Media electrostatic hold down and conductive heating assembly

• US 7,216,968 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2003
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, David E., Yraceburu, Robert M., McNally, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Meier; Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Ly T.
• Application Number:
  US10/445,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20040233264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,452 Days
• Field of Search: 347/102, 347/104, 271/193, 271/275, 271/195, 279/128, 219/774, 219/775, 219/777, 198/691, 361/234, 400/645, 399/316
• US Class Current: 347/102
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0005 Curl smoothing, i.e. smoothing down corrugated printing material, e.g. by pressing means acting on wrinkled printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0024 using conduction means, e.g. by using a heated platen
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/007 Conveyor belts or like feeding devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/06 Flat page-size platens or smaller flat platens having a greater size than line-size platens B41J11/0085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/10 Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/60 for printing on both faces of the printing material

Abstract

A media hold down and heating assembly of one embodiment of the invention is disclosed that includes a dielectric against which media is positioned, a conductive heating element, and an electrostatic hold down element. The conductive heating element is to conductively heat the media through the dielectric. The electrostatic hold down element is to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric.

Claims

1. A media hold down and heating system comprising:

a dielectric against which paper-type media on which images are capable of being formed via fluid ejection is positioned, the dielectric comprising at least one of a belt and an at least substantially flat platen;

a conductive heating element to conductively heat the media through the dielectric;

an electrostatic hold down element to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric while the images are being formed on the media via fluid ejection; and

,

a plurality of electrodes shared by the conductive heating element to conductively heat the media and the electrostatic hold down element to electrostatically hold down the media.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conductive heating element comprises a plurality of electric heater power supplies.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic hold down element comprises a high-voltage source.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic hold down element is capacitive.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the conductive heating element directly heats the electrodes to conductively heat the media through the dielectric, and the electrostatic hold down element creates an electric field between the electrodes that electrostatically attracts the media against the dielectric.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are situated to an opposite side of the dielectric to that which the media is positioned against.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are disposed at least partially within the dielectric.

8. A media hold down and heating system comprising:

a dielectric having a side against which paper-type media is positioned, the media capable of having images formed thereon via fluid ejection;

a plurality of electrodes at least partially situated to an opposite side of the dielectric;

a plurality of electric heater power supplies to heat the plurality of electrodes and to conductively heat the media through the dielectric; and

,

a high-voltage source to create an electric field between the plurality of electrodes to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric while the images are being formed on the media via fluid ejection,

such that the electrodes are shared by both the electric heater power supplies to conductively heat the media and the high-voltage source to electrostatically hold down the media.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrodes are completely situated to the opposite side of the dielectric.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrodes are at least partially disposed within the dielectric.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electric heater power supplies, and the high-voltage source are spatially positioned relative to one another such that the electric field created by the high-voltage source is substantially unaffected by the plurality of electric heater power supplies.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrodes are substantially elongated U-shaped electrodes positioned parallel to one another and logically numerative from a first electrode to a last electrode, each electrode having a first end and a second end.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of electric heater power supplies comprises a first electric heater power supply and a second electric heater power supply, each having a positive terminal and a negative terminal, the high-voltage source also having a positive terminal and a negative terminal.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first electric heater power supply is connected to the positive terminal of the high-voltage source and to each odd-numbered electrode, and the second electric heater power supply is connected to the negative terminal of the high-voltage source and to each even-numbered electrode.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the positive terminal of the first electric heater power supply is connected to the positive terminal of the high-voltage source and to the second end of each odd-numbered electrode, and the negative terminal of the first electric heater power supply is connected to the first end of each odd-numbered electrode.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the positive terminal of the second electric heater power supply is connected to the negative terminal of the high-voltage source and to the first end of each even-numbered electrode, and the negative terminal of the second electric heater power supply is connected to the second end of each even-numbered electrode.

17. A media hold down and heating system comprising:

a dielectric having a side against which media is positioned;

a plurality of electrodes at least partially situated to an opposite side of the dielectric;

a plurality of electric heater power supplies to heat the plurality of electrodes and to conductively heat the media through the dielectric; and

,

a high-voltage source to create an electric field between the plurality of electrodes to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric,

wherein the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electric heater power supplies, and the high-voltage source are spatially positioned relative to one another such that a voltage between each successive pair of the plurality of electrodes is substantially equal to a voltage of the high-voltage source.

18. A media hold down and heating system comprising:

a dielectric against which paper-type media is positioned, the media capable of having images formed thereon via fluid ejection, the dielectric comprising one of a belt and, an at least substantially flat platen;

means for conductively heating the media through the dielectric and for electrostatically holding down the media against the dielectric while the images are formed on the media via fluid ejection; and

a plurality of electrodes used by the means to both conductively heat the media and electrostatically hold down the media.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means is further for conductively heating the media and for electrostatically holding down the media such that electrostatically holding down the media is unaffected by conductively heating the media.

