Inkjet Head Humidification Control for Reliable Startup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet type image forming apparatuses face challenges in maintaining ink ejection performance due to humidity fluctuations when not in use, leading to ink thickening and increased ink consumption during startup, as the humidified air supply is disrupted, causing delayed operation and excessive ink discharge.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a cap, tank, pump, and controller to form a sealed space with a humidifying liquid, allowing for bi-directional operation of the pump to maintain humidity during non-use and store a predetermined amount of liquid, enabling quick restart without air humidification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the power source is turned off after a predetermined period of time, then energy consumption is reduced, but the ink in the nozzle thickens due to decreased humidity in the sealed space
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary humidification of the sealed space before turning off the power source. By maintaining appropriate humidity levels in advance, the ink in the nozzle is protected from thickening during the off period, ensuring reliable ejection performance when the system is restarted without requiring continuous power consumption.
2Reliability
If forced discharge operation is performed multiple times to restore ink ejection performance, then ink ejection performance is recovered, but ink consumption increases and operation time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary humidification of the sealed space before shutdown to prevent ink thickening in the first place. This proactive measure eliminates the need for subsequent forced discharge operations, thereby reducing ink consumption and operational time required to restore ejection performance.
3Reliability
If forced discharge operation is performed multiple times to restore ink ejection performance, then ink ejection performance is recovered, but the time required for startup operation is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary humidification of the sealed space before turning off the power source to prevent ink thickening. This advance preparation ensures that when the system is restarted, the ink maintains its ejection performance without requiring time-consuming forced discharge operations, thus reducing startup time.
4Reliability
If humidified air is continuously fed into the sealed space to maintain humidity at 80%, then ink ejection performance is maintained, but the system complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous humidification, the system employs periodic action by performing humidification only during specific periods - before shutdown and after restart. This approach maintains ink ejection performance while significantly reducing energy consumption and simplifying the control system compared to continuous operation.
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 ensures the inkjet apparatus can be quickly restarted with maintained ink performance by storing humidifying liquid in the sealed space, reducing ink consumption and startup delays by eliminating the need for continuous air humidification.
Implementation Method 1
the pump feeds air into the humidifying liquid in the tank through a second communication pipe and feeds the humidified air to the sealed space through the first communication pipe
Implementation Method 2
a long-period leaving operation to drive the pump in the other direction to feed the humidifying liquid in the tank to the sealed space through the third communication pipe
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a cap, a tank, a pump, a third communication pipe and a controller. The cap forms a sealed space including an ejection port of the recording head. The tank is connected to the sealed space through a first communication pipe and generates a humidified air. The pump feeds the humidified air to the sealed space through the first communication pipe. The third communication pipe connects the pump and the sealed space. The controller is performable a capping operation to feed the humidified air to the sealed space and a long-period leaving operation to feed the humidifying liquid in the tank to the sealed space through the third communication pipe and to stop a driving of the pump after a predetermined amount of the humidifying liquid is fed in the sealed space.