Sheet Conveyance Belt with Reciprocating Roller for Uniform Adhesion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional sheet conveyance devices experience uneven adhesion of sheets to adhesive layers, leading to unstable conveyance, wrinkles, and unintentional stretching, due to the pressing roller being stopped at both ends of its trajectory, causing uneven adhesion strength.

Innovation Solution

A sheet conveyance device with a pressing roller that reciprocates in a conveyance direction, passing through an adhesion region where it sandwiches the sheet with a contact portion, and moves away from the conveyance belt at predetermined positions to define the end portions of the adhesion region, ensuring consistent adhesion and preventing unevenness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the pressing roller is temporarily stopped at both ends of its trajectory while pressed against the sheet, then the sheet is firmly adhered to the adhesive agent layer at those positions, but uneven adhesion strength occurs across the sheet, causing wrinkles and stretching during detachment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadhesion strengthVSAvoidadhesion uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The pressing roller is designed to maintain continuous reciprocating motion without stopping at the end portions of its trajectory. By keeping the roller in constant movement, the adhesion force is distributed uniformly across the entire sheet surface, preventing localized over-adhesion that causes wrinkles and stretching during detachment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The pressing roller quickly passes through the end portions of its trajectory without dwelling or stopping there. This rapid passage ensures that no excessive adhesion is formed at the boundaries of the adhesion region, maintaining uniform adhesion characteristics across the sheet and enabling clean detachment without deformation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

2Reliability

If the pressing roller is stopped at both ends of the trajectory, then adhesion is achieved at those positions, but the sheet becomes difficult to detach uniformly from the conveyance belt

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadhesion reliabilityVSAvoiddetachment ease
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The continuous reciprocating motion of the pressing roller creates dynamic adhesion that is uniformly distributed across the sheet. This dynamic approach ensures reliable adhesion throughout the sheet while maintaining consistent detachment characteristics, as no localized strong adhesion points are formed that would resist uniform separation from the conveyance belt.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Quantity of substance

If the pressing roller reciprocates through the adhesion region, then the sheet is adhered to the adhesive agent layer, but stopping at end portions causes uneven adhesion and unstable conveyance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadhesion coverageVSAvoidconveyance stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The pressing roller maintains continuous reciprocating motion throughout the entire adhesion region without stopping. This dynamic approach ensures uniform adhesion coverage across the sheet while maintaining conveyance stability, as the uniform adhesion prevents differential forces that would cause wrinkles, stretching, or unstable behavior during sheet handling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The pressing roller rapidly passes through the end portions of the adhesion region without dwelling, ensuring complete coverage of the adhesion area while preventing localized over-adhesion. This approach maintains both adequate adhesion coverage and conveyance stability by avoiding uneven adhesion patterns that would destabilize sheet handling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

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 stabilizes sheet conveyance by preventing uneven adhesion and reducing the risk of wrinkles or stretching, ensuring smooth and uniform inkjet printing on textiles.

Implementation Method 1

a conveyance belt that has a front surface provided with an adhesive agent layer and that conveys, in a predetermined conveyance direction, a sheet placed on the adhesive agent layer

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdhesion: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentEP4442901A1Sheet conveyance device
Publication Date: 2024.10.09 KONICA MINOLTA INC
  • EP4442901A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4442901A1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4442901A1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A sheet conveyance device (10A) includes: a conveyance belt (11) that has a front surface provided with an adhesive agent layer and a rear surface and that conveys a sheet (S) placed on the adhesive agent layer; a pressing roller (14) that faces the front surface; and a contact portion (15) in contact with the rear surface. The pressing roller (14) is reciprocated in a forward direction and a reverse direction with respect to a conveyance direction so as to pass through an adhesion region (P) in which the sheet (S) is adhered to the adhesive agent layer. In the adhesion region (P), the pressing roller (14) and the contact portion (15) sandwich the sheet (S) and the conveyance belt (11). When the pressing roller (14) passes through each of a pair of end portions (L1, L2) of the adhesion region (P) in a reciprocation direction of the pressing roller (14), the pressing roller (14) passes through each of the pair of end portions (L1, L2) at speed to leave the adhesion region (P).