Printer Height Adjustable Print Head Mixed Media Strategy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printers face productivity losses when printing on mixed media types due to frequent height adjustments of the print head, especially in duplex printing, as the distance between the print head and media sheets must be adjusted for each type, leading to inefficiencies and potential quality issues.
Innovation Solution
A printer with a height adjustment mechanism controlled by a user interface and controller that optimizes print head height by finding an overlap in admissible height ranges for multiple media types, allowing for reduced adjustments and prioritizing either productivity or quality based on specific strategies, such as 'adjust on demand' or dividing print jobs into sub-sequences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the print head height is adjusted frequently to match each media type, then print quality is maintained, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the media sequence before printing begins, identifying all media types and their admissible height ranges in advance. This allows the controller to pre-plan the printing process and minimize height adjustments by selecting optimal heights that work for multiple media types when possible, rather than reactively adjusting for each sheet
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the print head height based on the specific media sequence being printed. The controller analyzes the sequence and adjusts heights optimally, and also provides dynamic user notification when adjustments are needed, allowing flexible adaptation between automatic control and user awareness
2Productivity
If the print head height is kept constant for all media types, then productivity increases, but print quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system identifies admissible height ranges for each media type and finds heights that are universal across multiple media types. When a single height value falls within the admissible range of multiple different media types, that height can be used universally for all those media types, eliminating the need for adjustments and maintaining both productivity and quality
3Manufacturing precision
If the user is notified of every height adjustment needed, then print quality is ensured, but user interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and separates the critical information (height adjustment notifications) from the continuous printing process. Instead of requiring complex real-time monitoring and user interaction, the system selectively notifies the user only at specific moments when height adjustments are needed, simplifying the interface while ensuring quality
Data Source
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AI summary
A printer that is adapted for printing on a mixed sequence of media sheets (16) with a print head (12) that is adjustable in height (h) relative to a print surface (14) that supports the media during printing, the printer having a user interface (34) and a controller (32), characterised in that the controller (32) stores a set of different height adjustment strategies for handling media that differ in specifications that define an admissible range for the height (h) of the print head, and the user interface (34) is adapted to permit the user to select among the stored height adjustment strategies (48).