Abnormal Nozzle Detection in Inkjet Print Heads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current inkjet printing technologies face challenges in efficiently detecting and correcting abnormal nozzles within a single image, leading to impaired printing quality and increased waste due to the difficulty in specifying the affected nozzle and the need for additional medium for nozzle inspection patterns.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus that embeds an abnormal nozzle specifying pattern within the user image, allowing for the detection and correction of nozzle abnormalities without additional medium consumption, by associating nozzles with partial regions, performing initial corrections, and estimating nozzle states based on streak information from multiple regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a separate nozzle check pattern is output to specify abnormal nozzles, then abnormal nozzle detection is enabled, but medium consumption increases and additional processing steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the nozzle inspection function with the normal printing process by embedding nozzle inspection patterns within the user image itself. The image processing unit divides the user image into multiple regions, each associated with different nozzles, allowing streak detection to simultaneously serve both printing and nozzle inspection purposes without requiring separate medium
Solution Approach 2:
The user image serves multiple functions: it acts as both the printing target and the nozzle inspection medium. By making the user image itself the carrier for nozzle status detection, the system eliminates the need for dedicated inspection patterns, achieving multi-functionality that reduces medium consumption while maintaining detection capability
2Measurement precision
If nozzle inspection patterns are printed separately, then abnormal nozzles can be specified, but workability and productivity decrease due to additional removal steps
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection pattern and user image are combined into a single output. The image processing unit embeds inspection regions within the user image, eliminating the need for separate inspection pattern printing and subsequent removal steps, thereby improving workability and productivity
3Productivity
If high-density nozzles are used to complete image formation in one pass, then printing speed is improved, but abnormal nozzle specification becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user image into multiple partial regions, with each region associated with specific nozzles. This segmentation allows the system to track which nozzles correspond to which image regions, making it easier to identify abnormal nozzles even in high-density configurations by dividing the detection problem into manageable segments
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the user image are associated with different nozzle groups, allowing localized inspection. By dividing the image into regions and associating each with specific nozzles, the system can locally detect abnormalities without needing to analyze the entire high-density nozzle array simultaneously
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an image forming apparatus and a method, an abnormal nozzle detection method, and a printed matter manufacturing method that can suppress the consumption of an extra medium and can efficiently specify an abnormal nozzle. The image forming apparatus (10) includes a print head (16) that has a plurality of nozzles, an association unit (40) that associates the nozzle with a partial region in a user image, a first correction unit that performs a first correction assuming that the associated nozzle is abnormal in at least one of the partial regions, a streak detection unit (44) that detects streak information from a print result of the user image including the partial region subjected to the first correction, and a nozzle state estimation unit (46) that estimates a state of the nozzle on the basis of the streak information of two or more partial regions in a single user image.