Inkjet Printhead Sealing for Leakage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing apparatuses experience ink leakage during transportation due to pressure and temperature changes, despite having valves to prevent leakage, as air inside the tubes and printhead expands, leading to ink ejection.
Innovation Solution
The printing apparatus incorporates a cap for the ink ejection surface, an ink suction path, and an ink supply path with closing units and a control unit that executes modes to close these paths, ensuring the ink supply and suction paths are sealed during transportation, using manual valves and a suction pump to prevent leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a valve is used to prevent ink leakage during transportation, then ink leakage is suppressed, but air expansion inside tubes and printhead still causes ink ejection
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the sealing system into multiple independent components: a valve on the ink supply path and a cap on the ink ejection surface. This segmentation allows each component to address specific leakage paths, with the valve preventing ink flow from the tank and the cap preventing air expansion ejection, thereby resolving the contradiction between suppressing ink leakage and preventing ink ejection caused by air expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap acts as an intermediary element that seals the ink ejection surface independently of the valve mechanism. By introducing this intermediate sealing component, the system can prevent ink ejection caused by air expansion while the valve continues to manage ink flow control, thus resolving the reliability issue remaining after valve installation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the ink supply path is closed to prevent ink leakage, then ink leakage is suppressed, but the printhead cannot be refilled
Solution Approach 1:
The valve on the ink supply path is designed to be switchable between open and closed states. During transportation, the valve can be closed to prevent ink leakage, and during refilling operations, it can be opened to allow ink supply. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between suppressing ink leakage during transport and enabling printhead refilling when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
By separating the sealing function into two independent components (valve for supply path and cap for ejection surface), the system allows the valve to be controlled independently for refilling operations while the cap remains in place during transportation, resolving the operational contradiction.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the ink ejection surface is capped to prevent ink leakage, then ink leakage is suppressed, but the cap must be removed for printing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into a valve component for the supply path and a cap component for the ejection surface. This segmentation allows the cap to be a simple, easily removable component that only needs to be installed during transportation and removed for printing, reducing the complexity of operations compared to a single integrated sealing mechanism.
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
This solution effectively suppresses ink leakage by closing the ink supply and suction paths, preventing color mixing and allowing for safe transportation and immediate use after delivery, with a simpler method for user transport and a more reliable method for service facility transport.
Implementation Method 1
an ink suction path connected to the cap and configured to suck the ink in the cap
Implementation Method 2
a first closing unit configured to close the ink suction path; a second closing unit configured to close the ink supply path
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a printing apparatus. A cap caps an ink ejection surface of a printhead. An ink suction path is connected to the cap and sucks the ink in the cap. An ink tank stores the ink to be supplied to the printhead. An ink supply path connects the printhead to the ink tank. A first closing unit closes the ink suction path. A second closing unit closes the ink supply path. A control unit is able to execute a first control mode in which the first closing unit closes the ink suction path and a second control mode in which the second closing unit closes the ink supply path.