Air Turn Bar Anti-Drop Structure for Stable Print Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printing media dried by gas injection are susceptible to oblique travel and dropping due to wind influence from non-contact support members, leading to inefficiencies in the drying process.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of non-contact support members with injection holes and anti-drop members to stabilize the printing medium, using air turn bars with aligned cylindrical surfaces to guide and support the medium, preventing drops by forming clearances between the support and anti-drop peripheral surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gas injection is used for non-contact support during drying, then contactless transfer is achieved, but printing medium stability deteriorates due to wind influence causing oblique travel and drops
Solution Approach 1:
Anti-drop members are introduced as intermediary structures between the gas injection system and the printing medium. These members extend the support peripheral surface into the width direction to prevent oblique travel, acting as a mediator that stabilizes the printing medium without requiring contact support
Solution Approach 2:
The support function is extended from the vertical dimension (gas injection from below) to the horizontal dimension (anti-drop members extending in width direction). This dimensional extension prevents oblique travel by providing lateral boundaries that guide the printing medium through the drying zone
2Stability of the object's composition
If anti-drop members are added to prevent printing medium drops, then printing medium stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anti-drop members are merged with the air turn bar structure, forming an integrated component rather than a separate device. The anti-drop members are positioned at both ends of the air turn bar in the width direction, combining the turning function with the anti-drop function in a single structural element
Solution Approach 2:
The anti-drop members have a thin plate-like structure that extends from the support peripheral surface into the width direction. This thin film structure provides the necessary anti-drop functionality while minimizing structural complexity and material usage
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents printing medium drops during non-contact support, ensuring stable and efficient drying of inked media by guiding it through horizontal transitions without contact.
Implementation Method 1
a first non-contact support member including a first support peripheral surface to face the printing surface of the printing medium having been transferred from the first transfer part toward the one side, and a plurality of first injection holes opening at the first support peripheral surface, the first non-contact support member changing a traveling direction of the printing medium from a direction toward the one side of the horizontal direction to a downward direction while supporting the printing surface of the printing medium in a non-contact manner by injecting gas from the first injection holes onto the printing surface of the printing medium
Implementation Method 2
when the printing medium travels obliquely to be deviated from the first support peripheral surface to the first anti-drop peripheral surface, the gas injected from the first injection holes at the first support peripheral surface flows through a clearance between the first support peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first support peripheral surface toward the first anti-drop peripheral surface to form a clearance between the first anti-drop peripheral surface and the printing surface of the printing medium facing the first anti-drop peripheral surface
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3~4
AI summary
Dryer for printed material with anti-drop members (7r, 7l) and turn bars (6u and 6l). The anti-drop members (7l,7r) are provided to each of the air turn bars (6u,6l), and the respective anti-drop peripheral surfaces (711) of the anti-drop members (7l and 7r) adjoin the support peripheral surface (611) of each of the air turn bars (6u and 6l). In this configuration, on the occurrence of oblique traveling of the printing medium M, the printing medium M is deviated from the support peripheral surface (611) of each of the air turn bars (6u and 6l) to the anti-drop peripheral surface (711) of the anti-drop member (7l or 7r). Specifically, the anti-drop peripheral surface (711) of each of the anti-drop members (7l and 7r) allows the printing medium M to be supported while providing the clearance Δ from the front surface M1 of the printing medium M deviated by the oblique traveling.