Liquid Ejection Apparatus Nozzle Defect Time Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printers face inefficiencies in recording time due to varying conditions such as the number and distribution of defective nozzles, as current methods either perform uniform maintenance or reduce nozzle usage without considering the time since the recording instruction is input, leading to inconsistent completion times.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection apparatus with a controller that determines whether to perform a full nozzle ejecting operation after maintenance or a partial nozzle operation without maintenance, based on calculated times for each approach, to optimize recording efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If uniform maintenance operation is performed to recover ejection defective nozzles, then nozzle reliability is improved, but recording time increases due to maintenance duration
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameters by switching between two different recording modes: full-nozzle recording mode (using all nozzles after maintenance) and partial-nozzle recording mode (using only non-defective nozzles without maintenance). This parameter change allows flexible adaptation to different time requirements and maintenance conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects the recording mode based on real-time conditions. The controller determines whether to perform maintenance and switch to full-nozzle mode, or directly use partial-nozzle mode, making the system adaptive to varying time constraints and nozzle states.
2Loss of time
If recording is performed using only non-defective nozzles without maintenance, then recording time is reduced, but the number of usable nozzles decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameters by switching between two different recording modes: full-nozzle recording mode (using all nozzles after maintenance) and partial-nozzle recording mode (using only non-defective nozzles without maintenance). This parameter change allows flexible adaptation to different time requirements and maintenance conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects the recording mode based on real-time conditions. The controller determines whether to perform maintenance and switch to full-nozzle mode, or directly use partial-nozzle mode, making the system adaptive to varying time constraints and nozzle states.
3Ease of operation
If the number of nozzles used is reduced to accommodate defective nozzles, then recording can proceed without maintenance, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameters by switching between two different recording modes: full-nozzle recording mode (using all nozzles after maintenance) and partial-nozzle recording mode (using only non-defective nozzles without maintenance). This parameter change allows flexible adaptation to different time requirements and maintenance conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects the recording mode based on real-time conditions. The controller determines whether to perform maintenance and switch to full-nozzle mode, or directly use partial-nozzle mode, making the system adaptive to varying time constraints and nozzle states.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a liquid ejection apparatus including: a head; a carriage; a conveyor; a signal generator configured to output a signal, depending on whether or not a plurality of nozzles include an ejection defective nozzle; a maintenance part; and a controller. The controller executes: ejecting of a liquid toward a medium by performing a ejecting operation of performing a ejecting pass and a conveying operation; before the ejecting operation, determining of whether or not the ejection defective nozzle is present among the plurality of nozzles. In a case that the controller determines that the ejection defective nozzle is present, the controller determines, based on a first time and a second time, whether to perform a first ejecting operation after performing a maintenance operation before the ejecting operation, or to perform a second ejecting operation without performing the maintenance operation before the ejecting operation.