Ink Jet Printer Cleaning Timing Based on Sub-Power Switch Frequency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers often require a cleaning operation when the power is turned on, which interrupts user work and can lead to degraded print quality due to ink viscosity increases over time.
Innovation Solution
An ink jet printer system that calculates the optimal timing for the cleaning operation based on the frequency of sub-power supply turns on, ensuring the cleaning is completed before the user starts printing, thereby avoiding the need for a cleaning operation at power-on.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning operation is performed when the power supply is turned on, then ink discharge quality is maintained, but user work is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning operation is performed in advance during periods when the sub-power supply is off, before the user is likely to turn it on for printing. The controller stores turn-on frequency data and calculates optimal timing to complete cleaning before user activation, ensuring ink is discharged appropriately without interrupting user work.
2Ease of operation
If the cleaning operation is delayed, then user work is not interrupted, but ink viscosity increases and print quality degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The controller monitors and stores the turn-on frequency of the sub-power supply over time, using this feedback information to determine the optimal timing for cleaning operations. By analyzing usage patterns, the system identifies when to perform cleaning to maintain print quality while minimizing interruptions to user work.
3Reliability
If cleaning operation timing is optimized based on usage patterns, then both print quality and user convenience are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors its own usage patterns through the turn-on frequency data and autonomously determines optimal cleaning timing without requiring external intervention or complex user input. The controller uses stored frequency information to self-regulate when cleaning operations should occur, balancing print quality maintenance with user convenience.
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes a main power supply switch to drive a controller, and a sub-power supply switch to enable printing on a recording medium. The controller includes a memory that stores a turn-on frequency of turning on of the sub-power supply per a unit time in a predetermined period of a predetermined first duration, a calculator that calculates a sum of the turn-on frequency in a predetermined second duration for each of predetermined second durations starting at different start times, in the predetermined period, a specifier that specifies, as a specified start time, a start time of the predetermined second duration for which the sum calculated by the calculator is at a maximum, and a cleaner that performs a cleaning operation of discharging ink from at least the nozzles at the specified start time.