Patent ID: 12246540

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted in the background, printing devices can include eject fluid like ink from fluidic printhead nozzles. For example, a printing device can eject ink onto media like paper advancing through the device to form a printed image on the media. A printing device periodically performs servicing maintenance on the nozzles to ensure that fluid can be properly ejected from the nozzles and thus to maintain print quality, such as the image quality of printed images. For example, if residual ink or other fluid dries on the nozzles, subsequent fluid ejection from the nozzles may be impaired or prevented, which can negatively affect print quality.

Servicing maintenance of a fluid-ejection printhead of a printing device may occur at a service station to which the printing device moves a carriage including the printhead. A service station may be located at one or both ends of the print zone in which the printhead ejects fluid onto media advancing through the device to form a printed image on the media. While the printhead is at the service station, the printing device may perform spit-wipe-prime operations, which include spit operations, wipe operations, and prime operations, on the fluidic printhead nozzles.

A spit operation is the forcible ejection of fluid through a nozzle by firing a corresponding fluid-ejection element to dislodge any residual dried fluid on the nozzle, while the printhead is at the service station. The ejection of fluid during a spit operation does not, in other words, occur to form an image on media during printing, and is not directed towards media. Rather, the fluid ejected during a spit operation is directed to a waste container and is not reused for subsequent image formation. The amount of fluid ejected during a spit operation may indeed be greater than the amount of fluid ejected to form a printed pixel during printing.

A wipe operation is the wiping of the fluidic printhead nozzles in a physical interference manner relative to a wiper or a wiping material. For example, the printing device may move a wiper back and forth against the nozzles while the fluid-ejection printhead is at the service station. As another example, the printing device may instead or also move the printhead back and forth against a wiper or a wiping material while the printhead is at the service station. The wiping operation also may dislodge any residual dried fluid on the nozzle.

A prime operation is the forcible movement of fluid through a nozzle without firing a corresponding fluid-ejection element, to similarly dislodge any residual dried fluid on the nozzle while the printhead is at the service station. For instance, positive or negative pressure may be externally applied to the nozzle to clear the nozzle. As one example, a suctioning operation may be performed on the nozzle to draw fluid from a chamber of a corresponding fluid-ejection element through the nozzle.

A printing device may perform spit-wipe-prime operations on its fluidic printhead nozzles in accordance with a profile that governs the servicing maintenance of the nozzles. The profile dictates when servicing maintenance of the nozzles is to occur, the sequence of the spit-wipe-prime operations that are to occur when servicing maintenance is performed, and the duration of each spit-wipe-prime operation in the sequence that is to be performed. For instance, a profile may dictate that nozzle servicing maintenance be performed immediately prior to printing a print job to form a printed image on media, during the print job, immediately after printing the print job, or while the printing device is at rest and is not actively printing a print job, about to print a print job, or has just concluded printing a print job.

As an example, a servicing maintenance profile may indicate that, when a print job is to be printed, no spit-wipe-prime operations be performed if a previous print job was recently printed. The profile may indicate that, when a print job is to be printed, a specified sequence of spit-wipe-prime operations is to be performed if a previous print job was printed more than a threshold length of time ago, and a more aggressive sequence be performed if the previous print job was printed more than an even longer threshold length of time ago. The more aggressive sequence of spit-wipe-prime operations may specify more operations than the less aggressive sequence, and/or each operation in the more aggressive sequence may itself be more aggressive. For instance, a spit operation that forcibly ejects more fluid (i.e., the operation is performed for a longer duration) than another spit operation is the more aggressive operation.

The profile that governs the servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles within a printing device is usually hardcoded into the printing device at time of manufacture. The manufacturer may conduct laboratory and field tests to determine an optimal servicing maintenance profile that maintains print quality for the vast majority of expected usage scenarios of printing devices of the same type. The intention may be to balance the frequency at which a user has to manually initiate performance of spit-wipe-prime operations and the amount of fluid and time wasted during potentially unnecessary profile-initiated operations. That is, if the nozzles are not plugged, then profile-initiated maintenance results in wasted fluid and time, whereas if the nozzles are plugged but the profile does not initiate servicing maintenance, then the user may have to manually initiate maintenance after encountering impaired print quality.

