Inkjet Printer Carriage Cooling via Segmented Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet printer designs face issues with overheating of the carriage and recording head due to the placement of heaters, leading to ejection failures and uneven ink fixation, while existing cooling methods require additional space and increase costs.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer design with a platen heater and housing-suction means that separates air flow through the carriage and outside, using ducts and exhaust ports to effectively cool the carriage and prevent excessive cooling of the recording medium, ensuring stable ink ejection and drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a heater is arranged immediately above the inkjet head to dry the ink, then the ink drying efficiency is improved, but the carriage temperature increases causing ejection failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the air cooling system into two separate pathways: one for cooling the carriage (through the carriage) and another for cooling the housing (outside the carriage). This segmentation allows independent control of cooling airflow to different regions, enabling the heater to operate effectively for ink drying while preventing overheating of the inkjet head through dedicated carriage cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different thermal conditions to different locations: the heater provides localized heating directly above the inkjet head for ink drying, while cooling fans provide localized cooling to the carriage and housing. The air guide further localizes cooling airflow to specific areas, creating a non-uniform temperature distribution that optimizes both ink drying and prevents head overheating.
2Reliability
If cooling fans are arranged to cool the carriage, then the carriage temperature is reduced preventing ejection failure, but the recording medium may be excessively cooled causing fixing unevenness
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into two distinct airflow paths: one path directs cool air through the carriage to cool the inkjet head and prevent overheating, while another path allows air to flow outside the carriage without directly cooling the recording medium. This segmentation enables selective cooling of components without adversely affecting the recording medium temperature uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The air guide acts as an intermediary component that directs and controls the flow of cooling air. It channels air to cool the carriage structure and housing while preventing direct contact between the cooling airflow and the recording medium, thus mediating between the need for component cooling and the requirement for uniform medium temperature.
3Reliability
If air is blown onto the carriage to cool it, then the carriage temperature is reduced, but the air flow may cause ejection failure by affecting the nozzle surface
Solution Approach 1:
The air guide creates localized cooling zones by directing airflow specifically to the carriage structure and housing areas that require cooling. The airflow is strategically directed away from the nozzle surface and ink ejection path, creating a spatial distribution of cooling effect that protects the sensitive nozzle area while still cooling the necessary components.
Solution Approach 2:
The air guide serves as an intermediary that mediates between the cooling requirement and the protection of the nozzle surface. It channels cooling air through pathways that avoid direct impingement on the nozzle, using the carriage structure and housing as intermediate cooling targets rather than applying cooling directly to the ejection zone.
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 design prevents overheating of the carriage, maintains ink ejection accuracy, and promotes rapid ink drying without excessive cooling of the recording medium, reducing the risk of ejection failures and improving image quality.
Implementation Method 1
a heater provided in the platen, for heating the recording medium
Implementation Method 2
carriage-suction means for sucking the gas, which is sucked by the housing-suction means, into the carriage
Implementation Method 3
The gas sucked by the housing-suction means is separated into the gas to be caused to flow through an inside of the carriage by the carriage-suction means, and into the gas to be caused to flow through an outside of the carriage. The gas flowing through the inside of the carriage cools the inside of the carriage.
Data Source
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AI summary
In a case where suction means for taking in outside air into an inkjet printer is provided, a heated recording medium is abruptly cooled by a flow of air, thereby causing cooling unevenness, which is a factor of degradation of image quality. Further, it is difficult to efficiently cool an inside of a carriage. In view of the above, provided are a structure for allowing the outside air, which is taken into a device of the inkjet printer, to be directly sucked into the carriage, and a structure for preventing the outside air from passing through the carriage. Thus, the temperature inside the carriage can be effectively decreased. Further, mechanisms for exhausting the gas are provided on both sides of a housing, specifically, one mechanism is provided on a side surface of the housing and another mechanism is provided on a rear surface thereof. Thus, unevenness of exhausted gas can be suppressed at the right and left of the housing.