20. A fluid-ejection system comprising:

a fluid-ejection mechanism to eject fluid onto media;

a hold down and heating system to electrostatically hold down the media for the fluid-ejection mechanism to eject the fluid onto the media, and to conductively heat the media to substantially dry the fluid ejected onto the media, the hold down and heating system comprising a dielectric against which the media is positioned, the dielectric comprising one of a belt and an at least substantially flat platen; and

,

a plurality of electrodes used by the system to both conductively heat the media and electrostatically hold down the media.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising a duplexing mechanism so that the fluid-ejection mechanism is able to eject fluid onto both sides of the media without manual reinsertion of the media into the fluid-ejection device.

22. The system of claim 20, further comprising a media-advance mechanism to advance the media past the fluid-ejection mechanism.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the fluid-ejection mechanism is an inkjet-printing mechanism, such that the fluid-ejection device is an inkjet-printing device.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the hold down and heating assembly further comprises:

a conductive heating element to conductively heat the media through the dielectric so that the fluid ejected onto the media is substantially dried; and

,

an electrostatic hold down element to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric for the fluid-ejection mechanism to eject fluid onto the media,

wherein both the conductive heating element and the electrostatic hold down element share the electrodes to conductively heat the media and to electrostatically hold down the media.

25. A fluid-ejection system comprising:

a fluid-ejection mechanism to eject fluid onto media; and

,

a hold down and heating assembly to electrostatically hold down the media for the fluid-ejection mechanism to eject the fluid onto the media, and to conductively heat the media to substantially dry the fluid ejected onto the media,

wherein the hold down and heating system comprises;

a dielectric having a side against which media is positioned;

a plurality of electrodes at least partially situated to an opposite side of the dielectric;

a plurality of electric heater power supplies to heat the plurality of electrodes and to conductively heat the media through the dielectric so that the fluid ejected onto the media is substantially dried; and

,

a high-voltage source to create an electric field between the plurality of electrodes to electrostatically hold down the media against the dielectric for the fluid-ejection mechanism to eject fluid onto the media,

such that the electrodes are shared by both the electric heater power supplies to conductively heat the media and the high-voltage source to electrostatically hold down the media.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electric heater power supplies, and the high-voltage source are spatially positioned relative to one another such that the electric field created by the high-voltage source is unaffected by the plurality of electric heater power supplies.

27. A fluid-ejection system comprising:

a dielectric against which media is positioned, the dielectric comprising one of a belt and an at least substantially flat platen;

a fluid-ejection mechanism to eject fluid onto the media;

means for electrostatically holding down the media against the dielectric and for conductively heating the media to dry the fluid ejected onto the media such that electrostatically holding down the media is unaffected by conductively heating the media; and

,

a plurality of electrodes used by the means to both conductively heat the media and electrostatically hold down the media.

28. The system of claim 27, further comprising a duplexing mechanism so that the fluid-ejection mechanism is able to eject fluid onto both sides of the media without manual reinsertion of the media into the fluid-ejection device.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the fluid-ejection mechanism ejects ink onto media, such that the fluid-ejection system is an inkjet-printing device.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for electrostatically holding down the media and for conductively heating the media creates an electric field to electrostatically hold down the media, and conductively heats the media without affecting the electric field.

31. A method comprising:

electrostatically holding down a current swath of media against a dielectric using a plurality of electrodes, the dielectric comprising one of a belt and an at least substantially flat platen;

ejecting fluid onto the current swath of the media; and

,

conductively heating the current swath of the media through the dielectric to dry the fluid ejected, using the plurality of electrodes,

such that the electrodes are used to both electrostatically hold down the media and conductively heat the media.

32. The method of claim 31, further initially comprising advancing the media so that the current swath thereof is positioned against the dielectric.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

advancing the media so that a next swath of the media is the current swath of the media; and

,

repeating electrostatically holding down the current swath of the media, ejecting fluid onto the current swath of the media, and conductively heating the current swath of the media.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein ejecting fluid onto the current swath of the media comprises ejecting ink onto the current swath of the media.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein conductively heating the current swath of the media does not affect electrostatically holding down the current swath of the media.

36. A method comprising:

providing a dielectric against which media on which images are capable of being formed via fluid ejection is positionable, the dielectric comprising one of a belt and an at least substantially flat platen;

providing a conductive heating element capable of conductively heating the media through the dielectric;

providing an electrostatic hold down element capable of electrostatically holding down the media against the dielectric while the images are formed on the media via fluid ejection; and

,

providing a plurality of electrodes shared by both the conductive heating element to conductively heat the media and the electrostatic hold down element to electrostatically hold down the media.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein providing the dielectric comprises providing one of a belt and a platen.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein providing the conductive heating element comprises providing a plurality of electric heater power supplies.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein providing the electrostatic hold down element comprises providing a high-voltage source.