EP1160089A1 - Module de nettoyage d'une bande transporteuse utilisant des articles de nettoyage entretenables - Google Patents

Module de nettoyage d'une bande transporteuse utilisant des articles de nettoyage entretenables Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1160089A1
EP1160089A1 EP01304446A EP01304446A EP1160089A1 EP 1160089 A1 EP1160089 A1 EP 1160089A1 EP 01304446 A EP01304446 A EP 01304446A EP 01304446 A EP01304446 A EP 01304446A EP 1160089 A1 EP1160089 A1 EP 1160089A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
belt
wiper
cleaning
set forth
solvent
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Withdrawn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
EP01304446A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Le Pham
Wesley Baxter Roche
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.)
HP Inc
Original Assignee
Hewlett Packard Co
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 Hewlett Packard Co filed Critical Hewlett Packard Co
Publication of EP1160089A1 publication Critical patent/EP1160089A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current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
    • B41J29/00—Details of, or accessories for, typewriters or selective printing mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J29/17—Cleaning arrangements
    • 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
    • B41J11/007—Conveyor belts or like feeding devices

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to transport belts (sometimes referred to in the art as conveyor belts), particularly to a method and apparatus for cleaning a transport belt and, more specifically, to cleaning a print media transport belt in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus.
  • ink-jet technology is relatively well developed.
  • Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, copiers, and facsimile machines employ ink-jet technology for producing hard copy.
  • the basics of this technology are disclosed, for example, in various articles in the Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4 (March 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No.1 (February 1994) editions.
  • Ink-jet devices are also described by W.J. Lloyd and H.T. Taub in Output Hardcopy [sic] Devices, chapter 13 (Ed. R.C. Durbeck and S. Sherr, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988).
  • FIGURE 1 depicts a hard copy apparatus, in this exemplary embodiment a computer peripheral, ink-jet printer, 101.
  • a housing 103 encloses the electrical and mechanical operating mechanisms of the printer 101. Operation is administrated by an electronic controller 102 (usually a microprocessor or application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC") controlled printed circuit board) connected by appropriate cabling to a computer (not shown).
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • Cut-sheet print media 105 loaded by the end-user onto an input tray 120, is fed by a suitable paper-path transport mechanism (not shown) to an internal printing station where graphical images or alphanumeric text is created.
  • a carriage 109 mounted on a slider 111, scans the print medium.
  • An encoder subsystem 113 is provided for keeping track of the position of the carriage 109 at any given time.
  • An associated set of replaceable or refillable ink reservoirs 117"X" is coupled to the pen set by ink conduits 119. Ink is deposited on the sheet of media 105 at a "print zone,” or "printing station,” 107. Once a printed page is completed, the print medium is ejected onto an output tray 121.
  • the carriage scanning axis is conventionally designated the x-axis
  • the print media transit axis is designated the y-axis
  • the printhead firing direction is designated the z-axis.
  • FIGURE 2 is a schematic depiction of another ink-jet hard copy apparatus 210 as may be associated with the present invention.
  • a writing instrument 115X is provided with a printhead 214 having drop generators including nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto an adjacently positioned print medium, e.g., a sheet of paper 105, in the apparatus' printing zone 107.
  • a perforated, endless-loop belt 232 is one type of known manner printing zone input-output paper transport.
  • a motor 233 having a drive shaft 230 is used to drive a gear train 235 coupled to a belt pulley, or roller, 238 mounted on an fixed axle 239.
  • a biased idler wheel 240 provides appropriate tensioning of the belt 232.
  • the belt rides over a platen 236 (sometimes including heating devices) in the print zone 107 associated with a known manner vacuum induction system 237.
  • the paper sheet 105 is picked from an input supply (not shown) and its leading edge 254 is delivered to a guide 250, 252 where a pinch wheel 242 in contact with the belt 232 takes over and acts to transport the paper sheet 105 through the printing zone 107 (the paper path is represented by arrow 231).
  • an output roller 244 in contact with the belt 232 receives the leading edge 254 of the sheet 105 and continues the paper transport until the trailing edge 255 of the now printed page is released.
  • Ink-jet technology is used to describe the present invention even though it has wider applicability because the ink-jet environment typifies a transport belt use where the local environment may contain contaminants such as ink mist and paper dust which can soil a transport belt and clog perforations in a vacuum belt or even be sucked through the belt, contaminating the subjacent platen and other subsystems of the apparatus.
  • the latest generation of ink-jet printers has found commercial success for economical color printing of high resolution graphics, including photographic reproductions, which require edge-to-edge paper printing (referred to as "full bleed"). Overspray and aerosol will build up on the belt over time. Not only does this affect performance of the belt itself, ink on the belt can be transferred undesirably to the back side of the print, particularly if the ink remains in a liquid or semi-fluidic state.
  • a transport belt in an operating environment containing contaminants is provided with subsystems for on-demand cleaning of the belt.
  • Wet and dry pressure pads are provided with associated mechanisms for engaging and disengaging simultaneously with both the inner and outer surfaces of the belt.
  • the present invention provides a method for cleaning a transport belt, having a transport surface, including the steps of: positioning at least one wiper in non-contacting juxtaposition to at least the transport surface; and selectively repositioning the wiper into contact with the associated belt side.
  • the present invention provides a transport belt cleaning apparatus including: mechanisms for cleaning non-contactingly juxtaposed on each side of the belt; and mechanisms for engaging the cleaning means with the belt.
  • the present invention provides an ink-jet hard copy apparatus including: a transport belt for media input-output; a belt inner-surface cleaner; and a belt outer-surface cleaner, wherein the inner-surface cleaner and outer-surface cleaner are releasably engagable with the belt.
  • the present invention provides a method for re-furbishing an ink-jet printer having a belt cleaning apparatus, including the steps of: removing the cleaning apparatus; and replacing the cleaning apparatus.
  • the present invention provides consumable ink-jet belt cleaning apparatus including: mounts for positioning cleaners in contraposition to each side of the belt; and cleaners affixed to the mounts.
