US20150239700A1 - Air shoe with integrated roller - Google Patents
Air shoe with integrated roller Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20150239700A1 US20150239700A1 US14/190,153 US201414190153A US2015239700A1 US 20150239700 A1 US20150239700 A1 US 20150239700A1 US 201414190153 A US201414190153 A US 201414190153A US 2015239700 A1 US2015239700 A1 US 2015239700A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- web
- guiding
- fixed
- roller
- air
- 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.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H20/00—Advancing webs
- B65H20/14—Advancing webs by direct action on web of moving fluid
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H23/00—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs
- B65H23/04—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally
- B65H23/24—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally by fluid action, e.g. to retard the running web
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2406/00—Means using fluid
- B65H2406/10—Means using fluid made only for exhausting gaseous medium
- B65H2406/11—Means using fluid made only for exhausting gaseous medium producing fluidised bed
- B65H2406/111—Means using fluid made only for exhausting gaseous medium producing fluidised bed for handling material along a curved path, e.g. fluidised turning bar
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2515/00—Physical entities not provided for in groups B65H2511/00 or B65H2513/00
- B65H2515/84—Quality; Condition, e.g. degree of wear
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2801/00—Application field
- B65H2801/03—Image reproduction devices
- B65H2801/15—Digital printing machines
Definitions
- This invention pertains to the field of media transport and more particularly to an apparatus for reducing wrinkles while guiding a receiver media web.
- a receiver media (also referred to as a print medium) is conveyed past a series of components.
- the receiver media can be a cut sheet of receiver media or a continuous web of receiver media.
- a web or cut sheet transport system physically moves the receiver media through the printing system.
- liquid e.g., ink
- jetting of the liquid is applied to the receiver media by one or more printheads through a process commonly referred to as jetting of the liquid.
- the jetting of liquid onto the receiver media introduces significant moisture content to the receiver media, particularly when the system is used to print multiple colors on a receiver media.
- an absorbent receiver media expands and contracts in a non-isotropic manner, often with significant hysteresis.
- the continual change of dimensional characteristics of the receiver media can adversely affect image quality.
- drying is used to remove moisture from the receiver media, drying can also cause changes in the dimensional characteristics of the receiver media that can also adversely affect image quality.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a type of distortion of a receiver media 3 that can occur during an inkjet printing process.
- the receiver media 3 absorbs the water-based inks applied to it, the receiver media 3 tends to expand.
- the receiver media 3 is advanced through the system in an in-track direction 4 .
- the perpendicular direction, within the plane of the un-deformed receiver media 3 is commonly referred to as the cross-track direction 7 .
- contact between the receiver media 3 and contact surface 8 of rollers 2 (or other web guiding components) in the inkjet printing system can produce sufficient friction such that the receiver media 3 is not free to slide in the cross-track direction 7 .
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,855 to Daly et al. entitled “Paper guide and drive roll assemblies,” discloses a web guiding apparatus having peripheral venting grooves to vent air carried by the underside of the traveling web.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,026 to Young, Jr., entitled “Method and apparatus for controlling a moving web,” discloses a method for smoothing and guiding a web in which the web is moved in an upward direction past pressurized fluid discharge manifolds on either side of the web.
- the manifolds direct continuous streams of pressurized fluid, such as air, outwardly toward the side edges of the web to smooth wrinkles in the web.
- Additional manifolds are used to intermittently direct streams of fluid to laterally move and guide the web.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,842 to Reba entitled “Pneumatic conveying method for flexible webs,” discloses a method for conveying a web using inner and outer pairs of side jet nozzles employing the Coanda effect to propel the web while preventing undue distortion.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,731 to Long et al., entitled “Method and apparatus for preventing creases in thin webs,” discloses an apparatus for removing longitudinal wrinkles from a thin moving web of media.
- the media is wrapped around a perforated cylindrical air bar disposed in proximity to a contact roller.
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,941 to Hikita entitled “Web transporting method and apparatus,” discloses a web transporting apparatus that transports a web by floating the web on air jetted from holes formed in a roller while the edges of the web are supported by edge rollers.
- the present invention represents a web-guiding system for guiding a web of media travelling from upstream to downstream along a transport path in an in-track direction, the web of media having a first side and an opposing second side, comprising:
- a fixed web-guiding structure including:
- At least one air source for providing an air flow through the air holes in the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections
- a web-guiding roller located between the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections, the web-guiding roller being rotatable around a roller axis;
- the web-guiding roller has a width in the direction of the roller axis which is less than 20% of a cross-track width of the web of media
- the web of media travels around the web-guiding roller and the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections through a wrap angle of more than 10 degrees, with the web of media contacting an exterior surface of the web-guiding roller, and
- This invention has the advantage that the web of media can be redirected around the fixed web-guiding structure by a large wrap angle without forming wrinkles in the web of media.
- the web-guiding roller provides a lateral constraint to prevent the web of media from drifting laterally.
- the narrow width of the web-guiding roller prevents the formation of wrinkles as the web of media passes around the web-guiding roller.
- FIG. 1 illustrates the formation of flutes in a continuous web of receiver media due to cross-track expansion of the receiver media
- FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of an inkjet printing system
- FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of an inkjet printing system for printing on both sides of a web of receiver media
- FIGS. 4A and 4B show schematic side-view diagrams illustrating web-guiding systems including a fixed web-guiding structure and a web-guiding roller in accordance with embodiments of the present invention
- FIG. 5 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a fixed web-guiding structure and two web-guiding rollers in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 6 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system of FIG. 5 ;
- FIG. 7 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a fixed web-guiding structure and two web-guiding rollers which are recessed into the fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 8 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system of FIG. 7 ;
- FIGS. 9-10 are perspective drawings showing variations of the web-guiding system of FIG. 8 incorporating narrow web-guiding rollers
- FIG. 11 is a perspective drawing showing a web-guiding system wherein the fixed web-guiding structure is used to provide a turn-bar function;
- FIG. 12 shows a schematic top-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding turn-bar system incorporating a plurality of web-guiding rollers in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 13 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a web-guiding roller protruding through a fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 14 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system of FIG. 13 ;
- FIG. 15 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes two fixed web-guiding structure sections on either side of a web-guiding roller in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 16 is a perspective diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a grooved web-guiding roller providing a Bernoulli force and a fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment
- FIG. 17 is a schematic side-view diagram showing a portion of the web-guiding system of FIG. 16 ;
- FIGS. 18-21 illustrate exemplary air flow control mechanisms that can be used to control the airflow through the air holes in the fixed web-guiding structures.
- the exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide receiver media guiding components useful for guiding the receiver media in inkjet printing systems.
- liquids include inks, both water based and solvent based, that include one or more dyes or pigments.
- These liquids also include various substrate coatings and treatments, various medicinal materials, and functional materials useful for forming, for example, various circuitry components or structural components.
- liquid and “ink” refer to any material that is ejected by the printhead or printhead components described below.
- Inkjet printing is commonly used for printing on paper, however, there are numerous other materials in which inkjet is appropriate.
- vinyl sheets, plastic sheets, textiles, paperboard and corrugated cardboard can comprise the receiver media.
- jetting is also appropriate wherever ink or other liquids is applied in a consistent, metered fashion, particularly if the desired result is a thin layer or coating.
- Inkjet printing is a non-contact application of an ink to a receiver media.
- one of two types of ink jetting mechanisms is used, and is categorized by technology as either drop-on-demand inkjet printing or continuous inkjet printing.
- Drop-on-demand inkjet printing provides ink drops that impact upon a recording surface using a pressurization actuator, for example, a thermal, piezoelectric or electrostatic actuator.
- a pressurization actuator for example, a thermal, piezoelectric or electrostatic actuator.
- One commonly practiced drop-on-demand inkjet type uses thermal energy to eject ink drops from a nozzle.
- a heater located at or near the nozzle, heats the ink sufficiently to form a vapor bubble that creates enough internal pressure to eject an ink drop.
- This form of inkjet is commonly termed “thermal inkjet.”
- a second commonly practiced drop-on-demand inkjet type uses piezoelectric actuators to change the volume of an ink chamber to eject an ink drop.
- the second technology commonly referred to as “continuous” inkjet printing uses a pressurized ink source to produce a continuous liquid jet stream of ink by forcing ink, under pressure, through a nozzle.
- the stream of ink is perturbed using a drop forming mechanism such that the liquid jet breaks up into drops of ink in a predictable manner.
- One continuous inkjet printing type uses thermal stimulation of the liquid jet with a heater to form drops that eventually become printing drops and non-printing drops. Printing occurs by selectively deflecting either the printing drops or the non-printing drops and catching the non-printing drops using catchers.
- Various approaches for selectively deflecting drops have been developed including electrostatic deflection, air deflection, and thermal deflection.
- the first type of receiver media is in the form of a continuous web
- the second type of receiver media is in the form of cut sheets.
- the continuous web of receiver media refers to a continuous strip of receiver media, generally originating from a source roll.
- the continuous web of receiver media is moved relative to the inkjet printing system components using a web transport system, which typically include drive rollers, web guide rollers, and web tension sensors.
- Cut sheets refer to individual sheets of receiver media that are moved relative to the inkjet printing system components via rollers and drive wheels or via a conveyor belt system that is routed through the inkjet printing system.
- the invention described herein is applicable to both drop-on-demand and continuous inkjet printing technologies that print on continuous webs of receiver media.
- the term “printhead” as used herein is intended to be generic and not specific to either technology.
- the invention described herein is also applicable to other types of printing systems, such as offset printing and electrophotographic printing, that print on continuous webs of receiver media.
- upstream and downstream are terms of art referring to relative positions along the transport path of the receiver media; points on the receiver media move along the transport path from upstream to downstream.
- the printing system 100 includes a printing module 50 which includes printheads 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , 20 d , dryers 40 , and a quality control sensor 45 .
- the first printhead 20 a jets cyan ink
- the second printhead 20 b jets magenta ink
- the third printhead 20 c jets yellow ink
- the fourth printhead 20 d jets black ink.
- each printhead 20 a , 20 b , 20 c , 20 d is a media guide assembly including print line rollers 31 and 32 that guide the continuous web of receiver media 10 past a first print line 21 and a second print line 22 as the receiver media 10 is advanced along a media path in the in-track direction 4 .
