Inkjet printer

Contents
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1 Executive Summary

2 Product Study

3 Component List 1: Primary List

4 Component List 2: Sub-Assembly Analysis of the Main Gears *Part 19, 20, etc.

5 Component List 3: Sub-Assembly Analysis of Paper Roller Encoder System, *Part 19

6 Component List 4: Function Flow

7 Design Considerations

8 FMEA chart

9 Possible Modification, based on "CD Printing Concept"

Executive Summary

We are dedicating our effort on improving the functionality of a typical Inkjet Printer in this project, As of
Febuary 12th, 2007, we have completed the product analysis (shown below) at a depth that we consider as
sufficient to properly enter the actual designing stage. Because of the complexity of the product, the analysis
below only involves the components we consider most relevant to our design ideas/goals. For
additional/complete information, please check howstuffworks.com or other web sources.

Based on our analysis, we have also come to the conclusion that the components of a typical printer have been
optimized not only in their functions but their manufacturing/assembly methods. Although the FMEA yields
oppotunities for improvement on several components of the printer, those problems could have been
addressed efficiently through proper usage and care of the unit. Therefore, we are suggesting to focus the
design effort on improving the overall functionality of the printer instead of specific components.

The list of parts under Modification will be directly affected by the additional functionality we are currently
planning to design. Other than Part 4, all the parts have to be either re-positioned or modified to generate the
required space for additional components resulting from the next stage of design. For example, we might have
to cut a hole/slot in Part 5 and attach an additional tray to it for CD/other hard materials' input. Vertical space is
the most obvious issue as of now, and we will address these areas as we progress this project to the next
stage. Finally, we will also look into ink cartridge situation to see if significant improvement can be achieved.

Inkjet_Printer_Design_Report2_Spring_2007

Inkjet_Printer_temp
Inkjet_Printer_Notes_Spring_2007

Product Study

We have identified five categories for the product study. This product study is served as initiation of our thought
process and representation of our point of view in approaching the design. The primary goal of the study is to
identify oppotunities in generating unconventional and advanced usage of a typical printer through design
improvements.

Function
1. To print images in color or black&white or gray-scale on certain sizes of paper
2. To print images on a variety types of paper that have a certain softness level

Inputs/Outputs
Input
1. Paper
2. CPU data
3. Ink
4. Energy

Output
1. Printed paper

Functional Operation
1. Place Printer on a flat surface
2. Plug in Parallel (or USB) port to CPU
3. Plug in Power Cord to outlet
4. Install Printer Drivers
5. Insert Ink
6. Insert material to be printed
7. Upload Image desired from CPU to Printer
8. Remove Printer Image (End Product)

Different Users
1. Someone inexperienced with computers.
2. People who want to print images on special materials that are not bendable.
3. Physically Disabled/Elderly.
Other Stakeholders
1. Printer/Paper/Ink/Others Manufacturer
2. Providers of Raw Materials
3. Retail Stores
4. Transportation workers

Component List 1: Primary List

In the following list, we have identified all the components existed in a regular injet printer through two formats-
"specific compnent" and "assembly". The next two sections will identify crucial sub-assemblies and provide a
brief analysis for each.

Par Part QT Dimensions(*in

Function Materials Manufacturing Process Picture
t# Name Y ch)
Prevents dust;
allows ink
1 Lid 1 replacement & Plastic 8x3x1 Injection Molding
paper
adjustment

Holds pre-
Paper Injection
2 1 printed paper in Plastic n/a
Tray 1 Molding/Assembly
straight position

Paper Holds printed Injection

3 1 Plastic n/a
Tray 2 paper Molding/Assembly

Lets users input

Input Injection
4 1 set basic operation Plastic/Others n/a
Buttons Molding/Assembly
commands

The 6 rollers
located on the
Rear
cover assist the
Cover Injection
5 1 paper Plastic/Others 8x2x1.5
Assemb Molding/Assembly
movement in
ly
side of the
printer

Upper Holds the

Paper printing paper in Injection
6 1 Plastic 7x2x1
Support vertical Molding/Assembly
er direction
 Middle Provides
Paper constant upward Injection
7 1 Plastic 7x2x1
Support forces to the Molding/Assembly
er printing paper

