Drive Control Apparatus for Ink-Jet Printer Signal Defect Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-driving circuit systems, such as ink-jet printers, it is challenging to detect electrical conduction defects in common signal wires without specifying the defective signal wire, which hinders efficient fault identification and increases costs due to unnecessary signal wire redundancy.
Innovation Solution
A drive control apparatus with individual and common signal terminals, connection-signal generating circuits, operation-signal generating circuits, and signal selecting circuits that output distinct signals based on a checking signal, allowing for the integration of output signals to identify defects in specific signal wires, thereby reducing the number of signal wires needed and facilitating cost-saving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If separate signal wires are provided for each checking circuit output, then fault detection capability is improved, but the number of signal wires increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple checking circuit outputs are merged into a single common signal wire through a wired-OR connection, allowing multiple signals to share one wire while maintaining the ability to detect faults in any individual connection
2Quantity of substance
If a common signal wire is used for multiple checking circuits, then the number of signal wires is reduced and cost is reduced, but the ability to specify the defective signal wire is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The checking process is segmented into individual checking circuits, each responsible for a specific signal wire or group of wires, allowing faults to be localized to specific segments while sharing a common output wire
Solution Approach 2:
Each checking circuit provides feedback about the status of its associated signal wire through the common wire, enabling the control circuit to identify which specific wire is defective based on which checking circuit detects the fault
3Measurement precision
If individual signal wires are used for each driving circuit, then fault detection precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual checking circuit outputs are combined into a single common signal wire, reducing the overall wire count while preserving the ability to detect faults in individual connections through the distributed checking circuit architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A control circuit of a printer makes a signal selecting circuit select a connection signal of a checking circuit, and then make output, to one driver IC which detects a connection state with the control circuit. The control circuit outputs a selection signal which makes the signal selecting circuit select a temperature detection signal of a temperature sensor, and then make output, to the remaining driver ICs.