Printer Nozzle Movement Minimization via Dynamic Start Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printers employing the singling system face challenges in miniaturization due to the large moving range of nozzles required to cover the printable region, especially when printing near the edges, leading to inefficiencies and limitations in design.
Innovation Solution
A printer with a processor that determines the optimal printing mode based on the position and dimensions of the printing medium, adjusting the start position of the print head to minimize the nozzle movement range by aligning block boundaries with the edges of the printing region, thereby reducing the overall nozzle movement and allowing for more compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the singling system is used to print on the entire printing region by dividing nozzles into blocks, then printing quality is improved and nozzle clogging influence is reduced, but the moving range of nozzles becomes large/long making printer miniaturization difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the printing start position adjustable rather than fixed. The processor dynamically determines the start position based on the printing region's location within the printable area, allowing the system to adapt to different printing scenarios and minimize nozzle movement range while maintaining block-based singling printing for high quality output
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of printing start position in the second direction based on the printing region's position. By adjusting this parameter, the system optimizes the nozzle moving range for different printing scenarios while preserving the benefits of block division for printing quality
2Device complexity
If the printing start position is fixed, then the device structure is simple, but the nozzle moving range cannot be minimized leading to larger printer size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces parameter change by adjusting the printing start position based on the printing region's position within the printable area. This allows the system to minimize nozzle moving range for different printing scenarios while keeping the control logic relatively simple through processor-based determination
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes a print head and a processor. The print head ejects ink from nozzles to a printing medium while moving in a first direction, and also moves in a second direction intersecting with the first direction by a moving amount that is a dimension in the second direction of each of blocks into which the nozzles are divided in the second direction. Based on a position of the printing medium and the dimension, the processor determines whether to perform printing in a first mode or a second mode. A printing start position in the second direction of the print head is set such that a position in the second direction of one of boundaries between mutually adjacent blocks coincides, in the first mode, with a position of a back end of a printing region, and in the second mode, with a position of a front end of the printing region.