Ink-jet Valve Body Pressure Variation Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet recording apparatuses face challenges in maintaining constant ink pressure at the recording head due to pressure variations caused by carriage movement, which existing solutions like check valves and buffer rooms struggle to address effectively, especially in miniaturized devices.
Innovation Solution
An ink-jet recording apparatus with a valve body accommodated in a movable valve accommodation room, where the valve opening is closed by the valve body in its resting position and opens in response to pressure reduction, utilizing a spring-urged valve body with ribbed sealing members to manage pressure variations and maintain constant ink supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a check valve is used to supply ink from the ink tank to the recording head, then ink supply is enabled, but the check valve requires highly elastic material to sustain ink weight, making it slow to respond to small pressure variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a buffer chamber as an intermediary between the ink tank and recording head. This buffer chamber absorbs pressure variations caused by carriage acceleration and deceleration, mediating the ink flow to provide stable pressure to the recording head without requiring the valve to respond rapidly to every pressure fluctuation.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer chamber is designed to cushion pressure variations before they reach the recording head. By providing this cushioning effect in advance, the system prevents pressure shocks from directly affecting the valve and recording head, allowing the use of less highly elastic valve materials that can still respond quickly to pressure changes.
2Reliability
If the volume of a buffer room is increased to absorb pressure variation, then pressure stability is improved, but the device size increases, making miniaturization difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the buffer chamber volume to achieve the minimum necessary size for effective pressure stabilization. By carefully adjusting the buffer chamber volume parameter, the system achieves adequate pressure absorption while minimizing the overall device volume, enabling miniaturization without sacrificing pressure stability.
3Reliability
If a movable valve is allowed to move in both directions with respect to the communication hole, then pressure variation absorption is enhanced, but additional space is required for valve movement, preventing miniaturization
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allowing the valve to move freely in both directions to absorb pressure variations, the patent inverts the approach by using a spring-urged valve that moves in one primary direction (toward the communication hole) while the spring provides restoring force. This unidirectional movement design with spring restoration achieves pressure variation absorption while minimizing the space required for valve movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of carriage acceleration and deceleration (which causes pressure variations) into a beneficial mechanism. The spring-urged valve design allows the valve to respond to pressure changes caused by carriage movement, using the spring force to restore the valve position and thereby absorb the pressure variations that would otherwise disrupt ink flow.
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
This solution enhances the speed of response to pressure variations, ensuring consistent ink discharge performance and enabling high-quality recording while allowing for a compact device design by minimizing the movement range of the valve body.
Implementation Method 1
the valve body is urged to be located at a position where it is in contact with the wall surface and to close the valve opening
Implementation Method 2
when the valve body is opened by a pressure reduction in the valve accommodation room due to ejection of ink droplets from the recording head, a pressure in the space acts to move the valve body in such a direction as to open the valve opening
Implementation Method 3
a recording head which performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from ink ejection apertures
Data Source
AI summary
An ink-jet recording apparatus includes a recording head, an ink channel supplying the recording head with ink and a valve body controlling the supply of ink to the recording head in the ink channel. The ink channel has a valve accommodation room and a valve opening formed in a wall surface located at one end of the valve accommodation room. In an ordinary state the valve body is urged to be in contact with the wall surface and to close the valve opening. In that state, a first area of the valve body, on which a pressure in a direction of opening the valve body from the valve opening acts, is smaller than a second area of the valve body, which is on an opposite side to the first area and on which a pressure within the valve accommodation room acts.