- a media guide assembly including print line rollers 31 and 32 that guide the continuous web of receiver media 10 past a first print line 21 and a second print line 22 as the receiver media 10 is advanced along a media path in the in-track direction 4 .
- each dryer 40 is at least one dryer roller 41 for controlling the position of the web of receiver media 10 near the dryers 40 .
- Receiver media 10 originates from a source roll 11 of unprinted receiver media 10 , and printed receiver media 10 is wound onto a take-up roll 12 .
- Other details of the printing module 50 and the printing system 100 are not shown in FIG. 2 for simplicity.
- a first zone 51 (illustrated as a dashed line region in receiver media 10 ) can include a slack loop, a web tensioning system, an edge guide and other elements that are not shown.
- a second zone 52 illustrated as a dashed line region in receiver media 10
- Printing system 110 includes a first printing module 55 , for printing on a first side 15 of the continuous web, having two printheads 20 a , 20 b and a dryer 40 ; a turnover mechanism 60 ; and a second printing module 65 , for printing on the second side of the continuous web, having two printheads 25 a and 25 b and a dryer 40 .
- a web-guiding system 30 guides the web of receiver media 10 from upstream to downstream along a transport path in an in-track direction 4 past through the first printing module 55 and the second printing module 65 .
- the web-guiding system 30 includes rollers aligned with the print lines of the printheads 20 a , 20 b , 25 a , and 25 b . These rollers maintain the receiver media 10 at a fixed spacing from the printing modules to ensure a consistent time of flight for the print drops emitted by the printheads.
- the web-guiding system 30 also includes a web-guiding structure 70 , which can be a roller for example, positioned near the exit of first printing module 55 for redirecting a direction of travel of the web of receiver media 10 along exit direction 9 in order to guide web of receiver media 10 toward the turnover mechanism 60 .
- the movement of the receiver media of the guiding rollers of the web guide system also maintains the cross-track position of the continuous web provided there is sufficient traction between the continuous web and the guiding rollers.
- a web-guiding system 30 it is not uncommon for a web-guiding system 30 to include a web-guiding structure that provides a large angular change in the direction of travel of the web of the receiver media 10 .
- Such large angular changes may be required by geometric constraints on the overall dimensions of the web-guiding system 30 or the need to align the web of receiver media 10 with a downstream portion of the web-guiding system 30 .
- web-guiding structure 70 which is positioned near the exit of first printing module 55 , redirects the direction of travel of the web of receiver media 10 by about 90° into exit direction 9 in order to guide web of receiver media 10 toward the turnover mechanism 60 .
- the receiver media 10 When the receiver media 10 is a hygroexpansive material such as cellulose based paper, and at least portions of the receiver media 10 are moistened such as by inkjet printing, the receiver media can be prone to wrinkling when wrapped at high wrap angles around a roller. A similar tendency to wrinkle exists at high wrap angle rollers when a very thin receiver media, such as plastic films of polyethylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate), is being transported along the transport path by the web-guiding system 30 , as such receiver media 10 lack the compressive strength to flatten the ripples produced in the receiver media 10 by the variations in the in-track and cross-track tension.
- a very thin receiver media such as plastic films of polyethylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate
- FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of a web-guiding system 200 that overcomes the shortcomings of prior art systems, allowing for high angular changes in the receiver media 10 without inducing the formation of wrinkles.
- the web-guiding system 200 includes a fixed web-guiding structure 205 having a convex exterior surface 210 .
- the web-guiding structure is fixed in the sense that it doesn't rotate or move with a surface speed that corresponds to the surface speed of the web of receiver media.
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 being “fixed” is not intended to indicate that orientation of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 cannot be adjusted, either actively or passively, to align the fixed web-guiding structure 205 relative to the transport path of the receiver media 10 .
- first side 15 of the receiver media 10 faces the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205
- second side 16 faces away from the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- a pattern of air holes 215 is formed through the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , through which air 225 supplied by an air source 220 can flow.
- the flow of air 225 through the air holes 215 serves as an air bearing lifting the web of receiver media 10 away from the fixed web-guiding structure 205 such that first side 15 of the web of receiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- substantially not in contact means that the receiver media 10 contacts less than 5% of the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 that is adjacent to the receiver media 10 .
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 is sometimes referred to in the art as an “air shoe” or an “air bearing structure.”
- the receiver media 10 As the web of receiver media 10 is supported by the air 225 so that there is minimal contact between the receiver media 10 and the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , the receiver media 10 has minimal friction with the fixed web-guiding structure 205 . As a result, the receiver media 10 can pass over the fixed web-guiding structure 205 without scuffing the receiver media 10 . Furthermore, the transverse bending of the web of receiver media 10 as it goes around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 tends to flatten the web of receiver media 10 . The lack of angular constraint on the receiver media 10 allows the receiver media 10 to spread laterally to enable the flattening of the web.
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 can therefore accommodate large wrap angles ⁇ s of the receiver media 10 without wrinkling. In the illustrated embodiment, the wrap angle ⁇ s is approximately 90 degrees. Generally, the wrap angle ⁇ s around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 will be more than about 10 degrees, and it may be as large as 180 degrees or more.
- the receiver media 10 has minimal friction with the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , it provides little or no lateral constraint to impede the lateral (i.e., cross-track) movement of the web of receiver media 10 . Therefore, while the low friction is beneficial for inhibiting the formation of wrinkles, it has the detrimental effect of allowing the print media to drift in the cross-track direction 7 ( FIG. 1 ).
- the web-guiding system 200 also includes a web-guiding roller 230 having a roller axis 235 located along the media path in proximity to the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the web-guiding roller 230 provides a lateral constraint on the receiver media 10 when it is placed in close proximity to the fixed web-guiding structure 205 to inhibit cross-track drift or wander of the receiver media 10 .
- the term “in proximity” should be taken to mean that the distance D that the receiver media 10 travels along the transport path between the web-guiding roller 230 and the fixed web-guiding structure 205 is less than either two diameters of the web-guiding roller 230 or 10% of the cross-track width of the receiver media 10 , whichever is larger.
- the web-guiding roller 230 is located on the same side of the web of receiver media 10 as the fixed web-guiding structure 205 as illustrated in FIG. 4A so that the receiver media 10 wraps around both elements in the same wrap direction (e.g., clockwise in FIG. 4A ).
- the web-guiding roller 230 can be located on the opposite side of the web of receiver media 10 as the fixed web-guiding structure 205 . This alternate placement of the web-guiding roller 230 may be preferred in applications where a just printed side of the receiver media 10 is facing toward the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- Placement of the web-guiding roller 230 on the opposite side of the receiver media 10 can reduce the risk of smearing or offsetting non-cured ink through contact with the web-guiding roller 230 .
- the air bearing nature of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 prevents the smearing or offsetting non-cured ink as the receiver media 10 travels over the fixed web-guiding structure 230 .
- the web-guiding roller 230 is located immediately upstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 as is shown in FIG. 4A , but placement of the web-guiding roller 230 immediately downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 as shown in the web-guiding system 201 of FIG. 4B is also effective for inhibiting cross-track drift or wander of the receiver media 10 .
- the placement of the web-guiding roller 230 immediately upstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 has the advantage that it reduces any lateral shifts in the receiver media 10 that might be produced by an angular drift of the web at the entrance to the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the wrap angle ⁇ r of the receiver media 10 around the web-guiding roller 230 is preferably less than about five degrees.
- FIGS. 5 and 6 show an alternate embodiment of a web-guiding system 202 in which there are two web-guiding rollers 230 , one immediately upstream and one immediately downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the addition of the second web-guiding roller 230 immediately downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 further enhances the cross-track stability of the web of receiver media 10 .
- the wrap angle around the upstream web-guiding roller 230 ( ⁇ r1 ) and the wrap angle around the downstream web-guiding roller 230 ( ⁇ r2 ) of this embodiment to small wrap angles, such as less than about 5 degrees, the formation of creases or wrinkles around these web-guiding rollers 230 is inhibited.
- the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6 shows the air holes 215 as being circular in shape; however, this is not a requirement.
- the air holes 215 can have other shapes such as ellipses, squares, rectangles or extended slits.
- the pattern of air holes 215 takes the form of a regular grid of air holes 215 having a fixed spacings in the cross-track direction 7 and the in-track direction 4 .
- the air holes 215 can be arranged in other patterns such as hexagonal grids, or can have non-uniform spacings.
- fluid dynamics modeling can be used to determine an optimized pattern of spacings between the air holes 215 to provide the constant lifting force.
- the web-guiding system can also include a tensioning mechanism to provide a force on the web-guiding roller 230 to push it toward and into contact with the web of receiver media 10 .
- the tensioning mechanism can take many different forms such as coil springs, leaf springs, torsion springs, flexure arms, air cylinders, and electro-mechanical actuators.
- a tensioning mechanism 240 associated with the upstream web-guiding roller 230 provides straight line motion of the web-guiding roller 230
- a tensioning mechanism 245 associated with the downstream web-guiding roller 230 includes a pivot arm support for the web-guiding roller 230 , through which the force is applied to the web-guiding roller 230 by the tensioning mechanism 245 .
- the roller axis 235 of the web-guiding rollers 230 must remain substantially perpendicular to the direction of media travel (i.e., in-track direction 4 ) at the location along the transport path where the web of receiver media 10 contacts the web-guiding rollers.
- a roller control mechanism (not shown) is provided for adjusting an orientation of the roller axis 235 relative to the in-track direction 4 . This can be used to provide a steering force on the web of receiver media 10 .
- the roller control mechanism can include a media edge sensor (not shown) which detects a position of the receiver media 10 and adjusts the roller axis 235 to compensate for any drift from a nominal position.
- FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of a web-guiding system 203 in which the web-guiding rollers 230 are integrated into fixed web-guiding structure 205 . This allows the web-guiding rollers 230 to be aligned with the fixed web-guiding structure 205 with more precision.
- the contact of the web of receiver media 10 against the web-guiding rollers 230 forms an air seal, preventing air 225 from passing between the web-guiding rollers 230 and the web of receiver media 10 .