Front Rolls the paper

Paper out of the
8 1 Plastic/Others n/a Molding/Assembly
Roller roller/supporter
Set assembly

Acts as an
simple shock
Springs
9 1 set absorber for the Metal n/a *Spinning
set
interior
supporter
Serves as the
provider of
opposite force
Rear on the Springs
10 Upper 1 against the Metal 7x2x.5 Stamping
Plate interior paper
supporter;
allows wirings
to be attached

Paper senses the paper

11 Feed 1 right before Plastic/Others n/a Molding/Assembly
Sensor being printed

Rear
Rolls the paper
Paper
into the first Molding/Extruding/Asse
12 Roller 1 Plastic/Metal n/a
stage of printing mbly
Assemb
process
ly
Senses the
opening/closing
of the lid to
trigger the
Lid
13 1 movement of Plastic/Others n/a Molding/Assembly
Sensor
other interior
components
such as the ink
cartridge
Holds major
components in
place, including
Main
14 1 the brackets Metal/Alum n/a Stamping
Bracket
holding the
motor and rear
supporters
 Responsible for
Primary
the
15 Chip 1 set Plastic/Others n/a Others
input/output/po
Board
wer signals

Converts the
voltage supplied
Power
16 1 set by the power Plastics/Others n/a Assembly/Others
Supply
supply input
from AC to DC
Keeps the head
of the inkjet
cartridge clean
Inkjet in between the
17 Cleaner 1 operations to Plastic/Others 4x2x2 Molding/Assembly
Unit prevent the
hardening of ink
and jamming of
the cartridge
Holds the Inkjet
Inkjet Cartridge and
18 Catridge 2 transports it Plastic/Assembly 2x1x2 Molding/Assembly
Craddle during the
printing process
Sends
information to
Paper an encoder so
Roller that the printer Plastic/Metals/Oth
19 1 set n/a Molding/Assembly
Encoder knows how far ers
Gear the paper has
traveled inside
the printer
Supplier the
Paper mechanical
20 Roller 1 set energy to the Metals/Others n/a Casting/Others
Motor paper rollers so
that can move
Supplies
Inkjet
mechanical
Cartridg
energy to the
21 e 1 set Metals/Others n/a Casting/Others
Inkjet Cartridge
Craddle
Craddle so that
Motor
it can move

Component List 2: Sub-Assembly Analysis of the Main Gears *Part 19,

20, etc.
This sub-assembly is the set of gears that turns both the main and paper-pickup rollers. It also engages or
disengages both the paper ejector mechanism and the paper loading mechanism. It is quite a complicated
system, but is also quite ingenious. The picture below gives a breakdown of the different sets of gears and how
they are connected. Much of this sub-assembly is left intact because of both the complexity of the overall
project, but also because some of the parts would be destroyed in the process of taking them apart.

Description of power transmission:

1. The axle (axle1) labeled main rollers/encoder motor is the source of power for this sub-assembly. It is
also the same axle that the main rollers are on. The power is derived from the encoder-motor sub-
assembly. The encoder-motor assembly turns a gear on this axle (not shown in diagram) which also
has an incremental encoder on it which gives feedback on how far/fast the rollers have turned.

2. The gear (gear1) shown in the diagram which is attached to axle1 is what directs power to both the
paper-pickup rollers and the paper-feed-lever/paper-ejector-mechanism.

1. The medium sized gear (gear2) just to the left of gear1 is what directs power to the paper-
pickup roller assembly as well as to the small gear (gear3) to the left of gear2.

1. Gear3 is used when the current print job is done and the printed paper needs to be
ejected and a new piece needs to be picked up. When the print-cartridge carriage
moves directly above the gearbox (as labeled in the diagram) a lever pushes the
gearbox so that gear3 engages the gear (gear4) with a cam on it. This gear then
turns allowing the paper-feed-lever to rise and load paper into the paper-pickup
rollers. At the same time a lever (labeled [4] in the diagram) attached to the paper
ejector mechanism is pushed, ejecting the printed paper. When a new piece of
paper is loaded, the printer-cartridge carriage moves away from the gearbox,
disengaging gear3.

