# US 10,766,262 B2 · Liquid ejecting apparatus and cleaning device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,766,262 B2 - Document ID: US10766262B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/419,269 - Filed: 2019-05-22 - Published: 2019-09-05 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-10-05 - Assignees: Seiko Epson Corporation - Applicants: Seiko Epson Corporation - Inventors: Shigenori Nakagawa; Keiji Matsumoto - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10766262B2 ## CPC - B41J 2/16535: {using wiping constructions (B41J2/16552 takes precedence)} - B41J 2/16538: {with brushes or wiper blades perpendicular to the nozzle plate} - B41J 2/16508: {connected with the printer frame} - B41J 2002/1655: {with wiping surface parallel with nozzle plate and mounted on reels, e.g. cleaning ribbon cassettes} - B41J 2002/16558: {Using cleaning liquid for wet wiping} - B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ## Abstract A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head which ejects liquid from a nozzle that is disposed on a nozzle surface, a first wiping portion which is able to wipe away the liquid that is adhered to the nozzle surface, and a second wiping portion which is able to hold the liquid that is adhered to the nozzle surface by contacting the nozzle surface, wherein it is possible to perform a first maintenance operation in which the nozzle surface is wiped using the first wiping portion and a second maintenance operation in which the second wiping portion is caused to contact the nozzle surface due to the second wiping portion being biased by the first wiping portion. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid from a nozzle disposed on a nozzle surface; and a wiper unit configured to wipe the nozzle surface, the wiper unit including: a first wiping mechanism including a first wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface by movement in a wiping direction; and a second wiping mechanism including a second wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface by movement in the wiping direction, the second wiping member being a long shaped absorption member capable of absorbing the liquid, and the first wiping member contacts the second wiping member, and the liquid attached to the first wiping member is collected by the second wiping member. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wiper unit further includes: a base member supporting the first wiping mechanism and the second wiping mechanism and configured to be reciprocally moved along the wiping direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wiping mechanism includes a first wiping member moving mechanism configured to move the first wiping member between a wiping position where the first wiping member contacts the nozzle surface and a liquid collected position where the first wiping member contacts the second wiping member, and wherein the first wiping member at the wiping position is located upstream in the wiping direction from a contact portion of the second wiping member in contact with the nozzle surface when the second wiping member wipes the nozzle surface. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wiping mechanism includes a winding reel winding the second wiping member wound around a feeding reel, and wherein the first wiping member at the wiping position is located upstream in the wiping direction from the winding reel. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first wiping member moving mechanism includes an actuator to move the first wiping member in a vertical direction and a drive source to move the first wiping member along the wiping direction. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a cleaning liquid supply portion configured to supply a cleaning liquid to the second wiping member before contacting the nozzle surface, the cleaning liquid supply portion being disposed at a position closer to the feeding reel than the winding reel. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first wiping member is located between the winding reel and the feeding reel in a moving direction intersecting the wiping direction. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wiping member is a plate-like flexible member. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wiping member is a cloth-like absorption member. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a carriage configured to reciprocally move above a medium supported on a supporting portion in a moving direction intersecting the wiping direction, the carriage holding a plurality of the liquid ejecting heads separated in the moving direction, the medium being transported from an upstream side in a transport direction along the wiping direction on the supporting portion; and a capping unit provided with a plurality of caps corresponding to the plurality of liquid ejecting heads, the capping unit being disposed at a capping area directly below a moving area where the carriage moves in the moving direction, wherein the base member moves in the wiping direction from a retreat position on the upstream side in the transport direction toward a downstream side in the transport direction, wherein the wiper unit is disposed at a wiping area between the supporting portion and the capping area in the moving direction, and wherein the carriage is moved to a position at which the liquid ejecting head is directly above the wiping area, and the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head is wiped by the movement of the base member in the wiping direction. ### Claim 11 A cleaning device configured to clean a liquid ejecting head ejecting liquid from a nozzle, the cleaning device comprising: a wiper unit configured to wipe the nozzle surface, the wiper unit including: a first wiping mechanism including a first wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface by movement in a wiping direction; and a second wiping mechanism including a second wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface by movement in the wiping direction, the second wiping member being long shaped absorption member capable of absorbing the liquid, and the first wiping member contacting the second wiping member, and the liquid attached to the first wiping member is collected by the second wiping member. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the wiper unit further includes: a base member supporting the first wiping mechanism and the second wiping mechanism and configured to be reciprocally moved along the wiping direction. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the first wiping mechanism includes a first wiping member moving mechanism configured to move the first wiping member between a wiping position where the first wiping member contacts the nozzle surface and a liquid collected position where the first wiping member contacts the second wiping member, and wherein the first wiping member at the wiping position is located upstream in the wiping direction from a contact portion of the second wiping member in contact with the nozzle surface when the second wiping member wipes the nozzle surface. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the second wiping mechanism includes a winding reel winding the second wiping member wound around a feeding reel, and wherein the first wiping member at the wiping position is located upstream in the wiping direction from the winding reel. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The cleaning device according to claim 13, wherein the first wiping member moving mechanism includes an actuator to move the first wiping member in a vertical direction and a drive source to move the first wiping member along the wiping direction. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The cleaning device according to claim 14, further comprising: a cleaning liquid supply portion configured to supply a cleaning liquid to the second wiping member before contacting the nozzle surface, the cleaning liquid supply portion being disposed at a position closer to the feeding reel than the winding reel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the first wiping member is located between the winding reel and the feeding reel in a moving direction intersecting the wiping direction. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the first wiping member is a plate-like flexible member. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The cleaning device according to claim 11, wherein the second wiping member is a cloth-like absorption member.