- the web-guiding rollers 230 When the web-guiding rollers 230 are recessed into the fixed web-guiding structure 205 such that there is only a small gap between the web-guiding roller 230 and the leading edge or the trailing edge of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , it blocks most of the air 225 from escaping along the leading edge and the trailing edge of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the integration of the web-guiding rollers 230 into the fixed web-guiding structure 205 can reduce the required flow rate for the air 225 necessary to float the receiver media 10 over the surface of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- Another advantage of providing air seals along the leading and trailing edges of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 is that more of the air 225 must escape from the region between the fixed web-guiding structure 205 and the receiver media 10 by flowing laterally (i.e., in a cross-track direction 7 ) as shown in FIG. 8 .
- This lateral flow of air 225 provides a lateral force on the web of receiver media 10 which tends to spread the receiver media 10 in the cross-track direction 7 , thereby further discouraging the formation of wrinkles
- at least 80% of the air 225 exits the region between the web of receiver media 10 and the fixed web-guiding structure 205 in a lateral direction.
- the use of two web-guiding rollers 230 positioned immediately adjacent to the leading and trailing edges of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 provides a further enhancement in the spreading of the web of the receiver media 10 when compared to the use of a single web-guiding roller 230 as in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A-4B , and also compared to the placement of the web-guiding rollers 230 at a larger distance from the fixed web-guiding structure 205 as shown in FIG. 5 .
- the web-guiding rollers 230 must be spaced away at least a small gap distance away from the fixed web-guiding structure 205 to enable the web-guiding rollers 230 to rotate freely.
- the gap 255 provides a leakage path for air 225 to escape from out between the fixed web-guiding structure 205 and the receiver media 10 . It is desirable to limit the amount of air 225 that flows through the gap 255 .
- the gap 255 is configured to have an extended length, by partially recessing the web-guiding rollers 230 within the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the web-guiding rollers 230 are recessed within the fixed web-guiding structure 205 for at least 20% of their circumference.
- the extended length of the gap 255 provides impedance to the flow of air 225 through the gap 255 , thereby limiting the leakage of air 225 through the gap 255 .
- the width of the gap is less than about 0.01 inches.
- the width of the gap 255 is about 0.003 inches, and the gap 255 extends around about 35% of the circumference of the web-guiding roller 230 .
- the leakage of air 225 though the gap 255 can also be limited by using air seals 250 to further limit the flow of air 225 from escaping through the gap 255 between the fixed web-guiding structure 205 and the web-guiding rollers 230 .
- the air seals 250 can be fabricated using flexible sealing foil which provides a sliding seal across the exit of the gap 255 .
- the use of air seals has the advantage that it can reduce the required flow rate for the air 225 necessary to float the receiver media 10 over the surface of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- an air conditioning subsystem 260 is included to condition the air 225 before it exits the air holes 215 in the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the air conditioning subsystem 260 is located between the air source 220 and the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the air conditioning subsystem 260 can be positioned in other locations, such as internal to the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , internal to the air source 220 , or at an inlet to the air source 220 .
- the air conditioning subsystem 260 can be selected to perform various conditioning functions such as cooling the air, heating the air, altering the humidity of the air, or enriching or depleting the concentration of particular gases that may react with, or be inert with respect to, the ink or receiver media 10 .
- the air conditioning subsystem 260 in combination with the embodiments which use recessed web-guiding rollers 230 to limit the air leakage in the upstream and downstream directions has the advantage that it reduces the required flow rate of the air 225 that must be conditioned by the air conditioning subsystem 260 .
- the web-guiding rollers 230 extend across the entire width of the receiver media 10 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 .
- narrow web-guiding rollers 232 can be used, which are narrow when compared to the width of the web of receiver media 10 as illustrated in the web-guiding system 204 of FIG. 9 .
- the width of the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 (in the direction of the roller axis 235 ) can be less than about 20% of the cross-track width of the web of receiver media 10 .
- the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 like the full-width web-guiding rollers 230 ( FIG. 6 ), provide a lateral constraint to the web of receiver media 10 to prevent the cross-track drifting or wandering of the web of receiver media 10 .
- the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 provide a lateral constraint to that portion of the web of receiver media that contacts the narrow guiding roller.
- the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 are centrally located across the width of the web of receiver media 10 , they provide the lateral constraint to the center of the web, while not imposing a lateral constraint on the portions of the web which are spaced away from the center of the web.
- the receiver media 10 can freely expand or contract in the cross track direction, the height of any flutes that may be present can be reduced prior to reaching the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a web-guiding system 206 where the web-guiding roller 230 downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 spans the entire width of the web of receiver media 10 , while a narrow web-guiding roller 232 is used upstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the upstream narrow web-guiding roller 232 prevents lateral drifting of the web of receiver media 10 while allowing for lateral expansion or shrinkage of the receiver media 10 as in the FIG. 9 embodiment.
- the receiver media 10 spreads laterally to flatten any flutes which may have initially been present.
- the use of a wide web-guiding roller 230 downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 can inhibit the newly spread receiver media 10 from contracting laterally downstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- Turn-bar system 300 includes a fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 , together with a narrow web-guiding roller 232 located in proximity to the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the narrow web-guiding roller 232 is positioned so that it contacts the first side 15 of receiver media 10 upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the initial in-track direction 4 for the web of receiver media 10 .
- the receiver media 10 is wrapped around the convex exterior surface 310 of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 for a wrap angle ⁇ s of about 180°, and the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 is angled by about 45 degrees relative to the initial in-track direction 4 so that the receiver media 10 exits the turn-bar system 300 with a new in-track direction 4 ′ and a new cross-track direction 7 ′, which are rotated approximately 90° relative to the input directions.
- the receiver media 10 exits the turn-bar system 300 , the receiver media 10 has been inverted so that the first side 15 is now on top, and the second side 16 is on the bottom.
- the convex exterior surface 310 of the exemplary fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 has a semi-circular profile.
- the convex exterior surface 310 can subtend a complete circle (e.g., to provide additional stiffness), or can subtend an arc somewhere between 180° and 360°.
- the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 includes a pattern of air holes 215 formed in the exterior surface 310 through which air 225 from air source 220 flows to lift the web of receiver media 10 away from the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 such that the first side 15 of the web of receiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the exterior surface 310 .
- the air holes 215 are positioned only in those portions of the exterior surface 310 over which are covered by the receiver media 10 .
- the narrow web-guiding roller 232 is oriented such that the roller axis 235 is substantially perpendicular to the in-track direction 4 in which the receiver media 10 is travelling upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the narrow web-guiding roller 232 is positioned so that it contacts the web of receiver media 10 near the centerline of the web.
- the lateral constraint provided to the web of receiver media 10 by the narrow web-guiding roller 232 reduces the tendency of the web to drift laterally in response to tension changes as the web wraps around the angled fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the use of a narrow web-guiding roller 232 enables the lateral constraint to be applied to the web in closer proximity to the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 than would be possible with a wide web-guiding roller 230 ( FIG. 6 ).
- FIG. 12 shows a top-view of another embodiment of a turn-bar system 301 in which there are a plurality of narrow web-guiding rollers 232 located at different lateral locations across the web of receiver media 10 upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 are positioned so that they contact the first side 15 of receiver media 10 .
- the use of multiple narrow web-guiding rollers 232 in this embodiment can further reduce the tendency of the web of receiver media 10 to wander relative to the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 which uses only a single narrow web-guiding roller 232 .
- FIG. 12 also shows an additional narrow web-guiding roller 332 positioned downstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 .
- the narrow web-guiding roller 232 is positioned so that it contacts the first side 15 of receiver media 10 downstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 to provide a lateral constraint to the web of receiver media 10 as it leaves the turn-bar system 301 .
- the roller axis 235 of the narrow web-guiding roller 332 is oriented so that it is substantially perpendicular to the new in-track direction 4 ′.
- FIGS. 13-14 illustrate another embodiment of a web-guiding system 207 in which the narrow web-guiding roller 232 is positioned so that it protrudes through the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 by a small height h.
- the height h that the narrow web-guiding roller 232 protrudes through the exterior surface 210 is chosen such that it contacts the receiver media 10 through a wrap angle ⁇ r that provides sufficient traction to impose a lateral constraint on the receiver media 10 .
- the optimal height h will depend on the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the contact angle ⁇ r is less than about 5-10°
- the height h is between 0.1 mm and 4 mm.
- a tensioning mechanism e.g., a spring, a flexure arm, an air cylinder, or an electro-mechanical actuator
- a tensioning mechanism can be used to push the web-guiding roller 232 into contact with the receiver media 10 , thereby automatically adjusting the height h to accommodate variations in the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- FIG. 15 shows another embodiment of a web-guiding system 400 in which the web of receiver media 10 travels around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 with air 225 flowing through the air holes 215 and lifting the web of receiver media away from the fixed web-guiding structure 205 such that the first side 15 of the web of receiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 has two fixed web-guiding structure sections 405 , 406 which are located on each side of an integrated, centrally-located narrow web-guiding roller 432 .
- the convex exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 has an arc-shaped profile with a radius of curvature r s and a center of curvature 410 which is aligned with the roller axis 235 of the narrow web-guiding roller 432 .
- the narrow web-guiding roller 432 has a radius of curvature that is slightly larger than the radius of curvature r s of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 so that it protrudes through the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 by a height h.
- the optimal height h will depend on the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 . In a preferred embodiment, the height h is between 0.1 mm and 4 mm.
- a tensioning mechanism e.g., a spring, a flexure arm, an air cylinder, or an electro-mechanical actuator
- a tensioning mechanism can be used to push the narrow web-guiding roller 432 into contact with the receiver media 10 , thereby automatically adjusting the height h to accommodate variations in the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the centrally-located narrow web-guiding roller 432 provides a lateral constraint to the web of receiver media 10 to prevent lateral drifting of the web.
- the central location of the narrow web-guiding roller 432 between the two fixed web-guiding structure sections 405 , 406 allows the receiver media 10 to expand and contract in the cross-track direction to accommodate cross-track dimensional changes in the receiver media 10 . This provides a distinct advantage when compared to the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,941, where cross-track width changes in the receiver media are inhibited due to the placement of web-contacting edge rollers on both side of a central air bearing structure.
- the wrap angle around the narrow web-guiding roller 432 is substantially equivalent to the wrap angle ⁇ s around the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , and is therefore relatively large.
