Staggered Actuator Timing for Liquid Ejection Crosstalk
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid ejection devices, such as inkjet printers, face instability due to crosstalk among actuators when driven at nearly the same timing, leading to interference and unpredictable ink ejection patterns.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejection device with a nozzle plate and actuator configuration where adjacent actuators in the X and Y directions are driven with timing shifts, such as half or quarter of the drive period, to prevent crosstalk by ensuring staggered operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple actuators are driven at the same phase or with slightly shifted phases, then the drive current concentration is avoided, but the ink ejection becomes unstable due to crosstalk interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by dividing actuators into multiple groups and driving each group at different phases within a periodic cycle. Specifically, actuators are divided into at least two groups, with drive signals applied at different phases (e.g., 0° and 180°, or 0° and 90°), creating a periodic pattern that prevents simultaneous operation of adjacent actuators and eliminates crosstalk interference while maintaining balanced current distribution.
2Productivity
If actuators are driven simultaneously to improve productivity, then the printing speed increases, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates due to crosstalk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the array of actuators into multiple independent groups that can operate semi-independently. Each group is driven by its own phase-shifted drive signal, allowing parallel operation of multiple groups to maintain high productivity while the segmentation itself prevents crosstalk between adjacent actuators, thereby preserving ejection precision.
3Reliability
If actuators are driven with large phase shifts to eliminate crosstalk, then ejection stability improves, but the drive current concentration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically varying the phase parameter of drive signals across different actuator groups. By optimizing the phase difference (e.g., 180° for opposite phases, or 90° for quadrature phases), the system achieves a balance where crosstalk is eliminated and ejection stability is maintained, while the periodic nature of the phase-shifted operation ensures balanced current distribution across all actuators over time.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a liquid ejection device includes a nozzle plate in which nozzles for ejecting liquid are arranged, an actuator, a liquid supply unit, and a drive control unit. The actuator is provided in each of the nozzles. The liquid supply unit communicates with the nozzles. When one of a plurality of nozzles is given attention, the drive control unit gives drive signals to actuators of nozzles adjacent in an X direction and a Y direction, to drive the actuators at a timing shifted by a predetermined amount, such as half of a drive period, from a timing of an actuator of the nozzle given attention.