Printhead Spitting Offsets for Textile Waste Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printing devices face nozzle degradation due to build-up of contaminants, leading to reduced printing quality and increased textile waste during health spitting procedures, which are costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that reduces textile use by moving the textile relative to the printhead during health spitting, allowing nozzles to eject print fluid in a sequential pattern, forming a straight spit pattern to minimize textile contact and consumption, and includes a controller to manage the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If simultaneous health spitting is performed from multiple nozzles, then nozzle cleaning efficiency is improved, but textile consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the simultaneous cleaning process into sequential segments. Multiple nozzles are cleaned one after another in sequence rather than simultaneously, with each nozzle targeting a specific offset position on the textile. This segmentation allows the textile to be repositioned between nozzle cleanings, reducing the total textile area required while maintaining effective cleaning of all nozzles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces spatial offset positioning as an additional dimension to the cleaning process. Nozzles are positioned at different lateral offsets relative to the textile, and the textile is moved between nozzle cleanings to accommodate these offsets. This dimensional approach allows sequential cleaning to achieve the same coverage as simultaneous cleaning with much less textile consumption.
2Reliability
If health spitting is performed frequently to maintain nozzle health, then printing quality is maintained, but operational time and textile usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning process is segmented into quick sequential operations for each nozzle, reducing the total time required compared to manual cleaning methods. The automated sequential spitting process maintains printing quality through regular cleaning while minimizing operational interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The printhead performs self-cleaning through automated health spitting operations. The system uses its own print fluid and nozzle structure to clean itself without requiring external intervention or additional cleaning components, maintaining printing quality through autonomous maintenance.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple nozzles clean the same area simultaneously, then cleaning coverage is maximized, but textile waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning coverage is achieved through sequential segmentation rather than simultaneous overlapping. Each nozzle cleans a specific offset area on the textile in sequence, and the textile is repositioned between nozzle cleanings. This approach provides comprehensive cleaning coverage across multiple nozzle positions while using minimal textile, avoiding the waste associated with multiple nozzles cleaning the same area simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically repositions the textile between nozzle cleaning operations to accommodate the offset positions of different nozzles. This dynamic adjustment allows each nozzle to target its optimal cleaning area on the textile, maximizing cleaning effectiveness while minimizing the total textile area consumed.
Data Source
AI summary
An example of an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a printhead to dispense a first print fluid and a second print fluid. In addition, the apparatus includes a first nozzle disposed on the printhead. The first nozzle is to eject a first plurality of drops of the first print fluid. The apparatus also includes a second nozzle disposed on the printhead. The second nozzle is offset from the first nozzle by an offset distance along a relative direction of media travel. The second nozzle is to eject a second plurality of drops of the second print fluid. Furthermore, the apparatus includes a textile to receive the first plurality of drops and the second plurality of drops. The textile is to be moved relative to the printhead by the offset distance between ejection of the first plurality of drops and the second plurality of drops.