- the narrow web-guiding roller 432 has a small lateral width, there is little risk that the receiver media 10 passing over the narrow web-guiding roller 432 will form a wrinkle even if a flute were to be aligned with the narrow web-guiding roller 432 .
- FIGS. 16 and 17 show a web-guiding system 500 according to an alternate embodiment which uses the approach described in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001680), entitled “Media guiding system using Bernoulli force roller,” by Muir et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, to provide an enhanced traction between the receiver media 10 and grooved web-guiding roller 530 .
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 and air source 220 function in the same manner as has been described earlier with respect to FIG. 4A so that air 225 flowing through a pattern of air holes 215 lift the web of receiver media 10 away from the exterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 .
- the grooved web-guiding roller 530 is positioned in proximity to the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , and includes at least one groove 535 formed in around its exterior surface 540 .
- a roller air source 520 directs an airflow 525 into the groove 535 , the air flow being directed between the first side 15 of the receiver media 10 and the exterior surface 540 of the grooved web-guiding roller 530 .
- the airflow 525 is substantially parallel to the plane of the receiver media 10 (i.e., a vector representing the direction of airflow 525 is within about 10° of being parallel to the in-track direction 4 of the receiver media 10 ) and to the groove 535 (i.e., a vector representing the direction of airflow 525 is within about 10° of being parallel to a plane through the center of the groove 535 , where the plane through the center of the groove 535 will generally be perpendicular to the roller axis 235 .)
- the use of the grooved web-guiding roller 530 and the airflow 525 provided by the roller air source 520 produce a Bernoulli force F that draws the receiver media 10 down onto the grooved web-guiding roller 530 , thereby providing an increased traction.
- the groove 535 serves as an air channel for the airflow 525 .
- the contour of the bottom of the groove 535 forms a constriction 545 to the airflow 525 .
- the well-known “continuity principle” of fluid dynamics requires the airflow 525 to accelerate as it passes through the constriction 545 .
- the increased velocity of the airflow 525 at the constriction 545 is accompanied by the development of a low pressure zone between the high point of the groove 535 and the receiver media 10 .
- a pressure differential is therefore developed from the second side 16 to the first side 15 of the receiver media 10 , resulting in a Bernoulli force F on the receiver media 10 which draws the receiver media 10 down toward, or into contact with, the exterior surface 540 of the grooved web-guiding roller 530 .
- FIGS. 16-17 illustrate the use of a narrow grooved web-guiding roller 530 located upstream of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the same approach can be used to provide extra traction for any of the rollers shown in FIGS. 4A-15 .
- a plurality of grooves 535 can be provided across the width of the roller. This is particularly appropriate for the wider web-guiding rollers 230 such as those shown in FIG. 6 .
- a jet of air directed onto the second side 16 of the receiver media 10 can be used to push the receiver media 10 down onto the web-guiding roller 230 ( FIG. 4A ).
- an electrostatic force can be used to draw the receiver media 10 down onto the web-guiding roller 230 .
- the fixed web-guiding structure 205 include an air flow control mechanism for controlling which air holes 215 the flow of air 225 is provided through. This allows the airflow width to be adjusted in accordance with the width of the web of receiver media 10 so that doesn't flow through air holes 215 that are outside the width of the receiver media 10 .
- FIGS. 18-21 show several exemplary embodiments of air flow control mechanisms that can be used in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 18 shows a view of the exterior surface 210 of a fixed web-guiding structure 205 which is segmented into a left segment 265 , a center segment 266 , and a right segment 267 .
- the segments are separated by internal walls 270 which are inside of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 and define a plurality of air chambers corresponding to the left segment 265 , the center segment 266 , and the right segment 267 .
- the walls are positioned such that the width of the center segment 266 corresponds to the width of a narrow receiver media 10 , and the total width of the three segments corresponds to the width of a wide receiver media 10 .
- the air source 220 FIG.
- FIG. 4A provides airflow into the fixed web-guiding structure 205 through separate air supply lines (not shown) into three different air supply ports 275 , one for each segment. Valves in the air supply lines can be used to turn on and off the airflow to the individual segments to accommodate different receiver media widths. This approach can easily be extended to more than three segments to accommodate additional media widths.
- FIG. 19 shows another embodiment in which the air flow control mechanism comprises moveable internal walls 271 within the fixed web-guiding structure 205 that can be moved to adjust the size of an internal air chamber behind the air holes 215 within to an active segment 268 in order to accommodate different media widths.
- Any mechanism known in the art can be used to adjust the position of the moveable internal walls 271 .
- a motorized pinion gear 272 engages rack gears 273 attached to each moveable internal wall 271 to adjust the position of the end walls.
- FIGS. 20-21 illustrate another embodiment of an air flow control mechanism which utilizes a moveable louver 280 located inside the fixed web-guiding structure 205 , adjacent to the interior side of the exterior surface 210 .
- the louver 280 has a large central louver opening 281 corresponding to the center segment 266 of the fixed web-guiding structure 205 through which air can flow to pass through the air holes 215 .
- an array of linear louver openings 282 are provided, having the same pitch in the cross-track direction 7 as the air holes 215 .
- the moveable louver 280 can be moved laterally to a position where the array of louver openings 282 in the left segment 265 and the right segment 267 are either aligned with the air holes 215 so that air can pass (as in FIG. 20 ), or are blocking the air holes 215 so that air cannot pass (as in FIG. 21 ).
- the louver 280 is shifted to the FIG. 20 position, air flows out of the air holes 215 across the entire width of the fixed web-guiding structure to support a wide media width.
- the louver 280 is shifted to the FIG. 21 position, air only flows out of the air holes 215 in the center segment 266 of the fixed web-guiding structure to support a narrow media width. While the illustrated louver 280 supports two media widths, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other louver patterns can be used can accommodate three or more media widths.
Abstract
Description
- Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/016,427, entitled “Positive pressure web wrinkle reduction system,” by Kasiske Jr., et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001680), entitled “Media guiding system using Bernoulli force roller,” by Muir et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001717), entitled “Wrinkle reduction system using Bernoulli force rollers,” by Muir et al.; to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001723), entitled “Media diverter system using Bernoulli force rollers,” by Muir et al.; and to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001684), entitled “Air shoe with roller providing lateral constraint,” by Cornell et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
- This invention pertains to the field of media transport and more particularly to an apparatus for reducing wrinkles while guiding a receiver media web.
- In a digitally controlled inkjet printing system, a receiver media (also referred to as a print medium) is conveyed past a series of components. The receiver media can be a cut sheet of receiver media or a continuous web of receiver media. A web or cut sheet transport system physically moves the receiver media through the printing system. As the receiver media moves through the printing system, liquid (e.g., ink) is applied to the receiver media by one or more printheads through a process commonly referred to as jetting of the liquid. The jetting of liquid onto the receiver media introduces significant moisture content to the receiver media, particularly when the system is used to print multiple colors on a receiver media. Due to the added moisture content, an absorbent receiver media expands and contracts in a non-isotropic manner, often with significant hysteresis. The continual change of dimensional characteristics of the receiver media can adversely affect image quality. Although drying is used to remove moisture from the receiver media, drying can also cause changes in the dimensional characteristics of the receiver media that can also adversely affect image quality.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a type of distortion of areceiver media 3 that can occur during an inkjet printing process. As thereceiver media 3 absorbs the water-based inks applied to it, thereceiver media 3 tends to expand. Thereceiver media 3 is advanced through the system in an in-track direction 4. The perpendicular direction, within the plane of theun-deformed receiver media 3, is commonly referred to as thecross-track direction 7. Typically, as thereceiver media 3 expands in thecross-track direction 7, contact between thereceiver media 3 andcontact surface 8 of rollers 2 (or other web guiding components) in the inkjet printing system can produce sufficient friction such that thereceiver media 3 is not free to slide in thecross-track direction 7. This can result in localized buckling of thereceiver media 3 away from therollers 2 to create lengthwiseflutes 5, also called ripples or wrinkles, in thereceiver media 3. Wrinkling of thereceiver media 3 during the printing process can lead to permanent creases in thereceiver media 3 which adversely affects image quality. - U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,855 to Daly et al., entitled “Paper guide and drive roll assemblies,” discloses a web guiding apparatus having peripheral venting grooves to vent air carried by the underside of the traveling web.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,026 to Young, Jr., entitled “Method and apparatus for controlling a moving web,” discloses a method for smoothing and guiding a web in which the web is moved in an upward direction past pressurized fluid discharge manifolds on either side of the web. The manifolds direct continuous streams of pressurized fluid, such as air, outwardly toward the side edges of the web to smooth wrinkles in the web. Additional manifolds are used to intermittently direct streams of fluid to laterally move and guide the web.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,842 to Reba, entitled “Pneumatic conveying method for flexible webs,” discloses a method for conveying a web using inner and outer pairs of side jet nozzles employing the Coanda effect to propel the web while preventing undue distortion.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,731 to Long et al., entitled “Method and apparatus for preventing creases in thin webs,” discloses an apparatus for removing longitudinal wrinkles from a thin moving web of media. The media is wrapped around a perforated cylindrical air bar disposed in proximity to a contact roller.
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,941 to Hikita, entitled “Web transporting method and apparatus,” discloses a web transporting apparatus that transports a web by floating the web on air jetted from holes formed in a roller while the edges of the web are supported by edge rollers.
- There remains a need for a means to prevent the formation of receiver media wrinkles as a receiver media contacts web-guiding structures in a digital printing system.
- The present invention represents a web-guiding system for guiding a web of media travelling from upstream to downstream along a transport path in an in-track direction, the web of media having a first side and an opposing second side, comprising:
- a fixed web-guiding structure including:
-
- a first fixed web-guiding structure section having a convex exterior surface, wherein a pattern of air holes are formed through the exterior surface; and
- a second fixed web-guiding structure section having a convex exterior surface, wherein a pattern of air holes are formed through the exterior surface, wherein the exterior surface of the second fixed web-guiding structure section is aligned with the exterior surface of the first fixed web-guiding structure section;
- at least one air source for providing an air flow through the air holes in the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections; and
- a web-guiding roller located between the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections, the web-guiding roller being rotatable around a roller axis;
- wherein the web-guiding roller has a width in the direction of the roller axis which is less than 20% of a cross-track width of the web of media;
- wherein the web of media travels around the web-guiding roller and the first and second fixed web-guiding structure sections through a wrap angle of more than 10 degrees, with the web of media contacting an exterior surface of the web-guiding roller, and
- wherein the air flow through the air holes lifts the web of media away from the first and second web-guiding structure sections such that the first side of the web of media is substantially not in contact with the first and second web-guiding structure sections.
