JPH06316067A - Equipment and method for drying ink on printing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To dispense with a dedicated heater and a heat sink and realize a rapid printing throughput and the upgrading of print quality by providing a heat generating module, a heat conductive platen and a heat conductive contact point thereof in a printer. CONSTITUTION: In a device 10 for drying a printing ink, a printing medium 12 travels on a heat conductive platen 22 by a printer with a shaft 14 connected to a motor 16. Under the platen 22, heat conductive metal clips 24 are mounted. When an excess heat is generated during using this device, the heat conductible contact points of a transistor 30 and a platen 22 are retained by the metal clip 24. On the other hand, the transistor 30 is connected to a printed circuit board 26 to which electric power is supplied through wire 28. Thus a dedicated heater or a dedicated heat sink is no longer required and a rapid printing throughput and the upgrading of print quality are achieved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the concept of drying ink deposited on print media during printing operations by a printer, and more particularly for such purposes. The present invention relates to drying ink without using a dedicated heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional printers, usually, the drying of ink printed on a print medium such as paper has been realized by using a heater. Such a heater does nothing but dry the ink.

Typical prior art methods for removing heat from a printer have employed the use of a dedicated heat sink. For example, US Pat. No. 4,982,20
No. 7 discloses a platen heater system on the platen for applying heat to the print paper during the dwell time. The platen system includes a heat foil for heat transfer to and from the platen via a power source and a platen shell.

In the printer described in US Pat. No. 5,046,420, it is stated that the operating temperature of a printer component is adjusted and that the component generated by the printer is subject to temperature adjustment. Achieved by means of diversion of hot air flow. It is stated that the potential need in the printer to be supplied by an external heat source is avoided (see column 2, lines 19-26).

US Pat. No. 3,074,332 discloses a dry platen provided for heat transfer associated with recording. This platen is an "insertion heater"
Is heated by.

US Pat. No. 3,170,393 describes a heat-settable ink that is curable by simple engagement with a heated surface after printing.

US Pat. No. 3,934,112 discloses a heater platen with an electrical heater element for vaporizing a liquid toner carrier after imaging.

US Pat. No. 4,751,528, US Pat. No. 4,951,067 and US Pat. No. 5,043,741
No. 6,068,049, both disclose thermally controlled platens for use in connection with hot melt inks.

[0009]

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for drying ink on a print medium that does not require the dedicated heater and heat sink described above, and that realizes rapid print throughput and improved print quality. To provide.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for drying ink on a print medium during a printing process, and to a printer using such an apparatus and method. It is something. Dedicated heat that is used in conventional systems
Instead of using a sink to remove heat from the printer, the present invention has a non-proprietary heat sink that transfers heat from the printer power supply to the heat conductive platen and The ink printed on the paper in contact with the paper is dried, which dissipates heat from inside the system.

Compared to conventional systems and printers,
The system and printer of the present invention provide many advantages. First, avoiding additional cost and additional space within the printer by not having to introduce multiple additional heaters into the system of the present invention to dry the ink on the print media. You can For example, in liquid-based printing processes such as inkjet printing, the heated platen aids the ink drying process, allowing for rapid print throughput and print quality improvement. Secondly, the introduction of a conventional dedicated heat sink into the system of the present invention is also not required, thus further avoiding additional cost and additional space within the printer. In addition, product density based on space availability can also be increased. Third, by automatically moving the paper over the heat conductive platen, it assists in removing heat accumulated in the printer when the printer is in use. The degree of heat removal automatically matches the degree of heat production within the system.

Systems and methods are provided for drying ink deposited by a printer on a print medium. The printer includes a primary heat generation module, which generates excess heat in the printer as ink is printed on the print media. Then, a thermal conductive platen on which the print medium moves while printing the ink on the print medium, and a thermal conductive contact are included. Also included is a thermally conductive contact that thermally conductively couples the main heat generating module to the thermally conductive platen. The main heat generation module typically consists of a power supply or a motor.

The primary heat generating module is thermally conductively coupled to the heat conductive platen via heat conductive contacts.
The thermally conductive contacts are preferably constructed of metal clips and the thermally conductive platen is preferably constructed of a good metallic thermally conductive material. The main heat generation module heats the heat conductive platen in a heat conductive manner, and thus generates excess heat. The print medium is then moved into contact with the heated thermally conductive platen, which heats the print medium. Then, the printing ink is attached to the heated print medium by the printer. The ink on the heated print media is dried by the effect of the elevated temperature imparted to the print media by the heated thermally conductive platen. Here, rapid printing throughput and improved print quality are realized.

