Liquid Discharge Head Drive Waveform Control for Mist Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet heads with multi-drop liquid discharge systems often produce tails on ink droplets, leading to mist formation during flight, which deteriorates print quality due to satellite droplet scattering.
Innovation Solution
A liquid discharge head with an actuator and drive circuit that applies a first drive waveform for discharging ink droplets at a fast speed, followed by a second drive waveform at a slower speed to prevent mist formation by allowing the last droplet to absorb the tail of the preceding droplet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ink droplets are discharged at high speed to improve productivity, then discharge speed increases, but mist formation occurs due to tail scattering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic pulse signals to the actuator to discharge ink droplets in a controlled sequence. By using periodic actions with different frequencies (first frequency for initial droplets, second frequency for final droplet), the system achieves both high productivity and mist suppression
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the discharge speed by applying different drive waveforms at different stages. The actuator is driven at a first frequency for most droplets and switches to a second frequency for the final droplet, creating dynamic speed variation that prevents mist while maintaining overall productivity
2Productivity
If multiple ink droplets are discharged to form one dot, then productivity increases, but tail formation on droplets causes satellite droplet scattering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic pulse signals with varying frequencies to control multi-drop discharge. The first frequency generates multiple droplets for productivity, while the second frequency (applied to the final droplet) ensures precise placement without satellite droplets, thus maintaining print quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the drive frequency parameter dynamically during the discharge process. By switching from a first frequency to a second frequency for the final droplet, the system optimizes both productivity (through multi-drop discharge) and print quality (by preventing satellite droplet formation)
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
The solution effectively suppresses mist formation, enhancing print quality by ensuring the last ink droplet is discharged at a slower speed to absorb the tail of the preceding droplet, thereby preventing satellite droplet scattering.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator that is configured to expand and contract pressure chambers
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A liquid discharge head includes an actuator and a drive circuit. The actuator is configured to expand and contract a pressure chambers. The drive circuit is configured to apply a first drive waveform to cause the actuator to discharge a liquid droplet at a first speed, and then a second drive waveform after the first drive waveform to cause the actuator to discharge a liquid droplet at a second speed slower than the first speed.