Inkjet Carriage Deceleration for Nozzle Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers face issues with nozzle blockage due to ink viscosity increases and ink omission or meniscus destruction during flushing and capping processes, particularly when the engagement member interacts with the moving body on the printer's movement path.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting apparatus with a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the distance between the target and the liquid ejecting head, allowing the moving body to engage or disengage with the engagement member at different positions, thereby controlling the speed and deceleration to minimize impact and ensure smooth flushing and capping operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the carriage moves at high speed to the maintenance area for flushing and capping, then productivity is improved, but the impact during engagement causes ink omission and meniscus destruction
Solution Approach 1:
The carriage decelerates before reaching the engagement member to prevent high-speed impact. This preliminary speed reduction ensures that when the carriage engages with the engagement member for flushing and capping operations, the impact is minimized, preventing ink omission and meniscus destruction while maintaining operational efficiency
2Reliability
If the carriage decelerates early to reduce engagement impact, then reliability is improved, but the flushing and capping process takes longer
Solution Approach 1:
The carriage maintains high speed during the majority of its travel to the maintenance area, then performs a rapid deceleration only in the final section before engaging with the engagement member. This approach allows the carriage to skip the time-consuming gradual deceleration phase and maintain high speed throughout most of the journey, reducing overall maintenance time while still preventing impact damage at the critical engagement point
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 reduces the impact of engagement between the moving body and the engagement member, preventing ink omission and meniscus destruction, while also contributing to the miniaturization of the apparatus by optimizing the deceleration area and improving throughput.
Implementation Method 1
by a plate spring-like elastic member (engagement member) attached to a side end portion of the guide frame abutting the upper face of the carriage, the carriage is biased toward the cap member due to the elastic member, and the cap pressure is increased
Implementation Method 2
when the carriage is moved to the side portion of the printing area, due to the guide roller entering the concave portion of the upper side portion of the guide frame, the carriage rotates about the guide shaft due to its own weight and tilts forward
Data Source
AI summary
An ink jet printer includes a movable carriage supporting a recording head, a cam member adjusting the height position of the carriage to adjust the distance between the paper and the recording head, a cap member that can abut the recording head, and an engagement member that can engage with the carriage in a case where the carriage moves from a printing area to a head opposing position. The cam member adjusts the height position of the carriage when the distance between the paper and the recording head is between a first distance in which the carriage does not engage with the engagement member and a second distance in which the carriage engages with the engagement member. The carriage is decelerated while moving, and the deceleration timing is earlier for the second distance than for the first distance.