Liquid Ejecting Head Recessed Section Ink Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet recording apparatuses face issues with unstable ink ejection due to adhered ink and increased viscosity, leading to ejection faults and wasteful ink consumption during nozzle wiping, as existing methods do not effectively manage ink flow and viscosity during the wiping process.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting head unit with a nozzle surface featuring a recessed section and a wiper that moves relative to the nozzle surface, where the recess is filled with spilled ink before wiping, allowing for efficient ink dissolution and reduced wastage by containing the ink within the recessed area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ink is caused to seep from nozzles and dissolve viscosity-increased ink before wiping, then ejection faults are prevented, but ink consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a recessed section only at the specific location where nozzles are present, rather than filling the entire nozzle surface with liquid. This localized approach allows the liquid to be confined to the area where it is needed for dissolving viscosity-increased ink, thereby preventing ejection faults while minimizing unnecessary ink consumption in areas where nozzles are not located.
Solution Approach 2:
The recessed section acts as an intermediary structure that collects and contains the spilled ink from nozzles. Instead of allowing ink to spread freely across the entire nozzle surface, the recessed section serves as a mediator that directs and confines the liquid to the appropriate area, enabling effective dissolution of viscosity-increased ink while reducing overall ink usage.
2Productivity
If wiper wipes nozzle surface directly without liquid, then wiping efficiency is high, but viscosity-increased ink is rubbed into nozzles causing ejection faults
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by causing ink to seep from the nozzles and fill the recessed section before the wiper performs the wiping action. This preparatory step ensures that viscosity-increased ink is dissolved in advance, so that when the wiper subsequently wipes the nozzle surface, it removes clean ink rather than rubbing solidified ink into the nozzles, thus maintaining ejection stability while preserving wiping efficiency.
3Reliability
If liquid is applied to entire nozzle surface for wiping, then ink dissolution is effective, but ink consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a recessed section only at the specific location where nozzles are present, rather than filling the entire nozzle surface with liquid. This localized approach allows the liquid to be confined to the area where it is needed for dissolving viscosity-increased ink, thereby preventing ejection faults while minimizing unnecessary ink consumption in areas where nozzles are not located.
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 effectively dissolves viscosity-increased ink on the nozzle surface without rubbing it into the nozzles and minimizes ink consumption by confining the ink within the recessed area, thereby preventing ejection faults and reducing wasteful ink usage.
Implementation Method 1
filling the recessed section with spilled ink, thereby dissolving the viscosity-increased ink
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting head unit which includes a liquid ejecting head which includes a nozzle surface provided with nozzles, the nozzle surface being on a plane defined by two directions including a first and a second directions intersecting each other, a wiping unit comprising a wiper parallel to the first direction and configured to perform relative movement in the second direction between the wiper and the nozzle surface to wipe the nozzle surface, a recess defined by an edge provided along the first direction on the nozzle surface, and a controller for filling the recess with a liquid which spills from at least one nozzle among the nozzles, and for wiping the nozzle surface after wiping the recess.