Patent Application
20140041542
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for manipulating the nip profile of a spreader nip when the spreader drum is coupled with a pressure roll.
Spreader system uses a nipped roller pair to spread the ink dots jetted to the media in a solid ink jet direct-to-paper process. The roller pair may be referred to as a spreader. The nipped roller pair may include a driven roll called the spreader drum and an idler roll called the pressure roll. The spreader drum may be manufactured using hard annodized aluminum. The pressure roll may be manufactured using a steel core with a thin elastomer coating. The spreader system may start to fail when the elastomer on the pressure roll develops edge marks. The edge marks may influence the profile of the nip. When the profile of the nip changes, the spreader may become less robust against web wrinkle.
A method and apparatus for controlling operation of a pressure roll is disclosed. The method includes adjusting pressure of a pressure roll. This may influence the shape of the pressure roll which may influence the nip profile. This may help prevent wrinkling and extend the life of the pressure roll. The pressure roll may be configured to have a varying wall thickness across a width of the pressure roll. The pressure roll may be used for a web application.
Aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method for controlling operation of a pressure roll in a spreader system, as well as corresponding system and computer-readable medium.
The disclosed embodiments may include a method for controlling a crown height associated with operation of a pressure roll. The method may include adjusting internal pressure of a pressure roll based on a nip profile. The pressure roll may include a custom profile on its inner wall.
The disclosed embodiments may further include a spreader system. The spreader system may include a spreader drum, and a pressure roll coupled with the spreader drum. The pressure roll may be configured to have an external surface with an elastomer coating and an internal surface having varying wall thickness across the width of the pressure roll.
The disclosed embodiments may further include a computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling operation of a pressure roll. The instructions may include adjusting internal pressure of a pressure roll of a spreader system to create a nip profile. The pressure roll may include a custom profile on its inner wall.
The image production device 100 may include an image production section 120, which includes hardware by which image signals are used to create a desired image, as well as a stand-alone feeder section 110, which stores and dispenses sheets on which images are to be printed, and an output section 130, which may include hardware for stacking, folding, stapling, binding, etc., prints which are output from the marking engine.
If the printer is also operable as a copier, the printer further includes a document feeder 140, which operates to convert signals from light reflected from original hard-copy image into digital signals, which are in turn processed to create copies with the image production section 120. The image production device 100 may also include a local user interface 150 for controlling its operations, although another source of image data and instructions may include any number of computers to which the printer is connected via a network.
With reference to feeder section 110, the module includes any number of trays 160, each of which stores a media stack 170 or print sheets (“media”) of a predetermined type (size, weight, color, coating, transparency, etc.) and includes a feeder to dispense one of the sheets therein as instructed. Certain types of media may require special handling in order to be dispensed properly. For example, heavier or larger media may desirably be drawn from a media stack 170 by use of an air knife, fluffer, vacuum grip or other application (not shown in
The spreader drum 205 may be an aluminum drum with hollow core and anodized outer surface. The temperature of the spreader drum 205 may be regulated using an internal liquid heat exchanger (not shown). The spreader drum may be constructed with two co-annular tubes between which makes up the water jacket within which liquid moves to thermally control the surface temperature. A teflon impregnated hard-annodized coating may be applied to the outer surface of the spreader drum 205. The DMU 235 may be a foam roll oil applicator with a single urethane metering blade.
The pressure roll 210 may be a hollow steel core with polyurethane outer surface. The outer surface may include an elastomer coating. For example, the pressure roll 210 may be constructed of stainless steel tube over which a 2.5 mm thick polyurethane elastomer coating may be applied. The modulus for the polyurethane elastomer coating may be nominally 72 Mpa, and its compliance with the surface of the spreader drum 205 makes up the spreader nip. The spreader drum 205 may be configured to operate as a driving roll, while the pressure roll 210 may be configured to operate as a driven roll. The pressure roll 210 may be coupled with a supporting member 212.
Directional arrow 225 shows an example web path 215. When the spreader system 200 is engaged, the web 215 may come into contact with the spreader drum 205 and the pressure roll 210. When the spreader system 200 is disengaged, the web 215 may not be in contact with the spreader drum 205 and the pressure 210. A web path angle may be formed between the web path 215 and a horizontal line associated with the spreader drum 205 and the pressure roll 210.
The spreader system 200 may also include a linear actuator 220 and two rollers 250 and 255. The linear actuator 220 may be coupled with a roller 245 which may be coupled with a supporting member 232. There may be a drive nip between the rollers 245 and 250. The bi-directional arrow 233 shows possible movements of the linear actuator 220. There may be a drive nip 230 between the rollers 245 and 250. The combination of the functions of the linear actuator 220 and the rollers 245-255 may cause feeding the web 215 through the spreader system 200.
When the spreader system 200 is engaged or loaded, a nip may be established between the spreader drum 205 and the pressure roll 210. The pressure associated with the nip may be referred to as a nip pressure. It may be desirable that the nip pressure along the nip is spread uniformly across the width of the web (or media) 215 to impart its effect uniformly across the width of the web 215. It may also be desirable that the nip width is uniform along the width of the web 215. When a pressure roll 210 becomes worn, the edge-wear marks in the elastomer may contribute to an added amount of crown (additional to the original amount of crown). This may place the nip in a compromised state as compared to the same configuration where there is no edge-wear. Failure of the pressure roll 210 may cause the web to wrinkle and reduce the life of the pressure roll 210. For example, a failing pressure roll 210 may have a life of 5 to 6 million linear feet of web 215 as compared to a target life of 15 million linear feet of web 215.
The pressure roll 210 may be associated with a nip profile. The nip profile may be a function of nip loads, spreader drum, pressure roll core geometry, and rubber profile (worn or not worn). As edge wear progresses, the nip profile may become narrower at the edges, and the pressure roll 210 may become more and more crowned. This increasing crowned condition may eventually lead to web wrinkling because the web 215 may be pulled towards the center.
