Ink Injector Pressure Regulation Using Parallel Emulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ink supply regulation systems for print heads with recirculation technology face challenges in maintaining precise ink pressure measurements due to the need for wide-range pressure sensors and rigid design configurations, which are affected by elevation differences and viscosity changes, leading to inaccurate and inflexible pressure control.
Innovation Solution
A system with a measuring assembly installed in parallel to the ink flow, featuring a pressure measurement point connected to a single sensor with identical hydraulic resistance segments before and after the measurement point, allowing for precise pressure measurement and regulation without requiring sensors to cover a wide range or knowing the elevation or viscosity changes, thus compensating for these variations automatically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If two pressure sensors are used to measure differential pressure in ink supply reservoirs, then the freedom in reservoir arrangement is improved, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to wide range requirements and sensor hysteresis
Solution Approach 1:
A single-pressure sensor is introduced as an intermediary measurement device, connected to both ink supply reservoirs through separate conduits. This mediator sensor measures the pressure difference indirectly by comparing pressures from both reservoirs simultaneously, eliminating the need for wide-range differential pressure sensors while maintaining measurement precision through a narrower-range single sensor
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement system creates a copied representation of the pressure differential condition by using a single sensor to measure individual pressures from both reservoirs separately. This copying approach allows the system to reconstruct the pressure difference information without requiring a direct wide-range differential measurement, thereby improving precision while maintaining adaptability
2Measurement precision
If the distance between ink supply system and head is minimized, then the sensor measurement range is improved, but the design rigidity increases requiring fixed configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system is segmented into separate measurement paths for each reservoir, with individual pressure measurements taken independently through separate conduits. This segmentation allows the use of a single narrow-range pressure sensor while maintaining accurate differential pressure measurement, eliminating the need for fixed configurations and short distances between components
Solution Approach 2:
The single-pressure sensor serves multiple functions by measuring pressures from both ink supply reservoirs independently. This multi-functional approach allows the same sensor to provide all necessary pressure data for system regulation, eliminating the need for specialized wide-range differential sensors and fixed geometric configurations
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 solution enables accurate and flexible ink pressure regulation in print heads, reducing the need for precise sensor placement and minimizing the impact of environmental changes, resulting in improved printing regularity and reliability with a more adaptable design.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure measurement point to which a pressure sensor is connected; a first connection of the pressure measurement point in the ink supply inlet circuit of the print head; and a second connection of the pressure measurement point in the ink supply outlet circuit of the print head
Implementation Method 2
the first and second connections of the measurement point in each of the parts of the ink supply circuit have identical characteristics of hydraulic resistance to the ink flow
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a system for regulating ink injector supply in a print head, of the type installed in printing equipment and that use ink injectors which, by the installation of a measurement assembly parallel to the head and configured to emulate said print head, allows making an ink pressure measurement that does not require placing the ink system next to the head and prevents the use of pressure sensors with a wide range, using a single sensor without having to known the elevation of the head with respect to the system, nor the density of the liquid, or even the variation of viscosity with temperature.