Ink Jet Printer Nozzle Failure Detection via Spit Pattern Scanning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printing is vulnerable to nozzle failures due to clogging and inactivity, which can lead to unreliable print quality and require multi-pass processes or wasteful test patterns for detection.
Innovation Solution
An ink jet printing method that adds spit pattern data to print data to prevent nozzle failures by periodically activating nozzles and detect failures through scanning, allowing for real-time correction in a single pass, using isolated dots in the background of the image for detection and compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single-pass print process is used to improve productivity, then printing speed increases, but the risk of nozzle failures increases due to limited compensation possibilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary nozzle activation by inserting spit pattern data into the print data before printing. This activates nozzles that would otherwise remain inactive during the single-pass process, preventing ink drying and clogging before they can cause failures, thus maintaining reliability while preserving high printing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by scanning the printed image to detect nozzle failures and using this information to correct the spit pattern data for subsequent printing. This closed-loop approach continuously monitors and adjusts nozzle performance, ensuring reliable operation in the single-pass process
2Measurement precision
If test patterns are printed frequently to detect nozzle failures, then detection accuracy improves, but paper and ink waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the nozzle failure detection function with the regular printing process by embedding spit pattern data within the actual print data. This allows detection to occur during normal printing operations rather than requiring separate test pattern prints, eliminating additional paper and ink consumption while maintaining detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The spit pattern data serves multiple functions simultaneously: it activates nozzles to prevent drying, provides detection targets for monitoring nozzle health, and integrates with the regular image data. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate test patterns, reducing waste while maintaining detection capabilities
3Reliability
If nozzles are activated frequently to prevent ink drying, then nozzle reliability improves, but print quality may deteriorate due to extra visible dots
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by strategically placing spit pattern data in background areas or low-visibility regions of the image rather than uniformly across the entire print. This localized approach activates nozzles to prevent drying while minimizing the visual impact of extra dots on the final print quality
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the potentially harmful effect of visible spit dots into a benefit by using them as detection targets. The extra dots serve dual purposes: they activate nozzles to prevent drying and provide scanable features for detecting nozzle failures, transforming what could be a quality issue into a useful monitoring mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
In an ink jet printing method, a recording medium is moved relative to a print head having a plurality of nozzles, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles onto the recording medium in a single pass in accordance with print data supplied to the print head. Spit pattern data is included in the print data A location of an expected ink dot ejected according to the spit pattern data is scanned, providing a scanned image, and such ink dot is searched for in the scanned image in order to determine an actual presence of the ink dot.