# US 10,112,397 B2 · Liquid jetting apparatus

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- Number: US 10,112,397 B2
- Document ID: US10112397B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/707,318
- Filed: 2017-09-18
- Published: 2018-03-29
- Granted: 2018-10-30
- Earliest claimed: 2016-09-23
- Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Nao Morimoto; Mikio Ogawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10112397B2

## CPC

- B41J 2/16511: {Constructions for cap positioning (B41J2/16547 takes precedence)}
- B41J 2/16508: {connected with the printer frame}
- B41J 2/16517: {Cleaning of print head nozzles (B41J2/16505, B41J2/1707 take precedence)}
- B41J 2/16523: {Waste ink transport from caps or spittoons, e.g. by suction (Collecting or collectors of waste ink B41J2/1721)}
- B41J 2/16547: {the wipers and caps or spittoons being on the same movable support}
- B41J 2/16514: {creating a distance between cap and printhead, e.g. for suction or pressurising}
- B41J 2002/16582: {Maintenance means fixed on the print head or its carriage}
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

There is provided a liquid jetting apparatus including: a liquid jetting head; a carriage; a cap; a cap switching device switching the cap between a capping state and an uncapping state; a carriage blocker movable between a first position not contacting carriage, and a second position blocking movement of the carriage in a first direction; and a contacting portion locatable, in the uncapping state, at a third position at which the contacting portion is not in contact with carriage, and locatable, in the capping state, at a fourth position at which, under a condition that the blocked carriage rotates around an axis perpendicular to a liquid jetting surface with the carriage blocker as a supporting point, the contacting portion is capable of contacting the rotating carriage. The contacting portion is configured to move integrally with the cap in a plane parallel to the liquid jetting surface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A liquid jetting apparatus configured to jet liquid toward a recording medium, comprising:
a liquid jetting head including a liquid jetting surface and a plurality of nozzles arranged in the liquid jetting surface;
a carriage on which the liquid jetting head is mounted, and which is movable along a guide rail extending in a first direction parallel to the liquid jetting surface;
a cap configured to cover the plurality of nozzles;
a cap switching device configured to move the cap relative to the liquid jetting head in a second direction crossing the liquid jetting head and to perform switching between a capping state and an uncapping state, the capping state being a state in which the cap is in contact with the liquid jetting head to cover the plurality of nozzles, and the uncapping state being a state in which the cap is separated away from the liquid jetting head;
a carriage blocker configured to move between a first position at which the carriage blocker is not in contact with carriage, and a second position at which the carriage blocker is in contact with the carriage to block movement of the carriage in the first direction; and
a contacting portion which is located, in the uncapping state, at a third position at which the contacting portion is not in contact with carriage, and which is located, in the capping state, at a fourth position at which, under a condition that the carriage, of which movement in the first direction is blocked by the carriage blocker located at the second position, rotates around an axis perpendicular to the liquid jetting surface with the carriage blocker as a supporting point, the contacting portion is capable of contacting the rotating carriage,
wherein the contacting portion is configured to move integrally with the cap in a plane parallel to the liquid jetting surface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in association with movement of the cap in the second direction, the carriage blocker is located at the first position in a case that the cap is in the uncapping state, and the carriage blocker is located at the second position in a case that the cap is in the capping state.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a platen,
wherein the platen, the carriage blocker and the cap are arranged in this order in the first direction,
wherein the contacting portion has a contact surface which faces in the first direction and which does not face the platen.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power source configured to supply a power to drive the cap switching device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the contacting portion includes a first contactable portion,
wherein the carriage blocker includes a second contactable portion, and
wherein a length in the second direction of the first contactable portion which is capable of contacting the carriage is shorter than a length in the second direction of the second contactable portion, which is capable of contacting the carriage.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second direction is a direction along a vertical direction,
a forward end portion of the carriage blocker and a forward end portion of the contacting portion are located to be above the cap, and
the forward end portion of the contacting portion is located to be above the forward end portion of the carriage blocker.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a position in a third direction, which is parallel to the liquid jetting surface and which crosses the first direction, of the carriage blocker and a position in the third direction of the contacting portion are shifted from each other.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the carriage blocker and the contacting portion are located to sandwich, in the third direction, center of gravity of the carriage.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of nozzle rows, each including the plurality of nozzles which are aligned in the third direction, are arranged side by side in the first direction in the liquid jetting head,
the cap has a lip portion configured to contact the liquid jetting head,
the carriage has a facing surface which faces the contacting portion in the first direction to make contact with the contacting portion in the capping state,
in the capping state, the contacting portion is separated away from the carriage blocker in the third direction farther than the plurality of nozzles, and
in the capping state, a spacing distance between the contacting portion and the facing surface in the first direction is smaller than a spacing distance between the lip portion and a nozzle row which is included in the plurality of nozzle rows and which is closest to the lip portion in the first direction.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cap switching device includes:
a first supporting member configured to support the cap and to move integrally with the cap in the plane parallel to the liquid jetting surface;
a second supporting member configured to move in the second direction and to rotatably support the first supporting member in the plane parallel to the liquid jetting surface; and
a guide portion configured to guide the second supporting member in the second direction and to block rotation of the second supporting member with the first direction as an axis of rotation,
the carriage blocker is disposed on the second supporting member, and
the contacting portion is disposed on the first supporting member.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the carriage has a facing surface which faces the contacting portion in the first direction to make contact with the contacting portion in the capping state;
the first supporting member has a positioning surface configured to perform positioning with respect to the carriage by facing the carriage in the first direction and contacting the carriage in the capping state; and
in the capping state, a first length which is a length in the second direction of an overlapping portion between the carriage and the positioning surface is longer than a second length which is a length in the second direction of an overlapping portion between the contacting surface and the facing surface.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first length is longer than a third length which is a moving distance in the second direction of the first supporting member in a case that the cap is moved by the cap switching device to perform switching from the uncapping state to the capping state; and
the second length is shorter than the third length.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second supporting member is composed of a material of which hardness is higher than that of a material composing the first supporting member.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The liquid jetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contacting portion has a projected area, obtained in a case that the contacting portion is projected in a direction orthogonal to the liquid jetting surface, is smaller than that of the carriage blocker.