Liquid-Discharge Printing With Coordinated Carriage Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing technologies face challenges in improving productivity, particularly in coordinating the movement of the carriage and transport of the medium to enhance printing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus and method that alternately execute the transport and printing processes, controlling the timing of the carriage movement and medium transport to coincide, ensuring the carriage and head do not overlap, and starting transport after the liquid has landed or passed over the printed area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the carriage and transport unit operate simultaneously without coordination, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases due to overlapping operations and contact risks
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit预先 determines the movement period of the carriage before executing transport by the transport unit. This preliminary planning allows the system to coordinate operations without complex real-time control, as the transport timing is decided in advance based on predicted carriage movement patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the transport timing based on the actual movement period of the carriage. The control unit monitors whether the carriage is in its movement period and only executes transport when the carriage is not moving, creating a flexible adaptive coordination mechanism that responds to real-time conditions.
2Productivity
If transport is executed immediately after printing without waiting, then productivity improves, but the risk of contact between carriage and printed medium increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors the state of the carriage and uses this feedback to determine the appropriate timing for transport execution. By detecting whether the carriage is currently in its movement period, the system adjusts transport timing to avoid contact while minimizing idle time, achieving both safety and efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system预先 determines the movement period of the carriage and plans transport execution accordingly. This advance planning allows the system to schedule transport operations that maximize productivity while inherently avoiding periods when the carriage is moving, thus eliminating contact risk before it can occur.
3Manufacturing precision
If the carriage movement period is extended to cover more printing area, then manufacturing precision improves, but productivity decreases due to longer idle time for transport
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous useful action by overlapping the carriage movement period with the printing operation. While the carriage is moving (performing useful printing work), the system prepares for and executes transport during the non-overlapping periods, ensuring that both precision printing and efficient transport occur without unnecessary idle time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically optimizes the balance between carriage movement period and transport timing based on the actual printing requirements. By adaptively adjusting when transport occurs relative to the carriage movement period, the system maintains printing precision while minimizing the impact on overall productivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a transport unit that intermittently transports a medium, a support portion that supports the medium, a head that performs printing by discharging a liquid onto the medium supported by the support portion during a period in which the transport of the medium by the transport unit is stopped, a carriage at which the head is mounted and that moves relative to the medium, and a control unit. The control unit causes the head to discharge the liquid onto a printing region while moving the carriage, the printing region being a region, of the medium, supported by the support portion, and starts the transport of the medium by the transport unit after the discharge of the liquid by the head is completed and before the carriage stops.