FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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The present invention relates to an printing apparatus capable
of handling large size sheets. More specifically the invention is
related to a colour proofing apparatus having a dual-side mode.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Printed products contain not only printed text but many photographic
illustrations are included in all sorts of printed products such as
leaflets, magazines etc...
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Nowadays text and illustrations are usually provided in electronic
form in order to electronically compose the publication wherein the
photographs are used.
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The photographs provided in an electronic format are usually
provided as a continuous tone image. A continuous tone image is an
image containing multiple grey (colour)levels with no perceptible
quantization to them.
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In order to reproduce the continuous tone images by a printing
process having only a limited number of grey levels, a halftoning
process is used.
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Digital halftoning refers to the process whereby a digital
(continuous tone) image is rendered with a computer-controlled
graphics output device that is capable of generating only a limited
number of grey (colour) levels. The input image is electronically
screened to obtain a halftone image for each colour.
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In order to inspect the correctness of the digital halftoning
process on the final product printed on a printing press, the
printed result is simulated using a colour proofing apparatus.
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A modern colour proofing apparatus is capable of not only providing
a simulated print of the photographs but of the whole printed
product. Several large size colour proofers use an inkjet printing
process to render the halftone images on a large sheet of paper or
other receiving media. Sheet sizes used may vary but a used format
may be typical 109.22mm (43 inch) x 76.2 mm (30 inch). The medium
is usually of a paper type, typically 100-130 g/mm2, but also other
media type can be used e.g. polyester supports which can be coated
with appropriate ink receiving coatings etc...
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These large sheets can be fed from a magazine but are frequently
dispensed from a web coupled to the machine enabling the use of
different lengths of receiving material which is cut at appropriate
length. Depending on the form of the receiving medium, it can
hereinafter be named receiving web or receiving sheet and is given
the same number in the drawings of the application.
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Recently, in order to completely imitate the final product, colour
proofers having dual-side capabilities have emerged. With these
apparatuses it is possible to imitate the dual-side printed output
product and to control the imposition scheme, i.e. order and
orientation of different pages or a large sheet which e.g. is folded
and cut to render a small booklet or folder with numbered pages.
One such apparatus is the Spinjet® sold by Techsage®.
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A new problem emerging is the lack of registering of the front-
and backside images on the proofing product giving unsatisfactory
results. In some colour proofers one can manually turn the
receiving sheet and feed it again into the printer by hand using
e.g. a registration edge as an aid. In other printers the medium is
turned over automatically. Hitherto it has been a problem providing
a good registering of the output image on the large size output
media in use. Especially registering correctly the images on the
front and back side of large output media used in the colour and
imposition proofing apparatus has been a problem. The curl
remaining in the paper further causes problems in feeding the paper
correctly.
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Until now non easy an reliable solution has been provided to
this problem.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
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It is an object of the present invention to provide a
apparatus having a mechanism capable of reliable and correctly
registering an output image on a receiver.
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It is a further object of the invention to provide a front to
back registering system for a dual-side printing apparatus.
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It is another object of the invention to provide an improved
reversing mechanism for large size receiver media in a dual-side
printing apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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The above mentioned objects are realised by a apparatus having
the specific features defined in claim 1. Specific features for
preferred embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent
claims.
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Further advantages and embodiments of the present invention
will become apparent from the following description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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- Fig. 1
- shows an overall view of the printing apparatus.
- Fig. 2
- shows the printing apparatus with web feed device and the
tumbler unit in the initial position A
- Fig. 3
- gives an isometric view of the tumbler mechanism with the
rotatable platform in position B
- Fig. 4
- shows the feeding of the web during front-side printing
- Fig. 5
- shows the position after the gripping of the web by the
tumbler unit.
