Integrated Print Head Cleaning System for Compact Inkjet Printers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printing systems face challenges in maintaining print head cleanliness, particularly in multicolor printing, where different ink structures clog nozzles at varying rates, leading to print quality issues like streaks and requiring both automatic and manual cleaning, which often necessitate a separate cleaning station that occupies significant space.
Innovation Solution
A compact printing system design that integrates a cleaner within the printing station, allowing the printer and cleaner to shift between printing and service positions, enabling automatic and manual cleaning while reducing system size by eliminating the need for a separate cleaning station, with the cleaner capable of two-dimensional displacement, including vertical movement, to access print heads efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a separate cleaning station is provided downstream of the printing station, then automatic cleaning of print heads is enabled, but the installation space required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cleaning station and printing station into a single integrated unit. The cleaning device is positioned adjacent to the print heads within the same station, allowing both printing and cleaning operations to occur in the same spatial footprint. This merging eliminates the need for a separate downstream cleaning station, thereby reducing overall installation space while maintaining automatic cleaning functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes vertical displacement to resolve the spatial conflict. The print heads are configured to be displaceable between a printing position (extending from the station) and a cleaning position (retracted into the station). This vertical/dimensional movement allows the cleaning apparatus to access the nozzles without requiring additional horizontal space, effectively using the third dimension to solve the two-dimensional space problem.
2Ease of operation
If the printer is shifted to a separate cleaning station, then cleaning can be performed, but mechanical stress on the recording medium increases
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the cleaning function into the printing station, the recording medium remains stationary on the same station throughout both printing and cleaning operations. The print heads are the only components that move between printing and cleaning positions, eliminating the need to transport or reposition the recording medium, thereby reducing mechanical stress and potential damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the cleaning operation from the recording medium transport path. Instead of moving the recording medium to a separate cleaning station, the cleaning function is extracted and positioned within the printing station itself, allowing cleaning to occur in place without involving the recording medium in the movement process.
3Productivity
If print heads remain in the printing position during cleaning, then recording medium handling is simplified, but cleaning effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic positioning system where the print heads can switch between a printing position (extending from the station for normal operation) and a cleaning position (retracted into the station for cleaning). This dynamic adaptability allows the system to optimize for either printing productivity or cleaning effectiveness depending on the operational phase, with the displacement mechanism being activated only when needed for cleaning operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing system for printing to a recording medium can include a guide, a printer, and a cleaner. The guide can guide the recording medium and be arranged in a first vertically traveling region. The printer having a print bar with a print head can print to the recording medium. The printer can be arranged in a printing position located in the first vertically traveling region, and be displaced, to facilitate the cleaning of the print head, into a service position located in a second vertically traveling region. The cleaner can be adapted to clean the print head. The cleaner can be arranged in a printing position located in the first vertically traveling region, and be displaced into the service position located in the second vertically traveling region to clean the print head. The cleaning can be automatically or manually performed.