Printer Damper Positioning for Continuous Paper Alignment

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing printer configurations face challenges with positional displacement of continuous paper during the opening and closing operations of the printing unit and damper portion, leading to difficulties in setting the paper correctly, which can result in printing failures.

Innovation Solution

The printer incorporates a mechanism where the damper portion moves in conjunction with the printing head, ensuring proper alignment and reducing stress on the continuous paper, thereby preventing positional displacement and facilitating easy operation without compromising the setting process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If the damper portion is disposed to be pressed onto the continuous paper, then the stress applied to the continuous paper is reduced, but the operation for setting the continuous paper on the feed path becomes more labor-intensive

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontinuous paper stressVSAvoidcontinuous paper setting operation
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The damper portion is made movable between a pressed state (reducing paper stress) and a retracted state (facilitating paper setting). The damper can dynamically change its position based on operational requirements, allowing it to be pressed onto the continuous paper during printing while being retractable during setting operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If the printing unit and damper portion are transitioned from opened state to closed state in an interlocking structure, then the workability in setting continuous paper is maintained, but the continuous paper experiences positional displacement causing printing failure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesetting operation workabilityVSAvoidprinting start position alignment
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The damper portion is retracted in advance before the printing unit closes to nip the continuous paper. This preliminary retraction prevents the damper from displacing the paper during the nipping action, ensuring accurate printing start position alignment while maintaining easy setting operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If the damper portion moves in conjunction with the printing head, then the continuous paper alignment is improved, but the mechanism complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontinuous paper alignmentVSAvoidinterlocking mechanism
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The damper portion is integrated with the printing unit structure, sharing common components and mounting arrangements. This merging approach allows the damper to move in conjunction with the printing head while minimizing additional mechanism complexity through shared structural elements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3401110B1printer
Publication Date: 2022.08.03 SATO HLDG CORP
  • EP3401110B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3401110B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3401110B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A printer includes a platen roller portion (23) that feeds a continuous paper, a printing head portion (13) that performs printing on the continuous paper, and a damper portion (15) that reduces a stress acting on the continuous paper. In a case of a transition from a state where the printing head portion (13) is positioned on an open position separated from the platen roller portion (23) and the damper portion (15) is positioned on an open position separated from the continuous paper to a state where the printing head portion (13) is positioned on a closed position opposing the platen roller portion (23) and the damper portion (15) is positioned on a closed position abutting on the continuous paper, the damper portion (15) moves to the closed position after the printing head portion (13) moved to the closed position.