Printer Take-Up Mechanism Preventing Media Twisting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printers with rotatable take-up shafts often cause twisting of recording media during winding, leading to uneven tension and undesirable printing results due to variations in tension across the medium.
Innovation Solution
A recording medium take-up mechanism featuring a take-up shaft, a tension bar, and a pivotable support arm with a support shaft positioned inside the take-up shaft's contour, ensuring consistent tension and preventing twisting by maintaining a constant pre-winding length and tension distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the tension bar moves during winding, then the take-up shaft can rotate to wind the recording medium, but the tension of the recording medium changes temporarily causing twisting
Solution Approach 1:
The support arm acts as an intermediary mechanism between the tension bar and the take-up shaft. By pivotably supporting the tension bar through the support arm connected to the support shaft, the system allows the tension bar to move for winding while the support shaft's fixed position maintains stable tension, preventing twisting of the recording medium
2Device complexity
If the support shaft is positioned outside the take-up shaft contour, then the structure is simpler, but the pre-winding length varies causing twisting
Solution Approach 1:
The support shaft is positioned inside the contour of the take-up shaft, creating a nested arrangement where the support shaft is contained within the spatial boundary of the take-up shaft. This nesting ensures that the pre-winding length remains constant regardless of the tension bar's position, preventing twisting while maintaining a compact structure
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
The mechanism effectively prevents twisting of the recording medium during winding, ensuring stable and desirable printing by maintaining consistent tension and reducing variations in pre-winding length, thereby allowing for proper winding and printing.
Implementation Method 1
a support arm (23L, 23R) pivotably supporting the tension bar (22)
Implementation Method 2
The support arm is pivotable about a support shaft that supports the support arm. As the support arm pivots about the support shaft, the tension bar swings about the support shaft.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording medium take-up mechanism and a printer prevent a recording medium having been printed from easily twisting when winding the recording medium. A printer includes a platen supporting recording paper that is delivered frontward during printing, a take-up shaft on which the recording paper having been printed is wound, a tension bar configured to impart tension to the recording paper by pressing a portion of the recording paper that is between the platen and the take-up shaft, a support arm supporting the tension bar, and a support shaft pivotably supporting the support arm. A center of the support shaft is positioned inside a contour of the take-up shaft, as viewed in an axial direction of the support shaft.