CA2364401A1 - Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier - Google Patents
Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier Download PDFInfo
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- CA2364401A1 CA2364401A1 CA 2364401 CA2364401A CA2364401A1 CA 2364401 A1 CA2364401 A1 CA 2364401A1 CA 2364401 CA2364401 CA 2364401 CA 2364401 A CA2364401 A CA 2364401A CA 2364401 A1 CA2364401 A1 CA 2364401A1
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- Prior art keywords
- inkjet
- media carrier
- printhead
- relocatable
- inkjet printhead
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2/16535—Cleaning of print head nozzles using wiping constructions
- B41J2/16544—Constructions for the positioning of wipers
- B41J2/16547—Constructions for the positioning of wipers the wipers and caps or spittoons being on the same movable support
Abstract
A maintenance system for an inkjet printhead is relocated to a position proximate the printhead to maintain the printhead. The relocation is performed by temporarily attaching the maintenance station to the media carrier of the inkjet printer.
Description
INKJET PRINTER WITH NOZZLE MAINTENANCE
SYSTEM RELOCATED BY MEDIA CARRIER
Field of the invention s The invention pertains to the field of inkjet printing and, in particular, to the maintenance of inkjet printheads.
Background of the invention io Drop-on-demand or continuous-stream inkjet printers, such as thermal, piezoelectric, acoustic, or phase change wax-based printers, have at least one printhead from which droplets of ink are directed towards a printing medium (or substrate). Within such printheads, ink is typically contained in a plurality of channels. By means of power pulses, droplets of ink are expelled is as required from orifices or nozzles at the end of these channels. The mechanisms whereby ink ejection works in these various types of machines are well established and will not be further discussed herein.
An ink jet printhead may be incorporated into a carriage type printer, a partial 2o width array type printer, or a page-width type printer. A carriage type printer typically has a relatively small printhead containing a number of ink channels and nozzles. The printhead can be attached to a disposable ink supply cartridge and the combined printhead and cartridge assembly is attached to a carriage. The carriage is reciprocated to print one swath of information (equal to the length of a column of nozzles) at a time on a recording medium, which is typically maintained in a stationary position during the reciprocation.
After the swath is printed, the paper is stepped a distance equal to the height of the printed swath or a portion thereof, so that the next printed swath is contiguous or overlapping therewith. Overlapping is often employed to address a variety of undesirable inkjet printing artifacts that may be traced to nozzle performance. This procedure is repeated until the entire page is printed.
In contrast, a page-width printer includes a substantially stationary printhead io having a length sufficient to print across the width or length of a sheet of printing medium at a time. The printing medium is continually moved relative to the page width printhead in a direction which may be substantially normal to the printhead length. In most cases, the separation between individual nozzles is greater than the required dot spacing on the media, and hence the is media may be passed under the page width printhead more than once in order to print at the interstitial positions or to address a variety of undesirable inkjet printing artifacts that may be traced to nozzle performance.
There is a need to maintain the ink ejecting nozzles of an ink jet printhead.
2o For example, the orifices typically need to be cleaned periodically and/or the printhead needs to be capped when the printer is out of use or is idle for an extended period. The capping of the printhead is aimed at preventing components of the ink in the printhead from evaporating and preventing contaminants from entering the printhead or contaminating the nozzle plate.
2s There is sometimes a need to prime a printhead before use. This is done to insure that the printhead channels are completely filled with ink and contain no contaminants or air bubbles. Periodic priming may also be necessary to maintain proper functioning of the orifices. Maintenance and/or priming stations for the printheads of various types of ink jet printers are described for s example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,764, 4,853,717, and 4,746,938.
Various methods and apparatus for maintaining the condition of ink jet printheads are generally known in the art, as illustrated and described in the following references.
io U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,666 to Watanabe et al., describes an ink jet recording apparatus having a full-line type recording head that is rotated between a recording position and a non-recording position. A cleaning member contacts the recording head during rotation of the recording head to remove deposited is ink or foreign matter. In the non-recording position, the printhead is capped.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,044 to Carlotta et al., describes a cap actuation mechanism for an inkjet printhead maintenance station in a scanning type ink jet printer. A cap located on a cap carriage in the maintenance station 2o provides the functions of printhead nozzle capping, priming, cleaning, and refreshing, as well as waste ink management.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,326 to Pond et al., describes a pagewidth ink jet printer having a movable cleaning/priming station adapted for movement parallel to 2s and along an array of printhead nozzles. The cleaning and priming station is slid along a ledge surface so that the cleaning and priming station is maintained a fixed distance from the face of the printhead.
A number of proposals suggest the use of media sheets for cleaning and s maintaining inkjet printheads. For example, Japanese patent application JP
4141439A2 discloses a method for cleaning a printhead by pressing the paper traveling through a printer against the printhead. Similarly, US 4,947,190 suggests the use of an ink-absorbing cleaning sheet that is brought into contact with the printhead in order to wipe and clean the printhead. Other 1o proposals for cleaning sheets have included sheets with specified surface roughnesses, adhesives, or absorbent or solvent-soaked pads (e.g., see US
6,030,674, US 5,589,865, US 6,277,457, US 5,751,306, US 5,589,865).
