JP2000000974A - Wiper blade cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the clogging of a sucker due to deposition of nonvolatile ink residue by fixing the sucker in a manifold coupled with a pressure regulator and bringing the sucker into contact with the forward end of a wiper blade after wiping cycle. SOLUTION: After wiping operation of a blade 13, a wiper blade cleaner is moved to touch the forward end of the blade 13 through action of a solenoid 57. At the same time, a negative pressure is applied from a pressure regulator 42 to a manifold housing 54 through a tube 58. Under action of the pressure regulator 42, ink and unnecessary particles 59 remaining on the blade 13 after wiping operation are moved from the forward end of the blade 13 into the body of the sucker 52. Since the sucker 52 is slightly hydrophilic, ink is introduced easily onto the surface thereof and passed through the body of the sucker 52 under action of vacuum before being dripped into a pan 61.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to wiping operations performed on ink jet printheads and, more particularly, to an improved wiper blade cleaning apparatus including a wiper member and a pressure regulator for removing ink from a wiper blade. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink ejection orifice of an ink jet printer is cleaned, for example, by periodically cleaning the orifice when the printer is in use, and / or when the printer is not in use or idle for a long time. It is recognized that there is a need to maintain the printhead by capping it. Capping the printhead is intended to prevent the printhead ink from drying out. Prior to use, the printhead also needs to be primed to ensure that the channels of the printhead are completely filled with ink and free of contaminants and bubbles. Priming stations for printheads of various types of ink jet printers are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,938 and 5,151,71.
No.5.

[0003] Systems for wiping printheads typically include one or two wiper blades made from an elastomeric material. US Patent No. 5,33
No. 9,102 in FIG. 1 shows a double wiper blade structure. As disclosed in that patent, maintenance station 28 is located outside print area 10. The print cartridge is moved into the maintenance station in a direction parallel to the scan axis of the printhead. First, the nozzle face of the printhead is cleaned by a wiper blade, and then the printhead is moved to a capping device so that the nozzle face of the printhead is sealingly engaged with the cap 46. Next, a priming operation is performed using a vacuum pump 58 connected to the cap.

[0004] The operation of the wiper blade causes waste ink and paper particles to accumulate, which must be periodically removed. Methods of removal include various scraping and collection systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,461 discloses a self-cleaning wiper blade system in which ink wiped from a printhead passes through a groove at the blade end and is absorbed by a wiper pad at a bottom end. Has been disclosed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,559,539 and 5,659,341 both disclose the wiper blade from the retracted position.
A cleaning wiper blade system is disclosed wherein the tip of the blade is moved to a position to wipe across the nozzle face of the printhead. U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,
No. 641 discloses a blade cleaning system for cleaning a multi-color printhead. The blade is divided into portions corresponding to two color nozzle groups. Each part is wiped with the appropriate wiping contact pressure for the color. A preferred collection system includes a blotter-like mechanism that contacts the end of the wiper blade to transfer the accumulated ink and paper particles to the blotter by capillary action.

[0005]

In systems using blotters, clogging of the blotter due to accumulation of non-volatile ink residue has been a long standing problem. Ink transferred from the wiper blade to the blotter remains in the bore of the blotter. Evaporation of volatiles in the ink partially recovers the blotter, but over time, non-volatile materials can clog the blotter, reducing its effectiveness. Moreover, the accumulation of non-volatile matter residues is most likely to occur at the contact surface of the blotter. The tar deposits on the contact surface of the blotter also act to prevent most of the lower blotter material or body from removing ink.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in a first embodiment, a wiper blade cleaning device is made of a sintered porous material mounted in a manifold housing connected to a pressure regulator. It consists of a sucker. The blotter is arranged to contact the tip of the wiper blade after a wiping cycle.
During the wiping cycle, negative pressure is applied to the blotter member to draw ink from the surface that contacts the tip of the wiper blade, through the wiper body, and into the sump at the bottom of the manifold housing. Most of the material transferred to the blotter is effectively removed from the blotter, leaving the blotter substantially fresh to enable a new blotting operation.

