Printing Apparatus Partitioned Airflow for Fanless Ink Mist Capture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image printing apparatuses face issues with ink mist floating and staining internal components due to the need for fans, which require space, increase power consumption, and generate noise.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus design that utilizes a casing with partitioned spaces and communication units to facilitate air circulation without fans, capturing ink mist through a circulation flow path with communication holes and collection mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fan is used as the ink mist capturing unit, then ink mist can be effectively captured, but space is required for arranging the fan, power consumption increases, and noise occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the active fan component from the ink mist capturing system and replaces it with a passive air circulation mechanism. The circulation path uses the natural movement of air and the structure of the carriage movement to create airflow that captures ink mist without requiring a fan, thereby eliminating the space, power consumption, and noise issues associated with fan-based solutions while maintaining ink mist capture effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the carriage's own reciprocating movement to generate air circulation. As the carriage moves back and forth, it naturally creates airflow patterns that draw ink mist toward the collection filter. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external power-driven components like fans, resolving the contradiction between effective mist capture and device complexity
2Reliability
If a fan is used as the ink mist capturing unit, then ink mist can be effectively captured, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fan (an energy-consuming component) from the system and replaces it with a passive airflow generation mechanism. The air circulation path leverages the mechanical movement of the carriage during normal printing operations to create sufficient airflow for ink mist capture, thereby achieving effective mist capture with zero additional power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The carriage's reciprocating motion during printing serves dual purposes: it performs the printing function and simultaneously generates the air circulation needed for ink mist capture. This self-service approach eliminates the need for separate power consumption for mist capture, resolving the contradiction between capturing effectiveness and energy use
3Reliability
If a fan is used as the ink mist capturing unit, then ink mist can be effectively captured, but noise occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the fan component that generates noise during operation. The replacement passive air circulation system uses the carriage's mechanical movement to create airflow without any rotating blades or motor-driven components, thereby achieving effective ink mist capture while completely eliminating fan-related noise
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the existing mechanical motion of the carriage during printing to generate the necessary air circulation for ink mist capture. Since this airflow is generated passively through the carriage's own movement rather than by an additional noise-generating device, the contradiction between effective mist capture and noise reduction is resolved
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
Effectively captures and collects ink mist without the need for fans, reducing space requirements, power consumption, and noise, while maintaining apparatus durability.
Implementation Method 1
a circulation flow path that causes these spaces to circulate air
Implementation Method 2
a first communication unit provided within the predetermined range in the second direction and configured to cause the first space and the second space to communicate with each other; and a second communication unit provided outside the first communication unit in the second direction and configured to cause the first space and the second space to communicate with each other
Data Source
AI summary
The object of the present disclosure is to implement capturing of mist. One embodiment of the present invention is a printing apparatus including: a carriage, on which a print head that ejects a liquid is mounted, configured to reciprocate within a predetermined range in a second direction intersecting with a first direction; a partition member configured to partition an inside of the casing in the first direction into a first space in which the carriage reciprocates and a second space in which the carriage does not reciprocate; a first communication unit provided within the predetermined range in the second direction and configured to cause the first space and the second space to communicate with each other; and a second communication unit provided outside the first communication unit in the second direction and configured to cause the first space and the second space to communicate with each other.