Ink Tempering Heat Exchanger for Stable Print Temperature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tempering devices for ink printers are inadequate as they either dilute the ink with cooling agents or fail to maintain the ink at a consistent temperature, leading to print quality issues.
Innovation Solution
A tempering device with a fluid source providing pre-tempered fluid, a regulating device that controls the mass throughput of the fluid based on ink temperature, and a heat exchanger that separates the tempering fluid and ink loops, ensuring precise temperature control without dilution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If ink is cooled or heated using NTC or PTC thermistors, then the ink temperature can be adjusted, but the ink may be heated above maximum allowable temperature or freeze in case of malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tempering fluid as an intermediary substance that acts as a thermal mediator between the heating/cooling elements and the ink. This tempering fluid circulates through a heat exchanger, absorbing or releasing heat to adjust ink temperature without direct contact with electrical heating elements, thereby eliminating the risk of overheating or freezing the ink in case of malfunction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the temperature control system into separate functional components: a tempering fluid circulation system, a heat exchanger, and electrical heating elements. This segmentation isolates the ink from direct exposure to potentially dangerous heating elements while maintaining temperature control capability through the intermediate tempering fluid
2Temperature
If a mixture of cooling agent and heating agent is used to temper components, then direct cooling or heating can be achieved, but the ink would be diluted with the cooling agent
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger serves as an intermediary device that enables thermal energy transfer between the tempering fluid and the ink without allowing the two substances to mix. The tempering fluid acts as a mediator that carries heat to or from the ink while remaining physically separated, thus achieving temperature control without ink dilution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the cooling agent from direct contact with the ink by implementing a separate tempering fluid circulation system. The cooling (or heating) agent is taken out of the ink stream and operates independently through a heat exchanger, preventing any dilution of the ink while still achieving the desired temperature control
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
The device maintains the ink at a consistent and specified temperature, preventing overheating or freezing, and ensuring high print quality by avoiding ink dilution and temperature fluctuations.
Implementation Method 1
A heat exchanger has a fluid loop with the tempering fluid, and separate therefrom an ink loop with ink. In the heat exchanger, heat is transferred from the fluid loop to the ink loop in order to temper the ink to a desired nominal temperature.
Data Source
AI summary
A tempering device has a fluid source that has a tempering fluid at a predetermined temperature level. The tempering fluid is supplied to a regulating device that controls a volumetric flow per time period of the tempering fluid depending on a measured real value of the ink temperature. The tempering fluid is supplied to a heat exchanger in which the heat of the tempering fluid is transferred to the ink in order to gradually temper the ink to nominal temperature. The desired nominal temperature of the ink is regulated in that the ink temperature is measured after the heat exchanger and is fed back as a real value to the regulating device, where a volumetric flow is adjusted depending on the difference between real value and nominal value. The ink tempered in such a way is supplied to a printing unit of the ink printer for printing to a printing substrate.