Ink-jet Head Nozzle Spacing for Resolution Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printers face deteriorating printing quality when the resolution in the conveying direction changes, as the timing of ink droplet ejection does not coincide with the formation of dots on the recording sheet, leading to increased costs due to the need for faster control device processing.
Innovation Solution
An ink-jet recording apparatus with a conveying unit, an ink-jet head featuring nozzles arranged in a matrix, a storage unit for multiple resolutions, and a head control unit that groups nozzles into sets spaced at integral multiples of the highest resolution's unit distance by 2n-1, ensuring synchronized ink ejection across varying resolutions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the control period of the control device is shortened to maintain dot placement accuracy at varying resolutions, then printing quality is maintained, but the processing speed requirement and cost of the control device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzles are divided into multiple nozzle sets, where each nozzle set includes nozzles arranged along the second direction. The nozzle sets are spaced from one another in the first direction by distances that are integral multiples of a unit distance. This segmentation allows the control device to process and control ink ejection in discrete, manageable units (nozzle sets) rather than requiring continuous high-speed processing for all nozzles simultaneously, thereby maintaining dot placement accuracy while reducing the overall processing speed requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic control where the head control unit controls driving of the ink-jet head according to the designated first resolution. The control period is adjusted based on the selected resolution, and the nozzle sets are selectively activated. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt its processing requirements to the actual printing needs, maintaining high precision when needed while operating at lower speeds for standard resolutions, thus avoiding the need for a continuously high-speed expensive control device.
2Productivity
If nozzles are arranged in a matrix to enhance ejection channel density, then ink droplet ejection capability is improved, but synchronization between control period and dot formation timing deteriorates when resolution changes
Solution Approach 1:
The matrix arrangement of nozzles is segmented into multiple nozzle sets, with each set containing nozzles arranged along the second direction. The spacing between nozzle sets in the first direction is defined as integral multiples of a unit distance. This segmentation enables the control system to selectively activate specific nozzle sets based on the designated resolution, ensuring that the control period can be synchronized with dot formation timing for any selected resolution while maintaining high ejection channel density through the overall matrix configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the nozzle array by grouping nozzles into sets and spacing them by integral multiples of a unit distance. This parameter configuration allows the system to switch between different resolutions by selecting different nozzle sets, thereby maintaining synchronization between control period and dot formation timing across varying resolutions while preserving the high-density matrix structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An ink-jet recording apparatus of one aspect of the invention comprises nozzles are arranged on an ink ejection surface in a matrix in a first direction in which a recording medium is conveyed and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The plurality of nozzles are grouped into a plurality of nozzle sets, each of the plurality of nozzle sets includes nozzles arranged along the second direction. The plurality of nozzle sets are spaced from one another in the first direction by first distances, each of the first distances is an integral multiple of a distance that is obtained by multiplying a unit distance by 2n-1. The unit distance corresponds to a highest resolution among first resolutions with respect to the first direction of an image to be formed on the recording medium.