- Fig. 6
- shows the contacting of the web by the rear pinch roller
- Fig. 7
- shows the print unit with the web in a retracted position
- Fig. 8
- shows the tumbler unit with sheet position before rotating
the rotatable platform to the feed-through position B
- Fig. 9
- shows the feed through action of the receiving sheet
- Fig. 10
- shows the tumbler unit with sheet position before rotating
the rotatable platform to the re-feed position C
- Fig. 11
- shows the re-feed transport at position C
- Fig. 12
- shows the paper path entering the re-feeding storage chamber.
- Fig. 13
- shows the principle of correcting the receiving sheet
orientation using drive rollers with different speed.
- Fig. 14
- shows the situation with the receiver sheet entering the
storage chamber under control of the printer drive rollers
and tumbler unit in position C.
- Fig. 15
- shows the printing of the back-side image with the receiver
sheet fed from the re-feeding storage chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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While the present invention will hereinafter be described in
connection with the working of a preferred embodiments thereof, 1 it
will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to
those embodiments but several variations can be used incorporating
the specific features of the invention as claimed.
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Fig 1 gives an overall view of the printing apparatus according to
the invention.
The apparatus is composed of two main parts :
- print unit 1 with roll media feeding device 2 on the back side.
- tumbler unit 3 with paper alignment system on the front side.
The printing apparatus is usually supported by a lightweight
pedestal 4 which can be provided with wheels 5 making it easy to
move the printing apparatus. On the pedestal 4 is mounted a
receiving basket 6 to store finished prints.
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A preferred embodiment is now described using a description of the
operation steps during dual side printing.
WEB FEEDING STEP
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Following description is given referring to Fig. 2 showing the
printing apparatus with the roll media feeding device 2 on the back-side
of the print unit 1
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The roll media feeding device 2 comprises :
- a media roll holder and medium roll 7 having a friction brake
mechanism 8 causing torque and preventing spontaneous unwinding of
the medium roll 7,
- a de-curling roller 9 for removing curl induced in the receiving
medium 10 by storage in a rolled up condition.
The print unit 1 itself is provided with :
- printer drive rollers 11 and printer pinch rollers 12 which can be
lowered onto the receiving medium 10 and which are provided for
holding and transporting the receiving medium 10 at a constant
speed during printing of the images. Preferably the rollers are
provided along the complete width of the apparatus and the drive
rollers 11 are driven by a single motor to ensure a constant and
even transport of the receiving medium 10 without skew or other
irregularities. A possible type of roller for the drive
rollers 11 is a metal grid roller while the pinch roller(s) 12
usually have an elastomeric surface
- at least one (rear) pinch roller 13 to retract and hold the
leading edge of the receiving web 10 during printing of the back-side
of the image. It working will be described further below.
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When operating from a new medium roll 7 the leading part of the
receiver medium 10 has to loaded by hand into the print unit 1 where
it is caught by lowering the lowered printer pinch rollers 12 which
will ensure further transport.
During printing the receiver medium 10 is advanced. Due to the
torque caused by the friction brake mechanism 7 acting upon the
medium roll 7 a tension is created in the receiving material 10 and
curl which remained in the material due to the storage in rolled up
state is substantially removed by guiding the material in a relative
sharp bend around the decurling roller 9.
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It can be understood that also a sheet fed system can be used in
conjunction with the print unit 1. However, because sheet feeding
systems are usually more complicated and due to the large size of
the printed images, it is more convenient to use web feed systems.
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The loading of the leading edge of the receiving web 10 can be
ensured by an automatic system, but usually the loading by hand is
the most cost-effective method.
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The receiving medium 10 is also guided over a suction plate 14
further holding down the receiving medium 10 at the position of the
print head 16 avoiding problems which can be caused by residual curl
in the receiving medium 10 after decurling. In the suction plate 14
suction holes 15 are provided while one or more ventilators provide
a vacuum in a compartment under the suction plate 14. The receiving
medium 10 guided over the suction plate 14 is held to the suction
plate 14 by the suction acting upon the receiving medium 10 through
the suction holes 5 in the plate.
This ensure a constant distance from the print head 16 to the
receiver 10.
The receiver 10 is moved forward by the printer drive rollers 11.
