EP0997301A2 - Infrarotfolienheizung zum Trocknen von Tintenstrahlabbildungen auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger - Google Patents

Infrarotfolienheizung zum Trocknen von Tintenstrahlabbildungen auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0997301A2
EP0997301A2 EP99308175A EP99308175A EP0997301A2 EP 0997301 A2 EP0997301 A2 EP 0997301A2 EP 99308175 A EP99308175 A EP 99308175A EP 99308175 A EP99308175 A EP 99308175A EP 0997301 A2 EP0997301 A2 EP 0997301A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
heater
recording medium
ink
printer
print
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP99308175A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0997301A3 (de
Inventor
Jeffrey D. Barner
Thomas F. Szlucha
Kenneth C. Peter
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Xerox Corp
Original Assignee
Xerox Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Xerox Corp filed Critical Xerox Corp
Publication of EP0997301A2 publication Critical patent/EP0997301A2/de
Publication of EP0997301A3 publication Critical patent/EP0997301A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
    • B41J11/0015—Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing
    • B41J11/002—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
    • B41J11/0021—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation
    • B41J11/00216—Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating using irradiation using infrared [IR] radiation or microwaves

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to a liquid ink printer and, more particularly, to an infrared foil heater which is used to dry images previously formed on a recording medium.
  • Liquid ink printers of the type frequently referred to as continuous stream or as drop-on-demand have at least one printhead from which droplets of ink are directed towards a recording medium.
  • the ink is contained in a plurality of channels. Power pulses cause the droplets of ink to be expelled as required from orifices or nozzles at the end of the channels.
  • the power pulse is usually produced by a heater transducer or a resistor, typically associated with one of the channels.
  • Each resistor is individually addressable to heat and vaporize ink in the channels.
  • a vapor bubble grows in the associated channel and initially bulges from the channel orifice followed by collapse of the bubble.
  • the ink within the channel then retracts and separates from the bulging ink thereby forming a droplet moving in a direction away from the channel orifice and towards the recording medium whereupon hitting the recording medium a dot or spot of ink is deposited.
  • the channel is then refilled by capillary action, which, in turn, draws ink from a supply container of liquid ink.
  • the ink jet printhead is typically incorporated into a carriage type printer which has a relatively small printhead containing the ink channels and nozzles.
  • the printhead can be sealingly attached to a disposable ink supply cartridge.
  • the combined printhead and cartridge assembly is attached to a carriage which is reciprocated to print one swath of information (equal to the length of a column of nozzles), at a time, on a stationary recording medium, such as paper or a transparency. After the swath is printed, the paper is stepped a distance equal to the height of the printed swath or a portion thereof, so that the next printed swath is contiguous or overlapping therewith. This procedure is repeated until the entire page is printed.
  • liquid inks and particularly those used in thermal ink jet printing include a colorant or dye and a liquid which is typically an aqueous liquid vehicle, such as water, and/or a low vapor pressure solvent.
  • the ink is deposited on the substrate to form an image in the form of text and/or graphics.
  • the liquid component is removed from the ink and the paper to fix the colorant to the substrate by either natural air drying or by active drying.
  • natural air drying the liquid component of the ink deposited on the substrate is allowed to evaporate and to penetrate into the substrate naturally without mechanical assistance.
  • active drying the recording medium is exposed to heat energy of various types which can include infrared heating, conductive heating and heating by microwave energy.
  • U.S. Patent No. 5,742,315 discloses a segmented flexible heater which produces both pre-print heating and heating during the print, or recording, process.
  • a heater construction for an ink jet printer having a rotary print platen for holding and transporting a print sheet through a print path is described.
  • the platen heater includes a hollow shell having vacuum holes for sheet attachment.
  • a heating foil is detachably mounted in a heat transfer relation with the interior periphery of the shell.
  • U.S. Patent No. 5,005,025, to Miyakawa et al. describes an ink jet recording apparatus for recording which fixes ink through evaporation of an ink solvent.
  • the apparatus includes a heating member extending both upstream and downstream with respect to a recording area and a conveying direction of the recording sheet. The heating member contacts the recording sheet to assist in the fixation of the ink.
  • dryer assist is provided with a tungsten-halogen lamp and reflector disposed in the post-print zone. This arrangement is effective at speeds of less than 10 prints per minute (ppm) but becomes less effective at speeds greater than 10 ppm.
  • efficiency declines as the drying zone length increases. Also, "hot spots" can occur with a lamp/reflector design.
  • a liquid ink printer for printing on a recording medium moving along a path through a print zone.
  • the printer includes a printhead which deposits ink on a recording medium as it is moved through the print zone.