Techniques described herein ameliorate this issue associated with hardcoded servicing maintenance profiles for fluidic printhead nozzles of a printing device. Fluidic usage data over time, as well as potentially other data, is received from a printing device. A profile governing the servicing maintenance of the fluidic printhead nozzles of the printing device is determined based on the received fluidic usage data over time, as well as potentially based on other received data. The determined profile is transmitted to the printing device, which subsequently performs spit-wipe-prime operations on the fluidic printhead nozzles in accordance with the received profile.

FIG.1shows an example process100for selecting a preselected profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles of a printing device. The process100is performed by a computing device, such as a cloud-computing server, or another type of computing device. The computing device is communicatively connected to the printing device, such as over a network like the Internet. The process100may be implemented as program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium and executable by the computing device.

The printing device may be a standalone inkjet printer, an all-in-one (AIO) inkjet-printing device, or another type of fluid-ejection printing device. The described printing device in the example ofFIG.1includes two types of fluidic printhead nozzles: black nozzles that eject black ink, and color nozzles that eject color ink. As to the latter, for example, the color nozzles may include cyan, magenta, and yellow nozzles that respectively eject cyan, magenta, and yellow ink. The black nozzles and the color nozzles may be part of the same or different printheads of the printing device. The black nozzles as a whole are more generally considered single color nozzles in that they include nozzles that eject the same color of ink or other fluid, and the color nozzles as a whole are more generally considered multiple color nozzles in that they include nozzles that eject ink or other fluid of different colors.

Black (e.g., single color) fluidic usage data102, combined color (e.g., multiple color) fluidic usage data104, and temperature data106may be collected per print job108at the printing device and transmitted to the computing device, which receives and stores this data (110). The black fluidic usage data102is a direct or indirect measure of the amount of black ink that the printing device used when printing a print job108. The color fluidic usage data104is a direct or indirect measure of the combined amount of color ink (e.g., cyan, magenta, and yellow ink) that the printing device used when printing the print job108. The temperature data106indicates ambient temperature of the printing device or the temperature of or at the printhead(s) including the fluidic printhead nozzles of the device at the time of printing the print job108.

The fluidic usage data102and104may be a direct measure of the amount of ink or other fluid in that the data102and104may each indicate an actual volume of such fluid. The fluidic usage data102and104may instead be an indirect measure of the amount of ink or other fluid in that the data102and104may each indicate the number of corresponding pixels (e.g., black or color) that have been printed, which correlates to the amount of ink and thus the fluidic usage. In the example ofFIG.1, the fluidic usage data102and104are provided for each print job108that the printing device prints, and may be provided as or after each print job108is printed, or periodically for a number of print jobs108or in accordance with a schedule.

The fluidic usage data102and104and the temperature data106are more generally considered to be provided by the printing device over time. That is, providing the fluidic usage data102and104and the temperature data106for each print job108is the providing of such data102,104, and106over time. However, instead of the fluidic usage data102and104and the temperature data106provided on a per-print job108basis, cumulative data102,104, and106may be provided for successive time periods, such as hourly, daily, weekly, and so on, which also constitutes the providing of such data102,104, and106over time.

The computing device on a monthly or other temporal basis calculates and stores (111) the following based on the fluidic usage data102and104and temperature data106received and stored during the preceding month. The computing device calculates and stores (111) the total black (e.g., single color) fluidic usage112for the month by adding the black fluidic usage data102received and stored for print jobs108during the month. The computing device similarly calculates and stores (111) the combined color (e.g., multiple color) fluidic usage114for the month by adding the combined color fluidic usage104received and stored for print jobs108during the month. The computing device also calculates and stores (111) the average temperature116for the month based on the temperature data106received and stored for print jobs108during the month.