[0007] In a second embodiment, the manifold housing is connected to a pressure regulator that selectively supplies a negative pressure or a positive pressure. First, a negative pressure is applied after the wiping cycle to draw ink residue through the blotter body as described above. Next, a positive pressure is generated to cause ink remaining on the surface of the blotter facing the wiper blade to be expelled from that surface.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a wiper blade cleaning device for cleaning the tip of a wiper blade after a wiping operation performed on the nozzle surface of an ink jet print head, wherein the wiper blade cleaning device comprises: A blotter member disposed opposite the blade; means for periodically moving the blotter member to contact the tip of the wiper blade; and a residue of ink accumulated at the tip of the blade. And a pressure regulator for applying a negative pressure to said sucker member during said contacting.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side perspective view of a portion of a prior art ink jet printer 10 incorporating a carriage 14 supporting a printhead cartridge 16. FIG. The cartridge 16 has the nozzle face 2
0 includes a print head 18 having a plurality of nozzles 19. The nozzle is fluidly connected to the ink container 21. Container 21 contains black ink. The print head cartridge 16 includes the print head 18 and the container 2.
1 to form an integrated recording device having associated printhead drive electronics.

The cartridge 16 is removably mounted on the carriage 14 so as to be able to move back and forth on a guide rail 22 as indicated by an arrow 24, so that the print head cartridge moves simultaneously with the carriage. I do. When the printer is in the print mode, the carriage performs a parallel or reciprocating movement back and forth across and parallel to the print area 26 (shown in dashed lines), and ink drops (not shown)
The ink is selectively discharged from a nozzle of a print head onto a recording medium (not shown) such as paper as required. The recording medium is moved through the print area so that the information is printed one swath at a time. During each pass or translation of carriage 14 in one direction, the recording medium is stationary, but at the end of each pass, the recording medium is moved in the direction of arrow 26 over a distance of one printed swath height. Step driven. Printhead 18 is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,571,599 and Re. Formed by known techniques, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Details of carriage drive and electronics for driving the heating resistor are also disclosed in these references.

[0011] On one side of the printer, outside the print area, is a maintenance station 30. At the end of the printing operation or at the end of the print mode by the printer 10, the carriage 14 is first moved through the attached wiper blade 13 such that the nozzle face 20 of the print head is wiped off to remove ink and debris.

The carriage 14 is subsequently moved a predetermined distance along the guide rails 22 and enters a capping / priming station 40 where the nozzle face 20 of the printhead is moved under a vacuum source, as is conventional. A hermetic contact is made with the cap. Optionally,
Preferably, the printer head 60 (FIG. 2) completes the priming operation by causing the print head to emit a predetermined number of ink drops to increase the humidity of the enclosed space of the cap recess. Details of the operation of the capping station are disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,396,271, which is incorporated herein by reference. As will be appreciated, after the wiping action by the blade 13, volatile and non-volatile substances accumulate at the blade tip 15.

Referring to FIG. 2, a side view of a portion of the printer of FIG. 1 is shown, with the addition of a movable wiper blade cleaning device 50 according to the present invention. The device 50 shown separately in FIG. 3 includes, in the preferred embodiment, a sintered polyethylene blotter member 52 secured to a blotter manifold housing 54.
As shown, a portion of member 52 extends outside housing 54. A port 56 is formed in the housing and one end of a flexible tube 58 is hermetically inserted into port 56. The other end of the tube is connected to a pressure regulator 4 controlled by the system controller 60.
2 and the pressure regulator 42 is connected to the housing 5
4 and the member 52 are selectively supplied with either positive pressure or negative pressure. FIG. 2 shows that the device 50 is directly opposite the blade 13 and that during the wiping operation the cartridge 14 is
It is shown at a distance sufficient to be moved between 0 and blade 13. After the blade wiping operation, the device 50 is moved into contact with the tip 15 of the wiper blade 13 as shown in FIG. 4, for example by actuation of a solenoid 57. At the same time, negative pressure from regulator 42 is applied to housing 54 through tube 58.
The movement of the device 50 and the operation of the regulator 42 are controlled by the system controller 60.

