Rectifying Board for Tablet Printing Airflow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In tablet printing apparatuses using inkjet print heads, suction-type conveyor belts often fail to maintain tablets in a stable posture due to incomplete closure of suction holes by tablets of varying sizes and shapes, leading to turbulence and reduced print quality.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of rectifying boards with gas permeability, positioned to face the conveyor belts, which rectify and weaken airflow around suction holes, preventing turbulence and maintaining tablet posture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a suction-type conveying device is used to hold tablets on a conveyor belt, then tablets can be conveyed and positioned for printing, but tablets of varying sizes and shapes may not completely close the suction holes, causing air suction and turbulence that changes tablet posture and reduces print quality
Solution Approach 1:
A rectifying board is introduced as an intermediary component between the suction holes and the tablets. This board has airflow communication holes that allow controlled air passage while rectifying the airflow pattern. The rectifying board mediates the interaction between the suction system and tablets, preventing direct turbulence generation at the suction holes while maintaining effective tablet holding and conveyance.
Solution Approach 2:
The rectifying board is designed with multiple airflow communication holes, creating a porous structure that allows air to pass through in a controlled manner. This porous design enables the board to filter and rectify turbulent airflow while maintaining the necessary suction function for tablet conveyance, thus resolving the contradiction between effective conveyance and print quality.
2Reliability
If suction holes are used to hold tablets, then tablets can be maintained in position during conveyance, but incomplete closure of suction holes by tablets causes air turbulence that changes tablet posture
Solution Approach 1:
The rectifying board serves as a mediator between the suction system and tablets, stabilizing the airflow environment. It maintains reliable tablet holding through the suction holes while simultaneously stabilizing tablet posture by rectifying the airflow that would otherwise cause posture changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The rectifying board changes the parameters of airflow by introducing a structured pattern of communication holes. This transforms the turbulent, chaotic airflow into a more uniform and controlled flow pattern, thereby maintaining both tablet holding reliability and posture stability.
3Force
If air is suctioned from incomplete suction holes, then tablets can be held by suction force, but turbulence occurs causing wind pressure that shifts tablet posture from desired horizontal position
Solution Approach 1:
The rectifying board with its porous structure of communication holes filters the suctioned air, allowing it to pass through in a controlled, laminar manner. This maintains the necessary suction force for tablet holding while eliminating the harmful turbulence and wind pressure that would otherwise shift tablet posture.
Solution Approach 2:
The rectifying board converts the potentially harmful turbulent airflow into a beneficial controlled flow pattern. The same suction force that creates turbulence is channeled through the rectifying board's communication holes, transforming it into a uniform flow that maintains tablet holding without causing harmful wind pressure or posture changes.
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 effectively stabilizes tablet posture during conveyance, ensuring accurate ink placement and reducing printing failures and productivity losses.
Implementation Method 1
The rectifying board has a gas permeability to let an airflow flowing toward the suction hole pass therethrough
Implementation Method 2
rectify the airflow generated below and around the lower surface of the conveyor belt
Implementation Method 3
a plurality of suction holes are formed along the conveying direction of the tablets to suck and hold the tablets
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a tablet printing apparatus performs printing by using an inkjet print head device for a tablet conveyed by a conveying device. The conveying device includes a conveyor belt having a suction hole and configured to convey the tablet while sucking the tablet from the suction hole. The tablet printing apparatus further includes a rectifying board arranged at a distance from the conveyor belt so as to face a surface of the conveyor belt. The rectifying board has a gas permeability to let an airflow flowing toward the suction hole pass therethrough.