Inkjet Head Suction Port for Mist Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet recording apparatuses face challenges in preventing ink mist from adhering to nozzle plates during image drawing, leading to ejection failures and reduced image quality, especially in single-pass systems where traditional wiping or suction methods are ineffective.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet recording apparatus with a suction port arrangement integrated into the head holder, positioned close to the nozzles, which includes a slit-like or hole-like suction mechanism to efficiently remove ink mist and adhered ink during the printing process, ensuring continuous ink flow and high-quality image formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wiping or suction methods are used to remove ink mist, then ink adhesion is reduced, but the head must be moved out of the recording region which reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The suction function is segmented from the traditional head movement operation. Instead of moving the entire head out of the recording region for cleaning, a separate suction port is integrated into the head holder to perform localized ink mist removal while the head remains in position for continuous recording.
Solution Approach 2:
The suction port acts as an intermediary element between the ink mist and the vacuum source. It is positioned to directly intercept ink mist at the source without requiring head movement, serving as a mediator that enables simultaneous recording and cleaning operations.
2Device complexity
If air blowing or suction is performed from a distant position, then the head structure is simplified, but the removal effect of nonvolatile substances is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The suction port is positioned with specific local quality characteristics - it has a slit shape parallel to the nozzle array direction and is located at a specific distance from the nozzles. This localized positioning optimizes the suction effect for removing ink mist and nonvolatile substances directly at the critical region without requiring complex head structures.
3Reliability
If strong air flow is used to remove ink mist, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but ink ejection properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The suction parameters are optimized to achieve the right balance - the suction port has specific dimensional parameters (slit shape, distance from nozzles) that control the suction strength. These parameters are set to provide sufficient ink mist removal while maintaining ink ejection accuracy by avoiding excessive air flow that would disrupt droplet 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 effectively prevents ink adhesion to the nozzle plates, maintaining high-speed and high-quality image formation by immediately suctioning ink mist and adhered ink, thus preventing misdirected ejection and ink dripping issues.
Implementation Method 1
an ink suction unit that has a suction port disposed in the vicinity of the nozzles
Data Source
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AI summary
An inkjet recording apparatus (110) includes: a plurality of inkjet heads (152) having nozzles ejecting a functional liquid material on a recording medium (S); a head holder (15) fixing the plurality of inkjet heads at predetermined intervals; and an ink suction unit (23) that has a suction port disposed in the vicinity of the nozzles thereof.