Liquid Discharging Apparatus Nozzle Failure Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid discharging apparatuses, such as printers, face inefficiencies in identifying and addressing unrecoverable nozzles, leading to wasteful ink discharge due to repeated cleaning attempts on nozzles with surface flaws or damage, which are incorrectly identified as discharge failures.
Innovation Solution
A liquid discharging apparatus equipped with a purge mechanism, signal outputting circuit, memory, and controller that accurately determines unrecoverable nozzles by tracking failure parameters and controlling the purge process to differentiate between recoverable and unrecoverable nozzles, thereby optimizing ink usage by avoiding unnecessary purging of unrecoverable nozzles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning is repeatedly performed on nozzles with surface flaws or damage, then the discharge failure is addressed, but ink is discharged wastefully and unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by storing discharge inspection results and cleaning execution history before making the final determination. The controller accumulates data about nozzle performance and cleaning responses over time, then uses this pre-collected information to identify unrecoverable nozzles and stop unnecessary cleaning operations, thereby preventing wasteful ink consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring nozzle discharge status, storing inspection results, and tracking cleaning execution history. The controller uses this feedback loop to determine whether a nozzle is recoverable or unrecoverable based on its response to previous cleaning operations, thereby intelligently controlling subsequent cleaning actions to avoid waste.
2Reliability
If the number of cleaning operations is increased to resolve discharge failures, then more nozzles may be recovered, but the time and ink consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs preliminary determination by analyzing stored discharge inspection results and cleaning execution history before initiating each cleaning operation. This preliminary assessment allows the system to identify unrecoverable nozzles in advance and exclude them from further cleaning, thereby reducing the total time required for cleaning operations while maintaining nozzle recovery effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by selectively performing cleaning operations only on nozzles that are determined to be recoverable, rather than cleaning all nozzles that show discharge failures. By using discharge inspection results and cleaning execution history to identify which nozzles warrant cleaning, the system avoids unnecessary cleaning operations and reduces overall processing time.
3Measurement precision
If discharge inspection is performed on all nozzles, then discharge failures are detected, but the complexity of the determination process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The determination process is segmented into distinct functional components: discharge inspection for detecting discharge failures, storage for recording inspection results and cleaning execution history, and control logic for analyzing the stored data. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high detection accuracy while managing complexity through modular architecture, where each component has a specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage component serves multiple functions by simultaneously storing discharge inspection results, cleaning execution history, and unrecoverable nozzle identification data. The controller performs multiple determination functions using this unified storage system, including detecting discharge failures, identifying recoverable nozzles, and determining unrecoverable nozzles, thereby reducing overall system complexity through multi-functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid discharging apparatus includes: a liquid discharging head having nozzles; a purge mechanism which performs purge of discharging liquid from the nozzles; a signal outputting circuit which outputs signals depending on whether each of the nozzles is a failure nozzle which does not satisfy a predetermined discharging performance; a memory which stores, with respect to each of the nozzles, a value of an failure parameter regarding a number of times each of the nozzles is continuously determined to be the failure nozzle; and a controller. The controller performs failure nozzle determination with respect to at least a part of the nozzles as to whether each of at least the part of the nozzles is the failure nozzle, based on a signal from the signal outputting circuit, and updates the value of the failure parameter in the memory, based on a result of the failure nozzle determination.