Liquid circulation device, liquid discharge apparatus, and liquid circulation method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11667131-B2
Application number	US-202217570497-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 7, 2022
Priority date	May 31, 2019
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

A liquid circulation device includes a circulation passage, a liquid feeding device, a pressure sensor, and control circuitry. Through the circulation passage, liquid circulates to be supplied to and collected from a circulatory liquid discharge head. The liquid feeding device is configured to circulate the liquid through the circulation passage. The pressure sensor is configured to detect a pressure of the circulation passage. The control circuitry configured to acquire a characteristic indicating a relationship among a drive amount of the liquid feeding device, discharge information of the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge head, and a pressure detection value of the circulation passage; and change, based on the characteristic acquired, at least one of a control parameter and a calculation expression used to control the liquid feeding device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A liquid circulation method comprising:
detecting a pressure in a circulation passage of a liquid circulation device through which liquid circulates to be supplied to and collected from a circulatory liquid discharge head; and
controlling a liquid feeding device based on a detection result of the pressure to circulate the liquid in the circulation passage;
acquiring a characteristic indicating a relationship among a drive amount of the liquid feeding device, discharge information of the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge head, and a pressure detection value of the circulation passage;
calculating, based on the characteristic acquired, at least one of a control parameter and a calculation expression used to control the liquid feeding device, and
updating the control parameter of a liquid discharge controller according to the calculated expression.

2. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , further comprising changing the at least one of the control parameter and the calculation expression when an environmental condition changes by a predetermined value or more.

3. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , further comprising changing the at least one of the control parameter and the calculation expression when deterioration of a component of the liquid circulation device over time is predicted.

4. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , further comprising changing the at least one of the control parameter and the calculation expression when at least one of the liquid, the liquid discharge head, and a component of the liquid feeding device is changed.

5. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , further comprising acquiring the characteristic from a pressure variation detection value detected by a pressure sensor when a liquid discharge operation is stopped and the liquid feeding device is driven by a predetermined drive amount.

6. The liquid circulation method according to claim 5 , further comprising acquiring the characteristic from the pressure variation detection value when the liquid discharge operation is stopped and a predetermined amount of liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge head.

7. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , further comprising acquiring the characteristic from a liquid feed amount of the liquid feeding device and the pressure detection value when a liquid discharge operation is performed.

8. The liquid circulation method according to claim 7 further comprising acquiring the characteristic from a discharge amount and the pressure detection value during the liquid discharge operation.

9. The liquid circulation method according to claim 1 , wherein the updating of the control parameter includes changing the control parameter so that control of pressure in liquid discharge is changed by a determined amount.

Assignees

• Uematsu Yuuichiroh
• Wakasa Ryohki
• Mori Atsushi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Uematsu Yuuichiroh
• Wakasa Ryohki
• Mori Atsushi

Classifications

• B41J2202/20

  Modules · CPC title

• B41J2202/12

  with ink circulating through the whole print head · CPC title

• B41J2002/14354

  Sensor in each pressure chamber · CPC title

• B41J2/14153

  Structures including a sensor · CPC title

• B41J2/14274

  of stacked structure type, deformed by compression/extension and disposed on a diaphragm · CPC title