2. The other medium sized gear (gear5), below gear1, now transfers power to the smaller gear
(gear6) below it.

1. Gear6, by default, is now engaging gear4. Now gear4 turns again returning the
ejector mechanism to its resting position and dropping the paper-feed-lever back
down. When everything is back in place gear6 reaches the bare spot on gear4 and
stops turning it. Since gear6 can now freewheel, the printer is free to move the
rollers in order to get the printheads into place.
Component List 3: Sub-Assembly Analysis of Paper Roller Encoder
System, *Part 19
Updated as of March 8th 2007:

After further research we determined that the encoder for the rollers is a rotational incremental optical
encoder.

The way this type of encoder works is that there is a light-source, an LED in this case, a clear plastic
disk and a photodetector.

The LED shines a light through the clear plastic disk which has two tracks drawn on it.

As the light passes through the disk the encoder circuit can determine how much the encoder gear has
turned. The tracks are offset by 90 degrees to so that the encoder circuit can determine the direction of
rotation based on which track leads the other.

Subassembly analysis of paper roller encoder system: The subassembly consists of three main
components that act as a feedback control system:

1- The encoder circuit

2- The driving motor

3- The encoder gear

1- The Encoder Circuit This circuit is responsible for sending information the to the main printer circuit board.
The circuit board sends information about many degrees did the paper roller turn. With this information the
main circuit board can keep track of where the sheet of paper is inside the printer. The Encoder Circuit
determines this information by using an infrared laser that monitors the movement of the encoder gear.

2- Encoder Gear This gear is directly attached to the Paper Rollers. There is a plastic disc with several small
black lines along its circumference. The purpose of the black lines is provide a reference for the infrared laser.
As the encoder gear moves the black lines are seen by the infrared laser to as a series of ones and zeros or
black line and no black lines. By counting the number of black lines that were crossed the encoder can
determine the number of degrees that the encoder gear turned. Using this and by knowing the size of the gears
the main circuit board can determine the distance that the sheet of paper has traveled in the printer.

3- Driving Motor The driving motor is the final part of the feedback control system. The motor receives signals
from the Encoder Circuit that tells it when to start moving and stop moving. The motor is also geared up to
provide additional torque for moving the paper.

Component List 4: Function Flow

Below is the process taken place once printing action initiates

The software application you are using sends the data to be printed to the printer driver.

The driver translates the data into a format that the printer can understand and checks to see that the printer is
online and available to print.

The data is sent by the driver from the computer to the printer via the connection interface (parallel, USB, etc.).

The printer receives the data from the computer. It stores a certain amount of data in a buffer. The buffer can
range from 512 KB random access memory (RAM) to 16 MB RAM, depending on the model. Buffers are useful
because they allow the computer to finish with the printing process quickly, instead of having to wait for the
actual page to print. A large buffer can hold a complex document or several basic documents.

If the printer has been idle for a period of time, it will normally go through a short clean cycle to make sure that
the print head(s) are clean. Once the clean cycle is complete, the printer is ready to begin printing.

The control circuitry activates the paper feed stepper motor. This engages the rollers, which feed a sheet of
paper from the paper tray/feeder into the printer. A small trigger mechanism in the tray/feeder is depressed
when there is paper in the tray or feeder. If the trigger is not depressed, the printer lights up the "Out of Paper"
LED and sends an alert to the computer.

Once the paper is fed into the printer and positioned at the start of the page, the print head stepper motor uses
the belt to move the print head assembly across the page. The motor pauses for the merest fraction of a
second each time that the print head sprays dots of ink on the page and then moves a tiny bit before stopping
again. This stepping happens so fast that it seems like a continuous motion.

Multiple dots are made at each stop. It sprays the CMYK colors in precise amounts to make any other color
imaginable.

