Liquid Droplet Ejection Timing for Crosstalk-Resistant Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
As printing speed increases, the driving cycle of actuators shortens, limiting the settable delay times, complicating driving control, and causing uniform crosstalk influence leading to periodic unevenness in printing results.
Innovation Solution
The liquid droplet ejecting apparatus and method involve driving elements with staggered nozzle arrangements and timed activation to uniformly delay driving signals, ensuring nozzles with similar crosstalk influence are not aligned periodically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple kinds of delay times are set within the same driving cycle to reduce crosstalk, then crosstalk cancellation is improved, but driving control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzles are divided into different groups based on their connection port distances. First nozzles (with first connection ports at first distance) form one group, while second nozzles (with second connection ports at second distance) form another group. This segmentation allows uniform delay time to be applied within each group while accounting for inter-group differences, reducing control complexity compared to individualized delay times for each nozzle.
Solution Approach 2:
Different uniform delay times are applied to different nozzle groups based on their local characteristics (connection port distances). The first uniform delay time is applied to first nozzles, while the second uniform delay time is applied to second nozzles. This local quality approach allows optimization for each group's specific crosstalk characteristics without requiring complex individualized control for every nozzle.
2Device complexity
If delay time is uniformly set for all nozzles to simplify control, then driving control complexity is reduced, but periodic unevenness occurs in printing results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different uniform delay times to different nozzle groups (first uniform delay time for first nozzles, second uniform delay time for second nozzles) based on their local connection port characteristics. This local differentiation prevents periodic unevenness in printing results while maintaining simpler uniform delay control within each group, thus balancing control simplicity with printing quality.
3Productivity
If printing speed is increased, then productivity is improved, but the number of settable delay times within the same driving cycle is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of delay time from multiple individualized values to two uniform values (first uniform delay time and second uniform delay time) corresponding to different nozzle groups. This parameter simplification allows the system to maintain effective crosstalk cancellation while operating at higher printing speeds where fewer delay time options are available within the compressed driving cycle.
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
This approach reduces periodic unevenness in printing by uniformly delaying driving timings, dispersing crosstalk effects across the print surface, thereby improving print quality.
Implementation Method 1
a piezoelectric element (13X) corresponding to each of the nozzles (N)
Implementation Method 2
the pressure vibration between the nozzles adjacent to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus includes: a channel member; piezoelectric elements; and a controller. The channel member has a common channel, individual channels each communicating with one of nozzles. The individual channels include first to fourth individual channels, the common channel has first to fourth connection ports to which the first to fourth individual channels are connected, respectively. A distance between the first and second connection ports is different from a distance between the third and fourth connection ports. The controller drives first and third piezoelectric elements included in the piezoelectric elements and corresponding, respectively, to first and third nozzles included in the nozzles at a first timing, and drives second and fourth piezoelectric elements included in the piezoelectric elements and corresponding, respectively, to second and fourth nozzles included in the nozzles at a second timing delayed from the first timing by a predetermined amount of time.