Printer Cooling Apparatus with Sheet Bypass and Deceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cooling apparatuses in printers consume excessive energy to cool media sheets, especially when not all sheets require thorough cooling, leading to inefficient energy use and increased space requirements.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a decelerating mechanism in the conveyor system between the first and last cooling units, allowing sheets that can tolerate higher temperatures to bypass the last cooling unit, thereby reducing energy consumption and cooling capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If all media sheets are cooled through the complete cooling path, then the sheets achieve sufficient cooling for high print quality, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different cooling treatments to different sheets based on their specific needs. Sheets destined for duplex printing receive full cooling through all cooling units, while sheets for simplex printing bypass the last cooling unit. This selective cooling approach maintains high print quality for recirculated sheets while reducing energy consumption for sheets that don't require maximum cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling path is segmented into multiple cooling units with a switch mechanism that divides the sheet flow into two paths. This segmentation allows independent control of cooling intensity for different sheet destinations, enabling the system to optimize energy usage by applying cooling only where necessary while maintaining quality where required.
2Temperature
If cooling capacity is increased to cool all sheets thoroughly, then print quality is maintained, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
By applying local quality, the patent reduces the cooling capacity required in the last cooling unit since not all sheets need maximum cooling. This allows for a more compact cooling system design that maintains adequate cooling for recirculated sheets while reducing the overall space requirement for the cooling apparatus.
3Temperature
If sheets are decelerated between cooling units, then cooling efficiency is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deceleration mechanism performs preliminary action by slowing sheets between cooling units, allowing more effective heat transfer during the cooling process. This intermediate deceleration enables the system to achieve the desired cooling effect with reduced cooling capacity, ultimately improving overall cooling efficiency without significantly impacting throughput.
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 approach reduces energy consumption and space requirements by optimizing cooling based on sheet temperature needs, allowing for efficient cooling of sheets that need re-circulation while maintaining high print quality.
Implementation Method 1
the sheets may be moved along a cooled stationary part or they may be pressed against a surface of a co-moving member, e.g. a rotating drum having a metal surface with high heat conductivity
Implementation Method 2
The conveyor comprises a decelerating mechanism configured to decelerate the sheets in the first conveyor path between the first one of the cooling units and the last one of the cooling units
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cooling media sheets in a printer includes a number of cooling units, a conveyor having a first conveyor path adapted to feed the media sheets successively through the cooling units, and a switch adapted to deflect selected ones of the media sheets into a second conveyor path. The switch is disposed upstream of a last one of the cooling units and downstream of a first one of the cooling units. The second conveyor path bypasses the last one of the cooling units. The conveyor includes a decelerating mechanism configured to decelerate the sheets in the first conveyor path between the first one of the cooling units and the last one of the cooling units.