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Edge guide for media transport system

a technology of media transport and edge guide, which is applied in the direction of printing equipment, instruments, manufacturing tools, etc., can solve the problems of complex and costly alignment procedures for precisely adjusting the transport of substrates between components and subsystems, and the precision of designed components, and achieve the effect of high speed

Active Publication Date: 2011-06-02
EASTMAN KODAK CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an edge guide for continuous web media handling that supports self-alignment of web media transport components to maintain registration of the printing media. The edge guide minimizes mechanical constraints to the moving web, maintaining center justification in the cross-track direction, with continuous alignment of an edge of the media during transport. The invention also allows non-contact printing or application of fluids onto the media surface at high speeds, without applying an over-constraining force or pressure that might inadvertently damage the media, cause image misregistration, or otherwise inhibit proper drying or curing of applied inks and other fluids.

Problems solved by technology

Typical of conventional web handling subsystems are heavy frame structures, precision-designed components, and complex and costly alignment procedures for precisely adjusting substrate transport between components and subsystems.
The problem of maintaining precise and repeatable web registration and transport becomes even more acute with the development of high-resolution non-contact printing, such as high-volume inkjet printing.
Variability in ink or other liquid amounts and types and in drying time can cause substrate stiffness and tension characteristics to vary dynamically over a range for different types of substrate, contributing to the overall complexity of the substrate handling and registration challenge.
Problems with such a conventional approach include significant cost in design, assembly, and adjustment and alignment of web handling components along the media path.
While such a conventional approach may allow some degree of modularity, it would be difficult and costly to expand or modify a system with this type of design.
Each “module” for such a system would itself be a complete printing apparatus, or would require a complete, self-contained subassembly for paper transport, making it costly to modify or extend a printing operation, such as to add one or more additional colors or processing steps, for example.
It would be difficult and costly to employ such a solution with a print medium whose stiffness and tension vary during printing, as described above.
Other solutions for web (or belt as referred to above) steering are similarly intended for endless webs in electrophotographic equipment but are not readily adaptable for use with paper media.
Steering using a surface-contacting roller, useful for low-speed photographic printers and taught in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,070 entitled “Web Tracking Apparatus” to Blanding et al. would be inappropriate for a surface that is variably wetted with ink and would also tend to introduce non-uniform tension in the cross-track direction.
Other solutions taught for photographic media, such as those disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,903 entitled “Web Guiding Apparatus” to Blanding are well suited to photographic media moving at slow to moderate speeds but are inappropriate for systems that need to accommodate a wide range of medias, each with different characteristics, and transport each media type at speeds of hundreds of feet per minute.
While conventional solutions such as these may work successfully for magnetic tape, however, these approaches fail to meet the needs of a print media handing system.
Close spacing between edge guides is possible with magnetic tape, allowing precise registration at high transport speeds; however, with paper and other print substrates, dimensional requirements make such tight control unworkable using closely spaced edge guides.
Conventional solutions for handling continuous web print media have also been found to be poorly suited for high-speed non-contact printing applications.
For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,289 entitled “Gimballed Roller for Web Material” to Entz et al. describes a gimbaled roller that positions itself automatically with respect to a moving web, but applies edge guidance along both edges, providing over-constraint not desirable for a kinematic web handling system.
This type of solution works well for photographic paper, which has a relatively high cross-track stiffness and relatively narrow range of widths, but is not readily adaptable for print media that can be several times as wide as photographic print paper and, unlike photographic media, may have a broad range of stiffness and thickness characteristics.
Among problems with conventional web guides of these types are high parts count and assembly cost, complex mechanical constraint profiles, media handling problems due to localized nip pressure, and relatively high cost.
This can transmit a force through the paper onto the web support means, potentially damaging the web or smudging any colorant or other coating that may already be imprinted on the web surface.
A conventional urging roller can also place a non-uniform drag on the paper due to a force imbalance between the edge and nip forces.
It can also be difficult to accommodate large variations in paper width while maintaining center justification with this approach.
Unfortunately, performance problems that may be inherent to various types of conventional web media edge guides and may not impact some types of systems become increasingly more pronounced as web transport speeds increase.
While problems such as non-uniform drag and tendency to stray from center justification can be corrected to some degree with slower moving web transport systems, these problems are accentuated where high web transport speeds exceed 100 feet per minute.
Difficulties of this type become even further complicated when system requirements allow for a range of media widths and types, having various stiffness, thickness, surface smoothness, and other characteristics, and when some of these characteristics can change dynamically, such as with the amount of applied ink or other fluids.

Method used

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Embodiment Construction

[0055]The present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described may take various forms well known to those skilled in the art.

[0056]The method and apparatus of the present invention provide a modular approach to the design of a digital printing system, utilizing features and principles of exact constraint for transporting continuously moving web print media past one or more digital printheads, such as inkjet printheads. The apparatus and method of the present invention are particularly well suited for printing apparatus that provide non-contact application of ink or other colorant onto a continuously moving medium. The printhead of the present invention selectively moistens at least some portion of the media as it courses through the printing system, but without the need to make contact with the prin...

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PUM

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Abstract

An edge guide is provided. A structure includes curved surface over which a print media can travel. The print media includes a first edge and a second edge that is opposite the first edge. A first media guide is contactable with the first edge of the print media. A second media guide is contactable with the second edge of the print media. The second media guide is spaced apart from the first media guide. A relative spacing between the second media guide and the first media guide is adjustable such that a distance between the first media guide and the second media guide is variable. The second media guide includes a mechanism that applies a nesting force to the second edge of the print media to cause the first edge of the print media to move toward and contact the first media guide.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Reference is made to commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket No. 95529) filed ______ entitled “MODULAR MEDIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM”, by DeCook et al.; to commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket No. 95526) filed entitled “MEDIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR NON-CONTACTING PRINTING” by Muir et al.; and to commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Docket No. 96007) entitled “EDGE GUIDE HAVING ADJUSTABLE MAGNITUDE NESTING FORCE” by Muir et al.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention generally relates to printing apparatus for web media and more particularly relates to an edge guide for a web media transport apparatus that supports kinematic web handling for feeding a continuous web of media from a supply and to one or more printing sections.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Continuous web printing allows economical, high-speed, high-volume print repro...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B41J15/00B65H23/032
CPCB65H23/02
Inventor MUIR, CHRISTOPHER M.ARMBRUSTER, RANDY E.PARKER, RUTH H.
Owner EASTMAN KODAK CO
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