Inkjet Maintenance Controller Adjusting Discharge for Ink Supply Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejecting apparatuses, such as ink jet printers, face instability in ink supply due to air bubbles and abnormal substances in the ink path, leading to clogging and print failures, especially when the staying time of ink in the path is long, as current recovery processing is inadequate in addressing these issues.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting apparatus with a controller that determines the printing condition based on the staying time of ink in the path, adjusting the discharge amount during maintenance processing to ensure stable ink supply by increasing the discharge for longer staying times, and incorporating a maintenance section for flushing and cleaning to manage air bubbles and abnormal substances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If recovery processing is performed based only on information before printing, then the maintenance operation can be executed, but air bubbles and abnormal substances in the ink supply path are not effectively removed, leading to unstable ink supply
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of print data to predict staying time before printing begins. Based on this prediction, maintenance processing is proactively executed with appropriate discharge amounts to prevent air bubbles and abnormal substances from accumulating during the actual printing process, thereby ensuring stable ink supply from the start.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from print data analysis to dynamically adjust maintenance processing parameters. By calculating predicted staying time from the print job characteristics, the system determines the appropriate discharge amount for maintenance processing, creating a closed-loop control that adapts maintenance intensity to actual printing requirements.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the discharge amount of liquid during maintenance processing is increased, then air bubbles and abnormal substances are effectively removed, but ink consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the discharge amount parameter based on predicted staying time calculated from print data. When staying time is long, a larger discharge amount is applied to effectively remove air bubbles and abnormal substances. When staying time is short, a smaller discharge amount suffices, thereby optimizing ink consumption while maintaining effective maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying a fixed excessive discharge amount in all cases, the system applies partial action by adjusting the discharge amount to match the actual maintenance needs predicted from print data. This avoids unnecessary ink consumption while ensuring sufficient maintenance processing when required by the printing conditions.
3Ease of operation
If maintenance processing is performed with fixed discharge amount, then the processing is simple, but it cannot adapt to different printing conditions and staying times
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing print data and determining the appropriate discharge amount for maintenance processing without requiring manual intervention. The controller calculates predicted staying time from print job characteristics and autonomously adjusts maintenance parameters, maintaining operational simplicity while achieving adaptability to different printing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static fixed discharge amount to dynamic adjustment based on print conditions. By continuously evaluating predicted staying time from incoming print data, the discharge amount is dynamically optimized for each printing job, enabling the system to adapt to varying printing conditions while maintaining ease of operation through automated control.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit that performs printing on a target by ejecting liquid, which is supplied from a liquid supply source, from a plurality of nozzles; and a maintenance section that performs maintenance processing of causing the liquid to be discharged from the nozzles. Based on print information for performing printing on the target, in a case where printing satisfying a setting condition presumed such that a staying time of the liquid staying in a liquid path between the liquid supply source and the nozzles during printing is long is performed, a discharge amount of the liquid to be discharged during the maintenance processing that is performed before printing is set to be larger than a discharge amount of the liquid in a case where printing not satisfying the setting condition presumed such that the staying time is short is performed.