Adhesive Belt Speed Control for Recording Apparatus Entanglement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In recording apparatuses with adhesive belts and take-up sections, entanglement errors occur when the take-up section winds the recording medium at a lower speed than the adhesive belt transports it, leading to uneven drying times and image quality issues due to varying speeds and prolonged adhesive belt stops.
Innovation Solution
A controller manages the adhesive belt's movement by switching between moving and stopped states based on sensor detection, maintaining a constant average feed speed by adjusting stop times, ensuring the recording medium is separated within specific ranges to prevent entanglement and maintain high-quality image printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the take-up section winds the recording medium at a low speed when the roll diameter is small, then a low capacity winding motor can be used, but the recording medium becomes entangled in the adhesive belt causing entanglement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the adhesive belt speed variable rather than constant. The control unit dynamically adjusts the adhesive belt speed to match the take-up section winding speed at all times, ensuring v1 = v2. This resolves the contradiction by allowing the take-up section to operate at low speed with a small motor while preventing entanglement through active speed coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control where the control unit continuously monitors the speeds of both the adhesive belt and take-up section, and adjusts the adhesive belt speed based on the take-up section's current speed. This feedback mechanism ensures that the recording medium is always fed at the correct speed to match winding capacity, preventing entanglement while enabling low-power motor operation.
2Reliability
If the adhesive belt stops for a long time to prevent entanglement when the take-up section winds at low speed, then entanglement errors are prevented, but the average feed speed decreases and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies continuity of useful action by ensuring the adhesive belt never stops during operation. Instead of stopping to prevent entanglement, the control unit continuously adjusts the adhesive belt speed to match the take-up section speed. This maintains continuous recording operation and maximizes productivity while preventing entanglement through speed coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the adhesive belt speed dynamic and adaptive rather than fixed. The control unit continuously adjusts v1 to match v2, allowing the system to operate continuously at varying speeds without stopping. This dynamic adjustment prevents entanglement while maintaining continuous productivity.
3Productivity
If the take-up section roll diameter increases with winding, then the winding speed increases, but the drying time for recorded images decreases causing unevenness in image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by continuously adjusting the adhesive belt speed to compensate for changes in take-up section speed caused by varying roll diameter. As the roll diameter increases and natural winding speed increases, the control unit adjusts the adhesive belt speed accordingly to maintain constant linear feed speed. This ensures consistent drying time throughout the recording process despite changes in rotational speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control where the system monitors the take-up section speed changes due to roll diameter increase and adjusts the adhesive belt speed in response. This feedback mechanism ensures that the linear feed speed remains constant, maintaining consistent drying time for all recorded images regardless of the take-up section's rotational speed variations.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus (1) includes: an adhesive belt (2) that supports and transports a recording medium (P); a recording head (6); a first sensor (9) that detects the separation of the recording medium from the adhesive belt within a first range (R1); a second sensor (10) that detects the separation of the recording medium from the adhesive belt within a second range (R2) contained in the first range (R1); a take-up section (8) that winds the recording medium (P); and a controller (11). The controller transports the recording medium at an average feed speed (VA) while rotating the take-up section (8) at a constant angular velocity and switching between a moving state and stopped state of the adhesive belt (2), and has a first mode of controlling the average feed speed (VA) to a constant speed by switching between the moving state and the stopped state, based on information from the second sensor (10) so that the recording medium (P) is separated within the second range (R2).