Liquid Ejection Head Control With Local Drive-Signal Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejection apparatuses, such as ink jet printers, do not adequately improve the ejection characteristics of ink from the head unit, leading to potential distortion in drive signal waveforms and suboptimal ink ejection performance.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates an ejection head with a drive element driven by a drive signal, an ejection control circuit that outputs a base drive signal and a determination signal, and a cable that communicably couples the ejection control circuit and main control circuit, enhancing the control and precision of ink ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the drive signal is transmitted through a cable from the main control circuit to the ejection control circuit, then the liquid ejection apparatus can be operated, but signal waveform distortion occurs and ejection characteristics deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the control system into two independent parts: the main control circuit that generates the base drive signal, and the ejection control circuit that generates the final drive signal. By segmenting the control functions and transmitting only essential control data through the cable rather than the complete drive signal, the system reduces signal transmission distance and complexity, thereby minimizing waveform distortion while maintaining operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing step where the ejection control circuit acts as a mediator between the main control circuit and the ejection head. The ejection control circuit receives control data, generates the appropriate base drive signal, and produces the final drive signal locally. This intermediary structure allows the system to maintain signal integrity by avoiding long-distance transmission of high-frequency drive signals while still enabling precise control through the cable.
2Manufacturing precision
If the head control unit performs signal processing on image signals to generate drive signals, then the waveform distortion is reduced, but the ejection characteristics still require further improvement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the ejection control circuit generate the base drive signal in advance based on control data received from the main control circuit. This pre-generation of the drive signal waveform, before it needs to be transmitted or used, allows for optimized signal characteristics and reduces the need for complex real-time signal processing during ejection operations, thereby improving both waveform accuracy and ejection reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cable length between main control circuit and ejection control circuit is increased, then the operational flexibility is improved, but signal transmission quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the high-frequency drive signal generation function from the main control circuit and relocates it to the ejection control circuit. By taking out the signal waveform generation from the central control unit and placing it at the peripheral ejection control circuit, the system allows for longer cable lengths between control units without compromising signal quality, since only low-frequency control data needs to be transmitted through the cable rather than the complete drive signal.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection apparatus includes an ejection head including a drive element driven by a drive signal and ejecting a liquid by driving the drive element, an ejection control circuit including a drive circuit that outputs the drive signal based on a base drive signal including a plurality of pieces of drive data, a main control circuit that outputs an ejection control signal including the base drive signal to the ejection control circuit, and a cable that communicably couples the ejection control circuit and the main control circuit and through which the ejection control signal propagates, wherein the ejection control signal includes the base drive signal and a determination signal corresponding to the base drive signal.