For example, the average temperature116for the month may be a per-print job temperature, which the computing device calculates by simply averaging the temperature data106for each print job108for the month. As another example, the average temperature116for the month may be a per-page temperature, which the computing device calculates by averaging the temperature data106for each print job108for the month as weighted by the number of pages of the print job108. As a third example, the average temperature116for the month may be a per-fluid amount temperature, which the computing device calculates by averaging the temperature data106for each print job108for the month as weighted by the sum of the black fluidic usage data102and the combined color fluidic usage data104of the print job108.

The computing device then calculates and stores (118) the following after having calculated and stored the total black fluidic usage112, the total combined color fluidic usage114, and the average temperature116for the preceding month. The computing device calculates and stores (118) the black (e.g., single color) fluidic usage122for the most recent three (or other number of) months. For example, the computing device may calculate and store the total black fluidic usage122for the most recent three months by adding the black fluidic usage112for each of the preceding three months. As another example, the computing device may calculate and store the average black fluidic usage122for the most recent three months by averaging the black fluidic usage112for each of the preceding three months.

The computing device similarly calculates and stores (118) the combined color (e.g., multiple color) fluidic usage124for the most recent three (or other number of) months. The computing device may calculate and store the total or the average combined color fluidic usage124. The computing device also calculates and stores (118) the average temperature126for the most recent three (or other number of) months. For example, the computing device may calculate an average of the average temperature116for each of the preceding three months. In calculating this average, the computing device may not weight the average temperature116for each month, or the computing device may weight the average temperature116for each month by the number of print job pages printed during the month or by the sum of the black fluidic usage112and the combined color fluidic usage114during the month.

In the example ofFIG.1, if the average temperature126for the most recent three (or other number of) months is greater than a temperature threshold (128), then a first black profile130A and a first color profile132A are selected by the computing device and transmitted to the printing device (134). The first black profile130A governs servicing maintenance of the black fluidic printhead nozzles of the printing device, whereas the first color profile132A governs servicing maintenance of the color fluidic printhead nozzles (e.g., the cyan, magenta, and yellow nozzles) of the printing device. The printing device thus performs spit-wipe-prime operations on the black and color nozzles according to the first black and color profiles130A and132A, respectively.

The first profiles130A and132A each specify how often the printing device is to perform the spit-wipe-prime operations prior to, during, and/or subsequent to print job performance, a sequence of the operations to be performed, and/or the duration of each operation. The computing device selects the first black profile130A if the average temperature126for the most recent specified length of time (e.g., three months) is greater than the temperature threshold regardless of the black fluidic usage122during this length of time. The computing device likewise selects the first color profile132A if the temperature126for the most recent specified length of time is greater than the temperature threshold regardless of the combined color fluidic usage124during this length of time. The temperature threshold may be 28 degrees Celsius, for instance.

In the example ofFIG.1, if the average temperature126for the most recent three (or other number of) months is not greater than (e.g., less than) the temperature threshold (128), and if the combined color fluidic usage124is not greater than (e.g., less than) a color threshold (136), then the first color profile132A is still selected and transmitted to the printing device (138). By comparison, if the combined color fluidic usage124for the most recent three (or other number of) months is greater than the color threshold (136), then a second color profile132B is selected by the computing device and transmitted to the printing device (140). The second color profile132B is different than the first color profile132A, and may specify performance of less aggressive servicing maintenance operations for the color nozzles than the first color profile132A due to the more frequent combined color usage of the printing device during relatively low temperatures in the most recent specified length of time.

Similarly, in the example ofFIG.1, if the average temperature126for the most recent three (or other number of) months is not greater than the temperature threshold (128), and if the black fluidic usage122is not greater than (e.g., less than) a black threshold (142), then the first black profile130A is still selected and transmitted to the printing device (144). By comparison, if the black fluidic usage122for the most recent three (or other number of) months is greater than the black threshold (142), then a second black profile130B is selected by the computing device and transmitted to the printing device (146). The second black profile130B is different than the first black profile130A, and may similarly specify performance of less aggressive servicing maintenance operations for the black nozzles than the first black profile130A due to the more frequent black usage of the printing device during relatively low temperatures in the most recent specified length of time.

