Ink Tank Guide Member Meniscus Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printing apparatuses face issues with incomplete ink usage due to meniscus destruction and air intrusion, leading to reduced ink volume efficiency, as existing ink tanks struggle to maintain consistent negative pressure and prevent ink leakage.
Innovation Solution
An ink tank design featuring an extendable ink guide member with compressed and non-compressed portions, where the meniscus holding forces are optimized to ensure initial negative pressure is lower than the non-compressed portion's holding force, and higher than the compressed portion's, allowing for controlled negative pressure adjustment and complete ink utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a porous member is used to generate negative pressure in the ink tank, then ink leakage from the print head nozzle is prevented, but meniscus destruction and air intrusion occur leading to incomplete ink usage
Solution Approach 1:
The ink guide member is divided into a compressed portion and a non-compressed portion, each with different meniscus holding forces. The compressed portion contacts the connecting portion and has lower meniscus holding force, while the non-compressed portion has higher meniscus holding force. This segmentation allows the system to maintain negative pressure for preventing ink leakage while avoiding meniscus destruction that causes air intrusion and incomplete ink usage.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the ink guide member are given different properties (compressed vs. non-compressed) to perform different functions. The compressed portion optimizes for negative pressure generation and ink leakage prevention, while the non-compressed portion maintains higher meniscus holding force to prevent air intrusion and ensure complete ink usage.
2Reliability
If negative pressure is increased to prevent ink leakage, then ink leakage is prevented, but air intrusion increases reducing ink volume efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The ink guide member is designed to be compressible, allowing its properties to change dynamically based on the operating conditions. When compressed, the portion contacts the connecting portion and provides lower meniscus holding force suitable for high negative pressure operation. When not compressed, it provides higher meniscus holding force to prevent air intrusion. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between preventing ink leakage and preventing air intrusion.
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 design ensures complete ink usage by maintaining optimal meniscus holding forces, preventing air intrusion and ink leakage, thereby enhancing ink volume efficiency and extending the available ink supply.
Implementation Method 1
a capillary member provided in the ink storage portion... the capillary member having a great number of pores formed therein... using the capillary force of the capillary member to retain the ink
Implementation Method 2
a porous member which changes in volume between when the ink tank is attached and when it is detached... the porous member having a high power of absorbing the ink
Data Source
AI summary
An ink tank with a high volume efficiency and a printing apparatus which are capable of completely using up ink stored in the ink tank. A meniscus holding force (Pm1) of a non-compressed portion (22b) of an ink guide member (22) is set higher than an initial ink-storage-portion negative pressure (P1), and lower than a used-up ink-storage-portion negative pressure (P2). In addition, a meniscus holding force (Pm2) caused under compression is set stronger than the used-up ink-storage-portion negative pressure (P2), and weaker than a meniscus holding force (Phf) of a head filter (50).