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.
Claims8
A head maintenance device comprising:
- a cap detachably attachable to a nozzle surface of a head to cover the nozzle surface having a nozzle;
- 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 a piezoelectric element of the head to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid in the space, the drive waveform configured to cause the head to draw the cleaning liquid into an interior of the head through the nozzle.
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;
- 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 multiple piezoelectric elements of the head to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid in the space, the multiple drive waveforms configured 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.
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 having a nozzle to form a space between the nozzle surface and the cap;
- and
- applying a drive waveform to a piezoelectric element of the head to apply vibration to the cleaning liquid in the space, the drive waveform configured to cause the head to draw the cleaning liquid into an interior of the head through the nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.