Ink Jet Recording Head Cleaning Control for Nozzle Clogging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet recording apparatuses face reduced throughput due to unnecessary cleaning operations every time a change in the record medium's passage area occurs, leading to inefficiencies and potential ejection failures from nozzle clogging.
Innovation Solution
An ink jet recording apparatus with a control unit that determines the need for cleaning based on the relative position of the record medium's end passage positions and the nozzle arrangement region, only performing cleaning when the end passage positions are within the passage region, thereby optimizing cleaning timing and reducing unnecessary operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning operation is performed every time a change operation is performed, then nozzle clogging is prevented, but recording throughput is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning operation is performed in advance before the change operation when the end passage position is determined to be included in the passage region. This preliminary cleaning prevents nozzle clogging during the subsequent recording operation, ensuring reliability without unnecessary cleaning during operations where the end passage position is not critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation is made dynamic and conditional rather than fixed. The control unit dynamically determines whether to perform cleaning based on the relative positions of the end passage position and passage region. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt cleaning operations to actual operational needs, maintaining reliability when necessary while improving throughput when cleaning is not required.
2Reliability
If a cleaning operation is performed on all nozzles, then all nozzle clogging is addressed, but ink consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing a uniform cleaning operation on all nozzles, the system applies cleaning locally only to the end passage position when it is determined to be included in the passage region. This localized cleaning approach addresses clogging at the critical location without unnecessarily cleaning other nozzles, thereby reducing ink consumption while maintaining reliability where it matters most.
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 approach reduces ink consumption and maintains image quality by ensuring cleaning operations are performed only when necessary, thereby enhancing the apparatus's efficiency and reducing ejection failures.
Implementation Method 1
a cleaning mechanism having a suction unit... The cleaning mechanism can remove ink and dust adhering to a nozzle face of the recording head
Data Source
AI summary
An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head having a nozzle arrangement region in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink is arranged, and a cleaning unit configured to perform cleaning operation on the recording head. A control unit is configured to control the cleaning unit and a change operation for changing relative position relation between a region where the record medium passes and the nozzle arrangement region. The control unit acquires end passage positions in a first recording operation before the change operation is performed, and a passage region in a second recording operation after the change operation is performed. The control unit performs control for executing the cleaning operation in a case where the end passage position is included in the passage region.