Inkjet Printer Nozzle Misfire Correction via Test Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inkjet printers struggle with accurately correcting ink misfire failures due to variations in nozzle spacing and bending during ink ejection, leading to inadequate extra ink correction.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer system that includes a detector for identifying failed nozzles, a test image formation process to determine optimal extra ink amounts from adjacent nozzles, and a correction mechanism to apply these amounts based on test image data, ensuring highly accurate image formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a pseudo misfire nozzle is set to draw a patch and a correction coefficient is determined based on the result, then the correction process can be simplified, but the accuracy of correction is reduced due to not accounting for variations in physical distance between neighboring nozzles and bending amount at ink ejection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary measurement of the actual physical distance between neighboring nozzles and the bending amount at ink ejection before determining the correction coefficient. This preliminary action allows the system to account for machining accuracy variations and individual nozzle characteristics, thereby improving correction accuracy while maintaining a systematic correction process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters used for correction from generic pseudo misfire nozzle data to specific measured values including actual physical distance between neighboring nozzles and bending amount at ink ejection. By adjusting these parameters based on real measurements, the system achieves higher correction accuracy that accounts for individual nozzle variations
2Productivity
If generic correction coefficients are used without considering individual nozzle variations, then the correction can be applied uniformly, but the correction does not match each failure nozzle that actually causes an ejection failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by determining correction coefficients specific to each nozzle based on its individual characteristics such as physical distance to neighboring nozzles and bending amount. Instead of uniform correction, each nozzle receives tailored correction parameters that account for its specific machining variations, thereby improving correction effectiveness for each failure nozzle
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by measuring the actual ejection characteristics of each nozzle and using this information to adjust the correction coefficient. The system continuously refines the correction based on measured data from test patches, ensuring that the correction effectively addresses each failure nozzle's specific problem while maintaining efficient batch processing
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printer includes a plurality of nozzles and forms an image on a medium with ink ejected from each of the nozzles, and includes: a detector that detects an ejection failure nozzle of the ink from the plurality of nozzles; a test image former that forms on the medium a test image to which an ejection amount of ink from a neighboring nozzle adjacent to the ejection failure nozzle is added as an extra and supplemented; and a job image former that forms on the medium a job image obtained by performing correction of adding as the extra on the ejection amount of the ink from the neighboring nozzle based on the test image formed on the medium.