The computing device may transmit the selected black profile130A or130B to the printing device at the same time as the computing device transmits the selected profile132A or132B. The printing device, as noted, performs servicing maintenance of the black nozzles according to the received black profile130A or130B, and performs servicing maintenance of the color nozzles according to received color profile132A or132B. Therefore, the printing device may perform more aggressive servicing maintenance on the black nozzles than on the color nozzles if the black profile130B and the color profile132A are received. Similarly, the printing device may perform more aggressive servicing maintenance on the color nozzles than on the black nozzles if the black profile130A and the color profile132B are received.

The black profiles130A and130B, collectively referred to as the black profiles130, and the color profiles132A and132B, collectively referred to as the color profiles132, are preconstructed profiles. The computing device, in performing the process100, therefore selects a black profile to transmit to the printing device from the preconstructed black profiles130, and selects a color profile to transmit to the printing device from the preconstructed color profiles132. The process100thus dictates that the computing device perform profile selection in a rule-based manner, in that the comparisons of parts128,136, and142constitute rules that the computing device applies to determine which black profile130A or130B to select and which color profile132A or132B to select.

Because the black profile and the color profile are not hardcoded into the printing device, they can change over time as the black fluidic usage122, the combined color fluidic usage124, and/or the average temperature126for the most recent specified length of time changes. Furthermore, the computing device may select and transmit different black and color profiles for different printing devices based on their individual black fluidic usage122, combined color fluidic usage124, and average temperature126. The black and color profiles130and132can thus be more tailored to specific fluidic usage and temperature, as compare to in a case in which a single black profile and a single color profile are used regardless of actual fluidic usage and actual temperature.

Therefore, the process100can reduce fluidic waste, because fewer potentially unnecessary spit-wipe-prime operations (i.e., the performance of servicing maintenance on fluidic printhead nozzles when none are plugged) are likely to be performed due to the more tailored black and color profiles130and132. Similarly, the process100can improve end user experience. For instance, a user of a printing device may be less likely to have to manually initiate servicing maintenance of nozzles, because the black and color profiles130and132selected for the printing device are more closely tailored to the actual fluidic usage and temperature of the printing device.

FIG.2shows an example process200for determining a profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles of a printing device. The process200is consistent with but more general than the process100ofFIG.1. Like the process100, the process200is performed by a computing device that is communicatively connected to the printing device, such as over a network. The process200may similarly be implemented as program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium and executable by the computing device. The process200is described in relation to just one type of fluidic usage data, such as black fluidic usage or combined color fluidic usage. The process200thus determines one profile, as opposed to selecting two profiles (one for black nozzles and one for color nozzles) as in the process100.

The printing device in relation to which a profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles is determined in the process200is referred to as a selected printing device. Fluidic usage data202, as well as nozzle health data204, environmental data206, and/or location data208, can more generally be collected over time at each of a number of printing devices210, including the selected printing device, and transmitted to the computing device. The process200may select a nozzle servicing maintenance profile for each printing device210, however, and not just the selected printing device in relation to which the process200is described.

The fluidic usage data202received over time from each printing device210may be single color fluidic usage data or combined multiple color usage data. For instance, the fluidic usage data202may be the black usage data102or the combined color usage data104ofFIG.1. In an implementation in which the nozzle health data204is received over time from each printing device210, the nozzle health data204may directly or indirectly nozzle health of the fluidic printhead nozzles of the printing device210in question. A nozzle that is unplugged and can eject fluid is healthier, for instance, than a nozzle that is plugged and therefore cannot eject fluid.

The nozzle health data204may provide a direct indication of nozzle health, either objectively or subjectively, as direct health data regarding the fluidic printhead nozzles. In both cases the printing device210may cause the nozzles to eject a nozzle health pattern image onto a sheet of media. As an objective measure of direct health data, the nozzle health data204may include an automatically or user-initiated optical scanning of the printed nozzle health pattern image. The computing device can thus compare the scanned nozzle health pattern image with an expected health pattern image to determine whether the nozzles correctly ejected fluid.

