Plasma Actuator Carriage Stabilizes Ink Droplet Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet-type recording apparatuses face challenges in maintaining ink droplet precision at high discharge rates, leading to turbulence-induced ripples on the recording medium due to air currents generated during ink droplet travel, which existing solutions like protrusions on nozzle plates are ineffective in addressing at high speeds.
Innovation Solution
A carriage equipped with a nozzle surface and plasma actuators that apply an air current along the nozzle surface to manage and stabilize the air currents around ink droplets, preventing turbulence and thus eliminating ripple formation by ensuring consistent ink droplet landing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the ink droplet discharge rate is increased to improve drawing speed, then productivity is improved, but turbulence is generated in the air current causing ink droplets to land in positions distant from intended positions and forming ripple-like patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The plasma actuator generates an air current in advance before the ink droplets are ejected, creating a counteracting flow that suppresses turbulence in the peripheries of the ink droplets. This preliminary action prevents the harmful turbulence from developing and affecting droplet trajectory, allowing high discharge rates without ripple formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The plasma actuator serves as an intermediary device that mediates between the high-speed ink droplet ejection and the surrounding air. By introducing a controlled air current through the plasma actuator, the harmful turbulence is suppressed without directly interfering with the ink droplet ejection process, thus maintaining both high speed and precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If protrusions are provided on the nozzle plate to prevent vortices, then ripples are prevented at low ink droplet discharge rates, but the solution becomes ineffective at high discharge rates where vortices occur in the nozzle arrangement direction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical protrusion structure on the nozzle plate with a plasma actuator that generates air current. This substitution allows for dynamic control of air flow to suppress turbulence at various discharge rates, providing adaptability that mechanical structures cannot achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The plasma actuator allows for dynamic adjustment of air current parameters (flow rate, velocity) to match different ink droplet discharge rates. This parameter adaptability enables effective turbulence suppression across a wide range of operating conditions, from low to high discharge rates.
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 carriage effectively prevents ink droplets from forming ripple-like patterns on the recording medium by stabilizing air currents, maintaining precision even at high ink discharge rates, thereby enhancing printing efficiency and quality.
Implementation Method 1
at least one plasma actuator configured to apply an air current flowing along the nozzle surface
Implementation Method 2
The plasma actuators apply the air current to a first air current flowing along the nozzle surface
Implementation Method 3
As an ejection rate of the ink droplets increases, turbulence is generated in the second air current in the peripheries of the ink droplets
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a carriage including a head including a nozzle surface, the nozzle surface including nozzles configured to eject ink droplets, and a plasma actuator configured to apply an air current flowing along the nozzle surface.