MEDIUM MEASURING SEQUENCE
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Before printing is commenced, the leading edge and the size of the
receiving material 10 is detected using a sensor 17. Preferably this
is done by one or more optical sensors using measurement of
reflection or transmission. In the described apparatus a single
reflection sensor 17, mounted on the shuttle 18 holding the print
head 16, is used for detecting the edges of the receiving web 10,
but separate systems using one or multiple sensors can be employed.
Out of these measurements the size of the receiving medium 10 can be
detected and even misalignment can be indicated to the operator.
PRINTING THE FRONT-SIDE IMAGE
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When the medium size is correct and no alignment errors are detected
the front-side image is printed by the print head 16. In the
described embodiment this is done by a colour inkjet print head 16
mounted on a shuttle 18. As the print head 16 shuttles across the
receiving medium 10 the image of the front side is recorded on the
receiver 10. In between the different swaths of the print head 16
the medium 10 is moved forward by the printer drive rollers 11 in a
controlled manner.
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In this way the image is printed gradually. Image data is supplied
to the print unit 1 from an image source in a synchronised manner.
When using the apparatus for colour / imposition proofing a image
containing several pages of a publications are printed on the front
side of the receiving medium 10.
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While the printer prints the front-side, the leading end of the
receiving web 10 gradually enters the tumbler unit 3 located on the
front side of the print unit 1.
THE TUMBLER UNIT
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In order to allow further description of the processing steps an
elaborate description of the tumbler unit 3 is now given referring
to Fig. 2 and 3:
-
Within the chassis containing the tumbler mechanism are located :
- a central axis carrying at least two forward drive rollers 20.
These forward drive rollers 20 are driven by separate driving
mechanisms 21 allowing them to be driven independently, i.e. rotate
at different speed and/or direction. For normal feed through they
are driven in a synchronised manner in order to ensure a straight
feeding of the receiver sheet 10.
At at least one end the drive roller axis a driver disc 22 is
provided coupled to the axis. This driver disc 22 is able to freely
rotate within the chassis 23 of the tumbler unit. Its function will
be explained later.
- a rotatable platform 24 which can be locked by a position locking
mechanism 25 to the chassis 23 at various fixed positions (A, B, C)
relative to the tumbler chassis 23. This can be done in various ways
making use of e.g. Pins, brakes, cams, etc. A reliable and cost-effective
method is the use of an electromagnetic movable locking
pin 26 which can be extended from the rotatable platform 24 into a
hole 27 in the chassis 23 of the tumbler unit 3. To provide easy
manufacture the hole 27 may also be provided in a position block 28
which is coupled to the chassis 23.
-
The rotatable platform 24 mainly carries :
- forward pinch rollers 19 and pinch roller lowering mechanism 29.
-
In conjunction with each drive roller 20 a corresponding pinch
roller 20 is provided. By using the mechanism 29, the pinch
rollers 20 can be lowered or raised in order to close or open the
nip 30 between the drive and pinch rollers 19, 20. The mechanism 29
to raise and lower the pinch rollers 19 can be driven by an
electrical motor but various other systems can be used. E.g. cam
mechanisms, air pressure, etc.. In the preferred embodiment the
lowering mechanism 29 is driven by using cams 31 coupled to the
tumbler chassis 23. Preferably a pinch roller locking mechanism is
provided in order to lock the pinch rollers 20 in a closed state.
This locking can be done in various ways. A simple and cheap method
is making use of a mechanical locking mechanism.
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The rotation axis of this rotatable platform 24 preferably coincides
with the axis of the drive rollers 20 and the driver disc 22.
Thereby only the position of the rotatable platform 24 changes
during its rotation while the distance of the rotatable platform to
the driver rollers 20 is constant. This ensures that the forward
pinch rollers 19 remain in contact or at a constant distance with
the corresponding drive rollers 20 during rotation of the rotatable
platform 24. Herewith only the orientation of the nip 30 will change
during rotation of the rotatable platform 24.