Because media sheets work by coming into physical contact with the nozzle is orifice plate, they can be made suitable for operations such as wiping off ink or debris or applying solvent. However, care must be taken to ensure that (a) the contact with the orifice plate does not abrade or otherwise damage the surface, (b) that the action of the media sheet, or debris from the sheet itself, does not 2o contribute to the clogging of nozzle orifices, and (c) that the media sheet makes adequate contact with the surface to be cleaned.
They also offer the advantage they can be transported past the inkjet printhead along the existing media carrier path. However, it should be noted 2s the rubbing and wiping printhead surfaces alone does not address all of the maintenance needs associated with inkjet printheads, so additional mechanisms for capping, priming, spitting, and/or suctioning the printheads will still be required for adequate maintenance. This requirement is reflected in US 5,589,865, in which the disclosed cleaning sheet also has an opening in order to allow the passage of a separate vacuum wand.
As the technology has developed for fabricating ever higher resolution inkjet heads with ever greater densities of nozzles, and, more particularly, with the advent of pagewidth systems, the requirements placed on maintenance io systems have become even more complex. A typical maintenance assembly may include:
(1 ) a cap assembly to seal around an individual printhead or nozzle plate to keep the particular inkjet nozzle array from drying out and the nozzle plate is free from contaminants.
(2) a wiper that can be moved to engage the nozzle surface of the printhead and clear away ink, debris and other undesirable matter from the surface of the nozzle plate area, and which may be moved away from the 2o nozzle surface when wiping is not desired;
(3) a spittoon for receiving ink ejected from the nozzles to remove contaminated ink from the nozzles and to maintain less used nozzles;
(4) a selection of drive assemblies that may include a gear train for moving the cap, wiper and spittoon;
SYSTEM RELOCATED BY MEDIA CARRIER
Field of the invention s The invention pertains to the field of inkjet printing and, in particular, to the maintenance of inkjet printheads.
Background of the invention io Drop-on-demand or continuous-stream inkjet printers, such as thermal, piezoelectric, acoustic, or phase change wax-based printers, have at least one printhead from which droplets of ink are directed towards a printing medium (or substrate). Within such printheads, ink is typically contained in a plurality of channels. By means of power pulses, droplets of ink are expelled is as required from orifices or nozzles at the end of these channels. The mechanisms whereby ink ejection works in these various types of machines are well established and will not be further discussed herein.
An ink jet printhead may be incorporated into a carriage type printer, a partial 2o width array type printer, or a page-width type printer. A carriage type printer typically has a relatively small printhead containing a number of ink channels and nozzles. The printhead can be attached to a disposable ink supply cartridge and the combined printhead and cartridge assembly is attached to a carriage. The carriage is reciprocated to print one swath of information (equal to the length of a column of nozzles) at a time on a recording medium, which is typically maintained in a stationary position during the reciprocation.
After the swath is printed, the paper is stepped a distance equal to the height of the printed swath or a portion thereof, so that the next printed swath is contiguous or overlapping therewith. Overlapping is often employed to address a variety of undesirable inkjet printing artifacts that may be traced to nozzle performance. This procedure is repeated until the entire page is printed.
In contrast, a page-width printer includes a substantially stationary printhead io having a length sufficient to print across the width or length of a sheet of printing medium at a time. The printing medium is continually moved relative to the page width printhead in a direction which may be substantially normal to the printhead length. In most cases, the separation between individual nozzles is greater than the required dot spacing on the media, and hence the is media may be passed under the page width printhead more than once in order to print at the interstitial positions or to address a variety of undesirable inkjet printing artifacts that may be traced to nozzle performance.
There is a need to maintain the ink ejecting nozzles of an ink jet printhead.
2o For example, the orifices typically need to be cleaned periodically and/or the printhead needs to be capped when the printer is out of use or is idle for an extended period. The capping of the printhead is aimed at preventing components of the ink in the printhead from evaporating and preventing contaminants from entering the printhead or contaminating the nozzle plate.
2s There is sometimes a need to prime a printhead before use. This is done to insure that the printhead channels are completely filled with ink and contain no contaminants or air bubbles. Periodic priming may also be necessary to maintain proper functioning of the orifices. Maintenance and/or priming stations for the printheads of various types of ink jet printers are described for s example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,764, 4,853,717, and 4,746,938.
Various methods and apparatus for maintaining the condition of ink jet printheads are generally known in the art, as illustrated and described in the following references.
io U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,666 to Watanabe et al., describes an ink jet recording apparatus having a full-line type recording head that is rotated between a recording position and a non-recording position. A cleaning member contacts the recording head during rotation of the recording head to remove deposited is ink or foreign matter. In the non-recording position, the printhead is capped.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,044 to Carlotta et al., describes a cap actuation mechanism for an inkjet printhead maintenance station in a scanning type ink jet printer. A cap located on a cap carriage in the maintenance station 2o provides the functions of printhead nozzle capping, priming, cleaning, and refreshing, as well as waste ink management.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,326 to Pond et al., describes a pagewidth ink jet printer having a movable cleaning/priming station adapted for movement parallel to 2s and along an array of printhead nozzles. The cleaning and priming station is slid along a ledge surface so that the cleaning and priming station is maintained a fixed distance from the face of the printhead.
A number of proposals suggest the use of media sheets for cleaning and s maintaining inkjet printheads. For example, Japanese patent application JP
4141439A2 discloses a method for cleaning a printhead by pressing the paper traveling through a printer against the printhead. Similarly, US 4,947,190 suggests the use of an ink-absorbing cleaning sheet that is brought into contact with the printhead in order to wipe and clean the printhead. Other 1o proposals for cleaning sheets have included sheets with specified surface roughnesses, adhesives, or absorbent or solvent-soaked pads (e.g., see US
6,030,674, US 5,589,865, US 6,277,457, US 5,751,306, US 5,589,865).
