Inkjet Printer Ink Heating and Shearing for Viscosity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
UV-curable inkjet inks with added wax have high viscosity, making them difficult to supply using existing liquid pumps, requiring dedicated facilities and increasing costs, and pose safety and energy concerns due to the need for heated ink storage and supply systems.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer system with an ink heating unit that heats the ink to a viscosity range of 5 mPa·s to 30 mPa·s and a shearing device in the ink storage unit to reduce viscosity, allowing for efficient ink supply and image formation without the need for heated systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If UV-curable ink is added with wax to achieve base material selectivity and image permanence, then the ink has high viscosity and cannot be supplied using conventional liquid sending pumps, requiring dedicated facilities and increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the ink from solid (wax-based) to liquid by dissolving the wax-containing ink in a solvent. This parameter change enables the ink to be supplied through conventional liquid sending pumps without requiring dedicated high-viscosity facilities, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a solvent as an intermediary substance that facilitates the supply of wax-containing UV-curable ink. The solvent acts as a medium that reduces viscosity and enables pumpable flow, allowing the ink to be transported through standard liquid sending facilities without modification
2Ease of operation
If UV-curable ink with wax is heated and dissolved in an ink storage unit to enable supply, then the ink storage unit and supply passage need to be in a heated state, creating safety and energy problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal field (heating system) with a chemical field (solvent dissolution). Instead of using heat to dissolve the wax and enable ink flow, the patent uses a chemically active solvent that dissolves the wax at ambient temperature, eliminating the need for heated storage units and supply passages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of high viscosity (which requires heating to reduce) into a beneficial property. By using a solvent that chemically interacts with the wax, the high-viscosity problem is solved without requiring energy-intensive heating, and the solvent itself becomes the mechanism for achieving fluidity
3Ease of operation
If UV-curable ink with wax is heated and dissolved in an ink storage unit to enable supply, then safety concerns arise from maintaining heated storage units and supply passages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal field (heating system) with a chemical field (solvent dissolution). Instead of using heat to dissolve the wax and enable ink flow, the patent uses a chemically active solvent that dissolves the wax at ambient temperature, eliminating the need for heated storage units and supply passages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of high viscosity (which requires heating to reduce) into a beneficial property. By using a solvent that chemically interacts with the wax, the high-viscosity problem is solved without requiring energy-intensive heating, and the solvent itself becomes the mechanism for achieving fluidity
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
Enables the use of high-viscosity UV-curable inks in inkjet printers, reducing production costs and improving image quality by ensuring consistent ink flow and reducing safety and energy concerns.
Implementation Method 1
the ink supply unit has an ink heating unit that heats the ink until a viscosity of the ink is within the range of 5 mPa·s or more to 30 mPa·s or less
Implementation Method 2
the ink storage unit has a shearing device that shears the ink
Implementation Method 3
an ink head ejecting an ink
Implementation Method 4
a step of curing the ink by irradiating the ink landed on the recording medium with an active ray
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
In order to provide an inkjet printer that forms good quality images, this inkjet printer (1) has an ink head (H) for ejecting ink, an ink supply unit (P) communicating with the ink head (H), and an ink storage unit (T) communicating with the ink supply unit (P), and supplying ink to the ink head (H) via the ink supply unit (P), wherein at least a portion of the ink supply unit (P) has an ink heating unit (S) for heating the ink until the ink viscosity is within the range of 5 mPA•s to 30 mPA•s, inclusive, and the ink storage unit (T) has a shearing device for shearing the ink.