A second locking mechanism, the driver disc locking mechanism 32,
which is also preferably a locking pin 33 which can be extended
electromagnetically, provided on the rotatable platform 24 enables
the rotatable platform 24 to be coupled to the driver disc 22.
Instead of mounting the various locking mechanisms 25, 32 onto the
rotatable platform 24, it is possible to provide locking mechanisms
on the tumbler chassis 23 and/or driver disc 22 to ensure locking of
the rotatable platform 24 at the various locations A, B, C and the
driver disc 22.
FEED-FORWARD EN LOCKING ACTION
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As shown in Fig. 4 the nip 30 between the front drive rollers 20 and
corresponding front pinch rollers 19 is initially opened in order to
freely let the leading end of the receiving medium 10 pass through
the tumbler unit 3.
This ensures that the transport speed of the print unit 1 is not
influenced and the printed image is undisturbed.
-
When the front-side image is completely printed the receiving web 10
is fed to the required position to enable it to be cut of at the
correct place. The printer driver rollers 11 stop and hold the
receiver web 10.
-
By rotating the cam 31 provided on the tumbler chassis 23 the
lowering mechanism 29 on the rotatable platform 24 is released and
the forward pinch rollers 20 are lowered closing the nip 30 between
the front drive and front pinch rollers 19, 20 and the receiving
web 10 is thus held by the front drive and pinch rollers 19, 20 at
the side of the printed image and by the printer drive and pinch
rollers 11, 12 at the non-printed part as shown in Fig 5.
CUTTING ACTION
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A cutting mechanism now cuts the receiving web 10 at the appropriate
location separating the printed image from the non-printed part of
the receiving web 10 thus creating a receiver sheet carrying a
printed image on the front-side.
Several possible cutting mechanisms can be used. Preferable the
cutting can be done using a knife blade mechanism mounted on the
shuttle 17 of the print head 16 which can be actuated when
necessary.
After the cutting the front pinch/ drive rollers 19, 20 now have
control over the receiver sheet.
WEB RETRACTION STEP
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After the printed image is separated from the rest of the web the
rear pinch roller 13 contacts the web. This can be done by a
lowering mechanism, but as indicated in Fig. 6 an embodiment is
possible wherein a partial roller contacts the web 10 simply by
rotation of the partial pinch roller 13. The dimensions of the rear
pinch roller 13 may be so that it spans the whole width of the
printer or it may be divided into two or more pinch rollers 13
dispersed over the printer width. Preferably the web 10 has to be
contacted at at least two points relatively far apart to ensure that
the web 10 is prevented from rotating to a slant position.
After the rear pinch roller 13 contacts the web 10, the printer
pinch rollers 12 are lifted so that the control of the web 10 is
given to the rear pinch roller 13 which prevents the medium 10 from
dropping out of the print unit 1.
As shown in Fig. 7, by rotating the rear pinch roller 13 backwards
the leading end of the web 10 is retracted behind the position of
the print head 16 and the position of the printer pinch rollers 12.
Retraction is stopped when the entrance slit 36 of the re-feeding
storage chamber 34 is cleared. The leading end of the web 10 is
kept stationary until the printing of the next front-side image.
Depending upon the dimensions of the printer and the rear pinch
roller 13 itself, the number of rotations of the rear pinch
roller 13 may vary. A small diameter of the roller 13 may require
several rotations to retract the leading end of the web 10. In case
of a partial roller, as shown in Fig. 6 and 7, the dimensions need
to be chosen so that only a partial rotation is necessary to perform
retraction.
The retraction and holding of the receiving web 10 by the rear pinch
roller 13 during further printing of the backside image allows also
to automatically load the receiving web 10 to the printing unit.
This will be explained later.
HANDLING OF THE CUT-SHEET CARRYING THE ONE-SIDED IMAGE
FEEDING THE RECEIVER OUT OF THE PRINTER INTO THE TUMBLER UNIT
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The receiving sheet 10 cut from the web, carrying the front side
image, is fed forward into and trough the tumbler unit 3 by rotation
of the front-drive rollers 19, coupled to the drive disc 22, until
the rear end of the receiving sheet 10 has cleared the printer
unit 1 resulting in the situation of Fig. 8. The front end drive
rollers 20 are stopped and tumbling action is started.
