Contamination-proof imaging member cleaning device and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10124576-B2
Application number	US-201715474812-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2017
Priority date	Mar 30, 2017
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A cleaning apparatus includes an inker roller and an ink source holding ink for the inker roller. The inker roller contacts a reimageable surface of an imaging member downstream of an ink image transfer station that transfers an ink image from the surface to a print sheet, with the surface having residual ink remaining thereon after the transfer of the ink image. The inker roller applies ink from the ink source against the reimageable surface. However, instead of the ink transferring from the inker roller to the surface, the ink stays with the inker roller and removes the residual ink from the surface to clean the surface for a subsequent ink image. The inker roller is not contaminated from removing the residual ink as the inker roller is designed to be coated by ink that adds to its coating of ink via the removed residual ink.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imaging member cleaning apparatus, comprising:
an inker roller having ink thereon for contact with an imaging member downstream of both an ink delivery device and an ink image transfer station in a printing process direction, the ink delivery device configured to deposit ink over a reimageable surface of the imaging member to form an ink image thereon, the ink image transfer station configured to transfer the ink image from the reimageable surface to a print sheet, with the reimageable surface of the imaging member having residual ink remaining thereon after the transfer of the ink image at the ink image transfer station; and
an ink source holding ink for transfer to the inker roll, with the inker roller configured to remove the residual ink from the reimageable surface by carrying the ink from the ink source to the imaging member and contacting the carried ink against the residual ink to clean the reimageable surface.

2. The imaging member cleaning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a cooler configured to cool the ink on the inker roller to a temperature lower than a temperature of the ink deposited on the reimageable surface by the inking delivery device, the inker roller rolling the cooled ink thereon against the reimageable surface at a nip between the inker roller and the imaging member.

3. The imaging member cleaning apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the inker roller is a chilled anilox roll, the cooled ink on the inker roller having a viscosity higher than a viscosity of the ink deposited on the reimageable surface by the inking delivery device.

4. The imaging member cleaning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a pre-clean fountain solution subsystem positioned downstream of the ink image transfer station and upstream the inker roller in the printing process direction, the pre-clean fountain solution subsystem configured to deposit a layer of fountain solution onto the reimageable surface between the residual ink thereon.

5. The imaging member cleaning apparatus of claim 1 , the ink in the ink source being the same ink type as the ink deposited on the reimageable surface by the inking delivery device.

6. The imaging member cleaning apparatus of claim 1 , the ink source including an ink filter configured to separate the ink from the fountain solution deposited onto the reimageable surface by the pre-clean fountain solution subsystem, with the filtered ink remaining in the ink source.

7. An ink-based digital printing system, comprising:
an imaging member having a reimageable surface;
an ink delivery device including a first ink source, with the ink delivery device configured to deposit a first ink over the reimageable surface to form an ink image,
an ink image transfer station positioned downstream of the ink delivery device in a printing process direction that transfers the ink image from the reimageable surface to an image receiving print sheet, the reimageable surface having residual ink remaining on the surface after the transfer of the formed ink image;
a second ink delivery device in contact with the reimageable surface of the imaging member downstream of the ink image transfer station in the printing process direction the second ink delivery device including a second ink source, with the second ink delivery device configured to remove the residual ink from the reimageable surface by carrying a second ink from the second ink source to the imaging member and contacting the second ink against the residual ink to clean the reimageable surface.

8. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , wherein the second ink is the same ink type as the first ink.

9. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , the second ink delivery device being an imaging member cleaning apparatus having an inker roller in rolling contact with the reimageable surface, the second ink delivery device configured to cool the second ink to a temperature lower than a temperature of the first ink, the inker roller rolling the cooled second ink against the reimageable surface at a nip between the inker roller and the imaging member.

10. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 9 , wherein the inker roller is a chilled anilox roll, and the cooled second ink has a viscosity higher than a viscosity of the first ink.

11. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , further comprising a pre-clean fountain solution subsystem positioned downstream of the ink image transfer station and upstream the second ink delivery device in the printing process direction, the pre-clean fountain solution subsystem configured to deposit a pre-clean layer of fountain solution onto the reimageable surface between the residual ink thereon.

12. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , the second ink source including an ink filter configured to separate the second ink from the fountain solution deposited onto the reimageable surface by the pre-clean fountain solution subsystem, with the filtered second ink remaining in the second ink source.

13. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 5 , further comprising a post-cleaner fountain solution subsystem positioned downstream the second ink delivery device and upstream the ink delivery device in the printing processing direction, the fountain solution subsystem configured to deposit a post-cleaner layer of fountain solution onto the reimageable surface of the imaging member.

14. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 13 , wherein the pre-clean layer of fountain solution is thinner than the post-cleaner layer of fountain solution.

15. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , the ink delivery device including an anilox roller configured to meter the first ink from the first ink source onto the reimageable surface, the second ink delivery device including a second anilox roller configured to meter the second ink from the second ink source to the reimageable surface at a nip between the second anilox roller and the imaging member, the second ink remaining with the second anilox roller after the nip.

16. The ink-based digital printing system of claim 7 , further comprising:
a post-cleaner fountain solution subsystem positioned downstream the second ink delivery device and upstream the ink delivery device in the printing processing direction, the post-cleaner fountain solution subsystem configured to deposit a post-cleaner layer of fountain solution onto the reimageable surface of the imaging member;
an optical patterning subsystem between the post-cleaner fountain solution subsystem and the ink delivery device in the printing processing direction, the optical patterning subsystem configured to selectively pattern a latent image in the layer of fountain solution, the ink delivery device configured to deposit the ink on the latent image to form the ink image.

17. An ink-based digital printing cleaning method, comprising:
depositing ink over a reimageable surface of an imaging member with an ink delivery unit to form an ink image,
transferring the ink image from the reimageable surface to an image receiving print sheet via an ink image transfer station positioned downstream of the ink delivery unit in a printing process direction, the reimageable surface having residual ink remaining on the surface after the transfer of the formed ink image;
delivering ink against the reimageable surface of the imaging member with an inked inker roller downstream of the ink image transfer station in the printing process direction; and
removing the residual ink from the reimageable surface with the ink on the inker roller.

Assignees

• Xerox Corp

Inventors

• Lestrange Jack T
• Knausdorf Peter J
• Condello Anthony S

Classifications

• B41F7/02

  for offset printing · CPC title

• B41F35/06 Primary

  for offset cylinders · CPC title

• B41F7/00 Primary

  Rotary lithographic machines {(such office printing machines B41L7/00)} · CPC title

• B41F35/02

  for forme cylinders · CPC title