The nip profile 310 may be associated with a pressure roll that is in its early life with low web mileage and may be more robust to stress conditions for wrinkle. The nip profile 310 may be considered to be in a good condition because it may prevent wrinkling. The elastomer crown for the pressure roll associated with the nip profile 310 may be at less than 0 μm. As shown, the nip profile 310 may appear to have an hour glass shape with the ends of nip wider than the center. An example of a pressure roll associated with the nip profile 310 is shown in
The nip profile 312 may be considered to be in a normal condition because it may prevent wrinkling but may be less robust to stress conditions for wrinkle as compared to the nip profile 310. An example of a pressure roll associated with the nip profile 312 is shown in
The nip profile 314 may have a higher crown as compared to the nip profile 310 and 312. Over a course of several millions linear feet of web, the nip profile 312 may no longer be uniform. The web 215 (shown in
The nip profile may be determined manually. For example, the web may be monitored for wrinkling or stretching to collect feedback about the nip profile. This may include monitoring the width of the web as it runs through the spreader (or coming into and exiting the nip). When the web is wrinkling and all other process parameters are in-check, it may be inferred that the nip is not in a good condition. This may correspond to the pressure roll 346 shown in
One possible method of extending the life of the pressure roll is based on manipulating the nip such that outer edges (i.e. inboard and outboard) have larger nip widths than the center of the nip, as shown with the nip profile 310. This may cause the nip profile to be less crowned. This method may stretch the web 215 toward the edges and reduce likelihood of web wrinkle, thus enabling a longer life of the pressure roll 210. Another possible method of extending the life of the pressure roll 210 is based on manipulating the nip profile to change the crown height of the elastomer coating of the pressure roll 210.
The processor 520 may include at least one conventional processor or microprocessor that interprets and executes instructions. The memory 530 may be a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for execution by processor 520. The memory 530 may also include a read-only memory (ROM) which may include a conventional ROM device or another type of static storage device that stores static information and instructions for processor 520.
The communication interface 580 may include any mechanism that facilitates communication via a network. For example, the communication interface 580 may include a modem. Alternatively, communication interface 580 may include other mechanisms for assisting in communications with other devices and/or systems.
The ROM 540 may include a conventional ROM device or another type of static storage device that stores static information and instructions for processor 520. A storage device may augment the ROM and may include any type of storage media, such as, for example, magnetic or optical recording media and its corresponding drive.
The output section 532 may include one or more conventional mechanisms that output image production documents to the user, including output trays, output paths, finishing section, etc., for example.
The image production section 521 may include an image printing and/or copying section, a scanner, a fuser, etc., for example.
The scanner 570 (or image scanner) may be any scanner known to one of skill in the art, such as a flat-bed scanner, document feeder scanner, etc. The image scanner 570 may be a common full-rate half-rate carriage design and can be made with high resolution (600 dpi or greater) at low cost, for example.
The image production device 500 may perform such functions in response to processor 520 by executing sequences of instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as, for example, memory 530. Such instructions may be read into memory 530 from another computer-readable medium, such as a storage device or from a separate device via communication interface 580.
The user interface 550 may include one or more conventional mechanisms that permit a user to input information to and interact with the image production device 500, such as a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a pen, a voice recognition device, touchpad, buttons, etc., for example.
The pressure control logic 522 may be configured to apply internal pressure to change the appearance of the pressure roll. Examples of pressurized pressure rolls are shown in
As discussed above, it may be desirable to have slightly higher nip pressure on the outside of the web to create tension across the web. For some embodiments, the thickness of core of the pressure roll may vary depending on the areas where the adjustment of the crowning may be performed using the internal pressure. For example, when an area of the pressure roll is more sensitive to crown height adjustment, the internal wall thickness of that area may be less than other areas of the pressure roll. The pressure roll may have an internal profile due to the variation of the internal wall thickness. When the elastomer coating on the pressure roll begin to wear, and the nip pressure at the outer edges of the web may begin to decrease, the internal pressure of the pressure roll may be lowered to decrease the crown and increase the pressure out to the edge of the web. The change in the internal pressure may be performed by the pressure control logic 322.
The pressure roll 605 may be configured to have internal walls with thickness variation. This may enable using the internal pressure to control any possible deformed shape of the pressure roll. Custom profiles may be created to control the amount of deflection across the pressure roll 605. For example, the custom profile may be a tapered profile where the wall thickness at the mid-section of the pressure roll 605 may be thinner than the edge sections. This may enable more expansion in the mid-section and therefore more nip pressure at the mid-section of the pressure roll 605 than at the edges. Similarly, reducing the internal pressure of the pressure roll 605 may transfer the high nip pressure from the mid-section to the outer part of the pressure roll 605.
The pressure control logic 620 may determine how the appearance of the pressure roll 605 may be adjusted. For example, the adjustment may be made as a function of roller age, based on data from prior experiments in which the wear rate (depth, width, etc.) has been characterized as a function of linear feet of paper processed through the nip, and the paper width, weight, type, etc. The adjustment may involve applying internal pressure to certain areas of the pressure roll 605. The pressure may be increased or decreased depending on where the wear occurs and whether more or less crowning is desirable. The pressure may be provided by the pressure source 610. For some embodiments, the pressure control logic 620 may use hydraulic loading with couplings or connector 625 that may be used to connect to the pressure roll 605. The connection may occur when the adjustable crown pressure roll system 600 is not powered on. Disconnection may occur before the adjustable crown pressure roll system 600 is powered on.
Embodiments as disclosed herein may also include computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or combination thereof) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of the computer-readable media.
Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described therein. It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