  • a foil heater is disposed in a location downstream from the print zone.
  • the heater is an infrared emitting, etched foil circuit heater which produces a very uniform power distribution because the heater circuit foil area can be tailored to match a desired drying zone exposure. Further, the heater provides an improvement over the lamp/reflector heater design due to its compact size, low cost, high reliability and fast, warm characteristics.
  • the present invention relates to a printer for printing on a recording medium moving through at least a print zone and a post-print zone, comprising:
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a thermal ink jet printer 10 in a side elevation view.
  • a translating ink jet printhead 12 printing black and/or colored inks is supported by a carriage 14 which moves back and forth across a recording medium 16, for instance, sheets of paper or transparencies, on a guide rail 18. Multiple printheads printing different colors are also within the scope of this invention.
  • the recording medium 16 is moved along a recording medium path through the printer in the direction noted by the arrow 20. Single sheets of the recording medium 16 are fed from a fray 22 by a document feed roll 24.
  • the document tray 22 is spring biased by a biasing mechanism 26 which forces the top sheet of the stack of recording sheets held by the tray 22 into contact with the feed roll 24.
  • a top recording medium 16 in contact with the drive roll 24 is transported by the drive roll 24 into a chute 28 which is defined by an outer guide member 30 spaced from an inner guide member 32, each of which are curved to thereby reverse the direction of the recording sheets 16 for printing by the printhead 12.
  • the recording medium 16 is driven into the nip of a drive roll 34 cooperating with a pinch roll 36 to advance the recording sheet 16 into a print zone 38.
  • the print zone 38 is the area directly beneath the printhead 12 where droplets of ink 40 are deposited by an array of ink nozzles printing a swath of information and arranged on a front face of the printhead.
  • the front face of the printhead is substantially parallel to the recording medium.
  • the carriage 14, travelling orthogonally to the recording medium 16 deposits the ink droplets 40 upon the recording medium 16 in an imagewise fashion.
  • the printhead 12 receives ink from either an attached ink tank or from an ink supply tube (not shown).
  • the image deposited upon the recording medium 16 can include text and/or graphic images, the creation of which is controlled by a controller, known to those skilled in the art, in response to electrical signals travelling through a ribbon cable 42 coupled to the printhead 12.
  • an exit drive roll/pinch roll combination (not shown) or other known means captures the leading edge of the recording medium 16 for transport to a platen 48 underlying an IR heater assembly 50 and, thence, to an output tray 44 which holds the printed recording medium.
  • Heater assembly 50 in a preferred embodiment, consists of an etched foil heater circuit 52 (shown in bottom view in FIG. 2) mounted to a ceramic insulator 54 and reinforced with a fiberglass mounting mesh with adhesive.
  • a voltage is applied to IR power heater 50 by IR power source 56 which, in a preferred embodiment, is 120 VAC.
  • the dimensions of the circuit 52 can be selected to provide a uniform power distribution which is matched to the particular drying zone exposure. In other words, circuit 52 dimensions x , y can be tailored to match a particular drying exposure zone x , y and specifically can provide active drying zones of greater than three inches.
  • the voltage applied to circuit 52 generates a current between 6.5 and 7.0 amps and the heat energy produced approximately 22 watts per square inch.
  • Circuit 52 is made of Chromium Aluminum and Iron Alloy which heats to a color temperature of approximately 400-600 °C by the applied power. Circuit 52 has a thickness of approximately .05". Insulator 54 has a thickness of approximately .95" for a total combined thickness for heater 50 of 1". A sheet 16 moves through the print zone at a process speed of 2 inches per second. Heater 50 is spaced a distance of approximately 0.6 inches above the paper path. The print will be dried in 2 to 7 seconds before reaching the output tray depending on paper type and amount of ink on paper being dried.
  • an IR foil heater for rapid drying of an ink image previously formed on a recording medium moving along a paper path.
  • the heater is disposed above the paper path at a post-print location.
  • the foil heater circuit has an area matching the desired active drying zone and provides a uniform band of IR radiant heat to the deposited image drying the image in a fraction of the time required by prior art devices.
  • Chromium Aluminum and Iron Alloy is the preferred medium for heating to produce IR radiation
  • other conductive materials such as Nickel Chromium Alloy and Nickel Chromium and Iron Alloy may be used. While 22 watts/sq. in. were given as an optimum heating density, it has been found that radiation within a range of 10 to 30 watts/sq. in. will provide rapid drying time depending on paper condition and the amount of ink present. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the specific and broad scope of the following claims.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Supply, Installation And Extraction Of Printed Sheets Or Plates (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
EP99308175A 1998-10-30 1999-10-18 Infrarotfolienheizung zum Trocknen von Tintenstrahlabbildungen auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger Withdrawn EP0997301A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US18278898A 1998-10-30 1998-10-30
US182788 1998-10-30

