Corona Irradiation Control for Ink Ejection Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recording devices with corona irradiation units face ink ejection failures due to radicals formed on the recording medium and ejecting unit, which react with ink to form adhesives, leading to ejection failures, especially when the recording medium is not completely destaticized.
Innovation Solution
A recording device with a corona irradiation unit and an ejecting unit featuring a first head for white ink and a second head for colored ink, where the control unit adjusts the corona irradiation intensity based on the ejection density of the white ink to reduce radical formation on the recording medium, and includes features like gap adjustment and maintenance interval control to prevent ejection failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If corona irradiation is applied to modify the recording medium surface, then surface modification is achieved, but radicals are generated that cause ink ejection failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful radicals generated by corona irradiation into beneficial effects by having them react with the white ink to form adhesive substances. These adhesive substances then serve to improve ink adhesion to the recording medium, transforming the originally harmful radicals into useful bonding agents that enhance image quality and prevent ink ejection failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary corona irradiation to the recording medium before the colored ink ejection process. This preliminary action modifies the surface properties and generates radicals in advance, which then react with the white ink during the subsequent ejection process. This timing ensures that the harmful radicals are already present and can be converted into beneficial adhesive substances before the critical colored ink ejection occurs.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ionizer is used to destaticize the recording medium surface, then static charge is reduced, but complete destaticization cannot be achieved leading to ejection failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces white ink as an intermediary substance between the recording medium surface and the colored ink. The white ink reacts with radicals on the surface to form adhesive substances that mediate the bonding between the recording medium and subsequent ink layers. This intermediary approach compensates for incomplete destaticization by creating a chemical bonding layer that ensures stable ejection even when residual static charge remains.
3Manufacturing precision
If white ink is ejected to form background image, then complete image coverage is achieved, but radical reaction increases leading to ejection failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of corona irradiation, specifically adjusting the irradiation amount and timing. By optimizing these parameters, the system controls the concentration and distribution of radicals on the recording medium surface. This parameter optimization ensures sufficient radicals are present to react with the white ink for complete image coverage, while preventing excessive radical accumulation that would lead to ejection failures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively suppresses ink ejection failures by reducing radical presence on the recording medium and ejecting unit, ensuring stable ink ejection by adjusting irradiation intensity and maintaining unit operations, even with recording media that generate high radical levels.
Implementation Method 1
a corona irradiation unit disposed in a transport path of the target recording medium, and configured to modify a surface of the target recording medium by irradiating the surface with a corona discharge
Data Source
AI summary
A recording device includes transport units, a corona irradiation unit, an ejecting unit, and a control unit, and changes intensity of irradiation, performed the corona irradiation unit, according to ejection density of the white ink, when a target recording medium is formed with a colored image with a colored ink on the background image after the target recording medium is formed with a background image with a white ink.