Line-Head Recording Head Nozzle Substitution for Viscosity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Line-head-type image forming apparatuses face challenges in preventing image quality degradation due to ink viscosity increase without requiring preliminary ink ejection, which can cause mechanical delays.
Innovation Solution
Implement a controller that manages nozzle ejection by performing substitutional ink ejection when a nozzle corresponding to a target pixel continues to eject ink beyond a predetermined line number and its adjacent nozzles do not, thereby reducing long-term non-ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If preliminary ink ejection is performed to prevent image quality degradation due to ink viscosity increase, then image quality is improved, but printing speed decreases and mechanical complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the self-service principle by enabling nozzles to perform substitutional ejection for adjacent nozzles that are not ejecting ink. This allows the inkjet system to maintain its own nozzles in an ejection state through mutual substitution, eliminating the need for external preliminary ink ejection mechanisms while preventing ink viscosity increase and maintaining image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the ejection pattern parameter by implementing substitutional ejection where nozzles that would normally be idle are activated to eject ink in place of adjacent nozzles. This parameter change maintains nozzle ejection activity without requiring additional preliminary ejection steps, thus preserving image quality while maintaining printing speed.
2Manufacturing precision
If preliminary ink ejection is performed to prevent image quality degradation, then image quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the self-service principle by enabling nozzles to perform substitutional ejection for adjacent nozzles that are not ejecting ink. This allows the inkjet system to maintain its own nozzles in an ejection state through mutual substitution, eliminating the need for external preliminary ink ejection mechanisms while preventing ink viscosity increase and maintaining image quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If multi-pass printing is used to maintain image quality, then image quality is improved, but printing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the continuity of useful action principle by ensuring that all nozzles, including those that would normally be idle in multi-pass printing, continuously eject ink through substitutional ejection. This maintains nozzle ejection activity in a single pass, eliminating the need for multiple passes while preventing ink viscosity increase and maintaining image quality.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a line-head-type recording head, and a controller. The line-head-type recording head includes plural nozzles, and the recording head is configured to eject ink through the nozzles. The controller causes the recording head to eject ink and thereby performs printing of an image. Further, if a nozzle corresponding to a target pixel in the image performs ink ejection continuously in lines of a predetermined first line number, and one or both of two nozzles corresponding to both adjacent pixels to the target pixel does not/do not perform ink ejection continuously in lines of a predetermined second line number, then the controller causes the recording head to perform ink ejection of one or both of the two nozzles instead of ink ejection of the nozzle corresponding to the target pixel.