Ink Jet Printer Floating Bar Tension Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers face issues with medium floating during conveyance, particularly with thin media, leading to degradation in printing quality due to uneven tension and environmental factors like humidity and temperature.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a floating bar positioned between the platen and tension bar, which is freely movable to apply downward pressure on the medium, ensuring it remains flat and preventing floating by leveling tension across its surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If only both end portions of the medium are pinched by the driving roller and the pinching roller, then the medium can be conveyed, but the center portion of the medium loosens and floats up from the platen
Solution Approach 1:
The tension application system is segmented into multiple components: the driving roller pinches the end portions, the tension bar applies tension to the center portion, and the floating bar provides additional support. This segmentation allows each component to address specific issues with medium stability during conveyance.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating bar acts as an intermediary element between the tension bar and the medium. It freely moves to apply downward pressure on the center portion of the medium, preventing floating while allowing for tension adjustments. This intermediary mechanism resolves the contradiction between conveyance and flatness maintenance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the thickness of the medium decreases, then more versatile media can be handled, but the medium is more likely to float up from the platen
Solution Approach 1:
The floating bar is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to freely move in response to medium tension variations. This dynamic design enables the system to adapt to different medium thicknesses while maintaining flatness, as the floating bar adjusts its position based on the specific medium being conveyed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the tension parameter distribution across the medium by introducing the floating bar. The floating bar modifies the tension profile by applying additional downward force on the center portion, compensating for the reduced stiffness of thinner media and preventing floating across different thickness ranges.
3Manufacturing precision
If parallelism between the driving roller and the tension bar is strictly adjusted, then medium floating is reduced, but the system becomes difficult to suppress floating in varying environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The floating bar provides self-adjusting functionality by freely moving in response to environmental changes and medium tension variations. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for strict parallelism adjustment while maintaining reliable floating suppression across different environmental conditions, as the floating bar automatically adapts to maintain proper tension distribution.
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 reduces or prevents medium floating, maintaining printing quality even with thin media and varying environmental conditions, by ensuring consistent tension and preventing warping.
Implementation Method 1
the floating bar pushes the medium downward while freely moving in accordance with a tension exerted on the medium
Implementation Method 2
the floating bar pushes the medium downward while freely moving in accordance with a tension exerted on the medium
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes a platen to support a medium, a conveyor to convey the medium supported by the platen from an upstream side toward a downstream side in conveyance directions, a tension bar, and a floating bar. The tension bar is downstream of the platen in the conveyance directions and positioned such that a lower surface of the medium conveyed from the platen to the downstream side in the conveyance directions contacts the tension bar. The floating bar is downstream of the platen in the conveyance directions and upstream of the tension bar in the conveyance directions and positioned such that an upper surface of the medium located between the platen and the tension bar contacts the floating bar, and has a center axis freely movable by a predetermined degree.