As a subjective measure of direct health data, the nozzle health data204may include user indication as to whether the printed nozzle health pattern image appears satisfactory. For example, the printing device210may instruct a user to compare the printed nozzle health pattern image with a displayed reference nozzle health pattern image, and assess whether the nozzles correctly ejected fluid. The nozzle health data204may instead provide an indirect indication of nozzle health. For example, the number of times the user manually initiated servicing maintenance of the fluidic printhead nozzles can correlate with nozzle health, since if the user is manually initiating spit-wipe-prime operations, this can mean that the nozzles are plugged and thus unhealthy.

In an implementation in which the environmental data206is received over time from each printing device210, the environmental data206may include temperature, humidity, and/or altitude at which the printing device210is located, over time. For example, the environmental data206may include the temperature data106ofFIG.1. The environmental data206over time for a printing device210may not be received, however. In this case, location data208regarding the printing device210may instead be received. The location data208specifies the location of the printing device210.

The computing device can then look up (212), or otherwise determine, the environmental data206for the printing device210over time based on the location data208. For example, a third-party weather or other service may be consulted to determine the environmental data206for the location of the printing device210. Therefore, in an implementation in which environmental data206is considered, the environmental data206over time for a printing device210may be received from the printing device210or may be determined based on the location data208received from the device210.

A profile214is determined (216) for the selected printing device. The profile214is determined based on the fluidic usage data202over time received from the selected printing device, and may also be determined based on the fluidic usage data202over time received from each other printing device210. The profile214may further be determined based on the nozzle health data204over time received from the selected printing device, and may also be determined based on the nozzle health data204over time received from each other printing device210. The profile214may similarly also be determined based on the environmental data206regarding the selected printing device, and may also be determined based on the environmental data206regarding each other printing device210.

The profile214governs servicing maintenance of the fluidic printhead nozzles of the selected printing device. The profile214may be a preconstructed profile that is selected using a rule-based preconstructed profile selection technique218, such as the process100ofFIG.1. The rule-based preconstructed profile selection technique218applies rules against the fluidic usage data202of the selected printing device, and also in an implementation against the nozzle health data204and/or the environmental data206of the selected printing device, in order to select the profile214for the selected printing device from a number of preconstructed profiles. The rule-based preconstructed profile selection technique218may in an implementation similarly also apply rules against the fluidic usage data202, the nozzle health data204, and/or the environmental data206of one or multiple other printing devices210to select the profile214for the selected printing device from a number of preconstructed profiles.

The profile214may instead be a custom profile, and not a preconstructed profile, which is determined using an algorithmic custom profile determination technique220. The algorithmic custom profile determination technique220performs an algorithm on the fluidic usage data202of the selected printing device, and also in an implementation on the nozzle health data204and/or the environmental data206of the selected printing device, in order to determine the profile214for the selected printing device. The algorithmic custom profile determination technique220may in an implementation similarly also perform the algorithm on the fluidic usage data202, the nozzle health data204, and/or the environmental data206of one or multiple other printing devices210to determine the profile214for the selected printing device.

The profile214may be a custom profile that is instead determined using a machine learning model-based custom profile determination technique222. The machine learning model-based custom profile determination technique222inputs the fluidic usage data202of the selected printing device, and also in an implementation the nozzle health data204and/or the environmental data206of the selected printing device, into a machine learning model in order to determine the profile214for the selected printing device. The machine learning model-based custom profile determination technique222may in an implementation similarly also input into the machine learning model the fluidic usage data202, the nozzle health data204, and/or the environmental data206of one or multiple other printing devices210to determine the profile214for the selected printing device.

