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US 10,688,812 B2Granted
Curing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and articles of manufacture
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsFrancisco Javier Perez Gellida, Luis Fernando Martinez Nieto, Francisco Javier Rodriguez Escanuela
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Curing apparatus, image forming apparatus and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example curing apparatus includes a curing unit to heat an area adjacent a substrate travel path, the curing unit having a width less than a width of the substrate travel path, and a controller to reciprocate the curing unit within the substrate width.
Claims17
A method of curing a print substrate while printing on the substrate, the method comprising:
- operating a curing unit that comprises a lamp partially surrounded by a reflector to direct radiation from a radiation source of the lamp toward the substrate;
- providing radiation from the lamp to a radiation curing area to cure a marking agent on the substrate;
- and
- moving the curing unit at a first rate at a central region of a substrate and moving the curing unit at a second rate at an edge region of the substrate, the second rate being slower than the first rate,
- wherein operating the curing unit further comprises reciprocating the curing unit within a substrate width of the print substrate.
2 more elements
An image forming method comprising:
- with a print head, applying a marking agent to a print substrate having a substrate width and traveling in a substrate travel path;
- and
- reciprocating a curing unit that comprises a lamp partially surrounded by a reflector to direct radiation from a radiation source of the lamp to cure the marking agent on the substrate, the curing unit being reciprocated back and forth over the width of the substrate;
- the method further comprising applying the marking agent to a first area of the print substrate while, at a same time, curing a second area of the print substrate with the curing unit,
- wherein reciprocating the curing unit comprises reciprocating a carriage of the curing unit across the width of the print substrate, and moving the curing unit at a first rate within a central region of the print substrate and moving the curing unit at a second rate within at least one edge region of the print substrate, the second rate being slower than the first rate.
2 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a print head to selectively apply a marking agent to a print substrate that has a substrate width in a substrate travel path;
- a curing unit mounted on a carriage to reciprocate back and forth over the width of the substrate;
- and
- the curing unit comprising a lamp mounted on the carriage to emit radiation to cure the marking agent on the substrate;
- wherein the print head and curing unit are to, respectively, apply the marking agent to a first area of the print substrate while, at a same time, cure a second area of the print substrate where marking agent is already applied, and
- wherein the carriage is to move the curing unit at a first rate within a central region of the print substrate and move the curing unit at a second rate within at least one edge region of the print substrate, the second rate being slower than the first rate.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.