Inkjet Nozzle Correction Using Recording-Medium Smoothness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet recording apparatuses fail to adequately correct faulty nozzles due to varying ink penetration and interference effects on different types of recording media, leading to image quality deterioration.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus adjusts ink ejection quantities to corrective pixel areas based on the smoothness of the recording medium, increasing ink ejection for higher smoothness media and decreasing it for lower smoothness media to mitigate ink-shot interference and maintain image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the quantity of ink ejection to corrective pixel areas is increased to suppress white stripes in faulty pixel areas, then image quality in faulty areas is improved, but ink-shot interference increases causing ink drops to move nearer to adjoining pixel areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of ink ejection quantity dynamically based on recording medium properties (Oken type smoothness). By adjusting the ink ejection quantity to corrective pixel areas according to the smoothness value, the system optimizes the balance between suppressing white stripes and minimizing ink-shot interference effects.
2Device complexity
If a fixed ink ejection correction method is used for all recording medium types, then the correction process is simple, but image quality deteriorates because ink penetration and interference effects vary by medium type
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic adjustment of ink ejection quantities based on the recorded smoothness value of the recording medium. The correction amount is not fixed but varies dynamically according to the medium type, allowing optimal correction for each medium while maintaining a relatively simple overall process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the ink ejection quantity parameter based on the smoothness characteristic of different recording mediums. This parameter adaptation allows the same correction mechanism to work effectively across various medium types without requiring completely different correction strategies.
3Manufacturing precision
If ink ejection to corrective pixel areas occurs later than ink ejection to adjoining pixel areas, then white stripe generation is suppressed, but the degree of ink drop movement by ink-shot interference varies with recording medium penetration characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the ink ejection quantity parameter based on the smoothness value that reflects the recording medium's penetration characteristics. This allows the system to adapt the correction strength to match the specific interaction between ink and medium, improving versatility across different medium types.
Data Source
AI summary
In the inkjet recording apparatus, for correction of a faulty nozzle of recording heads, the controller increases a quantity of ink ejection to corrective pixel areas adjacent in an intersectional direction to a faulty pixel area corresponding to the faulty nozzle to more extent than another quantity of ink ejection to other pixel areas. The controller decreases the quantity of ink ejection to the corrective pixel areas according as Oken type smoothness of the recording medium becomes higher and higher.