Because media sheets work by coming into physical contact with the nozzle is orifice plate, they can be made suitable for operations such as wiping off ink or debris or applying solvent. However, care must be taken to ensure that (a) the contact with the orifice plate does not abrade or otherwise damage the surface, (b) that the action of the media sheet, or debris from the sheet itself, does not 2o contribute to the clogging of nozzle orifices, and (c) that the media sheet makes adequate contact with the surface to be cleaned.
They also offer the advantage they can be transported past the inkjet printhead along the existing media carrier path. However, it should be noted 2s the rubbing and wiping printhead surfaces alone does not address all of the maintenance needs associated with inkjet printheads, so additional mechanisms for capping, priming, spitting, and/or suctioning the printheads will still be required for adequate maintenance. This requirement is reflected in US 5,589,865, in which the disclosed cleaning sheet also has an opening in order to allow the passage of a separate vacuum wand.
As the technology has developed for fabricating ever higher resolution inkjet heads with ever greater densities of nozzles, and, more particularly, with the advent of pagewidth systems, the requirements placed on maintenance io systems have become even more complex. A typical maintenance assembly may include:
(1 ) a cap assembly to seal around an individual printhead or nozzle plate to keep the particular inkjet nozzle array from drying out and the nozzle plate is free from contaminants.
(2) a wiper that can be moved to engage the nozzle surface of the printhead and clear away ink, debris and other undesirable matter from the surface of the nozzle plate area, and which may be moved away from the 2o nozzle surface when wiping is not desired;
(3) a spittoon for receiving ink ejected from the nozzles to remove contaminated ink from the nozzles and to maintain less used nozzles;
(4) a selection of drive assemblies that may include a gear train for moving the cap, wiper and spittoon;
(5) an absorption pad for absorbing drops of ink ejected during s maintenance so that the printer may be transported without damaging or soiling parts of the printer with purged ink; and, (6) a mechanism for cleaning the cap and wiper to prevent contaminants being transported onto the nozzle plate during successive maintenance io procedures.
From these above it is clear that a typical inkjet printhead maintenance system can be a complex subsystem with many moving parts.
is U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,403 to Xie describes a drum-based inkjet printing apparatus that includes a maintenance system located at one end of the print drum. The maintenance system includes assemblies that provide wet wiping of the nozzles of the printheads as well as vacuuming of the same printheads for maintenance thereof. The wet wipe nozzles are located within a stationary 2o drum housing and extend through a plurality of apertures when necessary to provide maintenance functions. The printhead is mounted on a carriage which moves to the maintenance position, where the wet wipers apply a fluid to the ink jet nozzles such that any dried ink, viscous plugs or other debris is loosened on the front face of the ink jet printbars. Once the debris has been 2s sufficiently loosened, a plurality of vacuum nozzles each extending through a plurality of vacuum nozzle apertures vacuum away any of the cleaning fluid as well as debris loosened thereby.
Other examples are known in the art, where a pad is attached to an extra-s wide cylinder and the printhead is translated over a long distance to clear the nozzles over this pad.
While this approaches address some of the requirements enumerated above, it nevertheless still requires the entire high precision printhead to be translated 1o over a considerable distance to a service/maintenance position.
Brief Summary of the invention A maintenance system for an inkjet printhead assembly is relocated to the is location of the inkjet printhead assembly to maintain the inkjet printhead assembly. The relocation is performed by temporarily attaching the maintenance station to the media carrier of the inkjet printer. The printing media carrier may also be moved to place the maintenance system in a position where it may itself be serviced by a docking station.
Brief Description of the Drawings In drawings which show non-limiting embodiments of the invention:
Figure 1 shows the inkjet printer according to one embodiment of the 2s present invention; and, Figure 2 shows a platen-based inkjet printer as an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the preferred embodiment Throughout the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail to avoid io unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
Figure 1 shows a cylinder-based inkjet printer with a partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
is The term inkjet printhead assembly is used herein to describe an inkjet printer head assembly that is comprised of at least one, and typically more than one individual printhead. The term individual printhead is used herein to describe an array of inkjet nozzles, typically fashioned as a integrated unit, having a single nozzle substrate, and served with ink either from an ink reservoir 20 located within the integrated printhead unit, or on a more continuous basis via a hose system from an ink reservoir separately located. Many commercial versions of such individual printheads are known and these may be used individually or in various ways to create an inkjet printhead assembly, some of these being described, for example, in U.S. patents No. 5,646,665 and No.
Zs 5,408,746 and in U.S patent application 09/922,150. To the extent that the s various designs for individual printheads are well known in the field, they will not be further described here, nor will the methods for combining them into inkjet printhead assemblies. The term partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly is used herein to describe an inkjet printhead assembly that may s consist of a number of arrayed individual printheads, but which does not extend across the entire width of the widest media that the machine will print on.
