Printhead cleaning assembly
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsDilan Nirushan Fernando, Ronald Frederick Korsch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
System and methods for cleaning printheads and printhead wipers. One embodiment is an apparatus that includes a belt configured to rotate in a loop, and a wiper attached to the belt configured to wipe ink from a printhead. The apparatus also includes a tank configured as a reservoir for a cleaning solution, and a controller configured to drive the belt so that an end of the wiper drags across the printhead when in an upper portion of the loop and submerges in the cleaning solution of the tank when in a lower portion of the loop.
Claims18
A cleaning unit for a printhead of a printer, the cleaning unit comprising:
- a belt configured to rotate in a loop;
- a wiper attached to the belt configured to wipe ink from the printhead;
- a tank configured as a reservoir for a cleaning solution;
- and
- a drive unit configured to drive the belt so that an end of the wiper is able to drag across a surface of the printhead when in an upper portion of the loop and able to submerge in the cleaning solution of the tank when in a lower portion of the loop.
A printhead cleaning system comprising:
- a print engine operable to mark a web medium, the print engine including a printhead;
- a wiper attached to an outer perimeter of a belt;
- a positioning system configured to position the belt underneath the printhead so that the wiper contacts the printhead;
- and
- a drive system configured to rotate the belt a first distance to cause the wiper to remove ink from the printhead, and to rotate the belt a second distance to cause the wiper to submerge in a liquid.
A system comprising:
- a print engine operable to mark a web medium, the print engine including a printhead;
- a plurality of wipers attached around an outer perimeter of a belt that is configured to move the plurality of wipers in a revolving motion;
- and
- a tank configured as a reservoir for a cleaning solution;
- wherein when the belt rotates, a first wiper drags across the printhead while a second wiper passes through the cleaning solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.