Liquid Ejection Head Temperature Control for Dew Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejection apparatuses require significant energy to uniformly heat the nozzle surface or head surface to prevent dew condensation, which is inefficient and wasteful.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection head with a temperature control unit that differentiates the temperature of the ejection port surface, maintaining a higher temperature on the downstream side than on the upstream side relative to the moving medium, thereby reducing energy consumption while effectively preventing dew condensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire ejection port surface is heated uniformly to prevent dew condensation, then dew condensation is suppressed, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by dividing the ejection port surface into upstream and downstream regions with different temperature requirements. The temperature control unit heats only the downstream side region to a higher temperature than the upstream side region, focusing thermal energy where it is most needed to prevent dew condensation while reducing overall energy consumption compared to uniform heating of the entire surface.
2Reliability
If the downstream side region of the ejection port surface is heated to a higher temperature, then dew condensation is efficiently suppressed, but temperature distribution becomes non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent intentionally creates non-uniform temperature distribution as a solution rather than a problem. The temperature control unit is designed to heat the downstream side region to a higher temperature than the upstream side region, recognizing that dew condensation primarily occurs in the downstream region where liquid flows after ejection. This localized heating strategy prioritizes dew condensation prevention in the critical downstream area over maintaining uniform temperature across the entire surface.
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
This approach efficiently suppresses dew condensation on the ejection port surface while minimizing energy consumption, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency and reducing downtime due to dew-related issues.
Implementation Method 1
the temperature control unit is configured to control the temperature of the ejection port surface so that a temperature of the downstream side region becomes higher than a temperature of the upstream side region
Implementation Method 2
the print element substrate is configured to eject a liquid from the plurality of ejection ports onto a medium and the liquid ejection head is configured to move the medium relatively to the liquid ejection head
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate having an ejection port surface in which a plurality of ejection ports are arranged and a temperature control unit that controls a temperature of the ejection port surface. The print element substrate ejects a liquid from the plurality of ejection ports onto a medium moved by the liquid ejection head relatively to the liquid ejection head. The ejection port surface includes a region on a downstream side of the ejection port surface in a direction in which the medium relatively moves when the medium is viewed from the liquid ejection head, and includes a region on an upstream side of the ejection port surface in the relative moving direction. The temperature control unit control the temperature of the ejection port surface so that a temperature of the downstream side region becomes higher than a temperature of the upstream side region.