Supporting Drum Sealing and Airflow for UV-Curable Ink Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing printing apparatuses face inefficiencies in cooling the supporting drum due to air delivery through the drum, leading to potential high temperatures that can affect printing quality and drum integrity.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a sealing member to close the second opening of the supporting drum, dividing the internal space into separate sections with ribs and through holes, and uses an air blowing unit to deliver air from a lower opening, enhancing cooling efficiency by maintaining air within the drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If air blowing unit delivers air through the supporting drum, then cooling effect is provided, but the supporting drum is not sufficiently cooled and temperature remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting drum is divided into multiple sealed compartments by partition walls, creating separate cooling zones. This segmentation allows air to be distributed more effectively throughout the drum structure, ensuring comprehensive cooling of different sections independently, thereby resolving the insufficient cooling issue.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the supporting drum are provided with localized cooling channels and partition walls tailored to specific thermal requirements. The air blowing units are positioned to deliver cooling air to specific high-temperature zones, providing targeted cooling where most needed rather than uniform cooling throughout, thus improving overall cooling effectiveness.
2Temperature
If air is delivered through the supporting drum, then cooling is attempted, but heat dissipation efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes pneumatic principles by introducing air blowing units that force cooling air through sealed channels and compartments within the supporting drum. This controlled pneumatic flow ensures efficient heat carry-away from the drum surfaces, significantly improving heat dissipation efficiency compared to passive cooling methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting drum is designed with continuous cooling channels and sealed compartments that maintain uninterrupted air flow paths. The air blowing units operate continuously to sustain constant cooling action, ensuring that heat dissipation is an ongoing effective process rather than intermittent, thereby maintaining high cooling efficiency throughout operation.
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 configuration effectively reduces the likelihood of high temperatures in the supporting drum, improving printing quality and durability by ensuring efficient cooling.
Implementation Method 1
When the emitting unit emits ultraviolet light to the liquid, the heat of reaction occurs from the liquid
Implementation Method 2
the air blowing unit delivers air to the inside of the rotating body from the first opening toward the second opening
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a supporting drum configured to support a medium, a printing unit configured to discharge ultraviolet-light curable-type ink, an emitting unit opposed to the supporting drum and configured to emit ultraviolet light, and an air blowing unit configured to deliver air to the supporting drum. The supporting drum includes a rotating body and a sealing member attached to the rotating body. The rotating body includes a shaft portion, a peripheral-surface portion around which the medium is looped, and a coupling portion configured to couple the shaft portion and the peripheral-surface portion. The peripheral-surface portion defines a first opening and a second opening that open in a shaft direction, the sealing member is attached to the rotating body so as to close the second opening, and the air blowing unit delivers air to an inside of the rotating body from the first opening toward the second opening.