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0997301A2 true EP0997301A2 (de) 2000-05-03
EP0997301A3 EP0997301A3 (de) 2000-07-12

Family

ID=22670041

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99308175A Withdrawn EP0997301A3 (de) 1998-10-30 1999-10-18 Infrarotfolienheizung zum Trocknen von Tintenstrahlabbildungen auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0997301A3 (de)
JP (1) JP2000135785A (de)
BR (1) BR9905337A (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1457350A2 (de) * 2003-03-12 2004-09-15 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Aufzeichnungsmedium mit einer heisssiegelbaren Schicht
DE10347034A1 (de) * 2003-10-09 2005-05-19 J. S. Staedtler Gmbh & Co. Kg Tinte sowie deren Verwendung
ITBS20100117A1 (it) * 2010-06-30 2011-12-31 Cembre Spa Stampante a getto di inchiostro, in particolare per stampa di elementi di siglatura industriale
US8646899B2 (en) 2010-05-28 2014-02-11 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Methods and apparatus for ink drying
US11040552B2 (en) 2018-03-09 2021-06-22 Seiko Epson Corporation Heating device and drying method

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4701786B2 (ja) * 2005-03-29 2011-06-15 セイコーエプソン株式会社 インクジェット記録装置及びインクジェット記録方法

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4982207A (en) 1989-10-02 1991-01-01 Eastman Kodak Company Heating print-platen construction for ink jet printer
US5005025A (en) 1987-06-12 1991-04-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer having means for heating a recording sheet and fixing ink thereon
US5742315A (en) 1995-09-05 1998-04-21 Xerox Corporation Segmented flexible heater for drying a printed image

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4602238A (en) * 1984-01-20 1986-07-22 Vitronics Corporation Infrared panel emitter and method of producing the same
US4774523A (en) * 1987-03-25 1988-09-27 Hewlett-Packard Company Method and apparatus for uniformly drying ink on paper from an ink jet printer
EP0495806B1 (de) * 1989-10-10 1994-04-13 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Vorrichtung zum trocknen von aufzeichnungsträgern in tintendruckeinrichtungen
JPH05286128A (ja) * 1992-04-09 1993-11-02 Brother Ind Ltd ホットメルト式インクジェットプリンタ

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5005025A (en) 1987-06-12 1991-04-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printer having means for heating a recording sheet and fixing ink thereon
US4982207A (en) 1989-10-02 1991-01-01 Eastman Kodak Company Heating print-platen construction for ink jet printer
US5742315A (en) 1995-09-05 1998-04-21 Xerox Corporation Segmented flexible heater for drying a printed image

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1457350A2 (de) * 2003-03-12 2004-09-15 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Aufzeichnungsmedium mit einer heisssiegelbaren Schicht
EP1457350A3 (de) * 2003-03-12 2005-12-21 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Aufzeichnungsmedium mit einer heisssiegelbaren Schicht
US7147317B2 (en) 2003-03-12 2006-12-12 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Print medium including a heat-sealable layer
DE10347034A1 (de) * 2003-10-09 2005-05-19 J. S. Staedtler Gmbh & Co. Kg Tinte sowie deren Verwendung
DE10347034B4 (de) * 2003-10-09 2006-11-09 J. S. Staedtler Gmbh & Co. Kg Verwendung einer Tinte
US7612125B2 (en) * 2003-10-09 2009-11-03 J.S. Staedtler Gmbh & Co. Ink and method of using the ink
US8646899B2 (en) 2010-05-28 2014-02-11 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Methods and apparatus for ink drying
ITBS20100117A1 (it) * 2010-06-30 2011-12-31 Cembre Spa Stampante a getto di inchiostro, in particolare per stampa di elementi di siglatura industriale
US11040552B2 (en) 2018-03-09 2021-06-22 Seiko Epson Corporation Heating device and drying method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2000135785A (ja) 2000-05-16
BR9905337A (pt) 2000-09-05
EP0997301A3 (de) 2000-07-12

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