Patent Grant
6913354
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ink-jet printing and, more specifically, to vacuum belt-type ink-jet printers and the utilization of multiple belts and associated devices for heating and pressing print media.
2. Description of Related Art
The art of ink-jet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, copiers, and facsimile machines employ ink-jet technology for producing hard copy. The basics of this technology are disclosed, for example, in various articles in the Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5(October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4 (August 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No.1 (February 1994) editions. Ink-jet devices are also described by W. J. Lloyd and H. T. Taub in Output Hardcopy [sic ] Devices, chapter 13 (Ed. R. C. Durbeck and S. Sherr, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988). [For convenience of describing ink-jet technology and the present invention, all types of print media are referred to simply as “paper,” all compositions of colorants are referred to simply as “ink,” and all types of hard copy apparatus are referred to simply as a “printer” No limitation on the scope of invention is intended nor should any be implied.]
One source of image quality degradation is print head crashes on the media surface. These crashes can be induced by the media rising up off the main printing belt into the swept volume of the printheads. The cause of the media buckling is usually due to the wet colorant ink-jet printing process itself. As the fluid from the ink droplets is absorbed by the paper fibers, regions of the media expand differently as a function of the volume of ink in the region. This is also referred to as “cockle,” an irregular rather than planar surface produced in paper by the saturation and drying of ink deposits on the fibrous medium. As a sheet of paper gets saturated with ink, the paper grows and buckles in a seemingly random manner. Paper printed with images are more saturated with colorant than simple text pages and thus exhibit great paper cockle effects. Colors formed by mixing combinations of other color ink drops form greater localized saturation areas and also exhibit greater cockle tendencies.
One known solution for this problem is using a combination of heat, vacuum, and airflow to dry the media quickly, holding it down during the critical time just after ink deposition. However, this drying of the ink can also cause problems in local environmental conditions. Moreover, when media sits in a high humidity environment, it absorbs water from the air and stores the moisture in its fibrous structure, causing expansion. Therefore, even pre-printing, paper moisture content is a significant problem. Under common ambient atmospheric conditions (e.g., an office environment having a relative humidity of about 80% at 30° C.), paper commonly used for ink-jet printing can have a water content that is significant to the process. Depending on actual humidity, the moisture content of paper can be from about 1% to 10%. If an expanded sheet is then brought into a high temperature location, such as a heated print zone, the moisture in the fibers will be driven out and the media again will try to shrink. If this shrinkage is done abruptly to only a section of the media as opposed to the entire sheet at once, shrink cockle results. This can result in printhead crashes at raised regions.
Some types of print media heating techniques assigned to the common assignee of the present invention provide such exemplary prior art solutions:
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,315, Szlucha et al. describe a SEGMENTED FLEXIBLE HEATER FOR DRYING A PRINT IMAGE. A segmented flexible heater is disposed adjacently to a paper path for heating before and during printing. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,154 for an INK JET PRINTER, Mitani et al. describe a prior art belt type preheating unit.
In vacuum belt paper transport subsystems, sometimes heat is applied to the main belt with the vacuum being used to ensure contact to a heater. During heating, the paper 16 is dried. As moisture leaves the paper 16, the paper shrinks. This shrinkage is a change in paper size that is not matched by an equivalent change in the belt 32. Therefore, there will generally be relative motion between the two when the shrinkage occurs as the paper 16 is being transported by the belt 32 which can lead to dot placement error.
In vacuum belt systems, “edge-scalloping” of the sheet is a common occurrence. Edge-scalloping is generally a waviness occurring along the edges of a sheet due to a difference in the drying time from the central regions of the sheet, another form of cockling as described above. Edge-scalloping is a result of cockling effects compounded by irregular drying across the page area. The difference in heat exchange between the heater and the sheet is exacerbated in a vacuum transport system because vacuum loss around the sheet edges can lead to a loss of contact with a resultant loss of heat transfer. The interior regions of the sheet can dry faster and shrink faster than the edge regions. The resultant distortion is scalloped edges.
Actual shrinkage and other shape changes will of course be dependent on actual moisture content and paper thickness. Thus, preheating and print-zone heating of the paper can affect ultimate print quality characteristics. Temperature control is yet another factor which will be dependent on throughput time and media type.
There is a need for improved techniques of print media heating and flattening for a vacuum belt hard copy apparatus.