At the end of each complete pass, the paper feed stepper motor advances the paper a fraction of an inch.
Depending on the inkjet model, the print head is reset to the beginning side of the page, or, in most cases,
simply reverses direction and begins to move back across the page as it prints.
This process continues until the page is printed. The time it takes to print a page can vary widely from printer to
printer. It will also vary based on the complexity of the page and size of any images on the page. For example,
a printer may be able to print 16 pages per minute (PPM) of black text but take a couple of minutes to print one,
full-color, page-sized image.

Once the printing is complete, the print head is parked. The paper feed stepper motor spins the rollers to finish
pushing the completed page into the output tray. Most printers today use inks that are very fast-drying, so that
you can immediately pick up the sheet without smudging it.

Design Considerations

We have identified six aspects for design considerations in order to locate any design oppotunities. Throughout
the analysis, it is evident that the manufacturing aspet of the product has been optimized while the only clear
design oppotunity lies in the environmental aspet of the design. The initial conclusion is to focus the approach
on improving either the efficiency of power and ink usage or on looking to add functionality to the product
according to the result of the product study.

Design for Assembly

Visible and hidden screws are presented in many areas among the brackets/chip-circuit board/etc to
secure every major parts onto the base

Brackets/major assemblies are positioned in a way that they have to be put on/off together

Many of the parts are designed with an interlock which is held in place by one screw. This reduces the
number of screws and bolts which makes assembly much simpler and inexpensive.

Almost all of the plastic parts, from the lid to the gears, have snaps that allow them to be easily attached to
the main body.

Design for Disassembly

Primary bracket has to be loosen before any other major components can be disassemble/removed from
the base

Difficult to assemble the pieces back to the original state once disassembled

Great amount of sub-assemblies present throughout the unit

Many of the plastic snap pieces are not easy to remove once they are in place. Many of the clips are on the
inside or out of sight, making it much tougher to see and release them.

Design for Environment

Plastics are not biodegradable

Ink and Power usage by the users

 The overall reliability of the product is good enough for the unit to last long enough time to make up for the
main materials' harmful environment effects

Design for Manufacturing

Brackets and major componets are placed in a way that they must all be at the correct position before
being fastened with screws to ensure a secure overall fit

Design for Reliability

With proper care/upgrades, the product has a very long life

Nearly impossible to take apart without proper tools and dedicated intention

The main wearing component- ink catridge, is very replaceble

Design for Saftety

Proper covers/lids prevent unwanted interaction between human hands and running machinaries

Sensors prevent excessive/active interaction between hands and mechanical components once they are
exposed

Design Usability

CPU/other wirings must be present for input purpose

Paper tray assemblies' straight shapes helps to position the papers

FMEA chart

We have identified three FMEA items based on the initial conclusion of the product analysis. The conclusion
has led us to focus on locating items that directly relate to user operation, since the inner operation of the
product is identified to be optimized. The list contains items that can be avoided with proper user care and
usage.

S: Severity of failure

O: Occurance probability

D: ease of Detection

Part Failure Mode Failure Effects S Causes of Failure O Design Controls D RPN
Unable to transfer the Excessive Notify the users on
Main Chip Breaking/Loosening input data properly; unable vibrations proper resting
9 2 5 90
Board of chips/etc. to exercise proper printing possibly through position of the
actions dropping printer
Catridge Ink not able to come out of Excessive dust Quality control;
Blockage of Ink 6 4 5 100
Assembly the catridge cumulated at the limited chance of
 ink openings; exposing the
subpar ink quality catridge assembly
Test paper tray
Primary assembly's position
Incorrect position
Roller Mechanical Failure Paper Jammed/Stucked 4 7 before entering 5 140
of printing papers
Assembly actual printing
process

Possible Modification, based on "CD Printing Concept"

Our current analysis have generate the following list of components for possible future design development:

Part 4- Input Buttons: improving user interface

Part 5- Rear Cover Assembly: possible CD insertion slot location

Part 6 through 8- Main Roller/Supporter Assembly: modified to generate addition vertical space

Part 9 & 10- Springs and their resting plate: relocated to generate space for CD slot

Part 12- Rear Paper Roller Assembly: modified to allow CD carrying movement

Part 14- Main Bracket: redesigned to generate additional space for new components

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This page was last modified on 8 March 2007, at 05:23.

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