Thermal Head Element Arrays for Ink Drying in Inkjet Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet recording apparatuses face challenges in preventing color mixing and ink soiling due to ink interaction with downstream recording heads and conveying rollers, which can lead to image quality degradation and equipment clogging.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a thermal head with arrays of heating elements arranged orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction, controlled to generate heat selectively and synchronously with ink discharge, creating a heating region that dries ink on the medium before it reaches subsequent heads or rollers, thereby preventing ink attachment and mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heating device is provided near the downstream side of the recording head to prevent ink mixing and soiling, then ink attachment to conveying rollers and mixing with downstream ink is prevented, but the device complexity increases due to additional heating components and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal head is divided into multiple independent element arrays, where each element array corresponds to one or more ink discharge ports. This segmentation allows selective heating of specific regions corresponding to discharged ink, rather than heating the entire thermal head, thereby preventing ink mixing and soiling while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular control.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating function is applied locally only to regions where ink has been discharged, rather than uniformly across the entire thermal head. The heat control portion selectively activates specific heating elements in the element arrays corresponding to ink discharge ports, creating localized heating zones that prevent ink attachment and mixing only where needed, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If heating elements are arranged on the downstream side of the landing position to prevent ink mixing, then the heating region can effectively dry ink before it reaches conveying rollers, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase for aligning element arrays with ink discharge ports
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal head is segmented into multiple element arrays, with each element array corresponding to specific ink discharge ports. This segmentation enables precise alignment and independent control of heating regions, allowing the heating function to be accurately positioned downstream of landing positions for each ink discharge location, thereby ensuring proper timing of ink drying while managing alignment precision through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The element arrays serve as intermediary heating components positioned between the ink discharge ports and the conveying rollers. By placing heating elements in this intermediate position downstream of the landing position, the system can effectively dry ink at the critical point where it might otherwise attach to rollers or mix with downstream ink, ensuring reliable timing of the drying process.
3Use of energy by moving object
If selective heating of element arrays is implemented to correspond with ink discharge timing, then energy consumption is reduced by heating only necessary regions, but the control system complexity increases for coordinating heating timing with ink discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal head is divided into multiple independently controllable element arrays, each corresponding to specific ink discharge ports. This segmentation enables the heat control portion to selectively activate only those heating elements that correspond to active ink discharge locations, significantly reducing energy consumption by avoiding heating of regions where no ink is present, while managing control complexity through a modular control architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating operation is performed periodically in coordination with the ink discharge timing. The heat control portion activates element arrays synchronously with ink discharge events, creating periodic heating cycles that match the printing rhythm. This periodic action ensures energy is consumed only when and where ink is discharged, reducing overall energy consumption while the control system coordinates heating timing with the periodic ink discharge pattern.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively prevents ink from attaching to conveying rollers and mixing with downstream ink, ensuring high image quality and reducing the risk of equipment clogging by efficiently drying ink on the recording medium.
Implementation Method 1
heats the recording medium... making a heating region generate heat in coordination with timing with which an ink dot on the recording medium passes through the recording medium conveyance passage
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet recording apparatus has a recording head, a thermal head, and a heat control portion. The recording head has an ink discharge surface. The thermal head is arranged opposite the ink discharge surface across a recording medium conveyance passage, and heats the recording medium. The thermal head is provided with a plurality of element arrays in the width direction, the element arrays each having a plurality of heating elements arrayed in the recording medium conveyance direction. The heat control portion makes generate heat at least some heating elements in the element arrays corresponding to the ink discharge ports through which ink is discharged.