Inkjet Head Nozzle Grouping for Corrugated Sheet Ejection Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers face challenges in maintaining a consistent corrugated shape of recording sheets, leading to variations in the gap between the sheet and the inkjet head, resulting in ink droplet landing deviations from target positions due to differing ink ejection timings across nozzle groups.
Innovation Solution
The inkjet printer divides nozzles into two groups aligned along the conveyance direction, with distinct ejection timings for each group to adjust for gap variations, ensuring precise ink landing by synchronizing ejection with the corrugated shape changes along the sheet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ink is ejected at the same ejection timing from all nozzles in a row, then the ejection process is simple and fast, but ink droplets land at positions deviating from target positions due to gap variation along the conveyance direction
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzles arranged in a row are divided into multiple nozzle groups based on their positions along the conveyance direction. Each nozzle group is assigned a different ejection timing to compensate for the gap variation that occurs in different regions of the recording sheet during conveyance. This segmentation allows precise control of ink droplet landing positions while maintaining high-speed ejection.
2Device complexity
If a single ejection timing is used for all nozzles, then the control system is simple, but the corrugated shape variation along the conveyance direction causes inconsistent printing quality
Solution Approach 1:
Different ejection timings are assigned to different nozzle groups based on their local gap conditions along the conveyance direction. The control device stores multiple ejection timings corresponding to different gap variations, and selects the appropriate ejection timing for each nozzle group according to its position. This local quality approach ensures that each region of the recording sheet receives ink at the optimal timing for its specific gap condition.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection device includes a liquid ejection head including a surface formed with nozzles arranged in a first direction, a head moving unit reciprocating the liquid ejection head along a line parallel to the surface and perpendicular to the first direction, a conveyor portion conveying the recording medium in the first direction, and a corrugate mechanism disposed upstream or downstream of the liquid ejection head in the first direction and forming the recording medium in a predetermined corrugated shape. A controller determines an ejection timing for ejecting liquid from ones of the nozzles appropriate to a corrugated shape formed in the recording medium while the liquid ejection head is moved, a memory that stores ejection timing information, and a gap sensor that moves with the liquid ejection head to determine a gap between the recording medium and the liquid ejection surface in the second direction.