Heating Apparatus Sealing Cooling via Gas Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing heating systems in drying apparatuses, such as those used in inkjet printers and electrophotographic copiers, face challenges in maintaining the temperature of sealings around halogen heater lamps, which can lead to degradation or damage due to high temperatures, affecting heating efficiency and productivity.
Innovation Solution
A heating apparatus design that includes a heating rotator with a halogen heater lamp, a support to hold the lamp, and a gas supply system that directs air through ventilation holes to cool the sealings, maintaining their temperature below 350°C and enhancing heating efficiency by preventing overheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a halogen heater lamp is used as a heat source inside the heating rotator, then heating efficiency is improved, but the sealing temperature increases causing degradation or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the heating rotator into distinct functional zones: a heating region where the halogen heater lamp operates at high temperature, and a sealing region cooled by dedicated cooling holes. This segmentation allows the sealing to be thermally isolated from the heat source, maintaining sealing temperature below 350°C while preserving heating efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces cooling holes as an intermediary thermal management system. These holes form a cooling passage that allows coolant flow between the heating rotator and the sealing, acting as a thermal buffer that protects the sealing from direct exposure to high temperatures while maintaining effective heating.
2Device complexity
If the sealing is positioned close to the halogen heater lamp for compact design, then device complexity is reduced, but the sealing deteriorates due to high temperature exposure
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling holes serve as a thermal intermediary between the halogen heater lamp and the sealing. This allows the sealing to be positioned relatively close to the heat source for compact design while the cooling holes provide thermal protection, ensuring sealing durability through active cooling without requiring complex spatial separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a fluid cooling system through the cooling holes to manage thermal exposure. By introducing coolant flow through these holes, the system creates a thermal barrier that protects the sealing from high temperatures, maintaining reliability while allowing compact positioning near the heat source.
3Productivity
If continuous heating operation is maintained to improve productivity, then output increases, but the sealing temperature rises causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling holes enable continuous cooling action during continuous heating operation. The cooling system operates continuously alongside the heating process, maintaining sealing temperature below 350°C even during prolonged high-productivity operation, thus preventing thermal degradation while sustaining high output.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling holes act as a continuous thermal management intermediary that operates throughout the entire heating process. This allows uninterrupted heating for improved productivity while the cooling holes continuously remove excess heat from the sealing region, preventing temperature-related damage during extended operation.
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
This configuration effectively cools the sealings, preventing damage and maintaining high heating efficiency, thus ensuring continuous operation and extended lifespan of the heating system.
Implementation Method 1
a halogen heater lamp (14) as a heat source disposed inside to keep a surface of the fixing belt at high temperature. The halogen heater is a radiant-heat type heat source that emits an infrared ray to heat a heating target object by using radiant heat of the emitted infrared ray.
Implementation Method 2
a gas supply disposed outside an outer end of the heating rotator in the axial direction, the gas supply to supply gas to the sealing through the support in the axial direction, wherein the heating rotator has an air hole facing the sealing, and the air hole discharges the gas blown to the sealing from the air hole in a transverse direction orthogonal to the axial direction
Data Source
AI summary
A heating apparatus includes: a heating rotator to heat a medium; a heat source including: a glass tube disposed inside the heating rotator to generate radiant heat; and a sealing on each of both ends of the glass tube in an axial direction of the heating rotator; a heater holder to hold the heat source inside the heating rotator; a support having an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the heating rotator to support the heater holder inside the heating rotator; and a gas supply disposed outside an outer end of the heating rotator in the axial direction, the gas supply to supply gas to the sealing through the support in the axial direction, wherein the heating rotator has an air hole facing the sealing.