Overlapping Nozzle Rows for Defective Dot Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recording apparatuses fail to effectively complement dots formed by defective nozzles, leading to streaks of unevenness in printed images due to incomplete overlap and misalignment of nozzle rows.
Innovation Solution
A recording apparatus with overlapping nozzle rows, where a processing unit selects complementary nozzles from adjacent rows to form complementary dots, ensuring proper alignment and distribution to compensate for defective nozzles, thereby preventing streaks of unevenness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If nozzles from multiple chips are overlapped to increase printing width and speed, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to alignment errors between chips
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of defective nozzles and shift amounts between chips before actual printing. By pre-identifying which nozzles are defective and measuring the exact alignment offset, the system can prepare compensation data in advance, allowing the printing process to proceed at high speed without stopping for real-time alignment adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the control parameters by introducing shift amount data and defective nozzle information into the printing control system. Instead of relying on fixed nozzle positions, the system dynamically adjusts dot formation positions based on detected shift amounts and compensates for defective nozzles by redirecting ink discharge to alternative nozzles, thereby maintaining precision despite physical misalignment.
2Device complexity
If a single complementary nozzle is used to compensate for defective nozzles, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to streaks of unevenness from insufficient overlap
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the complementary function by assigning different complementary nozzles to different sides of the defective nozzle. Instead of using a single complementary nozzle that must handle all alignment errors, the system divides the compensation task: one complementary nozzle handles errors from one direction while another handles errors from the opposite direction. This segmentation allows each complementary nozzle to be simpler and more effective at its specific compensation role.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a dimensional perspective by considering nozzles from both left and right sides of the defective nozzle in the alignment direction. Rather than compensating unidirectionally, the system incorporates complementary nozzles from both directions, creating a two-sided compensation approach that better handles alignment errors and reduces streaks of unevenness while maintaining manageable complexity.
3Ease of operation
If nozzle position adjustment is performed at nozzle pitch units, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to residual errors less than nozzle pitch
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by detecting the actual shift amount between chips and using this information to adjust dot formation positions. Instead of relying on predetermined nozzle pitch adjustments, the system measures the real alignment offset and compensates accordingly. This feedback mechanism allows for precise correction of sub-pitch errors while maintaining ease of operation through automated detection and adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes a first nozzle row and a second nozzle row. A part of nozzles of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row are overlapped in a predetermined alignment direction. A defective nozzle is included in the nozzles of the first nozzle row. The recording apparatus includes a processing unit that causes the nozzle closest to the defective nozzle in one side of the opposite sides in the alignment direction to be selected as a first complementary nozzle and the closest nozzle in the other side thereof to be selected as a second complementary nozzle among the nozzles in an overlap section of the second nozzle row with the first nozzle row, and complementary dots that complement a dot which is supposed to be formed by the defective nozzle to be formed by the first complementary nozzle and the second complementary nozzle.