- This invention has the advantage that the web of media can be redirected around the fixed web-guiding structure by a large wrap angle without forming wrinkles in the web of media.
- It has the additional advantage that the web-guiding roller provides a lateral constraint to prevent the web of media from drifting laterally. The narrow width of the web-guiding roller prevents the formation of wrinkles as the web of media passes around the web-guiding roller.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates the formation of flutes in a continuous web of receiver media due to cross-track expansion of the receiver media; -
FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of an inkjet printing system; -
FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of an inkjet printing system for printing on both sides of a web of receiver media; -
FIGS. 4A and 4B show schematic side-view diagrams illustrating web-guiding systems including a fixed web-guiding structure and a web-guiding roller in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; -
FIG. 5 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a fixed web-guiding structure and two web-guiding rollers in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 6 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system ofFIG. 5 ; -
FIG. 7 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a fixed web-guiding structure and two web-guiding rollers which are recessed into the fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 8 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system ofFIG. 7 ; -
FIGS. 9-10 are perspective drawings showing variations of the web-guiding system ofFIG. 8 incorporating narrow web-guiding rollers; -
FIG. 11 is a perspective drawing showing a web-guiding system wherein the fixed web-guiding structure is used to provide a turn-bar function; -
FIG. 12 shows a schematic top-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding turn-bar system incorporating a plurality of web-guiding rollers in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 13 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a web-guiding roller protruding through a fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 14 is a perspective drawing showing the web-guiding system ofFIG. 13 ; -
FIG. 15 shows a schematic side-view diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes two fixed web-guiding structure sections on either side of a web-guiding roller in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 16 is a perspective diagram illustrating a web-guiding system which includes a grooved web-guiding roller providing a Bernoulli force and a fixed web-guiding structure in accordance with an alternate embodiment; -
FIG. 17 is a schematic side-view diagram showing a portion of the web-guiding system ofFIG. 16 ; and -
FIGS. 18-21 illustrate exemplary air flow control mechanisms that can be used to control the airflow through the air holes in the fixed web-guiding structures. - The present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, an apparatus in accordance with the present invention. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown, labeled, or described can take various forms well known to those skilled in the art. In the following description and drawings, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements. It is to be understood that elements and components can be referred to in singular or plural form, as appropriate, without limiting the scope of the invention.
- The invention is inclusive of combinations of the embodiments described herein. References to “a particular embodiment” and the like refer to features that are present in at least one embodiment of the invention. Separate references to “an embodiment” or “particular embodiments” or the like do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or embodiments; however, such embodiments are not mutually exclusive, unless so indicated or as are readily apparent to one of skill in the art. It should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly noted or required by context, the word “or” is used in this disclosure in a non-exclusive sense.
- The example embodiments of the present invention are illustrated schematically and may not be to scale for the sake of clarity. One of ordinary skill in the art will be able to readily determine the specific size and interconnections of the elements of the example embodiments of the present invention.
- As described herein, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide receiver media guiding components useful for guiding the receiver media in inkjet printing systems. However, many other applications are emerging which use inkjet printheads to emit liquids (other than inks) that need to be finely metered and deposited with high spatial precision. Such liquids include inks, both water based and solvent based, that include one or more dyes or pigments. These liquids also include various substrate coatings and treatments, various medicinal materials, and functional materials useful for forming, for example, various circuitry components or structural components. As such, as described herein, the terms “liquid” and “ink” refer to any material that is ejected by the printhead or printhead components described below.
- Inkjet printing is commonly used for printing on paper, however, there are numerous other materials in which inkjet is appropriate. For example, vinyl sheets, plastic sheets, textiles, paperboard and corrugated cardboard can comprise the receiver media. Additionally, although the term inkjet is often used to describe the printing process, the term jetting is also appropriate wherever ink or other liquids is applied in a consistent, metered fashion, particularly if the desired result is a thin layer or coating.
- Inkjet printing is a non-contact application of an ink to a receiver media. Typically, one of two types of ink jetting mechanisms is used, and is categorized by technology as either drop-on-demand inkjet printing or continuous inkjet printing.
- Drop-on-demand inkjet printing provides ink drops that impact upon a recording surface using a pressurization actuator, for example, a thermal, piezoelectric or electrostatic actuator. One commonly practiced drop-on-demand inkjet type uses thermal energy to eject ink drops from a nozzle. A heater, located at or near the nozzle, heats the ink sufficiently to form a vapor bubble that creates enough internal pressure to eject an ink drop. This form of inkjet is commonly termed “thermal inkjet.” A second commonly practiced drop-on-demand inkjet type uses piezoelectric actuators to change the volume of an ink chamber to eject an ink drop.
- The second technology commonly referred to as “continuous” inkjet printing, uses a pressurized ink source to produce a continuous liquid jet stream of ink by forcing ink, under pressure, through a nozzle. The stream of ink is perturbed using a drop forming mechanism such that the liquid jet breaks up into drops of ink in a predictable manner. One continuous inkjet printing type uses thermal stimulation of the liquid jet with a heater to form drops that eventually become printing drops and non-printing drops. Printing occurs by selectively deflecting either the printing drops or the non-printing drops and catching the non-printing drops using catchers. Various approaches for selectively deflecting drops have been developed including electrostatic deflection, air deflection, and thermal deflection.
- There are typically two types of receiver media used with inkjet printing systems. The first type of receiver media is in the form of a continuous web, while the second type of receiver media is in the form of cut sheets. The continuous web of receiver media refers to a continuous strip of receiver media, generally originating from a source roll. The continuous web of receiver media is moved relative to the inkjet printing system components using a web transport system, which typically include drive rollers, web guide rollers, and web tension sensors. Cut sheets refer to individual sheets of receiver media that are moved relative to the inkjet printing system components via rollers and drive wheels or via a conveyor belt system that is routed through the inkjet printing system.
- The invention described herein is applicable to both drop-on-demand and continuous inkjet printing technologies that print on continuous webs of receiver media. As such, the term “printhead” as used herein is intended to be generic and not specific to either technology. Additionally, the invention described herein is also applicable to other types of printing systems, such as offset printing and electrophotographic printing, that print on continuous webs of receiver media.
- The terms “upstream” and “downstream” are terms of art referring to relative positions along the transport path of the receiver media; points on the receiver media move along the transport path from upstream to downstream.
- Referring to
FIG. 2 , there is shown a simplified side view of a portion of adigital printing system 100 for printing on afirst side 15 of a continuous web ofreceiver media 10. Theprinting system 100 includes aprinting module 50 which includesprintheads dryers 40, and aquality control sensor 45. In this exemplary system, thefirst printhead 20 a jets cyan ink, thesecond printhead 20 b jets magenta ink, thethird printhead 20 c jets yellow ink, and thefourth printhead 20 d jets black ink. - Below each
printhead print line rollers receiver media 10 past afirst print line 21 and asecond print line 22 as thereceiver media 10 is advanced along a media path in the in-track direction 4. Below eachdryer 40 is at least onedryer roller 41 for controlling the position of the web ofreceiver media 10 near thedryers 40. -
Receiver media 10 originates from asource roll 11 ofunprinted receiver media 10, and printedreceiver media 10 is wound onto a take-up roll 12. Other details of theprinting module 50 and theprinting system 100 are not shown inFIG. 2 for simplicity. For example, to the left ofprinting module 50, a first zone 51 (illustrated as a dashed line region in receiver media 10) can include a slack loop, a web tensioning system, an edge guide and other elements that are not shown. To the right ofprinting module 50, a second zone 52 (illustrated as a dashed line region in receiver media 10) can include a turnover mechanism and a second printing module similar toprinting module 50 for printing on a second side of thereceiver media 10. - Referring to
FIG. 3 , there is shown a simplified side view of a portion of aprinting system 110 for printing on both afirst side 15 and asecond side 16 of a continuous web ofreceiver media 10.Printing system 110 includes afirst printing module 55, for printing on afirst side 15 of the continuous web, having twoprintheads dryer 40; aturnover mechanism 60; and asecond printing module 65, for printing on the second side of the continuous web, having twoprintheads dryer 40. A web-guidingsystem 30 guides the web ofreceiver media 10 from upstream to downstream along a transport path in an in-track direction 4 past through thefirst printing module 55 and thesecond printing module 65. The web-guidingsystem 30 includes rollers aligned with the print lines of theprintheads receiver media 10 at a fixed spacing from the printing modules to ensure a consistent time of flight for the print drops emitted by the printheads. The web-guidingsystem 30 also includes a web-guidingstructure 70, which can be a roller for example, positioned near the exit offirst printing module 55 for redirecting a direction of travel of the web ofreceiver media 10 alongexit direction 9 in order to guide web ofreceiver media 10 toward theturnover mechanism 60. The movement of the receiver media of the guiding rollers of the web guide system also maintains the cross-track position of the continuous web provided there is sufficient traction between the continuous web and the guiding rollers. - It is not uncommon for a web-guiding
system 30 to include a web-guiding structure that provides a large angular change in the direction of travel of the web of thereceiver media 10. Such large angular changes may be required by geometric constraints on the overall dimensions of the web-guidingsystem 30 or the need to align the web ofreceiver media 10 with a downstream portion of the web-guidingsystem 30. For example, web-guidingstructure 70, which is positioned near the exit offirst printing module 55, redirects the direction of travel of the web ofreceiver media 10 by about 90° intoexit direction 9 in order to guide web ofreceiver media 10 toward theturnover mechanism 60. - When the
receiver media 10 is a hygroexpansive material such as cellulose based paper, and at least portions of thereceiver media 10 are moistened such as by inkjet printing, the receiver media can be prone to wrinkling when wrapped at high wrap angles around a roller. A similar tendency to wrinkle exists at high wrap angle rollers when a very thin receiver media, such as plastic films of polyethylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate), is being transported along the transport path by the web-guidingsystem 30, assuch receiver media 10 lack the compressive strength to flatten the ripples produced in thereceiver media 10 by the variations in the in-track and cross-track tension. -
FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 200 that overcomes the shortcomings of prior art systems, allowing for high angular changes in thereceiver media 10 without inducing the formation of wrinkles. The web-guidingsystem 200 includes a fixed web-guidingstructure 205 having a convexexterior surface 210. The web-guiding structure is fixed in the sense that it doesn't rotate or move with a surface speed that corresponds to the surface speed of the web of receiver media. The fixed web-guidingstructure 205 being “fixed” is not intended to indicate that orientation of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 cannot be adjusted, either actively or passively, to align the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 relative to the transport path of thereceiver media 10. In the illustrated embodimentfirst side 15 of thereceiver media 10 faces theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, whilesecond side 16 faces away from the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - A pattern of
air holes 215 is formed through theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, through whichair 225 supplied by anair source 220 can flow. As the web ofreceiver media 10 travels around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, the flow ofair 225 through the air holes 215 serves as an air bearing lifting the web ofreceiver media 10 away from the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 such thatfirst side 15 of the web ofreceiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. Within the context of the present disclosure, “substantially not in contact” means that thereceiver media 10 contacts less than 5% of theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 that is adjacent to thereceiver media 10. (The fixed web-guidingstructure 205 is sometimes referred to in the art as an “air shoe” or an “air bearing structure.”) - As the web of
receiver media 10 is supported by theair 225 so that there is minimal contact between thereceiver media 10 and theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, thereceiver media 10 has minimal friction with the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. As a result, thereceiver media 10 can pass over the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 without scuffing thereceiver media 10. Furthermore, the transverse bending of the web ofreceiver media 10 as it goes around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 tends to flatten the web ofreceiver media 10. The lack of angular constraint on thereceiver media 10 allows thereceiver media 10 to spread laterally to enable the flattening of the web. The fixed web-guidingstructure 205 can therefore accommodate large wrap angles αs of thereceiver media 10 without wrinkling. In the illustrated embodiment, the wrap angle αs is approximately 90 degrees. Generally, the wrap angle αs around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 will be more than about 10 degrees, and it may be as large as 180 degrees or more. - Because the
receiver media 10 has minimal friction with the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, it provides little or no lateral constraint to impede the lateral (i.e., cross-track) movement of the web ofreceiver media 10. Therefore, while the low friction is beneficial for inhibiting the formation of wrinkles, it has the detrimental effect of allowing the print media to drift in the cross-track direction 7 (FIG. 1 ). To compensate for this, the web-guidingsystem 200 also includes a web-guidingroller 230 having aroller axis 235 located along the media path in proximity to the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. The web-guidingroller 230 provides a lateral constraint on thereceiver media 10 when it is placed in close proximity to the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 to inhibit cross-track drift or wander of thereceiver media 10. Within the context of the present disclosure, the term “in proximity” should be taken to mean that the distance D that thereceiver media 10 travels along the transport path between the web-guidingroller 230 and the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 is less than either two diameters of the web-guidingroller receiver media 10, whichever is larger. - In a preferred embodiment, the web-guiding
roller 230 is located on the same side of the web ofreceiver media 10 as the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 as illustrated inFIG. 4A so that thereceiver media 10 wraps around both elements in the same wrap direction (e.g., clockwise inFIG. 4A ). In alternate embodiments (not shown) the web-guidingroller 230 can be located on the opposite side of the web ofreceiver media 10 as the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. This alternate placement of the web-guidingroller 230 may be preferred in applications where a just printed side of thereceiver media 10 is facing toward the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. Placement of the web-guidingroller 230 on the opposite side of thereceiver media 10 can reduce the risk of smearing or offsetting non-cured ink through contact with the web-guidingroller 230. The air bearing nature of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 prevents the smearing or offsetting non-cured ink as thereceiver media 10 travels over the fixed web-guidingstructure 230. - In a preferred embodiment, the web-guiding
roller 230 is located immediately upstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 as is shown inFIG. 4A , but placement of the web-guidingroller 230 immediately downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 as shown in the web-guidingsystem 201 ofFIG. 4B is also effective for inhibiting cross-track drift or wander of thereceiver media 10. As the web-guidingroller 230 provides an angular constraint in addition to the lateral constraint, the placement of the web-guidingroller 230 immediately upstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 has the advantage that it reduces any lateral shifts in thereceiver media 10 that might be produced by an angular drift of the web at the entrance to the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - As is taught in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,988 to McCann et al., entitled “Printer architecture,” which is incorporated herein by reference, the formation of creases or wrinkles in a web of media traveling through an inkjet printing system can be inhibited by limiting the wrap of the receiver media around rollers to small wrap angles. Therefore, to avoid the formation of wrinkles in the web-guiding
system 200 of the present invention, the wrap angle αr of thereceiver media 10 around the web-guidingroller 230 is preferably less than about five degrees. -
FIGS. 5 and 6 show an alternate embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 202 in which there are two web-guidingrollers 230, one immediately upstream and one immediately downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. The addition of the second web-guidingroller 230 immediately downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 further enhances the cross-track stability of the web ofreceiver media 10. By limiting the wrap angle around the upstream web-guiding roller 230 (αr1) and the wrap angle around the downstream web-guiding roller 230 (αr2) of this embodiment to small wrap angles, such as less than about 5 degrees, the formation of creases or wrinkles around these web-guidingrollers 230 is inhibited. - The exemplary embodiment of
FIG. 6 shows the air holes 215 as being circular in shape; however, this is not a requirement. In other embodiments, the air holes 215 can have other shapes such as ellipses, squares, rectangles or extended slits. In this example, the pattern ofair holes 215 takes the form of a regular grid ofair holes 215 having a fixed spacings in thecross-track direction 7 and the in-track direction 4. In other embodiments, the air holes 215 can be arranged in other patterns such as hexagonal grids, or can have non-uniform spacings. For example, in some embodiments it may be useful to space theair holes 215 non-uniformly so as to provide a substantially constant lifting force across theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. Those skilled in the art will understand that fluid dynamics modeling can be used to determine an optimized pattern of spacings between the air holes 215 to provide the constant lifting force. - In some embodiments, the web-guiding system can also include a tensioning mechanism to provide a force on the web-guiding
roller 230 to push it toward and into contact with the web ofreceiver media 10. The tensioning mechanism can take many different forms such as coil springs, leaf springs, torsion springs, flexure arms, air cylinders, and electro-mechanical actuators. InFIG. 5 , atensioning mechanism 240 associated with the upstream web-guidingroller 230 provides straight line motion of the web-guidingroller 230, while atensioning mechanism 245 associated with the downstream web-guidingroller 230 includes a pivot arm support for the web-guidingroller 230, through which the force is applied to the web-guidingroller 230 by thetensioning mechanism 245. To ensure consistent tracking of the web ofreceiver media 10, theroller axis 235 of the web-guidingrollers 230 must remain substantially perpendicular to the direction of media travel (i.e., in-track direction 4) at the location along the transport path where the web ofreceiver media 10 contacts the web-guiding rollers. - In some embodiments, a roller control mechanism (not shown) is provided for adjusting an orientation of the
roller axis 235 relative to the in-track direction 4. This can be used to provide a steering force on the web ofreceiver media 10. The roller control mechanism can include a media edge sensor (not shown) which detects a position of thereceiver media 10 and adjusts theroller axis 235 to compensate for any drift from a nominal position. -
FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 203 in which the web-guidingrollers 230 are integrated into fixed web-guidingstructure 205. This allows the web-guidingrollers 230 to be aligned with the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 with more precision. The contact of the web ofreceiver media 10 against the web-guidingrollers 230 forms an air seal, preventingair 225 from passing between the web-guidingrollers 230 and the web ofreceiver media 10. When the web-guidingrollers 230 are recessed into the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 such that there is only a small gap between the web-guidingroller 230 and the leading edge or the trailing edge of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, it blocks most of theair 225 from escaping along the leading edge and the trailing edge of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. By blocking the flow of air from along the leading and trailing edges of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, the integration of the web-guidingrollers 230 into the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 can reduce the required flow rate for theair 225 necessary to float thereceiver media 10 over the surface of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. Another advantage of providing air seals along the leading and trailing edges of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 is that more of theair 225 must escape from the region between the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 and thereceiver media 10 by flowing laterally (i.e., in a cross-track direction 7) as shown inFIG. 8 . This lateral flow ofair 225 provides a lateral force on the web ofreceiver media 10 which tends to spread thereceiver media 10 in thecross-track direction 7, thereby further discouraging the formation of wrinkles Preferably, at least 80% of theair 225 exits the region between the web ofreceiver media 10 and the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 in a lateral direction. Therefore, it can be seen that the use of two web-guidingrollers 230 positioned immediately adjacent to the leading and trailing edges of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 provides a further enhancement in the spreading of the web of thereceiver media 10 when compared to the use of a single web-guidingroller 230 as in the embodiments ofFIGS. 4A-4B , and also compared to the placement of the web-guidingrollers 230 at a larger distance from the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 as shown inFIG. 5 . - The web-guiding
