Nozzle Inspection Method for Fluid Discharge Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers and fluid discharge devices face issues where nozzles in unstable states are misidentified as normal, leading to poor print quality due to unstable fluid discharge, as existing inspection methods fail to accurately distinguish between normal and unstable states, resulting in maintenance being overlooked for nozzles in unstable conditions.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle inspection method that includes a pre-process to set unstable nozzles into a dot omission state by adjusting drive voltage, discharge rate, or drive frequency, ensuring they are identified and maintained before printing, utilizing a controller to execute a pre-process discharge condition that differs from regular recording conditions to accurately determine nozzle states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional nozzle inspection methods are used, then inspection process is simple, but unstable nozzles are misidentified as normal leading to poor print quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by executing a pre-process before the actual nozzle inspection. This pre-process discharges fluid from nozzles under specific discharge conditions (different from normal printing conditions) to deliberately create dot omission states in unstable nozzles. By performing this preliminary discharge action, the inspection can then accurately distinguish between normal and unstable nozzles, resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and process simplicity.
2Measurement precision
If pre-process discharge condition is applied to set unstable nozzles into dot omission state, then nozzle state identification accuracy is improved, but discharge time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-process is executed as a preliminary action before inspection, preparing the nozzle states for accurate detection. By performing this preparation in advance, the subsequent inspection can be more efficient and accurate, though it does add some time to the overall process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes discharge parameters (drive voltage, discharge rate, or drive frequency) during the pre-process to create conditions that make unstable nozzles exhibit dot omission. These parameter changes allow the system to differentiate between normal and unstable nozzles without requiring complex inspection procedures, thus improving accuracy while keeping the time penalty manageable.
3Reliability
If maintenance is performed on all nozzles, then print quality is improved, but productivity is reduced due to increased maintenance time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback by first performing a pre-process discharge to identify which nozzles are in unstable states, then using this information to provide targeted feedback for maintenance. Only nozzles identified as unstable undergo maintenance, while normal nozzles continue to operate. This feedback-based approach ensures print quality is maintained through selective maintenance, preventing the productivity loss that would result from maintaining all nozzles regardless of their actual state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing different treatment to different nozzles based on their individual states. Through the pre-process inspection, the system identifies which specific nozzles are unstable and applies maintenance only to those local areas, rather than uniformly maintaining all nozzles. This localized approach maintains print quality where needed while preserving overall printing productivity.
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
This approach effectively reduces the number of unstable nozzles in use during printing by accurately identifying and maintaining nozzles in an unstable state, thereby improving print quality by ensuring only normal nozzles are used for printing.
Implementation Method 1
a drive element that causes the fluid to be discharged from the nozzle in accordance with a drive pulse
Implementation Method 2
the voltage changes caused by the fluid discharged from the nozzle
Data Source
AI summary
To reduce the number of nozzles in an unstable state after a nozzle inspection, a fluid discharge device includes a discharge head capable of discharging a fluid from nozzle, a nozzle inspection process for inspecting a state of discharging of the fluid from the nozzle, and a controller for subjecting the nozzle to a pre-process for discharging the fluid under a discharge condition that a nozzle in an unstable state be put into a dot omission state, subsequently discharging the fluid for the sake of inspection, and executing an inspection process by the nozzle inspection part.