Rotatable Inkjet Head Base and Conveyance Unit Alignment

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Inkjet recording apparatuses face challenges in preventing streaked images due to misalignment of inkjet heads and conveyance forces, particularly when handling sheets that are long in the sub-scanning direction, which affects image quality.

Innovation Solution

The apparatus incorporates a rotation mechanism that integrally rotates the conveyance unit and inkjet head base around a perpendicular axis, maintaining a constant relative position to adjust the conveyance direction and align it with other conveyance directions, thereby reducing the influence of registration and ejection roller forces and preventing streaks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the inkjet head and conveyance unit are fixed in position, then the structure is simple, but streaked images occur due to misalignment between inkjet heads and conveyance forces

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage qualityVSAvoidstructure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the head base and conveyance unit rotatable around a vertical axis, allowing their relative orientation to be adjusted dynamically. This enables alignment between the inkjet head array and the conveyance direction to prevent streaked images, while maintaining structural simplicity through a single rotation mechanism rather than multiple independent adjustment systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If the apparatus is designed to handle long sheets in sub-scanning direction, then printing capability is improved, but streaked images occur due to increased influence of roller forces

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesheet size capabilityVSAvoidimage quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The rotation mechanism allows dynamic adjustment of the head base and conveyance unit orientation, enabling optimal alignment even when handling long sheets. This dynamic capability ensures that the inkjet heads remain properly aligned with the conveyance direction regardless of sheet length, preventing streaked images while maintaining the ability to handle various sheet sizes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If position adjustors are added to align heads and conveyance unit, then image quality is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage qualityVSAvoidnumber of adjustment mechanisms

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the head base and conveyance unit into a single rotatable assembly, allowing both components to be adjusted simultaneously by one rotation mechanism. This combining approach achieves proper alignment between inkjet heads and conveyance direction without requiring separate position adjustors for each component, thus improving image quality while minimizing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10507676B2Inkjet recording apparatus including rotatable head base and rotatable conveyance unit

Publication Date: 2019.12.17 KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC

AI summary

An inkjet recording apparatus includes an inkjet head, a head base, a conveyance unit, and a rotation mechanism. The inkjet head ejects ink on to a sheet. The inkjet head is fixed to the head base. The conveyance unit faces the inkjet head and conveys the sheet. The rotation mechanism rotates the head base and the conveyance unit around an axis perpendicular to a sheet conveyance surface of the conveyance unit while maintaining a constant relative position of the head base to the conveyance unit.