Liquid Ejection Head Drive Pulse Control for Refilling Speed
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid ejection heads using thermal systems, achieving uniform refilling speed across nozzle arrays ejecting liquids with different physical properties is challenging, leading to variations in refilling speed and potential meniscus overshoot, which affects printing quality and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Applying different drive pulses to the heaters of nozzle arrays to control bubble-generating power, ensuring that the refilling speed of each nozzle array falls within a predetermined range, even when handling liquids with varying physical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the refilling speed is increased to improve printing efficiency, then the drive frequency can be increased, but the meniscus may overshoot from the ejection port and wet the surface, influencing subsequent ejecting operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different drive pulses to heaters of different nozzle arrays, changing the bubble-generating power parameters to match the specific refilling speed requirements of each liquid type. This allows optimization of printing efficiency for each ink while maintaining stable ejection operations without meniscus overshoot.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the material and structure of the liquid chamber are adjusted to make refilling speed uniform across different nozzle arrays, then refilling speed consistency is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and adaptability to different printing apparatuses is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the physical structure of the liquid chamber, the patent changes the operational parameters (drive pulses) of the heaters. This allows different nozzle arrays to have different refilling speed compensations through electrical parameter adjustment rather than structural modification, reducing manufacturing complexity and improving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the drive pulses dynamic and adjustable for each nozzle array based on the liquid properties. By allowing the operational parameters to vary dynamically rather than being fixed structurally, the system achieves refilling speed uniformity without increasing device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different nozzle arrays handle liquids with different physical properties, then color ink jet functionality is achieved, but refilling speed varies across nozzle arrays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the refilling speed variations caused by different liquid properties by adjusting the bubble-generating power parameters for each nozzle array. This maintains the versatility of color ink jet functionality while achieving refilling speed consistency through parameter optimization.
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 stabilizes refilling speed and reduces meniscus overshoot, enhancing printing efficiency and image quality by adjusting bubble generation power based on the specific properties of each liquid and print medium.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal system which ejects a liquid droplet by bubble-growing energy generated by film boiling by use of an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element
Implementation Method 2
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-170524 (1999) discloses a method of suppressing long-period undulation of a meniscus along with an ejecting operation in the configuration of using a piezoelectric element as an energy generating element
Data Source
AI summary
A method for stabilizing a refilling speed within a predetermined range even with various physical properties of liquid to be ejected is provided for a liquid ejection head using a thermal system. To achieve this, a drive pulse is controlled for each nozzle array according to the combination of a predetermined material and structure of a bubble-generating chamber and the physical property of the liquid to be ejected such that an amount of an overshoot and the refilling speed are within a predetermined range.