Printhead Positioning for Multi-Job Printing Productivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing apparatuses experience reduced productivity due to the need to stop printing operations and move printheads between print jobs, especially when a plurality of print jobs are requested.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus equipped with a moving unit to individually move printheads between a printing position and a retracted position, and a control unit that strategically moves printheads before executing a top print job among multiple print jobs, ensuring that printheads for subsequent jobs are also moved to the printing position during the execution of the first job.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If printheads are moved before execution of each print job, then the printing apparatus can adapt to different print job requirements, but productivity decreases due to stopping printing operations between jobs
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary actions by moving printheads that will be needed for subsequent print jobs to the printing position during the execution of the current print job. This advance preparation eliminates the need to stop printing operations when the next job requires different printheads, thus maintaining continuous productivity while ensuring adaptability to different print job requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention maintains continuous printing operations by overlapping printhead movement actions with the printing process. While the first print job is being executed, the control unit simultaneously moves printheads for the second print job to the printing position, ensuring that the useful action of printing continues without interruption and productivity is improved.
2Use of energy by moving object
If printheads are moved to retracted position when not in use, then energy consumption is reduced, but productivity decreases when multiple print jobs require frequent printhead movements
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving printheads to retracted position after each job and then back to printing position for the next job, the control unit performs preliminary actions by keeping printheads for upcoming jobs at the printing position in advance. This eliminates repeated movement cycles and maintains continuous productivity while reducing energy consumption from unnecessary movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit dynamically adjusts printhead positions based on the sequence of print jobs. Rather than following a fixed pattern of retracting and returning, the system optimizes printhead positioning by predicting future job requirements and pre-positioning needed printheads, creating a dynamic adaptation that improves both energy efficiency and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a moving unit configured to individually move each of printheads between a printing position and a retracted position apart from a print medium as compared to the printing position, and a control unit configured to control the moving unit so as to, before execution of a top print job among a plurality of print jobs, move a printhead to be used in the top print job and a printhead to be used in a print job after the top print job from the retracted position to the printing position. The control unit is configured to control the moving unit so as to, during execution of a first print job among the plurality of print jobs, move a printhead to be used in a second print job after the first print job from the retracted position to the printing position.