Printing media carrier 1, being a cylinder in the case of this first embodiment, io is capable of carrying paper or transparencies or other sheet-like printing media. This printing media (not shown) may be of different sizes, textures and composition. Inkjet printhead assembly 3 is mounted on printhead assembly carriage 2, which moves on linear track 4. Linear track 4 is arranged substantially parallel to the rotational axis of printing media carrier 1 and at is such a distance as to allow inkjet printing such as by standard inkjet processes known to practitioners in the field. Carriage 2 is translated along the width of printing media carrier 1 by the action of lead screw 5 and engine 6. A variety of other controlled translation mechanisms are also known in the art, and may alternatively be employed for the purposes of moving carriage 2 2o in controlled fashion.
Relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 is mounted on a stage 8.
When maintenance of inkjet nozzles is not required, this assembly of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 and stage 8 is located in a Zs storage location which may be within a docking station 9. Docking station 9 services relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. The term stow position is used herein to describe the location of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 within docking station 9.
s To the extent that the various maintenance functions that may be performed by relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 requires relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 itself to undergo regular service, docking station 9 is equipped with facilities (not shown) to perform the servicing of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. The term 1o inkjet printhead maintenance station is used herein to describe a unit that is used to clean, maintain and/or rejuvenate inkjet nozzles. It may contain, but is not limited to contain, facilities for performing one or more of the following operations:
a) applying vacuum to inkjet nozzles;
is b) priming inkjet nozzles, which may be a combination of applying vacuum and allowing a nozzle to spit;
c) capping inkjet nozzles;
d) providing a spittoon into which, or a surface onto which inkjet nozzles may spit;
2o e) wiping of inkjet nozzles; and, f) blotting of inkjet nozzles.
By way of example, suitable inkjet printhead maintenance facilities that may optionally be included in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 are described in IJ.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,764, 4,853,717, and 4,746,938 and will 2s not be further detailed here.
to When maintenance of one or more individual printheads is required, docking station 9 is moved such that stage 8 contacts printing media carrier 1. At the chosen location on printing media carrier 1, stage 8 is temporarily attached to s printing media carrier 1. Various means of attachment are possible, including, but not limited to, mechanical, vacuum, magnetic and electromagnetic or combinations of these means. Printing media carrier 1 is rotated, and carriage 2 is moved by means of leadscrew 5 and engine 6, the combined action of the two motions positioning relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 in to opposition to Inkjet printhead assembly 3. This allows such maintenance actions as may be required at that time to be performed with the aid of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. Advantageously, either relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 or inkjet printhead assembly 3 may be moved towards the other in order to facilitate this is function.
It is to be noted that inkjet printhead assembly 3 does not have to be moved outside the printing area of printing media carrier 1 in order to facilitate this function. The term printing area is used herein to describe the area defined 2o by the longitudinal section of printing media carrier 1 that can be traversed by inkjet printhead assembly 3 during normal full width printing. The printing area extends substantially around the entire circumference of printing media carrier 1. It is to be particularly noted that the printing area of printing media carrier 1 is determined by the physical extent of inkjet printhead assembly 3 2s and the range over which it can travel during printing, and not by the presence n or absence of media to print upon. The printing area comprises those parts of printing media carrier 1 which can be placed adjacent to printhead assembly 3 without moving printhead assembly 3 to a location outside of the range through which printhead assembly 3 may move during printing.
s An alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises a translation system which permits docking station 9 to be moved parallel to the cylindrical axis of printing media carrier 1. The translation system may comprise, for example, a translation arrangement of the type employed to translate inkjet to printhead assembly 3. A variety of other translation mechanisms are also known and may be employed for this purpose. This arrangement allows inkjet printhead assembly 3 to maintain its location and the entire relocation process falls to the combination of docking station 9, stage 8, relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 and printing media carrier 1. This means that is the high precision drive system of inkjet printhead assembly 3, which is optimized for precision and may comprise a high-precision lead screw , carries less of a systems burden. This reduces the wear and tear on the high-precision drive system.
2o It is evident that the number of service heads on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be increased such that more than one printhead may be serviced simultaneously. The term service head is used herein to describe a unit that comprises an assemblage of one or more facilities required to maintain at least one individual printhead. Printheads for printing 2s different colors may require different individual service heads. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 is equipped with an array of service heads that map one-to-one onto the individual printheads arranged in inkjet printhead assembly 3. This allows any number of the individual printheads, up to and s including all of them, to be maintained simultaneously, if so required. In a more general embodiment, the array of service heads comprises a plurality of service heads and these service heads are used to service another plurality of individual printheads, without there being a specific numerical relationship between the two pluralities. Some service heads may be redundant and used to in case of others failing, while a given service head may service more than one individual printhead.
It is also evident that docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same is time, and, may indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1, inkjet printhead assembly 3 is shown as a partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly 2o comprising four individual printheads having only one individual printhead per row substantially parallel to the cylindrical axis of printing media carrier 1.
There may be more than one such row of one or more individual printheads.
These printheads may be, by way of example, four different color individual printheads for the industry standard Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black colors.
2s In a more general embodiment there is no limitation on the number of individual printheads, the combination of printed colors from the individual printheads, or other properties of the individual printheads. For example, individual printheads having different number of nozzles or different number of nozzles per unit distance may be employed.
s In a further embodiment, inkjet printhead assembly 3 has a plurality of individual printheads arranged in rows substantially parallel to the rotational axis of printing media carrier 1, and there may be more than one such row of individual printheads. The individual printheads in adjoining rows may also be to staggered in their layout and/or rotated with respect to the rotational axis of the printing media carrier 1. In such an arrangement, inkjet printhead assembly 3, therefore, comprises an array of individual printheads that may extend in one or more directions. In this embodiment there is no limitation on the number of individual printheads, the combination of printed colors from the is individual printheads, or other properties of the individual printheads.
