Inkjet Printing Device Humidity Control for Nozzle Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reaction between ink and the volatile component of a pretreatment agent in a printing device can cause ejection failures, and high humidity can lead to dew condensation on electrical components, resulting in malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A printing device equipped with a humidifying mechanism to supply humidified air and an air-blowing mechanism to control humidity, along with a controller to manage these mechanisms, reducing the volatile component's reach to the ink nozzle and preventing dew condensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If humidified air is supplied to the housing to prevent reaction between ink and volatile component, then ink ejection reliability is improved, but dew condensation occurs on electrical components
Solution Approach 1:
The housing interior is segmented into multiple air flow zones. The air blowing mechanism creates a directed airflow path that separates the humidified air supply zone (near the inkjet head) from the electrical component zone, allowing different humidity conditions in different regions to simultaneously prevent ink reaction and protect electrical components from condensation
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions within the housing are provided with different air flow characteristics. The area around the inkjet head receives humidified air to prevent ink reaction, while the area around electrical components experiences directed air flow that prevents dew condensation, creating locally optimized conditions for each component's requirements
2Reliability
If air blowing mechanism operates continuously to prevent dew condensation, then electrical component reliability is improved, but volatile component reaches ink nozzle causing reaction
Solution Approach 1:
The air blowing mechanism operates periodically rather than continuously. It alternates between operating phases (when electrical components are at risk of condensation) and non-operating phases (when volatile component removal is the priority), allowing both contradictory requirements to be satisfied at different times in a cyclic manner
Solution Approach 2:
The air blowing mechanism's operation is dynamically adjusted based on real-time conditions. The control unit monitors humidity levels and operational state to determine when air blowing should be activated, creating a dynamic balance between preventing dew condensation on electrical components and preventing ink-volatile component reactions
3Manufacturing precision
If humidified air supply is increased to better protect ink nozzle, then ink ejection precision is improved, but humidity inside housing increases causing dew condensation
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful excess humidity is extracted from the housing interior through the air blowing mechanism. While the humidifying mechanism supplies humidified air to protect the ink nozzle, the air blowing mechanism simultaneously removes excess humidity that would otherwise accumulate and cause dew condensation on electrical components, effectively separating the beneficial humidity effect from the harmful excess humidity
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
Prevents ink nozzle reactions and dew condensation, ensuring reliable printing operations by maintaining optimal humidity levels within the device.
Implementation Method 1
a humidifying mechanism 60 configured to supply humidified air to inside of the housing
Implementation Method 2
an air-blowing mechanism 95 configured to blow air from the inside of the housing toward outside of the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A printing device includes a head including a nozzle configured to eject ink, a housing in which the head is disposed, a platen configured to support a printing medium applied with a pretreatment liquid, the pretreatment liquid containing a volatile component that reacts with the ink, a humidifying mechanism configured to supply humidified air to inside of the housing, an air-blowing mechanism configured to blow air from the inside of the housing toward outside of the housing, and a controller configured to control the humidifying mechanism and the air-blowing mechanism. The controller is configured to drive the air-blowing mechanism, at least after driving the humidifying mechanism.