The usage of environmental data206of the selected printing device in addition to the fluidic usage data202of the selected printing device can result in determination of a profile214for the selected printing device that better reflects the servicing maintenance that should be performed on the printing device's nozzles to maintain nozzle health. For example, environmental data206indicating higher temperature, lower humidity, and/or higher altitude may result in a profile214specifying more aggressive servicing maintenance for the same fluidic usage data202than environmental data206indicating lower temperature, higher humidity, and/or lower altitude. The user is therefore less likely to experience impaired print quality when printing print jobs and/or is less likely to have to manually initiate servicing maintenance of the nozzles.

Similarly, the usage of nozzle health data206of the selected printing device in addition to the fluidic usage data202of the selected printing device can result in determination of a profile214for the selected printing device that better reflects the servicing maintenance that should be performed on the printing device's nozzles to maintain nozzle health. For example, if the nozzle health data206indicates impaired nozzle health, then a more aggressive profile214may be determined as compared to if the nozzle health data206does not indicate impaired nozzle health. The user is therefore again less likely to experience impaired print quality when printing print jobs and/or is less likely to have to manually initiate servicing maintenance of the nozzles.

The usage of fluidic usage data202, nozzle health data204, and/or environmental health data206of other printing devices210can also result in determination of a profile214for the selected printing device that better reflects the servicing maintenance that should be performed on the printing device's nozzles to maintain nozzle health. In the case in which a machine learning model-based custom profile determination technique is employed, for instance, the machine learning model can consider such data202,204, and206from a large number of printing devices210to determine the custom profile214for each individual printing device210(including the selected printing device). The user of the selected printing device is again less likely to experience impaired print quality when printing print jobs and/or is less likely to have to manually initiate servicing maintenance of the nozzles.

Once the preconstructed or custom profile214for the selected printing device has been determined (216), the computing device transmits (224) the determined profile214to the selected printing device. Upon receipt, the selected printing device performs spit-wipe-prime operations on its fluidic printhead nozzles according to the received profile214. The process200can be periodically repeated, so as the fluidic usage data202, nozzle health data204, and/or environmental data206of the selected printing device changes, the profile214is updated to ensure that it continually reflects the servicing maintenance that should be performed on the printing device's nozzles to maintain nozzle health.

FIG.3shows an example non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium300storing program code302executable by a processor to perform processing. The processor may be part of a computing device that is communicatively connected to a printing device. The processing includes receiving fluidic usage data over time from the printing device (304), and determining a profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles of the printing device, based on the received fluidic usage data over time (306). The processing includes transmitting the profile to the printing device (308). The printing device thus performs spit-wipe-prime operations on the fluidic printhead nozzles according to the profile.

FIG.4shows an example method400. The method400may be performed by a computing device that is communicatively connected to a printing device. The method400includes receiving, from the printing device, fluidic usage data and environmental data over time (402). The method400includes selecting a profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles of the printing device from a plurality of a preconstructed profiles, based on the received fluidic usage data and environmental data over time (404). The method400includes transmitting the profile to the printing device (406), with the printing device performing spit-wipe-prime operations on the fluidic printhead nozzles according to the profile.

FIG.5shows an example printing device. The printing device500includes a fluid-ejection printhead502having fluidic printhead nozzles. The printing device500includes a service station504to which the fluid-ejection printhead is moved to perform spit-wipe-prime operations to maintain and service the fluidic printhead nozzles. The printing device500includes a processor506, and a memory508storing program code510. The program code510is executable by the processor506to transmit fluidic usage data regarding the fluid-ejection printhead502to a computing device (512). The program code510is executable by the processor506to receive from the computing device a profile governing servicing maintenance of the fluidic printhead nozzles determined based on the fluidic usage data (514). The program code510is executable by the processor506to perform the spit-wipe-prime operations according to the profile (516).

Techniques have been described herein for determining a profile governing servicing maintenance of fluidic printhead nozzles of a printing device. Periodically determining such a profile, instead of hardcoding it into the printing device at time of manufacture, permits the profile to better reflect the actual usage, environment, and conditions of the printing device. Therefore, nozzle servicing maintenance that the printing device performs in accordance with the profile is less likely to waste fluid and time in maintaining nozzle health, and is more likely to maintain nozzle health without manual user-initiated servicing maintenance of the nozzles.