For example, individual printheads having different number of nozzles or different number of nozzles per unit distance may be employed.
In this embodiment, docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than 20 one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and may be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time. In addition, inkjet printhead assembly 3 may comprise an array of individual printheads extending in more than one direction for different colors, and may have a 2s different number of printheads and a different arrangement of printheads for the different colors. This would be done to allow different colors, different combinations of colors, different ink drop sizes, different ink compositions, and/or different resolutions to be printed using fewer total number of heads than if all were to be done with the same number of heads. The arrangement s of service heads in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be of any number and type up to and including a complete one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual printheads. In this embodiment docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and, may io indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
In a further embodiment, the inkjet printhead assembly comprises an array of individual printheads with the array extending across the entire width of is printing media carrier 1 in one dimension, and optionally having additional rows of individual printheads arranged at different angular positions concentrically with the circumference of printing media carrier 1. This embodiment of the present invention constitutes a page width printer with multiple rows of individual printheads. In this embodiment the total amount of 2o translation of printhead assembly 3 under the action of leadscrew 5 and engine 6 can be very small, and can therefore, be managed very accurately.
Alternatively, the printhead assembly 3 could remain stationary, in which case leadscrew 5 and engine 6 would only be required if print modes requiring translation of the printhead assembly were to be employed along with print 2s modes that did not. For this reason, implementations wherein such a is printhead is translated over long distances for the purposes of maintenance, are not preferred, as this would require, for example, a long and expensive, accurate leadscrew. As with the previous embodiments, the number and type of service heads in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be s of any number and type up to and including a complete one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual printheads. In this embodiment it is also evident that docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and, may indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service to heads on inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
This embodiment of the invention may permit docking station 9 to be maintained at a fixed position. With a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 that can have a one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual is printheads, the only translation required is totally within the normal printing movement range of inkjet printhead assembly 3. This significantly reduces the complexity of the maintenance system for the page width printer.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the printing media carrier 20 1 comprises a platen in a flatbed printer arrangement. The term platen is used herein to describe a flat plate that is movable in at least one dimension within its plane, or on which printing media to be printed on is moved in at least one dimension within it's plane. This is shown if Figure 2. All the aspects of the embodiment of Figure 2 work in the same way as with the cylinder-based 2s implementation, with the exception that the printing media carrier 1 is not rotated, but rather, translated, to position relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 proximate inkjet printhead assembly 3. In this particular embodiment, the printing area of the media carrier is again defined, in a first dimension, by the longitudinal section of printing media carrier 1 that is s traversed by inkjet printhead assembly 3 during normal full width printing, and, in a second perpendicular dimension, by the full range of relative motion of the inkjet printhead assembly with respect to the platen. This area will substantially be a rectangle.
io A further embodiment of the present invention comprises platen printers in which all the relative motion between platen and inkjet printhead assembly is performed by moving the inkjet printhead assembly in two dimensions while the platen remains fixed and stationary. The printing area is as defined for the previous embodiment of the present invention, except that both dimensions of is the printing area are defined by the range of motion of the inkjet printhead assembly.
In yet further embodiments, other types of printing media carrier may be employed, including, but not limited to, platens that have shapes other than a Zo flat plate. An example is a platen of which the curvature is substantially a sector of a circle. Such arrangements are particularly useful by virtue of the fact they are easier to translate, employing rotary means without the need for cumbersome mechanical arrangements.
m The advantages of the present invention are considerable. Firstly, preferred embodiments of the invention make optimal use of the translation assemblies that are fundamentally required for the printing process and thereby s necessarily present. Secondly, printing apparatus according to the invention may be compact. Extra space is not required beyond the drive assemblies for the print media carrier and the precision drive of the inkjet printhead assembly. It also allows the maintenance system itself to be maintained while printing is proceeding. It reduces the demands on the highly accurate and to very busy leadscrew drives of the printhead assembly, thereby reducing the wear and tear on the system. It furthermore reduces the length of the precision drive for the inkjet printhead assembly, thereby reducing cost.
There has thus been outlined the important features of the invention in order is that it may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the design of other apparatus and methods for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is most important, therefore, that this 2o disclosure be regarded as including such equivalent apparatus and methods as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The invention includes at least the following aspects:
is
From these above it is clear that a typical inkjet printhead maintenance system can be a complex subsystem with many moving parts.
is U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,403 to Xie describes a drum-based inkjet printing apparatus that includes a maintenance system located at one end of the print drum. The maintenance system includes assemblies that provide wet wiping of the nozzles of the printheads as well as vacuuming of the same printheads for maintenance thereof. The wet wipe nozzles are located within a stationary 2o drum housing and extend through a plurality of apertures when necessary to provide maintenance functions. The printhead is mounted on a carriage which moves to the maintenance position, where the wet wipers apply a fluid to the ink jet nozzles such that any dried ink, viscous plugs or other debris is loosened on the front face of the ink jet printbars. Once the debris has been 2s sufficiently loosened, a plurality of vacuum nozzles each extending through a plurality of vacuum nozzle apertures vacuum away any of the cleaning fluid as well as debris loosened thereby.
Other examples are known in the art, where a pad is attached to an extra-s wide cylinder and the printhead is translated over a long distance to clear the nozzles over this pad.
