Inkjet Printer Purge Control via Dynamic Ink Volume Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pigment settling in inkjet printers leads to viscous ink accumulation at the bottom of the tank, causing nozzle clogging during print operations, as existing purge mechanisms often discharge too much ink or fail to accurately determine the required amount for effective purging.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer with a controller that determines the remaining ink amount in the tank and adjusts the purge operation to discharge an appropriate amount based on the remaining ink, using a timer and adjustment values to ensure efficient purging and prevent nozzle clogging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a purge operation is performed to discharge concentrated ink from the tank, then nozzle clogging is prevented, but too much ink is discharged
Solution Approach 1:
The controller determines the remaining ink amount in the tank and uses this information as feedback to adjust the purge operation. The discharge amount is calculated based on the remaining ink amount, ensuring that the purge operation discharges an appropriate amount of ink without wasting excessive amounts, while still effectively preventing nozzle clogging.
Solution Approach 2:
The purge operation is made dynamic by adjusting the discharge amount according to the remaining ink amount. When the remaining ink amount is large, a larger discharge amount is appropriate; when the remaining ink amount is small, a smaller discharge amount is used. This dynamic adjustment optimizes the balance between preventing nozzle clogging and minimizing ink waste.
2Ease of operation
If the purge mechanism discharges a fixed amount of ink, then the purge operation is simple to control, but it cannot adapt to different remaining ink amounts
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static fixed discharge amount to a dynamic discharge amount that adapts to different remaining ink amounts. The controller automatically calculates the appropriate discharge amount based on the remaining ink amount, maintaining ease of operation while achieving adaptability to different conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller uses feedback from the remaining ink amount determination to automatically adjust the discharge amount. This feedback mechanism enables the system to adapt to different remaining ink amounts without requiring complex manual intervention, maintaining ease of operation while achieving versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printer includes a head including a nozzle configured to eject pigment ink supplied from a tank during a print operation and during a purge operation and a purge mechanism. A controller configured to determine whether to control the purge mechanism to perform the purge operation for discharging the pigment ink from the nozzle and, when determining to control the purge mechanism to perform the purge operation, determine a remaining amount of the pigment ink remaining in the tank. The controller is configured to determine a discharge amount to be discharged from the nozzle when performing the purge operation based on the remaining amount of the pigment ink remaining in the tank and control the purge mechanism to perform the purge operation based on the discharge amount.