Maintenance system using surface tension gradient

Abstract

A printhead maintenance system includes: an elongate inkjet printhead having a nozzle face containing a plurality of inkjet nozzles; a carriage movable longitudinally along the printhead in a cleaning direction, the carriage having a maintenance member including: a primary fluid inlet at an upstream end of the maintenance member relative to the cleaning direction and a fluid outlet downstream of the fluid inlet relative to the cleaning direction; a cleaning fluid reservoir for supplying a cleaning fluid to the primary fluid inlet; and a traversing mechanism for traversing the carriage longitudinally along the printhead in the cleaning direction. The maintenance member does not contact inkjet nozzles of the printhead; and the cleaning fluid has a higher surface tension than the ink.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.