Printer Trailing End Detection and Print Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printers face inefficiencies and waste due to the inability to maintain conveyance speed near the trailing end of continuous media, leading to misprinted labels and unnecessary consumption of ink and time.
Innovation Solution
A printer system with a conveyance mechanism, printhead, detection units, and a control unit that detects the trailing end of the print medium and determines whether printing can be completed, stopping unnecessary printing operations to prevent waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conveyance rollers are used to hold and convey the medium, then stable conveyance through the printer is achieved, but conveyance speed cannot be maintained near the trailing end causing misprinted labels
Solution Approach 1:
The detection unit detects the trailing end position in advance before the printhead reaches it. The control unit calculates whether the trailing end will reach the printhead position during printing, and preemptively stops printing or conveys the medium without printing on labels that cannot be completed, preventing misprints before they occur.
2Productivity
If printing continues until the trailing end is reached, then maximum productivity is achieved, but consumables and time are wasted on incomplete prints
Solution Approach 1:
The detection unit continuously monitors the trailing end position and provides feedback to the control unit. The control unit adjusts printing operations in real-time based on this feedback, stopping printing on labels that would be incomplete or misprinted, thereby eliminating ink waste while maintaining maximum productive printing on all completable labels.
3Loss of substance
If printing operations are stopped to avoid waste, then consumable waste is reduced, but productivity decreases due to unnecessary stoppages
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit applies different printing strategies to different regions of the medium. Labels in the safe zone (where complete printing is possible) are printed normally to maintain productivity, while only the specific labels near the trailing end that would be incomplete are excluded from printing, minimizing waste without unnecessary stoppages.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple detection units are added to detect trailing end and print targets, then printing accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection unit is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting the trailing end position, detecting print target positions, and providing timing information for printing decisions. This multi-functional approach improves printing accuracy without adding separate detection systems, thereby avoiding increased device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Waste of time and consumables is reduced and efficiency is improved by printing to near the end of the medium in a device that prints on media. A printer 1 has a conveyance unit that conveys label paper 100 with one or more labels 103, a printhead 40 disposed to the conveyance path 110, and a paper detector 61 and label detector 63. When the trailing end of the label paper 100 is detected, the printer 1 identifies the position of the trailing end of the label paper 100, and determines if printing on the label 103 can be completed based on the identified position of the trailing end of the label paper 100. If printing cannot be completed, printing by the printhead 40 stops or the label paper 100 is conveyed without printing on the label 103.