rollers 230 must be spaced away at least a small gap distance away from the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 to enable the web-guidingrollers 230 to rotate freely. Thegap 255 provides a leakage path forair 225 to escape from out between the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 and thereceiver media 10. It is desirable to limit the amount ofair 225 that flows through thegap 255. In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 7-8 , thegap 255 is configured to have an extended length, by partially recessing the web-guidingrollers 230 within the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. Preferably, the web-guidingrollers 230 are recessed within the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 for at least 20% of their circumference. The extended length of thegap 255 provides impedance to the flow ofair 225 through thegap 255, thereby limiting the leakage ofair 225 through thegap 255. Preferably, the width of the gap is less than about 0.01 inches. In one exemplary embodiment, the width of thegap 255 is about 0.003 inches, and thegap 255 extends around about 35% of the circumference of the web-guidingroller 230. The leakage ofair 225 though thegap 255 can also be limited by usingair seals 250 to further limit the flow ofair 225 from escaping through thegap 255 between the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 and the web-guidingrollers 230. In some embodiments, the air seals 250 can be fabricated using flexible sealing foil which provides a sliding seal across the exit of thegap 255. The use of air seals has the advantage that it can reduce the required flow rate for theair 225 necessary to float thereceiver media 10 over the surface of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - In some embodiments, an
air conditioning subsystem 260 is included to condition theair 225 before it exits the air holes 215 in the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 7 and 8 , theair conditioning subsystem 260 is located between theair source 220 and the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. In alternative configurations, theair conditioning subsystem 260 can be positioned in other locations, such as internal to the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, internal to theair source 220, or at an inlet to theair source 220. Depending on the application, theair conditioning subsystem 260 can be selected to perform various conditioning functions such as cooling the air, heating the air, altering the humidity of the air, or enriching or depleting the concentration of particular gases that may react with, or be inert with respect to, the ink orreceiver media 10. Using theair conditioning subsystem 260 in combination with the embodiments which use recessed web-guidingrollers 230 to limit the air leakage in the upstream and downstream directions has the advantage that it reduces the required flow rate of theair 225 that must be conditioned by theair conditioning subsystem 260. - In some embodiments, the web-guiding
rollers 230 extend across the entire width of thereceiver media 10 as shown inFIGS. 6 and 8 . In other embodiments, narrow web-guidingrollers 232 can be used, which are narrow when compared to the width of the web ofreceiver media 10 as illustrated in the web-guidingsystem 204 ofFIG. 9 . For example, the width of the narrow web-guiding rollers 232 (in the direction of the roller axis 235) can be less than about 20% of the cross-track width of the web ofreceiver media 10. - The narrow web-guiding
rollers 232, like the full-width web-guiding rollers 230 (FIG. 6 ), provide a lateral constraint to the web ofreceiver media 10 to prevent the cross-track drifting or wandering of the web ofreceiver media 10. The narrow web-guidingrollers 232 provide a lateral constraint to that portion of the web of receiver media that contacts the narrow guiding roller. When the narrow web-guidingrollers 232 are centrally located across the width of the web ofreceiver media 10, they provide the lateral constraint to the center of the web, while not imposing a lateral constraint on the portions of the web which are spaced away from the center of the web. This has the advantage that it permits thereceiver media 10 to expand laterally away from the centerline of the web when moistened, while preventing an overall lateral drift to the web ofreceiver media 10. As thereceiver media 10 can freely expand or contract in the cross track direction, the height of any flutes that may be present can be reduced prior to reaching the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. -
FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 206 where the web-guidingroller 230 downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 spans the entire width of the web ofreceiver media 10, while a narrow web-guidingroller 232 is used upstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. The upstream narrow web-guidingroller 232 prevents lateral drifting of the web ofreceiver media 10 while allowing for lateral expansion or shrinkage of thereceiver media 10 as in theFIG. 9 embodiment. As the web ofreceiver media 10 wraps around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, thereceiver media 10 spreads laterally to flatten any flutes which may have initially been present. The use of a wide web-guidingroller 230 downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 can inhibit the newly spreadreceiver media 10 from contracting laterally downstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - As illustrated in
FIG. 11 , the principles of the present invention can also be applied to turn-bar systems, which are used to turn over the web ofreceiver media 10. Turn-bar system 300 includes a fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305, together with a narrow web-guidingroller 232 located in proximity to the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. The narrow web-guidingroller 232 is positioned so that it contacts thefirst side 15 ofreceiver media 10 upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. - The fixed web-guiding turn-
bar structure 305 is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the initial in-track direction 4 for the web ofreceiver media 10. In this example, thereceiver media 10 is wrapped around the convexexterior surface 310 of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 for a wrap angle αs of about 180°, and the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 is angled by about 45 degrees relative to the initial in-track direction 4 so that thereceiver media 10 exits the turn-bar system 300 with a new in-track direction 4′ and a newcross-track direction 7′, which are rotated approximately 90° relative to the input directions. As thereceiver media 10 exits the turn-bar system 300, thereceiver media 10 has been inverted so that thefirst side 15 is now on top, and thesecond side 16 is on the bottom. - In the illustrated embodiment, the convex
exterior surface 310 of the exemplary fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 has a semi-circular profile. In other embodiments, the convexexterior surface 310 can subtend a complete circle (e.g., to provide additional stiffness), or can subtend an arc somewhere between 180° and 360°. - The fixed web-guiding turn-
bar structure 305 includes a pattern ofair holes 215 formed in theexterior surface 310 through whichair 225 fromair source 220 flows to lift the web ofreceiver media 10 away from the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 such that thefirst side 15 of the web ofreceiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with theexterior surface 310. Preferably the air holes 215 are positioned only in those portions of theexterior surface 310 over which are covered by thereceiver media 10. - The narrow web-guiding
roller 232 is oriented such that theroller axis 235 is substantially perpendicular to the in-track direction 4 in which thereceiver media 10 is travelling upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. Preferably, the narrow web-guidingroller 232 is positioned so that it contacts the web ofreceiver media 10 near the centerline of the web. The lateral constraint provided to the web ofreceiver media 10 by the narrow web-guidingroller 232 reduces the tendency of the web to drift laterally in response to tension changes as the web wraps around the angled fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. The use of a narrow web-guidingroller 232 enables the lateral constraint to be applied to the web in closer proximity to the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 than would be possible with a wide web-guiding roller 230 (FIG. 6 ). -
FIG. 12 shows a top-view of another embodiment of a turn-bar system 301 in which there are a plurality of narrow web-guidingrollers 232 located at different lateral locations across the web ofreceiver media 10 upstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. (Note that theair source 220 is not shown in this figure for clarity.) The narrow web-guidingrollers 232 are positioned so that they contact thefirst side 15 ofreceiver media 10. The use of multiple narrow web-guidingrollers 232 in this embodiment can further reduce the tendency of the web ofreceiver media 10 to wander relative to the embodiment shown inFIG. 11 which uses only a single narrow web-guidingroller 232. -
FIG. 12 also shows an additional narrow web-guidingroller 332 positioned downstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305. The narrow web-guidingroller 232 is positioned so that it contacts thefirst side 15 ofreceiver media 10 downstream of the fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure 305 to provide a lateral constraint to the web ofreceiver media 10 as it leaves the turn-bar system 301. Theroller axis 235 of the narrow web-guidingroller 332 is oriented so that it is substantially perpendicular to the new in-track direction 4′. -
FIGS. 13-14 illustrate another embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 207 in which the narrow web-guidingroller 232 is positioned so that it protrudes through theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 by a small height h. The height h that the narrow web-guidingroller 232 protrudes through theexterior surface 210 is chosen such that it contacts thereceiver media 10 through a wrap angle αr that provides sufficient traction to impose a lateral constraint on thereceiver media 10. The optimal height h will depend on the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. In a preferred embodiment, the contact angle αr is less than about 5-10°, and the height h is between 0.1 mm and 4 mm. In some embodiments, a tensioning mechanism (e.g., a spring, a flexure arm, an air cylinder, or an electro-mechanical actuator) can be used to push the web-guidingroller 232 into contact with thereceiver media 10, thereby automatically adjusting the height h to accommodate variations in the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. -
FIG. 15 shows another embodiment of a web-guidingsystem 400 in which the web ofreceiver media 10 travels around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 withair 225 flowing through the air holes 215 and lifting the web of receiver media away from the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 such that thefirst side 15 of the web ofreceiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. In this configuration, the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 has two fixed web-guidingstructure sections roller 432. The convexexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 has an arc-shaped profile with a radius of curvature rs and a center of curvature 410 which is aligned with theroller axis 235 of the narrow web-guidingroller 432. The narrow web-guidingroller 432 has a radius of curvature that is slightly larger than the radius of curvature rs of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 so that it protrudes through theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 by a height h. The optimal height h will depend on the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. In a preferred embodiment, the height h is between 0.1 mm and 4 mm. Because thereceiver media 10 is substantially not in contact with the two fixed web-guidingstructure sections structure 205 without risk of wrinkling. In some embodiments, a tensioning mechanism (e.g., a spring, a flexure arm, an air cylinder, or an electro-mechanical actuator) can be used to push the narrow web-guidingroller 432 into contact with thereceiver media 10, thereby automatically adjusting the height h to accommodate variations in the thickness of the air cushion around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - The centrally-located narrow web-guiding
roller 432 provides a lateral constraint to the web ofreceiver media 10 to prevent lateral drifting of the web. The central location of the narrow web-guidingroller 432 between the two fixed web-guidingstructure sections receiver media 10 to expand and contract in the cross-track direction to accommodate cross-track dimensional changes in thereceiver media 10. This provides a distinct advantage when compared to the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,941, where cross-track width changes in the receiver media are inhibited due to the placement of web-contacting edge rollers on both side of a central air bearing structure. - In the
