechanism, the material storage mechanism, the feeding mechanism or the material mixing mechanism so as to directly or indirectly adjust the temperature of the material to be formed in the container.

In each example of the 3D printing apparatus including the scrap discharge device, the material to be molded in the container is discharged under the control of the control device when the manufacturing of the 3D member is completed or the characteristics of the material to be molded in the container are no longer in their stable periods.

Taking the manufacturing of the 3D member as an example, under the control of the control device, the capacity adjustment part moves to the end position to maximize the waste cavity; the smearing part moves in the container, continuously flows the material to be molded in the container to a waste material cavity in the recovery and storage mechanism from the discharge channel, and is discharged from a waste material discharge port of the waste material cavity.

The application provides a 3D printing apparatus of bottom surface exposure utilizes discharge channel on feeding mechanism or the container wall, effectively restricts the volume of waiting to form material that holds in the container for 3D printing apparatus is along with supplying along with under the principle of usefulness, and the surplus of waiting to form material is reduced as far as possible. This effectively reduces the problem that the material to be molded is not easy to be stored in the container for a long time, and improves the use efficiency of the material.

The present application also provides a computer-readable and writable storage medium storing at least one program which, when invoked, executes and implements at least one embodiment described above for the control method.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for enabling a mobile robot equipped with the storage medium to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiments provided herein, the computer-readable and writable storage medium may include read-only memory, random-access memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the instructions are transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. It should be understood, however, that computer-readable-writable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transitory media, but are intended to be non-transitory, tangible storage media. Disk and disc, as used in this application, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described in the computer program of the methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable software module, which may be located on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable and/or writable storage medium. Tangible, non-transitory computer readable and writable storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures described above illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present application. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present application and are not intended to limit the application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concepts disclosed in the present application shall be covered by the claims of the present application.