Ink-jet recording apparatus
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMichiko Aoyama, Masashi Tsuda, Narumi Koga
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus having a nozzle provided on a nozzle face of an ink-jet head and a cleaning device for cleaning the nozzle face. The cleaning device contains a gas with a solubility in water lower than that of air in water.
Claims19
An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising:
- a nozzle provided on a nozzle face of an ink-jet head;
- and
- a cleaning device configured to clean the nozzle face by blowing a gas at the nozzle face at a pressure between about 1.0×104 Pa and about 1.0×105 Pa, wherein the gas has a solubility in water lower than a solubility in water of air at the nozzle face,
- wherein the cleaning device comprises:
- a gas container in which the gas is contained in a compressed state;
- a gas injection tip directed at the nozzle face;
- and
- a tube which connects the gas container and the gas injection tip.
An ink-jet recording apparatus comprising:
- a nozzle provided on a nozzle face of an ink-jet head;
- and
- a cleaning means for cleaning the nozzle face by blowing the gas at the nozzle face at a pressure between about 1.0×104 Pa and about 1.0×105 Pa,
- wherein the cleaning means comprises:
- a gas containment means for containing the gas in a compressed state;
- a gas injection means for directing the gas towards the nozzle face;
- and
- connecting means for connecting the gas containment means and the gas injection means.
A method of cleaning a nozzle face of an ink-jet head comprising blowing a gas at the nozzle face at a pressure between about 1.0×104 Pa and about 1.0×105 Pa, wherein the gas has a solubility in water lower than that of air in water at the nozzle face of the ink-jet head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.