Method for cleaning liquid ejection apparatus and liquid ejection apparatus
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorsShigenori Fukasawa, Hitoshi Hayakawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printer includes a recording head having a nozzle through which ink is ejected onto a paper sheet and a waste tank in which the ink is retained as waste liquid after having been drained from the recording head. A deposit of the waste liquid is formed in the waste tank. The printer has a suction pump used for forcibly drawing and draining the ink from the nozzle. The suction pump functions also as a gas blasting device that blasts gas to the deposit in the waste tank for blowing off the deposit. This suppresses the amount of the ink consumed in maintenance of the printer.
Claims17
A method for cleaning a liquid ejection apparatus, the apparatus including a liquid ejection head that has a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected onto a target and a waste tank that retains the liquid discharged from the liquid ejection head as a waste liquid, a deposit of the waste liquid being formed in the waste tank, the method comprising:
- blowing off the deposit by blasting gas to the deposit in the waste tank through actuation of a gas blasting device.
A liquid ejection apparatus comprising:
- a liquid ejection head having a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected onto a target;
- a waste tank in which the liquid is retained as a waste liquid after having been discharged from the liquid ejection head, a deposit of the waste liquid being formed in the waste tank;
- and
- a gas blasting device that blows off the deposit by blasting gas to the deposit in the waste tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.