-
Now the tumbler sequence as can be used in the double-sided printer
is described.
ROTATION TO FEED-TROUGH POSITION.
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In al previous actions the rotatable platform 24 is fixed by the
position locking pin 26 in the initial position A as shown in
Fig. 8. The only action taken by the tumbler unit 3 was the closing
of the nip 30 for taking hold of the receiving sheet 10. As the
receiving sheet 10 carrying the front side image has cleared the
print unit 1 and the front end drive rollers 20 and the coupled
driver disc 22 are stopped, the tumbling action is started.
When stopping the driver disc 22, it is positioned so that a hole 35
in the side of the driver disc 22 exactly is in line with the driver
disc locking mechanism 32 of the rotatable platform 24. The driver
disc locking pin 33 of the driver disc locking mechanism 32 is
electromagnetically extended into the hole 35 in the driver disc 22.
The pin 26 of the position locking mechanism 25 is retracted so that
the rotatable platform 24 is now only coupled to the driver disc 22.
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By slowly turning the forward drive rollers 20 and driver disc 22
the rotatable platform 24 is now rotated to the feed-through
position B. While the drive rollers 20 rotate, the pinch roller
lowering mechanism 29 and pinch rollers 19 mounted on the rotatable
platform 24, make a circular movement around the drive rollers 20 at
the same axial speed as the drive rollers 20. This results in the
change of the orientation of the nip 30 between drive and pinch
rollers 19, 20 which is holding the end of the receiving sheet 10.
When arriving at position B, illustrated in Fig. 9, the rotation is
stopped and the position locking mechanism 25 locks the position of
the rotatable platform 24 relative to the tumbler chassis 23 by
extending the position locking pin 26 into a hole 27 in a position
block 28 mounted on the chassis 23. Afterwards the driver disc
locking mechanism 32 is disengaged by retracting the pin 33.
The last printed end of the printed image is now facing downwards
with the printed side towards the print unit 1.
FEED-THROUGH STEP.
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As shown in Fig. 9 the forward drive rollers 20 now perform a feed-trough
operation, lowering the last printed end of receiving
sheet 10 carrying the printed image and raising the starting end of
the printed image. The feed-through operation is stopped by stopping
the rotation of the drive rollers 20 and the coupled drive disc 22
as the beginning of the receiving sheet 10 enters the tumbler
mechanism. As shown in Fig. 10 the receiving sheet 10 is now in
position to allow rotation of the rotatable platform 24 to the re-feeding
position indicated by C.
ROTATION TO THE RE-FEEDING POSITION.
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The drive disc 22 and coupled drive rollers 20 are halted so that a
hole 35 in the drive disc 22 is aligned with the pin 33 of the drive
disc locking mechanism 32 on the rotatable platform 24. The
rotatable platform 24 is now coupled to the driving disc 22 by
extending the pin 33 of the driver disc locking mechanism 32.
Afterwards the position locking mechanism 25 is disengaged from the
chassis 23 and by slowly rotating the driver disc 22 and driver
rollers 20 the rotatable platform 24 is rotated to position C where
it is stopped and locked again by the position locking mechanism 25
after which the driver disc locking mechanism 32 is released. The
beginning of the receiving sheet 10 is now pointing to the print
unit 1 with the printed image facing down as shown in Fig. 11
RE-FEEDING STEP
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The receiving sheet 10 carrying the image is now re-fed to the print
unit. This is indicated in Fig 11.
This is done by rotation of the (two) front drive rollers 20 of the
tumbler unit 3.
-
Because of the weight and the size of the receiving sheet 10
problems may arise when the receiving sheet 10 is simply re-fed to
the print unit 1 in one single movement.
