Head maintenance device, image forming apparatus, and head maintenance method
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorKenta Takahashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Ahead maintenance device includes a cap and circuitry. The cap is detachably attachable to a nozzle surface of a head to cover the nozzle surface having a nozzle. The circuitry causes the cap to contact the nozzle surface of the head to form a space between the nozzle surface and the cap filled with a cleaning liquid, and applies a drive waveform to a piezoelectric element of the head to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid in the space. The drive waveform causes the head to draw the cleaning liquid into an interior of the head through the nozzle.
Claims9
A head maintenance device, comprising:
- a cap detachably attachable to a nozzle surface of a head to cover the nozzle surface having a nozzle, the head including a piezoelectric element;
- and
- circuitry configured to:
- cause the cap to contact the nozzle surface of the head to form a space between the nozzle surface and the cap, the cap filled with a cleaning liquid;
- and
- apply a drive waveform, to the piezoelectric element to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid, to cause the head to draw the cleaning liquid into an interior of the head through the nozzle, wherein
- the drive waveform has different amplitudes and different periods to vibrate the piezoelectric element to generate a turbulent flow of the cleaning liquid in the interior of the head.
A head maintenance device, comprising:
- a cap detachably attachable to a nozzle surface of a head to cover the nozzle surface having a nozzle row having multiple nozzles, the head including multiple piezoelectric elements;
- and
- circuitry configured to:
- cause the cap to contact the nozzle surface to form a space between the nozzle surface and the cap, the cap filled with a cleaning liquid;
- and
- apply multiple drive waveforms, to the multiple piezoelectric elements to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid, to cause the head to circulate the cleaning liquid between the space and an interior of the head through the multiple nozzles in a circulation direction, wherein
- the multiple drive waveforms have different amplitudes and different periods to vibrate the piezoelectric elements to generate a turbulent flow of the cleaning liquid in the interior of the head.
A head maintenance method, comprising:
- causing a cap, filled with a cleaning liquid, to contact a nozzle surface of a head to cover the nozzle surface, wherein the head includes a piezoelectric element, the nozzle surface has a nozzle, and the cap contacting the nozzle surface forms a space between the nozzle surface and the cap;
- and
- applying a drive waveform, to the piezoelectric element to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid, to cause the head to draw the cleaning liquid into an interior of the head through the nozzle, wherein
- the drive waveform has different amplitudes and different periods to vibrate the piezoelectric element to generate a turbulent flow of the cleaning liquid in the interior of the head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.