  • the present invention provides an ink-jet hard copy apparatus endless-loop, vacuum-actuated, media transport belt cleaning system, including: a renewable first belt cleaning subsystem mounted adjacent an inner surface of the belt, including at least one belt wiper; a renewable second belt cleaning subsystem mounted adjacent an outer surface of the belt, including at least one belt wiper, wherein the first belt cleaning subsystem and second belt cleaning subsystem are contraposed with the belt therebetween and are selectively engagable and disengagable with the respective inner surface and outer surface.
  • a belt cleaning subsystem 300 in accordance with the present invention is shown in an exemplary embodiment implementation as part of an ink-jet hard copy apparatus 210' schematically represent by a framework 210".
  • the present invention comprises two subsystems: a belt 232 inner-surface cleaner 301 and a belt outer-surface cleaner 302, wherein the "outer-surface” is a vacuum-holding transport surface of the belt.
  • the cleaner 301, 302 subsystems are preferably independently serviceable.
  • the cleaner 301, 302 subsystems are subjacent a vacuum-box-platen 236.
  • the inner-surface cleaner 301 includes an inner-surface wiper mount 303, such as a stiff, flat plate - e.g ., a metal, sheet metal, or plastic plate - with a mounting flange 303'.
  • the wiper mount 303 should be at least as wide as the belt 232 cross-sectional dimension and have a length to optimize wiping area and wiper absorbent capacity as the belt passes between the drive rollers 239, 240.
  • a belt inner-surface wiper 305 is affixed to the mount 303 such that a wiping surface is adjacent the inner-surface of the belt 232.
  • the wiping surface to belt inner-surface have a clearance, e.g., approximately one millimeter ("mm"), when not being used to clean the inner-surface.
  • this wiper 305 be fabricated of a dry, absorbent, lint-free material.
  • a three-to-five millimeter thick, felt pad, or a relatively high density, absorbent, sponge material may be employed.
  • Launderable, reusable, pad materials can be employed.
  • Disposable pad materials can be employed.
  • the contact surface of wiper, or pad, 305 material should be relatively smooth and somewhat compliant in order to clean the belt surface effectively. If made of a fiber-based material, the contact surface of the wiper 305 could be singed or otherwise treated as would be known in the art to prevent fibers from tracking onto the belt 232. All wiper materials should be soft enough not to damage belt surfaces.
  • the inner-surface wiper 305 can be glued to the mount 303 such that the entire subsystem is disposable and replaceable. Alternatively, the inner-surface wiper 305 can be releasably secured to the mount 303 in a known manner so that the belt inner-surface wiper 305 is removable and replaceable with a clean wiper replacement pad for a reusable mount 303.
  • the inner-surface wiper 305 should be equal to or slightly greater than the belt 232 width dimension.
  • the outer-surface belt cleaner 302 subsystem could be a mirror embodiment of the inner-surface belt cleaner 301, subjacent the belt 232 opposing the inner-surface belt cleaner 301 subsystem.
  • Each subsystem 301, 302 can employ a known manner elevating subsystem to engage respective wipers with the belt 232 inner and outer surfaces.
  • the outer surface of the belt 232 will have a far greater degree of deposits, it has been found to be preferable to use both wet and dry wiping of at least the outer surface.
  • a wet pressure pad 307 and a dry pressure pad 309 are provided in series for sequentially wiping the belt 232 outer surface.
  • the wet pressure pad 307 is upstream and the dry pressure pad 309 downstream.
  • a pad holder 311 is mounted in the apparatus 210' subjacent the belt 232 and opposing at least some part of the inner-surface belt cleaner 301 subsystem.
  • the pad holder 311 is provided with positive pressure biasing members 313, 315 for each pad 307, 309.
  • the pad holder 311 is mounted on at least one return biasing member 317.
  • a clearance for example in the range of approximately one to three millimeters, is provided between the reach of each pads' 307, 309 cleaning surface and the outer surface of the belt 232 when the subsystem 302 is disengaged.
  • the belt 232 during a paper transport and printing operational cycle through the print zone 107 is thus free to travel between the inner-surface cleaner 301 and the outer-surface cleaner 302.
  • the elevating subsystem 319 in this embodiment a cam having a mechanical linkage (not shown) for end-user manipulation) lifts the holder 311 until the gap between the wet pressure pad 307 and dry pressure pad 309 in the holder 311 and the belt surface is closed.
  • the holder 311 elevating subsystem 319 continues upward until the gap between the inner-surface belt cleaner 301 is also closed. Thus, both surfaces of the belt 232 are being wiped by the belt wiping pads 305, 307, 309 when the elevating subsystem 319 is engaged. It should be recognized that separate elevating subsystems can be provided for each cleaner subsystem 301, 302.
  • the wet pressure pad 307 is pre-soaked with a solvent appropriate to the type of ink employed (or other aerosol chemical being used in a non-ink-jet environment).
  • the dry pressure pad 317 should be absorbent of the solvent and ink residue and solvent mixtures.
  • Either the entire belt outer-surface cleaner 302 subsystem can be replaceable as a unit or each pad can be separately replaceable in the same manner as with the inner-surface wiper 305.
  • the wet and dry cleaning pads may be replaceable at every cleaning cycle or be designed to be more durable as needed.
  • the inner wiper 305 can be of a material having a higher surface energy than that of the transport surface wipers 307, 309 in order to help solvent to be drawn through the belt perforations.
  • both sides of the belt 232 are "washed.” Downstream, the inner surface wiper 305 and the dry pressure pad 309 will absorb the mixture of solvent and particulate residue washed from the belt 232.
  • the cam 319 is reversed and the belt 232 released from the cleaner 301, 302 subsystems. While a predetermined pressure of the wipers against the belt surfaces can be tailored, it should also be recognized that solvent can be transferred to the belt via capillary forces created by the interface between the belt and wipers when the belt is moving.
  • the inner surface cleaning subsystem can also be movable into engagement with the belt only during a cleaning operation.
  • the present invention has been described in an implementation for an ink-jet hard copy apparatus, but this is not intended as a limitation (nor should any be implied) as it is known to use vacuum belts in many conveyor systems for flexible materials.
  • the outer-surface cleaner 302 is shown as two replaceable pads, one wet and one dry, a single pad having a wet region upstream of a dry, solvent-absorbing region may also be employed to reduce manufacturing costs and to simplify pad replacement.
  • Another example of a modification contemplated by the inventors is a C-clamp type mechanism with the pads mounted for clamping the belt therein.
  • automated, electromechanical devices can be employed for activating the cleaner mechanisms to wipe the belt.
EP01304446A 2000-05-30 2001-05-21 Module de nettoyage d'une bande transporteuse utilisant des articles de nettoyage entretenables Withdrawn EP1160089A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US583819 1990-09-17
US58381900A 2000-05-30 2000-05-30

