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US 8,893,616 B2Granted
Ghost-free inking methods, apparatus, and systems with reduced fountain solution contamination
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorChu-heng Liu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A digital offset inking system includes an ink supply, a soft transfer roll, and a hard form roll. A cleaning blade cleaning ink and fountain solution from the surface of the hard form roll that is leftover after transferring ink to a digital imaging member. A fountain solution removal system processes the ink to remove the fountain solution from the ink. The processes ink is resupplied to the inking system for transfer to the digital imaging member.
Claims15
A digital offset inking method, comprising:
- metering a uniform layer of ink onto a hard form roll from a transfer roll of an inking system, the transfer roll having a conformable surface;
- and
- transferring the ink of the uniform layer directly from the hard form roll to a digital imaging member;
- cleaning a combination solution that includes ink and fountain solution from the hard form roll, the cleaning including removing the combination solution from the surface of the hard form roll, the fountain solution being transferred to the hard form roll during the transferring the ink to the digital imaging member;
- collecting the removed combination solution to a reservoir of a fountain solution removal system;
- and
- separating the ink from the fountain solution by subjecting the combination solution to a separation procedure while the combination solution is in the reservoir,
- wherein the cleaning step further comprises contacting a hard surface of the hard form roll with a cleaning blade whereby the combination solution is removed from the hard form roll, and
- the separating procedure includes evaporating the fountain solution from the combination solution to yield ink that is substantially free of the fountain solution.
6 more elements
A keyless digital offset inking apparatus, comprising:
- a hard form member;
- a cleaning member, the cleaning member being a cleaning blade that contacts the hard form member for removing a combination solution that includes ink and fountain solution from a surface of the hard form member;
- and
- a fountain solution removal system, the fountain solution removal system comprising a reservoir, the reservoir being configured to contain combination solution, the combination solution comprising the ink and the fountain solution removed from the surface of the hard form member by the cleaning member, the fountain solution removal system being configured to separate the fountain solution from the ink by subjecting the combination solution to a separation procedure while the combination solution is in the reservoir,
- wherein the fountain solution removal system includes a heat source for heating the combination solution during the separation procedure to evaporate the fountain solution from the ink of the combination solution.
2 more elements
A digital offset inking system, comprising:
- an inking system for transferring a uniform layer of ink to a digital imaging member, the inking system having an soft transfer member, a hard form member, and a cleaning blade for contacting a surface of the hard form member to remove a combination solution that includes ink and fountain solution from a surface of the hard form member;
- a fountain solution removal system for receiving the combination solution removed from the surface of the hard form member, the fountain solution removal system including a reservoir, the reservoir being configured to contain the combination solution removed from the surface of the hard form member by the cleaning blade, the fountain solution removal system being configured to separate the fountain solution from the ink by subjecting the combination solution to a separation procedure while the combination solution is in the reservoir;
- and
- a heating system for heating the combination solution to evaporate fountain solution from the combination solution whereby the ink is substantially free of fountain solution.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.