Inkjet Printer Bidirectional Color Consistency Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers using photo-curable ink face challenges in forming consistent colors when jetting ink in both forward and backward directions due to the reversal of jetting order, which affects image quality.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer with multiple recording heads and a control device that adjusts ink jetting amounts based on the direction of movement, using UV light to cure ink, and correcting tone data for ink and medium wettabilities to ensure consistent color formation in both directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ink is jetted during both forward moving and backward moving of a carriage to achieve high-speed image recording, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates because the jetting order is reversed causing different color appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by configuring recording heads with different color arrangements for forward and backward motion. Specifically, during forward motion, the jetting order is C-M-Y-K, while during backward motion, it is adjusted to Y-M-C-K. This asymmetric arrangement compensates for the reversed motion direction, ensuring that the final color mixture remains consistent regardless of motion direction, thereby resolving the color consistency issue while maintaining high-speed bidirectional recording
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the jetting amount parameter of ink based on the motion direction. By adjusting the ink jetting amount differently for forward and backward motion, the system compensates for variations in ink deposition caused by direction changes. This parameter adjustment ensures that the same color is formed both during forward and backward motion, resolving the technical contradiction between high-speed recording and color consistency
2Manufacturing precision
If ink jetting amount is changed with moving direction to account for ink penetration in drainage inks, then manufacturing precision is improved, but this approach cannot be applied to photo-curable ink because it does not penetrate into recording medium
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves universality by creating a control method that works for both drainage inks and photo-curable inks. The key is to change the jetting amount based on motion direction while also considering the interaction between ink layers. For photo-curable ink, the patent additionally accounts for the fact that cured ink forms a film that affects subsequent ink deposition, making the control method adaptable to different ink types with different penetration characteristics
3Ease of manufacture
If inks in plural colors are jetted superimposedly to form color images, then object-generated harmful factors worsen because the relationship between ink to be jetted and already jetted ink must be considered, but this complexity increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing optimal jetting amounts for different motion directions and ink combinations in a lookup table or control data. Instead of performing complex real-time calculations during recording, the system prepares control data in advance that accounts for ink-layer interactions and motion direction effects. This reduces runtime computational complexity while maintaining accurate color formation
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 solution enables the formation of the same colors in both directions, improving image quality and consistency, particularly for halftones, by adjusting ink jetting amounts and curing processes according to the wettabilities of the ink and recording medium.
Implementation Method 1
a UV curing inkjet type using UV curable inks which are cured by irradiating UV light
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printer includes a plurality of recording heads for jetting inks of a plurality of kinds onto a recording medium, a light emitting device for irradiating light onto ink having reached the recording medium, a driving device for moving the plurality of recording heads and the recording medium relatively and bidirectionally, and a control device for performing control to form an image by controlling the plurality of recording heads to jet ink while moving the plurality of recording heads and the recording medium relatively in one direction and in an opposite direction, and changing ink jetting amounts to be jetted from the respective recording heads, depending on whether jetting ink while the recording heads are moving in the one direction or in the opposite direction, so that the same color is formed in the both moving directions of the recording heads.