Replaceable Printhead Cartridge Fluid Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pagewidth inkjet printers face challenges with nozzle failure over time, leading to 'dead' nozzles that cause artifacts in printed images, which existing active fluidic systems cannot address without replacing the entire printer.
Innovation Solution
A user-removable printhead cartridge with a fluid coupling system that allows for individual ink ejection nozzle replacement, featuring an interface plate with spouts for different ink types and a cartridge body with longitudinally extending channels for ink supply, enabling easy maintenance and replacement of failed nozzles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a pagewidth printhead is used to achieve high print speeds, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to nozzle failure over time
Solution Approach 1:
The printhead is designed as a replaceable cartridge that can be segmented from the main printer body. This allows the printhead to be replaced independently when nozzles fail, maintaining high productivity while addressing reliability issues through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The printhead cartridge is designed to be discarded after a certain period or when nozzles fail, and recovered/recycled through replacement. This approach accepts that nozzles will fail over time but maintains system reliability through easy replacement rather than repair.
2Reliability
If the entire printer is replaced to fix dead nozzles, then reliability is improved, but loss of substance increases due to waste
Solution Approach 1:
The printhead is segmented as a separate replaceable cartridge, allowing only the failed component to be replaced rather than the entire printer. This reduces waste significantly while maintaining print quality and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the entire printer when nozzles fail, only the printhead cartridge is discarded and replaced. The main printer body and other components are recovered and continue to be used, reducing overall waste.
3Device complexity
If a fixed printhead design is used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates regarding maintenance options
Solution Approach 1:
The printhead system transitions from a fixed, permanent design to a dynamic, replaceable cartridge design. This allows the system to adapt to different maintenance needs and extends the operational life of the overall printer by enabling periodic replacement of the printhead.
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
Enables periodic replacement of printheads to maintain print quality without replacing the entire printer, improving reliability and reducing waste by allowing for targeted maintenance of individual nozzles.
Implementation Method 1
establish fluid communication with a corresponding plurality of ink tanks containing different types of ink
Implementation Method 2
the surface formations defining preferred flow path along the interface plate for any residual ink draining away from the spouts under gravity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A printhead cartridge for an inkjet printer that has a ink reservoir for supplying ink to the printhead cartridge and waste ink outlet for receiving ink from the printhead cartridge. The printhead cartridge has a cartridge body configured the user insertion and removal from the inkjet printer, a pagewidth printhead and the cartridge body, wherein the pagewidth printhead defines an array of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a media substrate. The cartridge also has a first fluid coupling for fluid communication between the pagewidth printhead and the ink reservoir and a second fluid coupling for fluid communication between the pagewidth printhead and the waste ink outlet. During use, the first and second fluid couplings establish fluid communication with the ink tank and the waste ink outlet respectively, upon insertion of the cartridge body in the inkjet printer.