Inkjet Printer Y-Bar Tilt Adjustment for Head Gap Uniformity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flat-bed inkjet printers face issues with non-uniform image quality due to variations in the head gap, especially when printing on thick or non-uniform media, leading to poor ink landing accuracy and image quality.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer with a position changing mechanism and adjustment mechanism that moves the inkjet head or table in the X and Y directions, and includes a position sensor to detect and adjust the head gap in the Z direction, reducing variations and improving ink landing accuracy and image quality uniformly across the printing surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the head gap is adjusted by moving the inkjet head up and down in the vertical direction with reference to the lifted portion of the recording medium, then the head gap at the lifted position is reduced, but the head gap becomes large for the portion that is not lifted, resulting in poor ink landing accuracy and degraded image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making different parts of the inkjet head have different vertical positions through independent height adjustment mechanisms. Each inkjet head unit can be adjusted individually to compensate for local variations in recording medium thickness, ensuring uniform head gap across the entire printing surface even when parts of the medium are lifted or have non-uniform thickness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by enabling real-time or pre-printing adjustment of the inkjet head positions in the vertical direction. The height adjustment mechanisms allow the system to adapt to the actual shape of the recording medium, transforming a static head gap into a dynamically adjustable parameter that can be optimized for each printing task
2Manufacturing precision
If the head gap is adjusted with reference to the portion having thick thickness of the recording medium, then the head gap is reduced for the thick portion, but the head gap becomes large for the portion having thin thickness, resulting in poor ink landing accuracy and degraded image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling independent vertical position control for each inkjet head unit. This allows the system to measure and adjust the head gap at multiple locations across the recording medium, ensuring that each local area has the optimal head gap regardless of variations in medium thickness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by performing head gap measurements and adjustments before the actual printing process. The system measures the thickness or position of the recording medium at multiple points and pre-adjusts the inkjet head heights to compensate for thickness variations, ensuring uniform ink landing accuracy across the entire printing surface
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
The solution effectively reduces head gap variations, enhancing the accuracy and uniformity of ink landing and image quality in both the main scanning and sub scanning directions, regardless of media thickness or uniformity.
Implementation Method 1
a suction device that adsorbs the recording medium on the support surface by suctioning gas through a plurality of suction holes formed on the support surface of the table
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printer capable of improving uniformity of the quality of an image printed on a recording medium is provided and includes: a table formed with a support surface that supports a recording medium; an inkjet head formed with a nozzle that ejects ink; a Y-bar that supports the inkjet head to be movable in a main scanning direction; two lifting mechanisms capable of changing a Y-bar tilt serving as a tilt of the Y-bar with respect to the support surface; a head gap sensor that detects a head gap, which is a distance from the recording medium to the nozzle of the inkjet head; and a tilt adjustment portion that adjusts the Y-bar tilt by the two lifting mechanisms to a tilt that reduces variations of the head gaps detected by the head gap sensor at each of multiple positions in the main scanning direction.