Due to the weight and size of the receiving sheet 10 hanging down
from the tumbler unit 3, elasticity of the coating of front drive
rollers 20 and/or front pinch rollers 19 and the fact that the
receiving sheet 10 is only driven at two drive rollers 20 while
there is a drag force acting on the receiving sheet 10 in between
the drive rollers 20 there is a likelihood of developing buckling
phenomena. A known drag force is the suction action of the suction
plate 14 pulling the receiver sheet 10 to the suction plate 14. This
results in an unevenness of the re-fed receiving sheet 10 which can
result in paper jams or other problems such as paper deformation
etc... The build-up of the buckle grows gradually during re-feeding
of the receiving sheet 10. The developed buckle can however be
removed easily by reversing the feeding direction of the drive
rollers 20 for a short while. Thus the buckle builds up during a
relative long re-feeding action and is removed by shortly reversing
the transport direction of the front drive rollers 20. In an
alternative method the rollers are merely halted without reversing
the transport direction of the sheet. This transport in a stepwise
manner is repeated until the receiving sheet 10 can be re-fed to the
print unit 1 without further buckling. This will mostly be possible
when the receiving sheet 10 is partially re-fed to the print unit 1
and the weight of the receiving sheet 10 hanging down from the
tumbler unit 3 is relatively low. The receiving sheet 10 is re-fed
into the print unit 1 with the front end into the entrance slit 36
of the re-feeding storage chamber 34 till it is in position
illustrated in position of Fig. 12, ready for the following step.
ALIGNMENT PROCEDURE
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In order to obtain a good registration of the images on the front
and back side of the receiving sheet 10 an alignment procedure is
necessary. This is done by an alignment system.
The receiving sheet 10 is re-fed into the print unit 1 until it can
be sensed by alignment sensors 37 and 38 indicated in fig. 12.
These alignment sensors 37, 38 are able to determining the position
of the edge of the receiving sheet 10 , and thus the position of the
receiving sheet 10 which has been re-fed. By sensing the edge of
the receiving sheet 10 at at least two locations the overall
position of the receiving sheet 10 can be derived. To enhance the
accuracy of the determination by the alignment sensors 37, 38 these
two locations preferably are located near the beginning and starting
end of the receiver sheet 10. Another method is detection of the
edge by one sensor which is used at two different positions or
alternatively by detecting the edge of the receiving sheet 10 by
using a single sensor at one location before and after the receiving
sheet 10 is fed-trough for a predetermined distance. This measuring
can e.g. be done by the measuring sensor 17 mounted on the
shuttle 18 carrying the print head 16. Another possibility is the
measuring by one sensor which itself is moved to measure the edge
position at at least two different locations.
Even a sensor directly sensing the orientation of the sheet can be
conceived.
The sensing is preferably done by a non-contact sensor, e.g. an
optical sensor which is able to detect the edge of the receiving
sheet by detection or transmission or reflection.
-
Parameters which e.g. can be derived by a processing circuit are :
- Slantness of the re-fed receiving sheet 10.
- Overall position of the receiving sheet 10 relative to the middle
of the print unit 1.
-
This orientation and position can be corrected alignment correction
system. This is done by driving the forward drive rollers 20 of the
tumbler unit 3 with different speed or direction. Due to the fact
that the drive rollers 20 have separate driving mechanisms 21, it is
not difficult to perform a differential driving of the driving
rollers 20. The principle is illustrated in Fig. 13. As one side
of the receiving sheet 10 is driven by a drive roller 20 with a
certain speed and the other side is held still or is driven by
another drive roller 20 with an appropriate different speed and/or
direction. Thus the receiving sheet 10 is forced to make a
rotational movement which can bring the receiving sheet 10 in a
desired orientation.
To perform a lateral displacement parallel with the edge of the
receiving sheet 10, one can rotate it slightly by use of driving the
forward drive rollers 20 with different speed to obtain a slant
orientation, feed the receiving sheet 10 through for a
predetermined distance and rotating it back by differential driving
of the drive rollers 20 to the required orientation.
