Combination Printer Number Printing and Coating Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printers require multiple steps and manual intervention for number printing and double-sided coating, leading to increased operator burden and reduced quality and productivity due to the need for sheet registration and handling.
Innovation Solution
A combination printing press that integrates number printing, relief printing, and double-sided coating in a single pass, utilizing a connected system of cylinders and drying units to streamline sheet processing, with quality checking and efficient maintenance capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional printers are used for number printing and double-sided coating, then separate processing steps are required, but operator burden increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the number printing machine and coater into a single integrated combination printing press. The number printing unit and coating unit share common components including the impression cylinder, sheet feeding mechanism, and control system. This merging eliminates the need for separate processing steps and manual sheet handling between machines, directly resolving the contradiction by improving productivity while reducing operator burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The impression cylinder serves multiple functions: it conveys sheets through the number printing unit, transfers sheets to the coating unit, and provides registration positioning for both processes. The sheet feeding mechanism universally supplies sheets to both printing and coating operations. This multi-functionality allows a single machine to perform both number printing and double-sided coating, resolving the contradiction between productivity and ease of operation.
2Manufacturing precision
If separate number printing and coating machines are used, then registration must be performed again in the coater, but manufacturing precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the number printing unit and coating unit into a single machine with shared registration mechanisms, the system maintains precise registration across both processes. The common impression cylinder and integrated control system ensure that registration settings are consistent between number printing and coating operations, eliminating the need for re-registration and maintaining high manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The impression cylinder acts as an intermediary that seamlessly transfers sheets between the number printing unit and coating unit while maintaining precise positioning. This intermediary mechanism ensures continuous registration accuracy throughout the combined process, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity by providing a unified reference frame for both operations.
3Productivity
If multiple separate processing steps are used, then sheet handling time increases, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The combined printing press enables continuous sheet processing through the number printing unit and coating unit without interruption or manual intervention. Sheets are conveyed continuously on the impression cylinder from printing to coating in a single automated sequence, eliminating idle time and manual handling operations. This continuity of useful action directly resolves the contradiction by maximizing productivity while minimizing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated system performs preliminary positioning and registration of sheets during the number printing phase, preparing them for immediate coating without additional handling. The shared sheet feeding mechanism pre-positioned sheets for both operations simultaneously, eliminating subsequent adjustment time and maintaining continuous production flow, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and time loss.
Data Source
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AI summary
A combination printer (100) is provided with: first and second number-printing units (111, 116) provided with impression cylinders (112, 117) which hold and convey paper (W), number cylinders (113, 118) which are disposed facing and in contact with lower parts of the impression cylinders (112, 117), and which perform number printing on paper held on the impression cylinders (112, 117), and ink devices (114, 119) which supply ink to the number cylinders (113, 118); a one-surface coating unit (135) for coating one surface of paper from the second number printing unit (116); an other-surface coating unit (126) for coating another surface of paper from the second number printing unit (116); and a waste paper device (140) provided with a plurality of loading platforms (143a-143c) upon which paper from the one-surface coating unit (135) is loaded. The combination printer (100) is configured such that only conveyance cylinders (120, 122) form a link between the second number printing unit (116) and the other-surface coating unit (126).