Spittoon Beam System for Printhead Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Page Wide Array (PWA) printers face challenges in maintaining printhead health due to the inability to move the printheads to a service station, requiring the service station to move instead, which limits space and efficiency in ink blockage purging and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A spittoon beam system with two spaced parallel tracks and a movable spittoon beam driven by independent motors, allowing for relative movement and alignment with print head dies for maintenance, replacing traditional master-slave servo motors and drive shafts to facilitate space-saving and efficient maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the service station moves to the printheads in PWA printers, then printhead maintenance becomes possible, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The service station is segmented into modular components including the spittoon beam, drive systems, and coupling mechanisms that can independently move and position themselves relative to the printheads, reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The service station transitions from a static structure to a dynamic system where the spittoon beam and drive mechanisms can move along tracks to reach different printhead positions, enabling maintenance capability without fixed positioning
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional master-slave servo motors with drive shafts are used, then synchronized movement is achieved, but the risk of drive shaft wobble increases and space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The drive shaft connection is extracted and replaced with independent drive systems on each spittoon beam that communicate through a master-slave control relationship rather than mechanical connection, eliminating the wobble problem
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical drive shaft connection is replaced with an electronic control system where the master controller sends synchronization signals to slave motors, substituting mechanical coupling with electronic coordination
3Adaptability or versatility
If independent motor control is implemented, then flexible alignment and adjustment are enabled, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system incorporates feedback mechanisms where position sensors on the spittoon beams report status to the master controller, which adjusts motor commands to achieve precise alignment while managing control complexity through closed-loop control
Data Source
AI summary
A spittoon beam system and a printer that includes a spittoon beam system. The system has a spittoon beam spanning and movably mounted to spaced spaced parallel tracks. The spittoon beam is driven along the tracks by a first motor and a second motor coupled to respective ends of the spittoon beam. A first motor driver is coupled to the first motor and a second motor driver coupled the second motor. The system is configured so that the first motor driver controls an output shaft speed of the first motor independently of the second motor driver, and the second motor driver controls an output shaft speed of the second motor independently of the first motor driver.