Printer Center Pinch Roller Dynamics for Cutting Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cutting head-including printers that perform cutting before printing often experience unstable movement of the recording medium, leading to deteriorated cutting quality due to the potential separation of the center pinch roller, which can contact and damage the printed image.
Innovation Solution
A cutting head-including printer with a center pinch roller that can be positioned to either hold or separate from the recording medium, depending on the working mode, ensuring stability during cutting by maintaining contact with the side pinch rollers when cutting precedes printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the center pinch roller is separated from the recording medium during cutting before printing, then the printed image is protected from damage, but the movement of the recording medium becomes unstable and cutting quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The center pinch roller is designed to be movable between a first position (contacting the recording medium) and a second position (separated from the recording medium). The roller moving mechanism dynamically adjusts the position of the center pinch roller based on the working mode, allowing it to contact the recording medium during cutting before printing for stability, and separate during cutting after printing to protect the image.
2Manufacturing precision
If the center pinch roller contacts the recording medium during cutting before printing, then cutting quality is improved through stable movement, but the printed image may be damaged by the pinch roller
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the center pinch roller position based on the sequence of operations. When cutting is performed before printing (second working mode), the center pinch roller is positioned to contact the recording medium for stable cutting. When printing is performed before cutting (first working mode), the center pinch roller is positioned to separate from the recording medium to protect the printed image.
3Productivity
If cutting is performed before printing, then wait time for ink drying is shortened and productivity is improved, but the movement of recording medium becomes unstable leading to deteriorated cutting quality
Solution Approach 1:
The roller moving mechanism enables the center pinch roller to dynamically adjust its position based on the working mode. In the second working mode (cutting before printing), the center pinch roller is controlled to contact the recording medium, providing stable movement and high cutting quality while maintaining the productivity benefit of reduced wait time.
Data Source
AI summary
A cutting head-including printer includes at least one driving roller, a pair of side pinch rollers, a center pinch roller provided between the pair of side pinch rollers, and a roller moving mechanism that causes the center pinch roller to approach, or to be separated from, the at least one driving roller. The cutting head-including printer sets whether to perform cutting after printing or to perform the printing after the cutting. During the cutting performed after the printing, the cutting head-including printer separates the center pinch roller from the at least one driving roller. During the cutting performed before the printing, the cutting head-including printer locates the center pinch roller at a position where the center pinch roller holds a recording medium together with the at least one driving roller.