Liquid Ejection Apparatus Humidification for Coagulated Ink Blockage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In ink jet printers, ejection failures can occur when treatment liquid coagulates on the recording head's ejection face, leading to persistent blockages that cannot be resolved by standard forcible discharge operations if the contact time exceeds a certain duration.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection apparatus with a conveyor mechanism, recording head, treatment-liquid application portion, sealing mechanism, humid-air supply mechanism, and maintenance control section that performs a forcible discharge operation with humidification when the contact time exceeds a predetermined duration to soften and remove coagulated lumps from the ejection openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the treatment liquid contacts the ejection face for a long time, then the coagulation of color agents is improved, but the ejection opening becomes blocked by lumps that cannot be discharged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by detecting a jam occurrence and measuring the contact time before the treatment liquid fully coagulates. When the measured time exceeds a predetermined threshold, the system preemptively switches to humidifying operation to prevent complete coagulation and lump formation, thereby avoiding ejection opening blockage before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the environmental parameter (humidity) in the ejection space by switching from normal operation to humidifying operation. This parameter change prevents the treatment liquid from fully coagulating on the ejection face, maintaining the ability to discharge lumps through subsequent forcible discharge operations.
2Ease of operation
If the contact time of treatment liquid with ejection face is short, then ejection failure can be resolved by forcible discharge operation, but coagulation effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by continuously measuring the contact time of treatment liquid with the ejection face and using this information to control the switching between forcible discharge operation and humidifying operation. This feedback mechanism ensures optimal coagulation effectiveness while preventing ejection opening blockage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the maintenance operation mode dynamic rather than static. The system switches between forcible discharge operation and humidifying operation based on the measured contact time, allowing the operation mode to adapt to the actual coagulation state and prevent lump formation.
3Reliability
If forcible discharge operation is repeated to remove lumps, then ejection failure may be resolved, but device complexity and operation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by detecting jam occurrence and measuring contact time before complete coagulation occurs. By switching to humidifying operation when the threshold is exceeded, the system prevents lump formation that would require repeated forcible discharge operations, thereby reducing maintenance time and operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of prolonged treatment liquid contact (which would cause intractable blockages) into a beneficial opportunity by using the contact time measurement to trigger humidifying operation. This converts a harmful situation into a controlled state where lumps can be easily discharged with a single operation.
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
Effectively resolves ejection failures by softening and removing coagulated lumps from the ejection openings, ensuring continuous operation even after prolonged contact with treatment liquid, thereby maintaining print quality.
Implementation Method 1
the treatment liquid containing a component for coagulating or precipitating a component in the recording liquid
Implementation Method 2
the treatment liquid containing a component for coagulating or precipitating a component in the recording liquid
Implementation Method 3
a humidifying operation in which the humid-air supply mechanism produces humid air to supply the humid air into the ejection space
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection apparatus, including: a conveyor mechanism; a recording head; a treatment-liquid application portion; a sealing mechanism for selectively taking a sealing state in which an ejection space is sealed or an unsealing state in which the ejection space is not sealed; a humid-airy supply mechanism for performing a humidifying operation to produce and supply the humid air into the ejection space in the sealing state; a forcible discharge mechanism for performing a forcible discharge operation for forcibly discharging recording liquid from the head; and a maintenance control section for, when a time elapsed from an occurrence of a jam to a clearance of the jam is less than a first time, performing the forcible discharge operation, and for, when the time is equal to or greater than the first time, performing the humidifying operation in the sealing state and then performing the forcible discharge operation.