Ink Delivery System with Segmented Lines for Printhead Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ink delivery systems for inkjet printers fail to maintain consistent ink pressure across multiple printheads, leading to variations in pressure that affect print quality, especially when printheads are far from the accumulator tank or have different ink demands.
Innovation Solution
An ink delivery system utilizing a positive ink line with controlled positive pressure and a negative ink line with controlled negative pressure, interconnected via print modules with control valves and sensors to maintain consistent backpressure across each printhead, allowing for local pressure control and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a common accumulator tank with pressure control system feeds ink to multiple printheads via a single ink supply line, then the system structure is simple, but printheads experience different ink pressures due to pressure drops across printheads closer to the accumulator tank
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single ink supply line into multiple separate ink supply lines, with each line dedicated to supplying ink to a specific printhead. This segmentation eliminates the cumulative pressure drop effect that occurs in series-connected systems, as each printhead receives ink through its own independent line from the accumulator tank, thereby maintaining consistent ink pressure across all printheads while keeping the overall system structure relatively simple.
2Adaptability or versatility
If printheads are positioned further from the accumulator tank, then the system can support more printheads, but pressure drops increase and ink pressure consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By providing each printhead with its own dedicated ink supply line from the accumulator tank, the system can accommodate any number of printheads at any position without suffering from cumulative pressure drops. The segmentation of the ink delivery path ensures that the ink pressure at each printhead is determined solely by the accumulator tank pressure and the characteristics of its own supply line, not by the presence or position of other printheads.
Solution Approach 2:
Each ink supply line is optimized for its specific printhead, allowing the system to maintain consistent ink pressure locally at each printhead regardless of its position in the overall system. This local optimization through dedicated supply lines ensures that each printhead receives the appropriate ink pressure independent of system configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different printheads have different ink demands, then the system can handle varied printing requirements, but ink pressure variations increase affecting print quality
Solution Approach 1:
The dedicated ink supply line for each printhead allows independent ink flow control to each printhead based on its specific demands. When one printhead requires high ink flow for full-bleed printing, its supply line can accommodate this demand without causing pressure drops that would affect other printheads with different ink requirements. This segmentation isolates the ink demand variations to individual lines, maintaining print quality across all printheads.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to varying ink demands of different printheads through the use of individual supply lines that can independently respond to each printhead's requirements. The ink flow to each printhead can be independently regulated based on real-time printing needs, allowing the system to handle varied printing requirements while maintaining consistent ink pressure and print quality.
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 system ensures consistent ink pressure across multiple printheads, maintaining high print quality and scalability, as each printhead receives a controlled backpressure, independent of its position in the system, and the number of printheads, thereby addressing the issue of pressure drops and varying ink demands.
Implementation Method 1
an ink pressure sensor for sensing an ink pressure in the print module
Implementation Method 2
a control valve positioned at the inlet port for controlling an ink pressure in the printhead
Implementation Method 3
a positive ink line having a controlled positive ink pressure; a negative ink line having a controlled negative ink pressure
Data Source
AI summary
An ink delivery system for an inkjet printer includes: (a) an ink delivery module for supplying and receiving ink in a circulating fluidic loop having positive and negative pressure ink lines; (b) print modules interconnected between the positive pressure ink line and the negative pressure ink line. The ink delivery module has regulator pumps for gross control of ink pressure in the print modules; and each print module has a respective pressure control system for dynamic fine control of ink pressure in each individual print module.