It is preferred that after each adjustment of the orientation the
receiving sheet 10 is fed back and forth for a short distance to
remove buckle which can develop by rotation of the receiving
sheet 10 at the drive rollers 20 and the drag exerted on the
receiving sheet 10 in the print unit 1.
Rotation speed and rotation direction of each forward driving
rollers 20 is determined by the processing unit based upon derived
parameters and desired position.
After each position adjustment, the position of the receiving
sheet 10 can be redetected and evaluated by the alignment sensors.
As it can be understood, preferably the drive and pinch
rollers 19, 20 of the tumbler unit are used. But it is also
possible to provide separate drive and pinch rollers to align the
receiving medium 10. These separate alignment system can be located
in different sections of the apparatus.
-
Previously described is an alignment procedure correcting the
position of the receiving sheet 10.
Another way to adapt to the detected displacement of the receiving
sheet 10 is by printing the image on the back side at an adjusted
location. This can be done in an electronic way by adjusting the
data to be printed so that they are printed at another location.
Also a mechanical adjustment of the shuttle 17 of the print head 16
or of the print head 16 within the shuttle 17 are possible solutions
for adjusting to a displacement of the receiving sheet 10.
RE-FEEDING INTO THE STORAGE CHAMBER BY THE PRINTER
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After ensuring proper alignment of the receiving sheet 10 the print
pinch rollers 12 are lowered in order to take control over the
receiving sheet 10 during printing of the back-side. The nip 30 in
the tumbler unit 3 is opened by unlocking lifting the front pinch
rollers 19 by use of the cam 31 at position C acting upon the pinch
roller locking and lowering mechanism 29.
The printer drive and pinch rollers 11, 12 feed the receiving
sheet 10 backwards into the re-feeding storage chamber 34 until the
edge of the receiving sheet clears the forward drive and pinch
rollers 19, 20 as shown in Fig 14.
RESET OF THE TUMBLER UNIT.
-
As the receiving sheet 10 has cleared the tumbler unit 3, the drive
disc 22 and drive rollers 20 are stopped at an appropriate location
in order to allow the drive disc locking mechanism 32 to lock the
disc drive locking pin 33 into the drive disc 22.
The position locking pin 26 of the position locking mechanism 25 is
retracted from the tumbler chassis 23 or position block 28 and the
rotatable platform 24 is repositioned at the initial position A
where it is locked relatively to the chassis 23 by the position
locking mechanism 25 and the driver disc 22 is released by the
driver disc locking mechanism 32.
The tumbler unit 3 is now in the initial position A with the nip 30
between drive and pinch rollers 19, 20 opened in order to let the
receiving sheet 10 pass during the printing of the back side. The
tumbler unit 3 remains in the same position till a next sheet is to
be cut off.
PRINTING OF THE BACK-SIDE IMAGE
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The receiving sheet 10 is now stored in the storage chamber 34 with
the front side image downwards while the start of the receiving
sheet 10 is held between the printer drive and pinch rollers 11, 12.
A second printing step is now performed on the backside of the
receiving sheet 10. This is illustrated in Fig. 15
Before printing on the backside is started, the leading edge and the
size of the receiving material 10 is detected, in the same way as
before printing of the front side, after which the backside image is
recorded. As the print head 16 shuttles across the receiving
medium 10 the image of the back side is recorded on the receiver 10
while the printer transport and pinch rollers 11, 12 ensure correct
feeding of the receiving sheet 10. Image data is supplied to the
print unit 1 from an image source in a synchronised manner and in
relation to the orientation of the front side.
-
When using the apparatus for colour / imposition proofing an image
containing several pages of a publication are printed on the back
side of the receiver 10.
-
While the print unit 1 prints the back-side, the leading end of the
receiving sheet 10 gradually enters the tumbler unit 3 located on
the front side of the printing apparatus. As the print is completed
the receiving sheet 10 is released by the printer pinch rollers 12
and it is dropped in a receiving basket 6 mounted on the pedestal of
the printer.
