Multi-zone heating control for uniform ink drying
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current image forming apparatuses face challenges in maintaining consistent temperature control along the conveyance path, leading to uneven drying and potential issues with ink evaporation and coalescence during the image formation process.
Innovation Solution
A heating device with a pre-heater, print-heater, and post-heater configuration, where the pre-heater and post-heater have multiple heating elements and temperature sensors, and a controller to manage temperature gradients, ensuring a controlled temperature distribution across the conveyance path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single heater is used to heat the medium, then the device complexity is reduced, but the temperature uniformity and drying consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The heating device is divided into multiple independent heating zones (first heater, second heater, third heater) positioned at different locations along the conveyance path. Each heater can be independently controlled to provide localized heating, ensuring uniform temperature distribution and consistent drying across the entire medium surface.
Solution Approach 2:
Different heating zones are assigned different temperature characteristics based on their position in the conveyance path. The first heater provides initial heating, the second heater maintains temperature in the middle section, and the third heater provides final heating before discharge. This localized temperature control ensures optimal drying uniformity throughout the medium.
2Productivity
If temperature is increased to improve ink evaporation, then drying speed is improved, but medium expansion and ink coalescence worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The first heater positioned upstream performs preliminary heating of the medium before the ink is fully discharged. This gradual pre-heating prepares the medium for subsequent drying without causing sudden thermal expansion or ink coalescence, enabling faster overall drying while maintaining image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating process is divided into periodic stages corresponding to different positions along the conveyance path. Each heating zone operates in sequence, providing controlled temperature increases at different stages of the drying process. This periodic heating approach achieves fast drying while preventing medium expansion and ink coalescence through gradual temperature progression.
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 reduces drastic temperature changes and expansion of the medium, resulting in improved ink evaporation and drying uniformity, preventing ink leakage and ensuring consistent image formation.
Implementation Method 1
a pre-heater configured to pre-heat a medium, onto which a liquid is discharged from a liquid discharger
Implementation Method 2
a print-heater configured to heat the medium at a second position opposite the liquid discharger
Implementation Method 3
a post-heater configured to post-heat the medium at a third position downstream of the second position in the conveyance direction
Implementation Method 4
improved ink evaporation and drying uniformity
Data Source
AI summary
A heating device includes a pre-heater configured to pre-heat a medium, onto which a liquid is discharged from a liquid discharger, at a first position upstream of the liquid discharger in a conveyance direction of the medium, a print-heater configured to heat the medium at a second position opposite the liquid discharger, a post-heater configured to post-heat the medium at a third position downstream of the second position in the conveyance direction, and circuitry configured to control a temperature of each of the pre-heater, the print-heater, and the post-heater. The pre-heater includes a first pre-heater and a second pre-heater disposed closer to the print-heater than the first pre-heater, and the circuitry controls a temperature of the second pre-heater to be between a temperature of the first pre-heater and the temperature of the print-heater.