Patent NL60523C successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent EP0465260A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0465260A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method and apparatus for cleaning ink-jet orifice plate
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1991-07-04
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-07-04
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for cleaning the orifice plates (37, 39) of multiple printheads (31, 33) of an ink-jet printer (10). The apparatus includes a multi-blade wiper (60) which is indexed automatically to permit each printhead (31, 33) to be wiped in sequence by a selected blade (61, 63). The desired cleaning is produced by dragging a printhead (31) across the selected wiper blade (61). The wiper mechanism (140) may also comprise a plurality of resilient blades (154, 156) each having an octagonal shape and rotatable about an axis. A cam (180) coupled to the printhead carriage (114) causes simultaneous pivoting of the wiper blades (154, 156) into contact with the printheads (131, 133), as well as rotation of the blades to facilitate cleaning thereof. In the method of this invention, ink is expelled from the printheads to rehydrate dried ink thereon to facilitate its removal.
Inventors
- 👤 Walter Uebelacker
- 👤 John Paul Harmon
- 👤 Paul D. Gast
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 20:21
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/135; B41J2/165; B41J2/16517; B41J2/16535; B41J2/16544; B41J2/16541; B41J2002/16576
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
Apparatus for cleaning first and second printheads disposed on a printhead carriage (14) in an ink-jet printer comprising: a first wiper blade (61, 154) for wiping a first printhead (31); a second wiper blade (63, 158) for wiping a second printhead (33); means (65) for selectively bringing said first wiper blade (61) into wiping contact only with said first printhead (31), and for selectively bringing said second wiper blade (63) into wiping contact only with said second printhead (63); and means (14, 27, 29, 19, 18) for producing relative wiping motion between said first printhead (31) and said first wiper blade (61) and said second printhead (33) and said second wiper blade (63).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means (55) for actuating said bringing means in response to motion of the printhead carriage (14).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the printhead carriage (14) travels bidirectionally through a printing zone in which printing is produced by the first and second printheads (31, 33) on a print medium and wherein said first and second wiper blades (61, 63) are disposed in a service station area (36) disposed outside of said printing zone adjacent one end of the printing zone.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said bringing means (65) is actuated by movement of the printhead carriage (14) into said service station area (36).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
70 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein surfaces (55, 54) on the printhead carriage (14) mechanically interact with at least one arm (66) associated with said bringing means (65) to cause said bringing means (65) to selectively bring said first wiper blade (61) into wiping contact only with said first printhead (31) and to selectively bring said second wiper blade (63) into wiping contact only with said second printhead (33).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 5 wherein said producing means (14, 18, 19, 27, 29) comprises means (19, 27, 29) for moving the printhead carriage (14).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said moving means comprises: a motor (27); means (19) coupling said motor to the printhead carriage; computer means (29) for controlling said motor (27) and said coupling means (19); and means (18) for guiding movement of the printhead carriage (14) in said service station area (36).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising means (64) for removing contaminants from said first and said second wiper blades (61, 63).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said removing means comprises at least one scraper (72).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first wiper blade (61) and said second wiper blade (63) extend from a wiper body (60) rotable about a central axis.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein said first and second wiper blades (61, 63) extend generally radially outwardly from said central axis and have distal tips which are spaced from one another.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein said bringing means (65) comprises means (62, 66, 67, 68, 69) for rotating said wiper body (60) about said central axis of rotation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 12 wherein said rotating means (62, 66, 67, 68, 69) is responsive to movement of the printhead carriage (14).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 13 wherein said rotating means (62, 66, 67, 68, 69) comprises a lever arm (66) actuated by movement of the printhead carriage (14).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 14 wherein said lever arm (66) is selectively actuated by movement of the printhead carriage (14) in only one direction.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
72 words
Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein said first wiper blade (61) and said second wiper blade (63) each have a length extending from its distal tip to said axis of rotation, wherein the length of said first wiper blade (61) is different from the length of said second wiper blade (63), and wherein said first printhead (31) has a printhead-to-paper spacing different from the printhead-to-paper spacing of the second printhead (33).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising a third wiper blade (61A) for cleaning the first printhead (31) and a fourth wiper blade (63A) for cleaning the second printhead (33).
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first (154) and said second (156) wiper blades each have a polygonal shape and a central axis of rotation passing through a center thereof.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 18 wherein said bringing means comprises: a cam (180) coupled to the printhead carriage; a pivotally mounted frame (150) to which said first and second blades (154, 158) are secured; and a cam follower (142) responsive to movement of said cam (180) for pivoting said frame (150) about an axis of rotation.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 19 in which said first and second wiper blades (154, 156) are selectively pivoted into contact with said first printhead (131) and said second printhead (133), respectively, in response to said cam (180).
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 19 further comprising indexing means (144, 146, 148, 152, 174) for rotating said first and said second wiper blades (154, 156) about said central axis of rotation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 21 comprising first (162) and second (164) absorbent members disposed in frictional contact with said first (154) and second (156) wiper blades, respectively, for absorbing contaminants as said wiper blades are rotated.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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