RELOADING OF THE WEB
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After completing the whole print cycle, the receiving web 10 which
was gripped and retracted by the rear pinch roller 13 can be
reloaded into the printing unit 1.
The printer pinch rollers 12 are lifted.
As the rear pinch roller 13 is rotated forward the end of the
receiving web that was gripped by the rear pinch roller 13 will
enter the nip between the printer drive rollers 11 and the printer
pinch rollers 12. The web is them gripped by the printer pinch
rollers 12. By further rotating the rear pinch roller 13 the
receiving web is released by the rear pinch roller 13. As explained
above a separate lowering mechanism can be provided for the rear
pinch roller 13.
The receiving web 10 is now in control of the printer drive
rollers 11 and printer pinch rollers 12.
The possibility of retracting and holding the receiving web 10 and
afterwards reloading the web by a rear pinch roller in conjunction
with the printer rollers 11, 12 enables an automatic continuous
operation of the apparatus without operator intervention.
-
Having described in detail preferred embodiments of the current
invention, it will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that
numerous modifications can be made therein without departing from
the scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.
-
In the preferred embodiment the front pinch rollers 19 mounted on
the rotatable platform rotate around the front drive rollers 20 when
the tumbler unit is rotated. The front pinch rollers 19 and the
receiving web 10 are situated under the front drive rollers 20
during feeding of the receiving web 10 to the tumbler unit 3.
During the re-feeding action the front pinch rollers 19 and
receiving sheet 10 are situated above the front drive rollers 20.
In other embodiments it is possible that the action is reversed and
the front pinch rollers 19 move from the upper to the lower side of
the front drive rollers 20. Feed trough direction may vary in
specific embodiments during tumbling action.
In other embodiments it is possible that both rollers 19, 20 are
located on a revolving platform 24 which has a rotation axis falling
substantially on the centre-line of the nip 30. During rotation of
the tumbler unit 3, the height of the receiving sheet 10 in relation
to the printing engine 1 will stay the same.
In another possible embodiment the drive rollers 20 rotate around
the front pinch rollers 19 during rotation of the rotatable
platform 24.
-
It can also be understood that in other embodiments the front pinch
rollers 19 are also driven or a lowering mechanism 29 can also be
provided for the front drive rollers 20.
-
Having described different steps during image formation, it can be
understood certain steps need not to be performed in the exact order
as described. Especially the alignment procedure can be executed at
nearly every stage of the printing cycle. I.e. alignment can be
performed at any stage as long as the forward drive/ pinch
rollers 19, 20 take control over the receiving sheet or web 10 and
edge sensing can be performed.
The paper sheet 10 can be cut off before any image is recorded on
it. the receiving sheet 10 could be store twice in the re-feeding
storage chamber 34 while it is turned only once by the tumbling
unit 3.
Parts list
-
- 1.
- print unit
- 2.
- roll media feeding devices
- 3.
- tumbler unit
- 4.
- pedestal
- 5.
- wheels
- 6.
- receiving basket
- 7.
- medium roll
- 8.
- brake mechanism
- 9.
- de-curling roller
- 10.
- receiving medium, receiver web or receiver sheet
- 11.
- printer drive roller
- 12.
- printer pinch roller
- 13.
- (rear) pinch roller
- 14.
- suction plate
- 15.
- suction holes
- 16.
- print head
- 17.
- sensor
- 18.
- shuttle
- 19.
- front pinch roller
- 20.
- front drive roller
- 21.
- driving mechanism
- 22.
- driver disc
- 23.
- tumbler chassis
- 24.
- rotatable platform
- 25.
- position locking mechanism
- 26.
- position locking pin
- 27.
- hole in chassis
- 28.
- position block
- 29.
- lowering mechanism
- 30.
- nip
- 31.
- cam
- 32.
- driver disc locking mechanism
- 33.
- driver disc locking pin
- 34.
- re-feeding storage chamber
- 35.
- hole in driver disc
- 36.
- entrance slit
- 37.
- alignment sensor
- 38.
- alignment sensor
