Inkjet Apparatus Adaptive Flushing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet recording apparatuses face challenges in maintaining print quality due to issues with ink thickening and abnormal ink landing, particularly when using line flushing and star flushing methods, which result in scumming and waste ink consumption, especially on coated paper.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection apparatus with a control unit that dynamically adjusts the number of droplets for first and second flushing operations based on the image forming region and conveyance speed, combining line and star flushing techniques to minimize waste ink and prevent abnormal ink landing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If line flushing is performed to discharge thickened ink with minimal ink consumption, then ink waste is reduced, but when the image forming region is large, thickened ink cannot be discharged for a certain period, causing abnormal landing of ink
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines line flushing (performing flushing between printing pages) and star flushing (performing flushing during a printing page) into a coordinated flushing system. The control unit determines both the timing and location of flushing operations, merging the advantages of both methods while mitigating their individual drawbacks to prevent abnormal ink landing without excessive ink consumption
2Reliability
If star flushing is performed to discharge thickened ink by increasing ejection amount, then thickened ink can be discharged more effectively, but scumming becomes conspicuous and printed images become dirty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by performing star flushing at specific locations within the image forming region rather than uniformly across the entire region. The control unit determines optimal flushing locations based on image data analysis, applying flushing only where necessary to discharge thickened ink while avoiding areas where it would cause visible scumming, thus maintaining local print quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by selectively applying star flushing only to specific nozzles and specific regions within the image forming region, rather than applying it universally. This partial application ensures sufficient ink ejection to clear thickened ink from problematic nozzles without excessive flushing that would cause widespread scumming on the printed image
3Loss of substance
If line flushing is performed in as small a region as possible to minimize ink consumption, then ink waste is reduced, but the flushing effectiveness is limited when image forming region is large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the flushing strategy adaptive rather than static. The control unit dynamically determines the timing, location, and intensity of flushing operations based on real-time analysis of image data and printing conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize flushing effectiveness for large image regions while maintaining ink efficiency, transitioning between line and star flushing as needed
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a plurality of nozzles configured to eject liquid onto a conveyed object conveyed by a conveyance unit, based on input image data; and a control unit configured to control a number of droplets in first flushing for ejecting the liquid outside a region corresponding to the image data and a number of droplets in second flushing for ejecting the liquid inside the region corresponding to the image data in addition to ejection based on the image data. The control unit is configured to control the number of droplets in the first flushing and the number of droplets in the second flushing based on at least a length of the image data in a direction in which the conveyed object is conveyed.