Wiping Unit Roller Detection for Liquid Ejecting Head Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wiping units for liquid ejecting apparatuses face inaccuracies in calculating the remaining amount of wiping members due to deviations in feeding amount detection, which can lead to discrepancies between calculated and actual remaining amounts.
Innovation Solution
A wiping unit configuration that includes a first roller for winding the wiping member, a second roller for winding up the wiping member, a driving force transmission mechanism, a conveyance roller, and detection units for the rotation amounts of the first and second rollers, allowing the control unit to accurately calculate the diameter of the wiping member and thus its remaining amount based on detected rotation data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the feeding amount of the wiping member is calculated from the rotation amount of the conveyance roller, then the remaining amount can be monitored, but the calculated feeding amount may deviate from the actual feeding amount due to slippage, thickness variations, and tension changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the encoder that detects the rotation amount of the conveyance roller to continuously monitor and calculate the feeding amount of the wiping member. This feedback mechanism allows the system to track the wiping member consumption in real-time, although slippage and thickness variations can cause deviations between calculated and actual feeding amounts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical measurement of the wiping member feeding amount with an indirect measurement system using an encoder to detect the rotation amount of the conveyance roller. This substitution allows for automated monitoring but introduces potential inaccuracies due to the indirect nature of the measurement, where the rotation amount must be converted to feeding amount based on assumed parameters like wiping member thickness.
2Productivity
If the remaining amount is calculated by accumulating the calculated feeding amount, then continuous monitoring is achieved, but deviations from the actual feeding amount are accumulated, causing calculated and actual remaining amounts to diverge
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the feeding amount based on the rotation amount of the conveyance roller before the actual wiping operation completes. By accumulating these calculated feeding amounts, the system proactively determines the remaining wiping member length, allowing for advance planning of maintenance activities, though accumulation of calculation errors occurs over time.
Data Source
AI summary
A wiping unit includes a wiping member with a long shape configured to wipe a liquid ejecting head configured to discharge liquid, a first roller around which to wind the wiping member, a second roller configured to wind up the wiping member fed out from the first roller, a driving force transmission mechanism configured to transmit a driving force of a driving source to the second roller, a conveyance roller configured to make contact with the wiping member and rotate along with a movement of the wiping member, a first detection unit configured to detect a rotation amount of the first roller, and a second detection unit configured to detect a rotation amount of the conveyance roller.