Liquid Ejection Device Nozzle Array Crosstalk Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid ejection devices face periodic printing unevenness and deteriorated printing quality due to crosstalk caused by vibrations, despite efforts to prevent crosstalk through delayed drive signals in nozzle arrays.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection device with a nozzle array and actuator drive circuit that applies predetermined delay times in a matrix format, ensuring odd multiples of the natural vibration period for adjacent nozzles, and multiple delay time differences between columns and rows, to consecutively arrange delay times along the column or row direction, preventing crosstalk and maintaining print quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If delay time difference of odd multiple of half cycle is applied to adjacent nozzles to prevent crosstalk, then crosstalk is prevented, but periodic printing unevenness occurs when nozzles with same delay time difference are arranged continuously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different delay time differences to different regions of the nozzle array. Specifically, adjacent nozzles in column direction have delay time difference of odd multiple of half cycle to prevent crosstalk, while adjacent nozzles in row direction have different delay time differences that vary across rows. This local differentiation prevents both crosstalk and periodic printing unevenness by ensuring no continuous sequence of nozzles has identical delay characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a two-dimensional delay time matrix where delay times are assigned differently across rows and columns. Instead of uniform delay time difference throughout, the system creates a gradient of delay times across the nozzle array, transitioning from one row to another. This dimensional variation in delay timing breaks the periodicity that causes printing unevenness while maintaining crosstalk prevention.
2Reliability
If uniform delay time difference is applied to all adjacent nozzles, then crosstalk is prevented, but printing quality deteriorates due to periodic unevenness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements non-uniform delay time distribution where the delay time difference varies by row. Each row has a distinct delay time difference pattern, ensuring that while crosstalk is prevented through odd multiple of half cycle delays, the periodic printing unevenness is avoided by having different delay characteristics in different rows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the delay time parameter across different rows of the nozzle array. Instead of a constant delay time difference, the system varies the delay time parameter from row to row, using different odd multiples of half cycle or different delay values. This parameter variation maintains crosstalk prevention while eliminating the periodicity that causes printing quality deterioration.
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
The solution effectively prevents periodic printing unevenness and improves printing quality by ensuring consistent ink droplet placement, maintaining a print block width of 300 µm or less, thereby enhancing the overall performance of the liquid ejection device.
Implementation Method 1
a delay time difference of an odd multiple of a half cycle of a natural vibration of the liquid being ejected from the nozzles
Data Source
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AI summary
A liquid ejection device includes a liquid supply unit, an array of nozzles arranged in a matrix and through which liquid is ejected, actuators each connected to one of the nozzles, and a circuit configured to output signals to the actuators according to delay times that are predetermined in a matrix corresponding to the matrix of the array. The delay times include (k +1 -1) or more different delay times where the matrix thereof has k columns and 1 rows. The matrix is defined such that a difference of two adjacent delay times in each of column and row directions is an odd multiple of a half cycle of a natural vibration period of the liquid, and between two adjacent columns and rows, two or more different delay time differences exist between each pair of corresponding delay times of the adjacent columns and rows, respectively.