While this approaches address some of the requirements enumerated above, it nevertheless still requires the entire high precision printhead to be translated 1o over a considerable distance to a service/maintenance position.
Brief Summary of the invention A maintenance system for an inkjet printhead assembly is relocated to the is location of the inkjet printhead assembly to maintain the inkjet printhead assembly. The relocation is performed by temporarily attaching the maintenance station to the media carrier of the inkjet printer. The printing media carrier may also be moved to place the maintenance system in a position where it may itself be serviced by a docking station.
Brief Description of the Drawings In drawings which show non-limiting embodiments of the invention:
Figure 1 shows the inkjet printer according to one embodiment of the 2s present invention; and, Figure 2 shows a platen-based inkjet printer as an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the preferred embodiment Throughout the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail to avoid io unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
Figure 1 shows a cylinder-based inkjet printer with a partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
is The term inkjet printhead assembly is used herein to describe an inkjet printer head assembly that is comprised of at least one, and typically more than one individual printhead. The term individual printhead is used herein to describe an array of inkjet nozzles, typically fashioned as a integrated unit, having a single nozzle substrate, and served with ink either from an ink reservoir 20 located within the integrated printhead unit, or on a more continuous basis via a hose system from an ink reservoir separately located. Many commercial versions of such individual printheads are known and these may be used individually or in various ways to create an inkjet printhead assembly, some of these being described, for example, in U.S. patents No. 5,646,665 and No.
Zs 5,408,746 and in U.S patent application 09/922,150. To the extent that the s various designs for individual printheads are well known in the field, they will not be further described here, nor will the methods for combining them into inkjet printhead assemblies. The term partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly is used herein to describe an inkjet printhead assembly that may s consist of a number of arrayed individual printheads, but which does not extend across the entire width of the widest media that the machine will print on.
Printing media carrier 1, being a cylinder in the case of this first embodiment, io is capable of carrying paper or transparencies or other sheet-like printing media. This printing media (not shown) may be of different sizes, textures and composition. Inkjet printhead assembly 3 is mounted on printhead assembly carriage 2, which moves on linear track 4. Linear track 4 is arranged substantially parallel to the rotational axis of printing media carrier 1 and at is such a distance as to allow inkjet printing such as by standard inkjet processes known to practitioners in the field. Carriage 2 is translated along the width of printing media carrier 1 by the action of lead screw 5 and engine 6. A variety of other controlled translation mechanisms are also known in the art, and may alternatively be employed for the purposes of moving carriage 2 2o in controlled fashion.
Relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 is mounted on a stage 8.
When maintenance of inkjet nozzles is not required, this assembly of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 and stage 8 is located in a Zs storage location which may be within a docking station 9. Docking station 9 services relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. The term stow position is used herein to describe the location of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 within docking station 9.
s To the extent that the various maintenance functions that may be performed by relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 requires relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 itself to undergo regular service, docking station 9 is equipped with facilities (not shown) to perform the servicing of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. The term 1o inkjet printhead maintenance station is used herein to describe a unit that is used to clean, maintain and/or rejuvenate inkjet nozzles. It may contain, but is not limited to contain, facilities for performing one or more of the following operations:
a) applying vacuum to inkjet nozzles;
is b) priming inkjet nozzles, which may be a combination of applying vacuum and allowing a nozzle to spit;
c) capping inkjet nozzles;
d) providing a spittoon into which, or a surface onto which inkjet nozzles may spit;
2o e) wiping of inkjet nozzles; and, f) blotting of inkjet nozzles.
By way of example, suitable inkjet printhead maintenance facilities that may optionally be included in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 are described in IJ.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,764, 4,853,717, and 4,746,938 and will 2s not be further detailed here.
to When maintenance of one or more individual printheads is required, docking station 9 is moved such that stage 8 contacts printing media carrier 1. At the chosen location on printing media carrier 1, stage 8 is temporarily attached to s printing media carrier 1. Various means of attachment are possible, including, but not limited to, mechanical, vacuum, magnetic and electromagnetic or combinations of these means. Printing media carrier 1 is rotated, and carriage 2 is moved by means of leadscrew 5 and engine 6, the combined action of the two motions positioning relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 in to opposition to Inkjet printhead assembly 3. This allows such maintenance actions as may be required at that time to be performed with the aid of relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7. Advantageously, either relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 or inkjet printhead assembly 3 may be moved towards the other in order to facilitate this is function.
It is to be noted that inkjet printhead assembly 3 does not have to be moved outside the printing area of printing media carrier 1 in order to facilitate this function. The term printing area is used herein to describe the area defined 2o by the longitudinal section of printing media carrier 1 that can be traversed by inkjet printhead assembly 3 during normal full width printing. The printing area extends substantially around the entire circumference of printing media carrier 1. It is to be particularly noted that the printing area of printing media carrier 1 is determined by the physical extent of inkjet printhead assembly 3 2s and the range over which it can travel during printing, and not by the presence n or absence of media to print upon. The printing area comprises those parts of printing media carrier 1 which can be placed adjacent to printhead assembly 3 without moving printhead assembly 3 to a location outside of the range through which printhead assembly 3 may move during printing.
s An alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises a translation system which permits docking station 9 to be moved parallel to the cylindrical axis of printing media carrier 1. The translation system may comprise, for example, a translation arrangement of the type employed to translate inkjet to printhead assembly 3. A variety of other translation mechanisms are also known and may be employed for this purpose. This arrangement allows inkjet printhead assembly 3 to maintain its location and the entire relocation process falls to the combination of docking station 9, stage 8, relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 and printing media carrier 1. This means that is the high precision drive system of inkjet printhead assembly 3, which is optimized for precision and may comprise a high-precision lead screw , carries less of a systems burden. This reduces the wear and tear on the high-precision drive system.
