Rotatable Inkjet Printhead for Two-Dimensional Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers are limited by slow printing speeds due to the line-by-line printing method, which results in significant idle phases when nozzles traverse blank areas, especially when printing patterns or images with characteristic lines and light or dark areas, leading to inefficient use of time.
Innovation Solution
The method involves guiding the print head along characteristic lines of the image in both dimensions, allowing for relative movement between the print head and the medium, and using a rotatable printing module to maintain a constant nozzle orientation and ink drop density, thereby reducing idle phases and increasing printing speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the print head is guided along characteristic lines of the image in both dimensions, then printing speed is significantly increased, but the device complexity increases due to the need for two-dimensional positioning and alignment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional one-dimensional line-by-line scanning to two-dimensional printing by guiding the print head along characteristic lines in both dimensions. This allows the print head to access any point on the medium directly, eliminating the need to traverse entire lines and significantly reducing idle movement time, thereby increasing printing speed despite added positioning complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic positioning and alignment mechanisms that can rapidly adjust the print head's position and orientation in real-time. The ability to dynamically reposition the print head to follow characteristic lines of the image rather than fixed scanning paths enables optimized printing trajectories that minimize idle phases while adapting to the specific image geometry
2Manufacturing precision
If the printing module is rotated to maintain constant nozzle orientation, then print quality is maintained across different directions, but the device complexity and alignment time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The printing module incorporates a rotatable mechanism that dynamically adjusts the nozzle orientation during printing operations. By rotating the module to maintain a constant angle between the nozzle row and the feed direction regardless of the print head's movement direction, the system ensures consistent ink drop spacing and print quality across all printing directions, compensating for directional variations through active orientation control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the orientation parameter of the printing module by rotating it to maintain a predetermined angle relationship between the nozzle row and the feed direction. This parameter adjustment ensures that the physical spacing between nozzles translates to consistent ink drop spacing on the medium regardless of the printing direction, maintaining manufacturing precision through dynamic parameter optimization
3Manufacturing precision
If the print head moves over the same line several times in multiscan process, then print quality is improved, but printing speed decreases due to repeated traversals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for multiscan processes by implementing true two-dimensional printing capability. The print head can directly position itself at any location on the medium and print along characteristic lines without requiring repeated traversals of the same line. This direct access in two dimensions achieves high print quality in a single pass, fundamentally removing the speed-quality trade-off inherent in multiscan approaches
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and device for printing at least a portion of the surface of a medium using an inkjet printer by carrying out a plurality of printing cycles, said inkjet printer comprising a printing module having at least one printhead that has at least one row of nozzles, and a printing cycle comprising the following steps: a) positioning and aligning the printing module prior to printing, wherein the printing module is aligned by rotation about an axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the portion of the surface to be printed, b) positioning the axis of rotation during printing of the portion of the surface by ejection of ink droplets, the printing method being characterized in that the translational motion of the axis of rotation associated with the positioning in step b) defines a current direction of advancement and the printing module is aligned, in step a) of a printing cycle, by rotation about the specified axis of rotation in such a way that the at least one row of nozzles of the at least one printhead has, in step b), a predefined and preferably constant angle relative to the direction of advancement.