The printer of the present invention will be described in more detail.
The heat conductive platen acts as a non-exclusive heat sink. The excess heat generated by the present invention is dissipated as the print medium moves over the heat conductive platen. This excess heat is dissipated from the thermally conductive platen via the corresponding movement of the print media movement, and movement of the print media can improve air convection cooling at the thermally conductive platen. The printer is typically a liquid-based printer, preferably an inkjet printer.

The thermally conductive contacts are preferably composed of metal clips. The thermally conductive platen is preferably hooked with means for drying the printed ink on the print medium, thus providing rapid printing throughput and improved print quality. The printer is typically a liquid-based printer, preferably an inkjet printer.

[0016]

1, a system 10 for drying print ink deposited on a print medium (typically paper) 12 by a printer (not shown).
It is shown. Printers are used to print ink on print media. The system 10 can be used with any printer. In particular, a small portable inkjet printer (GEM printe manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company)
Useful for r).

Print medium 12, which is typically a sheet of paper
Is moved through the printer by a rotating shaft 14 driven by a motor 16. The shaft and motor have gears 18 and 20 that mesh with each other, respectively.
have. Thus, the gear 18 on the shaft 14 is arranged on the motor 16 and is driven by the driven gear 20. The gear 18 and the subsequent shaft 14 are
It is driven in the counterclockwise rotation direction by the gear 20.
The gear 20 is driven in the clockwise rotation direction by the motor 16.

When the paper medium 12 is fed into the printer,
During the operation of printing with ink on the print medium, it moves over platen 22, which is typically a thermally conductive platen. The platen 22 is rectangular in shape and is typically made of a good thermal conductor, especially a good metallic thermal conductor such as copper. Platen 22
Is heated as described below, and the heated platen is used to dry the print ink on the paper 12.

As best shown in FIGS. 2-4, a thermally conductive metal clip 24 is mounted to the underside of the platen 22. The purpose of such clips is to provide heat transfer by the platen 22 which is in heat conductive contact.
It is to hold the component to be synced. Therefore, the transistor 30 that generates excess heat during use
The metal clip 24 holds a contact capable of conducting heat with the platen 22 (see FIG. 4). Transistor 30
Are powered by printed circuit board 26 and are connected to circuit board 26 by wires 28.

In use, the main heat generating module, the transistor 30 and the power supply 26, are each mounted to the heat conductive platen 22 via heat conductive contacts (ie, metal clips 24). Heat can be generated in the printer whenever it is needed for printing. When the printer is printing and producing heat, the paper 12 is directed onto a thermally conductive platen 22, which also acts as a heat sink to dry the printing ink. The heat is transferred to the platen 2 via the moving paper 12.
Pass through 2 and away from the platen. At the same time, the moving paper 12 cools the platen 22 by convection.

As print demands increase, more heat is generated in the printer, and more drying capacity is available. Also, many sheets of paper 12 are delivered onto the heat conductive platen 22, which results in more rapid heat removal and associated additional heat generation.

While the principles of the invention have been illustrated and described by way of one preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the structure and details of the invention without departing from such principles.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide an additional dedicated heater and a dedicated heat sink, that is, the cost can be reduced and the space in the printer can be saved. Throughput can be accelerated and print quality can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for removing excess heat from a printer for printing ink on a print medium that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an end view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial detailed view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: System 12: Print Medium 14: Rotating Shaft 16: Motor 18, 20: Gear 22: Platen 24: Metal Clip 26: Printed Circuit Board 28: Wire 30: Transistor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A printer for depositing ink on a print medium is provided, wherein the printer comprises a heat generation module, a heat conductive platen, and a heat conductive contact, and the platen is configured to enable heat conduction of the heat generation module. Attached to the heat generating module to generate excess heat, which results in heating of the platen, moving the print medium and contacting the platen with the heated platen to remove the print medium. Heated, depositing the ink on the heated print medium, drying the heated ink on the print medium, and causing the platen to act as a heat sink to move excess heat to the corresponding print medium. A step of dissipating heat from the platen by an amount of movement; Method of drying the. 2. Means for depositing ink on a print medium, a thermally conductive platen on which the print medium moves during the deposition of ink, and heating while the print medium is in contact with the platen. And thus comprises a heat generating module for drying the ink deposited on the print medium, the heat generating module for heating the platen, the heat generating module being generated during the drying of the ink. Heat is dissipated by moving the print media over the platen,
A method for drying ink on a print medium, further comprising dissipating excess heat by moving the print medium from the platen.