FIG. 15 embodiment, the wrap angle around the narrow web-guidingroller 432 is substantially equivalent to the wrap angle αs around the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, and is therefore relatively large. However, because the narrow web-guidingroller 432 has a small lateral width, there is little risk that thereceiver media 10 passing over the narrow web-guidingroller 432 will form a wrinkle even if a flute were to be aligned with the narrow web-guidingroller 432. -
FIGS. 16 and 17 show a web-guidingsystem 500 according to an alternate embodiment which uses the approach described in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket K001680), entitled “Media guiding system using Bernoulli force roller,” by Muir et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, to provide an enhanced traction between thereceiver media 10 and grooved web-guidingroller 530. The fixed web-guidingstructure 205 andair source 220 function in the same manner as has been described earlier with respect toFIG. 4A so thatair 225 flowing through a pattern ofair holes 215 lift the web ofreceiver media 10 away from theexterior surface 210 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205. - The grooved web-guiding
roller 530 is positioned in proximity to the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, and includes at least onegroove 535 formed in around itsexterior surface 540. Aroller air source 520 directs anairflow 525 into thegroove 535, the air flow being directed between thefirst side 15 of thereceiver media 10 and theexterior surface 540 of the grooved web-guidingroller 530. In a preferred embodiment, theairflow 525 is substantially parallel to the plane of the receiver media 10 (i.e., a vector representing the direction ofairflow 525 is within about 10° of being parallel to the in-track direction 4 of the receiver media 10) and to the groove 535 (i.e., a vector representing the direction ofairflow 525 is within about 10° of being parallel to a plane through the center of thegroove 535, where the plane through the center of thegroove 535 will generally be perpendicular to theroller axis 235.) - As is described in more detail in the aforementioned U.S. patent application by Muir et al., the use of the grooved web-guiding
roller 530 and theairflow 525 provided by theroller air source 520 produce a Bernoulli force F that draws thereceiver media 10 down onto the grooved web-guidingroller 530, thereby providing an increased traction. Thegroove 535 serves as an air channel for theairflow 525. As shown inFIG. 17 , as theairflow 525 passes through thegroove 535 between thefirst side 15 ofreceiver media 10 and theexterior surface 540 of the grooved web-guidingroller 530, the contour of the bottom of thegroove 535 forms aconstriction 545 to theairflow 525. The well-known “continuity principle” of fluid dynamics requires theairflow 525 to accelerate as it passes through theconstriction 545. According to the well-known Bernoulli's Principle, the increased velocity of theairflow 525 at theconstriction 545 is accompanied by the development of a low pressure zone between the high point of thegroove 535 and thereceiver media 10. A pressure differential is therefore developed from thesecond side 16 to thefirst side 15 of thereceiver media 10, resulting in a Bernoulli force F on thereceiver media 10 which draws thereceiver media 10 down toward, or into contact with, theexterior surface 540 of the grooved web-guidingroller 530. This increases the wrap angle αr, and thereby increases the traction between thereceiver media 10 and the grooved web-guidingroller 530. As a result, the ability of the grooved web-guidingroller 530 to provide a lateral constraint on the web ofreceiver media 10 is improved, thereby preventing thereceiver media 10 from drifting in the cross-track direction 7 (FIG. 16 ). - While
FIGS. 16-17 illustrate the use of a narrow grooved web-guidingroller 530 located upstream of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the same approach can be used to provide extra traction for any of the rollers shown inFIGS. 4A-15 . In some embodiments a plurality ofgrooves 535 can be provided across the width of the roller. This is particularly appropriate for the wider web-guidingrollers 230 such as those shown inFIG. 6 . - In other alternate embodiments (not shown), different methods can be used to increase the traction between the
receiver media 10 and the grooved web-guidingroller 530. For example a jet of air directed onto thesecond side 16 of thereceiver media 10 can be used to push thereceiver media 10 down onto the web-guiding roller 230 (FIG. 4A ). Alternately, an electrostatic force can be used to draw thereceiver media 10 down onto the web-guidingroller 230. - In some embodiments, the fixed web-guiding
structure 205 include an air flow control mechanism for controlling which air holes 215 the flow ofair 225 is provided through. This allows the airflow width to be adjusted in accordance with the width of the web ofreceiver media 10 so that doesn't flow throughair holes 215 that are outside the width of thereceiver media 10.FIGS. 18-21 show several exemplary embodiments of air flow control mechanisms that can be used in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 18 shows a view of theexterior surface 210 of a fixed web-guidingstructure 205 which is segmented into aleft segment 265, acenter segment 266, and aright segment 267. The segments are separated byinternal walls 270 which are inside of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 and define a plurality of air chambers corresponding to theleft segment 265, thecenter segment 266, and theright segment 267. The walls are positioned such that the width of thecenter segment 266 corresponds to the width of anarrow receiver media 10, and the total width of the three segments corresponds to the width of awide receiver media 10. The air source 220 (FIG. 4A ) provides airflow into the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 through separate air supply lines (not shown) into three differentair supply ports 275, one for each segment. Valves in the air supply lines can be used to turn on and off the airflow to the individual segments to accommodate different receiver media widths. This approach can easily be extended to more than three segments to accommodate additional media widths. -
FIG. 19 shows another embodiment in which the air flow control mechanism comprises moveableinternal walls 271 within the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 that can be moved to adjust the size of an internal air chamber behind the air holes 215 within to anactive segment 268 in order to accommodate different media widths. Any mechanism known in the art can be used to adjust the position of the moveableinternal walls 271. In the illustrated embodiment, amotorized pinion gear 272 engages rack gears 273 attached to each moveableinternal wall 271 to adjust the position of the end walls. Air flows into the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 through a centralair supply port 275 located between the moveableinternal walls 271 so that airflow is only provided in the centralactive segment 268. -
FIGS. 20-21 illustrate another embodiment of an air flow control mechanism which utilizes amoveable louver 280 located inside the fixed web-guidingstructure 205, adjacent to the interior side of theexterior surface 210. Thelouver 280 has a large central louver opening 281 corresponding to thecenter segment 266 of the fixed web-guidingstructure 205 through which air can flow to pass through the air holes 215. In the portions of thelouver 280 corresponding to theleft segment 265 and theright segment 267, an array oflinear louver openings 282 are provided, having the same pitch in thecross-track direction 7 as the air holes 215. Themoveable louver 280 can be moved laterally to a position where the array oflouver openings 282 in theleft segment 265 and theright segment 267 are either aligned with the air holes 215 so that air can pass (as inFIG. 20 ), or are blocking the air holes 215 so that air cannot pass (as inFIG. 21 ). When thelouver 280 is shifted to theFIG. 20 position, air flows out of the air holes 215 across the entire width of the fixed web-guiding structure to support a wide media width. When thelouver 280 is shifted to theFIG. 21 position, air only flows out of the air holes 215 in thecenter segment 266 of the fixed web-guiding structure to support a narrow media width. While the illustratedlouver 280 supports two media widths, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other louver patterns can be used can accommodate three or more media widths. - The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.
-
- 2 roller
- 3 receiver media
- 4 in-track direction
- 4′ new in-track direction
- 5 flute
- 7 cross-track direction
- 7′ new cross-track direction
- 8 contact surface
- 9 exit direction
- 10 receiver media
- 11 source roll
- 12 take-up roll
- 15 first side
- 16 second side
- 20 a printhead
- 20 b printhead
- 20 c printhead
- 20 d printhead
- 21 print line
- 22 print line
- 25 a printhead
- 25 b printhead
- 30 web-guiding system
- 31 print line roller
- 32 print line roller
- 40 dryer
- 41 dryer roller
- 45 quality control sensor
- 50 printing module
- 51 first zone
- 52 second zone
- 55 printing module
- 60 turnover mechanism
- 65 printing module
- 70 web-guiding structure
- 100 printing system
- 110 printing system
- 200 web-guiding system
- 201 web-guiding system
- 202 web-guiding system
- 203 web-guiding system
- 204 web-guiding system
- 205 fixed web-guiding structure
- 206 web-guiding system
- 207 web-guiding system
- 210 exterior surface
- 215 air holes
- 220 air source
- 225 air
- 230 web-guiding roller
- 232 narrow web-guiding roller
- 235 roller axis
- 240 tensioning mechanism
- 245 tensioning mechanism
- 250 air seal
- 255 gap
- 260 air conditioning subsystem
- 265 left segment
- 266 center segment
- 267 right segment
- 268 active segment
- 270 internal wall
- 271 moveable internal wall
- 272 pinion gear
- 273 rack gear
- 275 air supply port
- 280 louver
- 281 central louver opening
- 282 louver opening
- 300 turn-bar system
- 301 turn-bar system
- 305 fixed web-guiding turn-bar structure
- 310 exterior surface
- 332 narrow web-guiding roller
- 400 web-guiding system
- 405 fixed web-guiding structure section
- 406 fixed web-guiding structure section
- 410 center of curvature
- 432 narrow web-guiding roller
- 500 web-guiding system
- 520 roller air source
- 525 airflow
- 530 grooved web-guiding roller
- 535 groove
- 540 exterior surface
- 545 constriction
- F Bernoulli force
- h height
- rs radius of curvature
- αs wrap angle
- αr wrap angle
- αr1 wrap angle
- αr2 wrap angle
Claims (14)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US14/190,153 US20150239700A1 (en) | 2014-02-26 | 2014-02-26 | Air shoe with integrated roller |
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US14/190,153 US20150239700A1 (en) | 2014-02-26 | 2014-02-26 | Air shoe with integrated roller |
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US20150239700A1 true US20150239700A1 (en) | 2015-08-27 |
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US14/190,153 Abandoned US20150239700A1 (en) | 2014-02-26 | 2014-02-26 | Air shoe with integrated roller |
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Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150232372A1 (en) * | 2012-09-26 | 2015-08-20 | Corning Incorporated | Methods and apparatuses for steering flexible glass webs |
CN107745579A (en) * | 2016-11-10 | 2018-03-02 | 北京航空航天大学 | A kind of volume to volume printed electronic ink-jet processing platform with air supporting support function |
US20220169467A1 (en) * | 2019-03-12 | 2022-06-02 | Gtk Timek Group, S.A. | Handling bar for laminated or film supports |
Citations (4)
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US2736106A (en) * | 1956-02-28 | Offen | ||
US3405884A (en) * | 1964-02-03 | 1968-10-15 | Beloit Corp | Boundary layer eliminator |
US20120076933A1 (en) * | 2010-09-24 | 2012-03-29 | Ikuo Uematsu | Double-sided coating apparatus and double-sided coating method |
US20120111054A1 (en) * | 2010-11-04 | 2012-05-10 | Blanding Douglass L | Methods and Apparatus for Guiding Flexible Glass Ribbons |
-
2014
- 2014-02-26 US US14/190,153 patent/US20150239700A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2736106A (en) * | 1956-02-28 | Offen | ||
US3405884A (en) * | 1964-02-03 | 1968-10-15 | Beloit Corp | Boundary layer eliminator |
US20120076933A1 (en) * | 2010-09-24 | 2012-03-29 | Ikuo Uematsu | Double-sided coating apparatus and double-sided coating method |
US20120111054A1 (en) * | 2010-11-04 | 2012-05-10 | Blanding Douglass L | Methods and Apparatus for Guiding Flexible Glass Ribbons |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150232372A1 (en) * | 2012-09-26 | 2015-08-20 | Corning Incorporated | Methods and apparatuses for steering flexible glass webs |
CN107745579A (en) * | 2016-11-10 | 2018-03-02 | 北京航空航天大学 | A kind of volume to volume printed electronic ink-jet processing platform with air supporting support function |
US20220169467A1 (en) * | 2019-03-12 | 2022-06-02 | Gtk Timek Group, S.A. | Handling bar for laminated or film supports |
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