Inkjet Printer Nozzle Cap Detaching Mechanism for Clean Purging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers face issues with air bubbles or foreign materials clogging nozzles, leading to incomplete image formation, as existing vacuum purging methods may leave residual ink containing air bubbles or foreign materials on the nozzle surface, and the uncertainty of cutting ink bridges during the purging process.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer system with a nozzle cap and cap actuator, controlled by a controller, performs a series of detaching steps to manage the separation of the nozzle cap from the nozzle surface, ensuring the ink bridge is cut on the nozzle surface side, thereby preventing ink with air bubbles or foreign materials from remaining on the nozzle surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the nozzle cap is moved off the nozzle surface quickly during vacuum purging, then the purging operation is completed faster, but ink containing air bubbles or foreign materials may remain on the nozzle surface
Solution Approach 1:
The detaching process is segmented into multiple stages: a first detaching step that moves the nozzle cap to a first state where one end is separated by a predetermined distance while the other end remains in contact or separated by a minute distance, followed by a second detaching step that completes the separation. This segmentation allows controlled ink bridge cutting at different phases, ensuring thorough cleaning while maintaining operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The first detaching step performs a preliminary separation that positions the ink bridge for optimal cutting before the final detachment. By maintaining the nozzle cap in the first state for a predetermined time, the system prepares the ink bridge configuration to ensure it will be cut on the nozzle surface side during the subsequent second detaching step, preventing contaminated ink from remaining on the nozzle surface.
2Device complexity
If the ink bridge is cut on the nozzle cap side, then the purging process is simpler, but a large amount of ink containing air bubbles or foreign materials remains on the nozzle surface
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically controls the detaching process through two distinct steps with different separation distances and timing. The cap actuator adjusts the nozzle cap position progressively, first to a partial separation state and then to complete separation, with predetermined waiting periods at each stage. This dynamic control ensures the ink bridge is cut at the optimal location (nozzle surface side) rather than relying on static or random cutting points.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces simple mechanical detachment with a controlled two-step process that uses predetermined time intervals and position control. The controller manages the cap actuator to achieve specific separation distances and maintain states for predetermined periods, substituting uncontrolled mechanical movement with precisely regulated positional control to ensure reliable ink bridge cutting.
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
Effectively prevents ink with air bubbles or foreign materials from remaining on the nozzle surface, reducing the risk of color mixture and ejection errors, and minimizing ink spattering during the wiping process.
Implementation Method 1
a suction pump that operates to decrease an internal pressure of the nozzle cap when the nozzles are covered with the nozzle cap
Implementation Method 2
the minute distance is defined as any distance that can indefinitely sustain an ink bridge between the first end of the sealing surface and the nozzle surface
Data Source
AI summary
A first detaching step including (1) moving a nozzle cap from a position, where a sealing surface of the nozzle cap is entirely in contact with a nozzle surface of a recording head, to a first state, where a first end of the sealing surface is separated by a minute distance from the nozzle surface and a second end of the sealing surface is separated from the nozzle cap by a first distance, and (2) maintaining the nozzle cap in the first state. A second detaching step including (1) moving the nozzle cap from the first state to a second state, where the first end of the sealing surface is separated from the nozzle surface by a second distance and the second end is separated from the nozzle surface by a distance greater than the first distance, and (2) maintaining the nozzle cap in the second state.