Printer Transport Control for Uniform Heating During Standby
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing apparatuses with heating units often result in uneven heating of the medium, leading to color inconsistencies in printed images due to varying heat application across different regions and positional relationships during standby periods.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus with a control unit that continues to transport the medium during standby operations after a printing cycle is completed, maintaining consistent heat application by either continuous or intermittent transport, and includes a support member with a bent portion to manage heating range effectively, preventing prolonged exposure to uneven heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the medium is stopped during standby operation after printing, then the printing apparatus can wait for the next printing instruction, but the medium becomes unevenly heated causing color unevenness in the image
Solution Approach 1:
The medium transport system transitions from a static stopped state during standby to a dynamic moving state. The control unit activates the transport mechanism during standby operation, causing the medium to move continuously or intermittently through the heating range, thereby preventing localized overheating and color unevenness while maintaining readiness for the next printing instruction
Solution Approach 2:
The transport action continues during standby operation rather than stopping. By maintaining continuous or intermittent movement of the medium through the heating range during standby, the system ensures uniform heat distribution across the medium surface, preventing the harmful effect of color unevenness while the system remains prepared for subsequent printing operations
2Manufacturing precision
If the medium is transported continuously during printing and standby operations, then color unevenness is prevented, but the apparatus complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transport mechanism serves multiple functions: it transports the medium during printing operations and continues to transport the medium during standby operations. By making the transport system multi-functional, the apparatus maintains uniform heating across both operational states without requiring separate mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in apparatus complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit modifies the transport parameters (speed, continuity, intermittency) based on the operational state. During printing, transport occurs at specific parameters; during standby, transport parameters are adjusted to maintain uniform heating while reducing energy consumption and mechanical stress, thus managing system complexity
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 solution prevents color unevenness by ensuring consistent heating during both printing and standby phases, reducing the likelihood of image defects from thermal variations and simplifying the support member design without increasing apparatus size.
Implementation Method 1
a heating unit located downstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and configured to heat the medium
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing on a medium transported in a transport direction, a heating unit located downstream of the printing unit in the transport direction and configured to heat the medium, and a control unit that executes a printing operation including printing an image on the medium according to a printing instruction inputted. The control unit is configured to, when the printing operation on the medium according to an Nth (N=an integer not smaller than 1) printing instruction is finished, and then a standby operation, including waiting for a start of the printing operation on the medium according to an (N+1)th printing instruction, is performed, continue to transport the medium during the standby operation.