Wiping fluid spray system for inkjet printhead
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorRussell P. Yearout
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Techniques for dispensing a wiper cleaning fluid onto a printhead ink-ejecting nozzles, wherein the fluid is sprayed onto the nozzles, effectively dissolving ink and residue on the surface.
Claims26
A wiping fluid dispensing system for an inkjet printing system employing an inkjet printhead with ink-ejecting nozzles for ejecting droplets of ink, the dispensing system comprising:
- a wiping fluid nozzle structure positioned at a dispensing location;
- a wiping fluid dispenser apparatus for delivering wiping fluid to the wiping fluid nozzle structure to dispense wiping fluid as a spray or stream onto the printhead nozzles during a cleaning mode;
- and
- a fluid seal at or adjacent said wiping fluid nozzle structure through which said dispenser apparatus delivers the wiping fluid to the wiping fluid nozzle structure, said fluid seal minimizing fluid evaporation during periods of non-use of the wiping fluid nozzle structure.
A wiping fluid dispensing system for an inkjet printing system employing an inkjet printhead with ink-ejecting nozzles for ejecting droplets of ink, the dispensing system comprising:
- a wiping fluid nozzle positioned at a dispensing location to dispense wiping fluid onto the printhead nozzles during a cleaning mode;
- a reservoir for holding a quantity of said wiping fluid;
- a fluid actuator fluidically coupled to the reservoir for delivering wiping fluid from the reservoir to the wiping fluid nozzle under pressure to cause the wiping fluid to be dispensed through the wiping fluid nozzle as a spray of wiping fluid onto the printhead nozzles;
- a fluid seal at or adjacent said wiping fluid nozzle through which said fluid actuator delivers the wiping fluid to the wiping fluid nozzle, said fluid seal minimizing fluid evaporation during periods of non-use of the wiping fluid nozzle.
An inkjet printing system, comprising:
- an inkjet printhead including ink-ejecting nozzles for ejecting droplets of ink;
- a scanning carriage for holding the printhead while the carriage is scanned along a scan axis;
- a carriage drive system coupled to the carriage for moving the carriage along the scan axis;
- a service station for conducting printhead service functions on said printhead, the service station including a wiper system for wiping the ink-ejecting nozzles to remove residue from the nozzles during a wiping operation, and a capping assembly to cap the ink-ejecting nozzles during a capping operation;
- a wiping fluid dispensing system comprising a wiping fluid nozzle structure positioned at a dispensing location spatially separated from said capping assembly to dispense wiping fluid onto the printhead nozzles before a wiping operation, and a fluid actuator for delivering the wiping fluid to the wiping fluid nozzle under pressure to cause the wiping fluid to be dispensed through the wiping fluid nozzle structure as a spray or stream of wiping fluid onto the printhead nozzles.
A method for cleaning printhead ink-ejecting nozzles of an inkjet printhead, comprising:
- moving the printhead over a wiping fluid nozzle structure positioned at a service station spatially separated from a capping assembly for capping the printhead nozzles;
- dispensing wiping fluid from the wiping fluid nozzle structure onto the printhead nozzles as a spray or stream of wiping fluid onto the printhead nozzles to wet the nozzles with the wiping fluid;
- wiping the wetted printhead nozzles with a wiping blade to remove residue from the nozzles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.