Under the action of the pressure regulator, the ink and waste particles 59 remaining on the blade after the wiping operation
Is transferred from the blade tip 15 into the body of the blotter 52. Due to the slight hydrophilicity of the blotter, the ink is easily drawn to its surface and continues to pass through the body of the blotter member under the action of a vacuum.
After that, it is dropped into the collecting reservoir 61. It has been found that about 90 percent of the volatile and non-volatile components of the ink collect in the reservoir 61 through the blotter. Thus, the blotter member 52 remains substantially fresh for the next blotting action.

[0015] The movement of the blotter and the operation of the solenoid 57 are controlled by the timing circuit of the system controller 60, as is known in the art.

In a variation of the embodiment of FIGS. 2-4, the pressure regulator 42 is modified to selectively supply both negative (vacuum) pressure and positive pressure. The blotting action proceeds as described above, but after applying a negative pressure, a positive pressure is applied through the manifold, allowing air to pass through the blotter and expelling ink remaining on the surface opposite the blade tip. . In this embodiment, it is necessary to appropriately select a pulse of a positive pressure in order to prevent generation of bubbles and splashing.

[0017] The blotter member 52 is preferably constructed of a hydrophilic, porous material that is sufficiently rigid to allow a wiping action to be performed across the tip of the wiper blade. The preferred material is porous polyethylene. Other porous materials are also preferably treated with fluorinated surfactants to enhance the hydrophilic properties that cause ink movement through the vacuum assisted blotter. And while only one wiper blade is disclosed, the blotter device may include two wiper blades, each of which may be modified such that the surface characteristics are more broadly in wiping contact. .

[0018]

In summary, the present invention addresses many of the shortcomings of "passive" blotter systems. First, the improved blotter apparatus of the present invention actively drains wet ink from the blotter rather than relying on mere evaporation to maintain its functionality,
It reduces the amount of non-volatile ink trapped therein in large quantities, and also drains other waste, such as paper waste, from the holes in the blotter. In addition, a vacuum system can be realized with a small additional cost since the vacuum is obtained from the vacuum pump used for priming the cartridge.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front elevation view of a prior art inkjet printer having a maintenance station including a wiper blade.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a printer including a wiper blade cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cleaning device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cleaning device of FIG. 2 in contact with the tip of a wiper blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ink jet printer 13 Blade 14 Carriage 15 Blade tip 16 Print head cartridge 18 Print head 19 Nozzle 20 Nozzle surface 21 Container 22 Guide rail 26 Print area 30 Maintenance station 40 Capping / priming station 42 Pressure regulator 50 Wiper blade cleaning device 52 Suction Instrument member 54 Manifold housing 56 Port 57 Solenoid 58 Flexible tube 60 Printer controller 61 Reservoir

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor William El King 14609 Rochester Glen Parkway, New York, USA 30

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A wiper blade cleaning device that cleans a tip of a wiper blade after a wiping operation performed on a nozzle surface of an ink jet print head, comprising: a sucker member disposed to face the wiper blade; Means for periodically moving the tip of the wiper blade to contact the tip of the wiper; and the blotter during the contact so that ink residue accumulated at the tip of the blade is transferred to the blotter member. A pressure regulator for applying a negative pressure to the member. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressure regulator first transfers ink residue to the blotter member and then remains on the surface of the blotter member opposite the tip. To discharge the remaining ink residue
An apparatus characterized by applying a positive pressure after a negative pressure. 3. An apparatus for cleaning a nozzle surface of an inkjet printhead, comprising: a printhead mounted on a carriage; means for moving the carriage from a print area to a maintenance station; and a nozzle surface of the printhead during a wiping cycle. A wiper blade for wiping off and forming an ink residue at the tip by the wiping operation; a porous wiper member that is periodically brought into contact with the tip of the blade after a wiping cycle; and And a pressure regulator for applying a negative pressure to said blotter member so as to be transferred from said tip to said blotter member. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the desiccant member is mounted on a housing, and wherein the pressure regulator applies the negative pressure to an interior of the housing. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the housing further includes a reservoir, and wherein the negative pressure causes the suction member to completely pass through the member such that ink residue deposits in the reservoir. For a time sufficient to run
A device characterized in that it is provided.