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1160089A1 true EP1160089A1 (fr) 2001-12-05

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EP01304446A Withdrawn EP1160089A1 (fr) 2000-05-30 2001-05-21 Module de nettoyage d'une bande transporteuse utilisant des articles de nettoyage entretenables

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110228690A (zh) * 2019-07-19 2019-09-13 河南憧椽商贸有限公司 一种食品传送装置

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5225852A (en) * 1990-04-17 1993-07-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recording material transport device and recording apparatus having the same
US5239926A (en) * 1992-01-29 1993-08-31 Datacard Corporation Card printer apparatus and method
US5526028A (en) * 1995-05-26 1996-06-11 Xerox Corporation Liquid ink printer transport belt cleaner
JPH11192768A (ja) * 1997-12-29 1999-07-21 Canon Inc 画像形成装置および方法

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5225852A (en) * 1990-04-17 1993-07-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recording material transport device and recording apparatus having the same
US5239926A (en) * 1992-01-29 1993-08-31 Datacard Corporation Card printer apparatus and method
US5526028A (en) * 1995-05-26 1996-06-11 Xerox Corporation Liquid ink printer transport belt cleaner
JPH11192768A (ja) * 1997-12-29 1999-07-21 Canon Inc 画像形成装置および方法

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 1999, no. 12 29 October 1999 (1999-10-29) *

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110228690A (zh) * 2019-07-19 2019-09-13 河南憧椽商贸有限公司 一种食品传送装置
CN110228690B (zh) * 2019-07-19 2021-06-04 绍兴市振尹纺织品有限公司 一种食品传送装置

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