Liquid Ejection Nozzle Defect Detection and Partial Discharge Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In printers, the time taken to complete liquid discharge after an instruction is input is prolonged due to the need for cleaning discharge-defective nozzles, especially when these nozzles are present in non-use heads, which delays the printing process.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection apparatus with a controller that uses a partial discharge mode to identify and exclude discharge-defective nozzles, allowing for immediate liquid discharge without the need for pre-cleaning, by determining the presence of defective nozzles and adjusting the nozzles used for discharge accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning is performed for discharge-defective nozzles to ensure proper printing, then printing quality is improved, but the time from printing instruction to recording completion is lengthened
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary determination of discharge-defective nozzles through signal output circuits that detect nozzle status before printing begins. By identifying defective nozzles in advance and excluding them from the printing process, the system avoids time-consuming cleaning operations while maintaining printing quality through selective use of functional nozzles only.
2Reliability
If all nozzles are inspected and cleaned to ensure no discharge-defective nozzles are used, then printing reliability is improved, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and identifies discharge-defective nozzles using signal output circuits that detect nozzle status. By separating defective nozzles from the printing process and excluding them through selective activation, the system maintains printing reliability without requiring time-consuming cleaning operations for all nozzles, thus preserving printing speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The signal output circuit automatically detects and identifies discharge-defective nozzles without requiring manual inspection or extensive cleaning procedures. The system self-diagnoses nozzle status and self-adjusts by excluding identified defective nozzles from the printing process, maintaining reliability while preserving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a liquid ejection apparatus including: a liquid ejection head that includes nozzles; a signal output circuit that outputs a signal that varies depending on whether at least part of the nozzles includes a discharge-defective nozzle; and a controller. The controller is configured to discharge a liquid on a medium by using a partial discharge mode; perform determination, for at least one nozzle included in the nozzles based on the signal from the signal output circuit, about whether the discharge-defective nozzle is included therein; and set, based on the signal from the signal output circuit, the part of the nozzles not to include the discharge-defective nozzle when the liquid is discharged from the liquid ejection head on the medium by using the partial discharge mode and when the controller has determined that the discharge-defective nozzle is included in the nozzles.