In its basic aspects, the present invention provides a method for flattening print media prior to ink-jet printing thereon, including the steps of: heating the print media over a predetermined time and temperature such that moisture content is substantially reduced prior to printing thereon; and pressing the print media upstream of printing thereon.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a print media preheating subsystem for an ink-jet hard copy apparatus, having a belt-type print media transport means for transporting print media via a vacuum belt along a media path through a print zone of the apparatus, the preheating subsystem including: upstream of the print zone, media transporting means for transporting print media along the path toward the print zone, the media transporting means including at least two complementary contact devices wherein the print media has each face thereof in contact with a respective device surface; and heating means for heating at least one of the contact devices surface such that heat is transferred to the print media therefrom.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a method for preheating an ink-jet print medium sheet prior to printing thereon in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus, including the steps of: pressing the sheet between a pair of print media transport devices in the print media transport path prior to printing on the media; moving the sheet with the devices toward a printing-zone of the apparatus; and heating a surface of at least one device of the pair of devices such that heat is transferred to the sheet substantially immediately prior to depositing ink thereon.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides an ink-jet hard copy apparatus, including: an ink-jet writing instrument positioned adjacently to a printing-zone in a print media transport path of the apparatus; a vacuum belt subsystem for receiving a sheet of print media, including a vacuum belt for transporting the sheet through the printing-zone; and upstream of the printing-zone, a preheating subsystem having a media transport mechanism and a heater mechanism associated with the media transport mechanism wherein heat is applied by the preheating subsystem to at least one surface of the sheet prior to the sheet entering the printing-zone and receiving colorant from the writing instrument.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a print media ironing device for ink-jet printers having a vacuum transport belt for moving a sheet of print media through a print-zone, including: at least one heater providing a pre-shrinkage region wherein the sheet passing therethrough experiences a substantial moisture content reduction; and at least one ironing mechanism, downstream of said region, wherein the sheet is pressed into a substantially planar configuration prior to entering the print-zone.
Some advantages of the present invention are:
it provides improved heat transfer to print media;
it provides improved image quality;
it is scalable;
in one embodiment it can be used to eliminate the need for vacuum upstream of the print-zone;
it provides a flat, stable media for printing;
it adds a holddown force for media types that are permeable by the vacuum—induced air flow; and
it prevents loss of vacuum at edges of all media types.
The foregoing invention summary and list of advantages is not intended by the inventors to be an inclusive list of all the aspects, objects, advantages and features of the present invention nor should any limitation on the scope of the invention be implied therefrom. This Summary is provided in accordance with the mandate of 37 C.F.R. 1.73 and M.P.E.P. 608.01(d) merely to apprise the public, and more especially those interested in the particular art to which the invention relates, of the nature of the invention in order to be of assistance in aiding ready understanding of the patent in future searches. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following explanation and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designations represent like features throughout the drawings.
The drawings referred to in this specification should be understood as not being drawn to scale except if specifically noted.
Reference is made now in detail to a specific embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates the best mode presently contemplated by the inventors for practicing the invention. Alternative embodiments are also briefly described as applicable.
The options of adding heat to one or both sides of the media can also optionally use vacuum or another known manner exhaust subsystem in the preheat zone (see description of
By separating the preheating subsystem 310 from the print-zone subsystem 10′, relative motion between belts and media as described in the Background section is restricted to the preheating subsystem 310. In this construct, the separate subsystem 10′, 310 belts can be run at different speeds based on throughput specifications to improve overall performance.
A pinch roller 42 (also in FIG. 1), positioned at the paper path 31 upstream entrance to the main vacuum belt 32 to square the media sheet, removing or at the least reducing, any skew before the leading edge enters the print-zone 34, can be used in conjunction with the present invention as described in further detail in assignee's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/542,504 by Wotton et al. on Apr. 3, 2000, for Linefeed Control in Belt-Type Printers (incorporated herein by reference).
The preheat subsystem 310 provides the advantage of running the preheater at intermittent speeds or continuous speed (versus ink-jet swath printing using stepped media advance). A buckling of the media between the preheat subsystem 310 and the downstream combination of the roller 42 and vacuum belt 32 can be allowed. In other words, a predetermined degree of buckling of the media is induced along the print media path between the upstream, heated transport mechanisms and the downstream point of contact with the vacuum belt. The preheating system 310 can be run at a different speed, including in continuous motion. This provides advantageous design options for implementing the present invention.
Again, the preheat subsystem 310 belts 302, 303 can be perforated to allow water vapor to escape. In a vacuum belt construct, as shown in each embodiment, again it is preferable that only one belt would be perforated so that the vacuum will pull against the other belt, providing vacuum-assisted pressing of the medium therebetween.
In summary, the present invention provides a print media preheating method and apparatus that uses heat, vacuum, and mechanisms in combination for drying and flattening a sheet prior to ink-jet printing thereon. Pre-shrinking the media, driving out and substantially reducing inherent moisture content prior to depositing wet ink thereon provides greater flatness in the print-zone whereby ink-jet print quality is improved.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art; for example, while conductive heat type devices are illustrated, radiant heat devices or the like might be employed. Similarly, any process steps described might be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the same result. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather means “one or more.” Moreover, no element, component, nor method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the following claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for . . . ”
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/588,941 filed on Jun. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,894 which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4887095 | Wataya et al. | Dec 1989 | A |
| 5896154 | Mitani et al. | Apr 1999 | A |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030137573 A1 | Jul 2003 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09588941 | Jun 2000 | US |
| Child | 10342505 | US |