2o It is evident that the number of service heads on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be increased such that more than one printhead may be serviced simultaneously. The term service head is used herein to describe a unit that comprises an assemblage of one or more facilities required to maintain at least one individual printhead. Printheads for printing 2s different colors may require different individual service heads. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 is equipped with an array of service heads that map one-to-one onto the individual printheads arranged in inkjet printhead assembly 3. This allows any number of the individual printheads, up to and s including all of them, to be maintained simultaneously, if so required. In a more general embodiment, the array of service heads comprises a plurality of service heads and these service heads are used to service another plurality of individual printheads, without there being a specific numerical relationship between the two pluralities. Some service heads may be redundant and used to in case of others failing, while a given service head may service more than one individual printhead.
It is also evident that docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same is time, and, may indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1, inkjet printhead assembly 3 is shown as a partial page-width inkjet printhead assembly 2o comprising four individual printheads having only one individual printhead per row substantially parallel to the cylindrical axis of printing media carrier 1.
There may be more than one such row of one or more individual printheads.
These printheads may be, by way of example, four different color individual printheads for the industry standard Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black colors.
2s In a more general embodiment there is no limitation on the number of individual printheads, the combination of printed colors from the individual printheads, or other properties of the individual printheads. For example, individual printheads having different number of nozzles or different number of nozzles per unit distance may be employed.
s In a further embodiment, inkjet printhead assembly 3 has a plurality of individual printheads arranged in rows substantially parallel to the rotational axis of printing media carrier 1, and there may be more than one such row of individual printheads. The individual printheads in adjoining rows may also be to staggered in their layout and/or rotated with respect to the rotational axis of the printing media carrier 1. In such an arrangement, inkjet printhead assembly 3, therefore, comprises an array of individual printheads that may extend in one or more directions. In this embodiment there is no limitation on the number of individual printheads, the combination of printed colors from the is individual printheads, or other properties of the individual printheads.
For example, individual printheads having different number of nozzles or different number of nozzles per unit distance may be employed.
In this embodiment, docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than 20 one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and may be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time. In addition, inkjet printhead assembly 3 may comprise an array of individual printheads extending in more than one direction for different colors, and may have a 2s different number of printheads and a different arrangement of printheads for the different colors. This would be done to allow different colors, different combinations of colors, different ink drop sizes, different ink compositions, and/or different resolutions to be printed using fewer total number of heads than if all were to be done with the same number of heads. The arrangement s of service heads in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be of any number and type up to and including a complete one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual printheads. In this embodiment docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and, may io indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service heads on relocatable inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
In a further embodiment, the inkjet printhead assembly comprises an array of individual printheads with the array extending across the entire width of is printing media carrier 1 in one dimension, and optionally having additional rows of individual printheads arranged at different angular positions concentrically with the circumference of printing media carrier 1. This embodiment of the present invention constitutes a page width printer with multiple rows of individual printheads. In this embodiment the total amount of 2o translation of printhead assembly 3 under the action of leadscrew 5 and engine 6 can be very small, and can therefore, be managed very accurately.
Alternatively, the printhead assembly 3 could remain stationary, in which case leadscrew 5 and engine 6 would only be required if print modes requiring translation of the printhead assembly were to be employed along with print 2s modes that did not. For this reason, implementations wherein such a is printhead is translated over long distances for the purposes of maintenance, are not preferred, as this would require, for example, a long and expensive, accurate leadscrew. As with the previous embodiments, the number and type of service heads in relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 may be s of any number and type up to and including a complete one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual printheads. In this embodiment it is also evident that docking station 9 may be adapted to maintain more than one service head on relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 at the same time, and, may indeed be so arranged as to maintain all of the service to heads on inkjet maintenance station 7 at the same time.
This embodiment of the invention may permit docking station 9 to be maintained at a fixed position. With a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 that can have a one-to-one mapping of service heads onto individual is printheads, the only translation required is totally within the normal printing movement range of inkjet printhead assembly 3. This significantly reduces the complexity of the maintenance system for the page width printer.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the printing media carrier 20 1 comprises a platen in a flatbed printer arrangement. The term platen is used herein to describe a flat plate that is movable in at least one dimension within its plane, or on which printing media to be printed on is moved in at least one dimension within it's plane. This is shown if Figure 2. All the aspects of the embodiment of Figure 2 work in the same way as with the cylinder-based 2s implementation, with the exception that the printing media carrier 1 is not rotated, but rather, translated, to position relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station 7 proximate inkjet printhead assembly 3. In this particular embodiment, the printing area of the media carrier is again defined, in a first dimension, by the longitudinal section of printing media carrier 1 that is s traversed by inkjet printhead assembly 3 during normal full width printing, and, in a second perpendicular dimension, by the full range of relative motion of the inkjet printhead assembly with respect to the platen. This area will substantially be a rectangle.
io A further embodiment of the present invention comprises platen printers in which all the relative motion between platen and inkjet printhead assembly is performed by moving the inkjet printhead assembly in two dimensions while the platen remains fixed and stationary. The printing area is as defined for the previous embodiment of the present invention, except that both dimensions of is the printing area are defined by the range of motion of the inkjet printhead assembly.
