Liquid Discharge Nozzle Complementation for Missing Image Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid discharge apparatuses face issues with nozzle failures leading to missing images and streaks due to incomplete discharge, which can decrease productivity and image quality, and existing complementation methods may not accurately match discharge characteristics of nozzles.
Innovation Solution
A liquid discharge apparatus that identifies defective nozzles, specifies a complementing nozzle, and adjusts the discharge amount based on nozzle characteristics to ensure accurate and efficient liquid distribution, preventing extra operations that decrease productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a nozzle with discharge failure is complemented by another nozzle, then image quality is improved by preventing missing images and streaks, but productivity decreases due to extra operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of discharge failures and pre-calculates complementation strategies before actual discharge operations. By identifying defective nozzles in advance and determining which healthy nozzles will compensate, the system avoids runtime adjustments and extra operations during the discharge process itself, thereby maintaining productivity while ensuring image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adjusts discharge parameters (such as discharge timing, amount, or frequency) of healthy nozzles to compensate for defective ones. By dynamically changing operational parameters rather than adding physical operations, the system achieves complementation without increasing overall processing time, thus resolving the contradiction between image quality and productivity.
2Device complexity
If complementation is performed without considering nozzle discharge characteristics, then operation complexity is reduced, but discharge accuracy decreases leading to non-uniform liquid distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different complementation strategies to different nozzles based on their individual discharge characteristics. Each healthy nozzle is selected and configured specifically to match the discharge properties of its corresponding defective nozzle, ensuring uniform liquid distribution. This localized customization achieves high discharge accuracy without requiring complex global control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual model or copy of the discharge characteristics for each defective nozzle and uses this information to select and configure appropriate healthy nozzles. By copying the discharge patterns, timing, and parameters of defective nozzles to their complements, the system achieves accurate liquid distribution while keeping the control logic relatively simple through pattern matching rather than complex calculations.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid discharge apparatus includes a head, a movement mechanism, and circuitry. The head has multiple nozzles to discharge a liquid onto a discharge target. The movement mechanism moves the head and the discharge target relative to each other. The circuitry controls the head and the movement mechanism based on discharge data, specifies a defective nozzle having a discharge failure, specifies a planned area onto which the liquid is to be discharged from the defective nozzle, specifies a complementing nozzle to discharge the liquid onto the planned area, determines a discharge amount of the liquid to be discharged from the complementing nozzle to the planned area based on data related to discharge characteristics, and moves the head and the discharge target relative to each other and controls the head to discharge the liquid of the discharge amount from the complementing nozzle onto the planned area.