Printing Apparatus Tiled Printing Maintenance Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Density unevenness in joint portions of tiled-print products is noticeable due to temperature variations in the printing head and maintenance controls during printing operations.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus with a conveyance unit and a printing head that can conduct maintenance controls while pausing the printing operation, and execute tiled printing by controlling whether to perform maintenance based on the conveyance-direction distance from the top of the page during printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maintenance control is conducted during printing operation, then printing head reliability is improved, but density unevenness in joint portions worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the maintenance control setting location-specific. Different conveyance-direction positions have different maintenance control configurations, with the joint portion explicitly set to prohibit maintenance control to prevent density unevenness, while other positions may allow maintenance control for reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by allowing flexible switching of maintenance control prohibition settings based on position. The system can dynamically adjust whether maintenance control is prohibited at specific conveyance-direction positions, enabling adaptation to different printing scenarios while maintaining image quality.
2Reliability
If printing operation is paused for maintenance control, then printing head reliability is improved, but printing productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by restricting maintenance control prohibition to specific joint portion positions rather than the entire printing area. This allows maintenance control to continue at non-critical positions, maintaining productivity while ensuring image quality at joint portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by applying maintenance control prohibition only where necessary (at joint portions) rather than globally. This selective approach minimizes the impact on productivity while achieving the reliability goal of preventing density unevenness at critical locations.
3Area of stationary object
If tiled printing is conducted to print large images, then printing area is increased, but density unevenness in joint portions worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by identifying and specially treating joint portions in tiled printing. The maintenance control prohibition is specifically applied at conveyance-direction positions corresponding to joint portions, ensuring high image quality at these critical locations while allowing normal printing elsewhere in the large-area image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements segmentation by dividing the large tiled printing area into multiple pages and identifying joint portions between them. By segmenting the printing area and applying different maintenance control settings to joint portions versus non-joint portions, the system maintains image quality across the entire large-area print.
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
The solution effectively suppresses density unevenness in joint portions during tiled printing, even when maintenance controls are conducted during printing operations, thereby improving the quality of large-scale printed images.
Implementation Method 1
a printing head configured to eject a liquid
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment is a printing apparatus comprising: a conveyance unit configured to convey a printing medium in a conveyance direction; and a printing head configured to eject a liquid, and being capable of conducting a maintenance control on the printing head while temporarily pausing a printing operation and configured to execute tiled printing of printing an image in which a plurality of printed products obtained by printing are assumed to be arranged adjacent to each other, while dividing the image into a plurality of pages including at least a first page and a second page, wherein the printing apparatus is configured to control whether or not to conduct the maintenance control based on a conveyance-direction distance from a top of the page along the conveyance direction for the page during printing in a case of executing the tiled printing and printing each of the plurality of pages.