Aerosol collector
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsRobert Christian Smith, Lluis Valles, Antonio Monclus
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In one implementation, an aerosol collector for an inkjet printer includes a partial enclosure defining a central cavity. An air passage is defined within a wall forming the partial enclosure to allow air movement into an opening defined on an inside surface of the partial enclosure and out of an exhaust outlet. A fan is configured to remove a mixture of air and aerosol from the central cavity, through the air passage and through the exhaust outlet.
Claims28
An aerosol collector, comprising:
- a partial enclosure defining a central cavity;
- an air passage defined within a wall forming the partial enclosure to allow movement of mixed air and aerosol through an opening defined on an inside surface of the partial enclosure and through an exhaust outlet;
- and
- a fan to remove the mixed air and aerosol from the central cavity, through the air passage and the exhaust outlet.
A processor-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions for:
- moving a carriage including one or more printheads into an aerosol collector;
- servicing the one or more printheads;
- and
- operating a fan to remove a mixture of air and aerosol from a central cavity within the aerosol collector, through an air passage defined within a wall forming the aerosol collector, and through an exhaust outlet.
A service station for a printer, comprising:
- an enclosure wall defining a cavity sized to receive a carriage;
- an air passage defined within the enclosure wall to allow air movement through an opening defined on an inside surface of the enclosure wall and through an exhaust outlet;
- and
- a fan to remove air and aerosol from the service station through the air passage and the exhaust outlet.
A printer, comprising:
- means for moving a carriage including at least one printhead into an aerosol collector;
- means for servicing the at least one printhead while inside the aerosol collector;
- and
- means for operating a fan to drive air out of the aerosol collector, through an air passage defined within a wall forming the aerosol collector, and through an exhaust outlet.
A method for removing aerosol from air, comprising:
- moving a carriage through a sealing edge defining an opening into a central cavity of an aerosol collector, the sealing edge configured to allow carriage passage to the central cavity while substantially enclosing the carriage;
- servicing at least one printhead carried by the carriage by discharging ink from the at least one printhead;
- and
- operating a fan to withdraw air from the aerosol collector and through a filter configured to remove an aerosol form of the ink from the air.
A processor-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions for:
- moving a printer carriage into a servicing location defined at least in part by a sealing edge forming an opening into a central cavity of an aerosol collector, wherein the sealing edge is configured to allow carriage passage to the central cavity while substantially enclosing the carriage;
- servicing at least one printhead carried by the carriage by discharging ink;
- and
- operating a fan to withdraw a mixture of air and aerosol from the aerosol collector via a plurality of openings defined along the sealing edge and an upper perimeter of the aerosol collector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.