In yet further embodiments, other types of printing media carrier may be employed, including, but not limited to, platens that have shapes other than a Zo flat plate. An example is a platen of which the curvature is substantially a sector of a circle. Such arrangements are particularly useful by virtue of the fact they are easier to translate, employing rotary means without the need for cumbersome mechanical arrangements.
m The advantages of the present invention are considerable. Firstly, preferred embodiments of the invention make optimal use of the translation assemblies that are fundamentally required for the printing process and thereby s necessarily present. Secondly, printing apparatus according to the invention may be compact. Extra space is not required beyond the drive assemblies for the print media carrier and the precision drive of the inkjet printhead assembly. It also allows the maintenance system itself to be maintained while printing is proceeding. It reduces the demands on the highly accurate and to very busy leadscrew drives of the printhead assembly, thereby reducing the wear and tear on the system. It furthermore reduces the length of the precision drive for the inkjet printhead assembly, thereby reducing cost.
There has thus been outlined the important features of the invention in order is that it may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the design of other apparatus and methods for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is most important, therefore, that this 2o disclosure be regarded as including such equivalent apparatus and methods as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The invention includes at least the following aspects:
is
Claims (14)
1. A method for maintaining at least one printhead of an inkjet printer, said method comprising a. non-permanently attaching a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to the printing media carrier of said inkjet printer and b. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station proximate said at least one individual printhead.
2. A method for maintaining at least one printhead of an inkjet printer, said method comprising a. non-permanently attaching a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to the printing media carrier of said inkjet printer and b. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station in a stow position.
3. A method for maintaining at least one printhead of an inkjet printer, said method comprising the steps of a. non-permanently attaching a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to the printing media carrier of said inkjet printer, b. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station proximate said at least one individual printhead.
c. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station in a stow position.
c. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station in a stow position.
4. A method for maintaining at least one printhead of an inkjet printer, said method comprising a. non-permanently attaching a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to the printing media carrier of said inkjet printer, b. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station proximate said at least one individual printhead and c. performing maintenance on said at least one individual printhead.
5. A method for maintaining at least one printhead of an inkjet printer, said method comprising a. non-permanently attaching a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to the printing media carrier of said inkjet printer, b. moving said printing media carrier to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station proximate said at least one individual printhead, c. performing maintenance on said at least one printhead and d. moving said printing media carrier to locate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to a stow position.
6. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. An inkjet printhead assembly comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier.
7. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead assembly comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to a position proximate said at least one printhead.
8. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead assembly comprising a first number of inkjet heads, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station having a second number of maintenance heads , said second number being smaller than said first number, and c. a printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to a position proximate said inkjet printhead assembly.
9. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead assembly comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to maintain said inkjet printhead assembly.
10. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a substantially cylindrical printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station.
11. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead assembly comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a platen printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station.
12. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising a. an inkjet printhead assembly comprising at least one inkjet printhead, b. a relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station and c. a printing media carrier said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station being non-permanently attachable to said media carrier and said media carrier capable of moving to relocate said relocatable inkjet printhead maintenance station to a stow position.
13. A printing apparatus comprising a. a print media carrier;
b. an printing head movable relative to the print media carrier;
c. a printing head maintenance station detachably mountable to the print media carrier; and, d. a control system configured to mount the maintenance station to the print media carrier and subsequently cause the printing head to move relative to the print media carrier until it is proximate to the maintenance station.
b. an printing head movable relative to the print media carrier;
c. a printing head maintenance station detachably mountable to the print media carrier; and, d. a control system configured to mount the maintenance station to the print media carrier and subsequently cause the printing head to move relative to the print media carrier until it is proximate to the maintenance station.
14. A method for servicing a printhead in a printing apparatus having a print media carrier, the method comprising:
a. detachably affixing a printhead service station within a printing area on the print media carrier;
b. moving the print media carrier, the printhead, or both the print media carrier and the printhead until the printhead is positioned adjacent the service station;
c. servicing the printhead using the printhead service station; and, d. removing the printhead service station from the print media carrier.
Other inventive features and combinations of features are described above.
a. detachably affixing a printhead service station within a printing area on the print media carrier;
b. moving the print media carrier, the printhead, or both the print media carrier and the printhead until the printhead is positioned adjacent the service station;
c. servicing the printhead using the printhead service station; and, d. removing the printhead service station from the print media carrier.
Other inventive features and combinations of features are described above.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2364401 CA2364401A1 (en) | 2001-12-05 | 2001-12-05 | Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier |
| US10/309,821 US6789873B2 (en) | 2001-12-05 | 2002-12-05 | Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2364401 CA2364401A1 (en) | 2001-12-05 | 2001-12-05 | Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2364401A1 true CA2364401A1 (en) | 2003-06-05 |
Family
ID=4170755
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2364401 Abandoned CA2364401A1 (en) | 2001-12-05 | 2001-12-05 | Inkjet printer with nozzle maintenance system relocated by media carrier |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2364401A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112512816A (en) * | 2018-07-30 | 2021-03-16 | 锡克拜控股有限公司 | Modular service station and method for servicing an inkjet printhead of an inkjet printing system |
-
2001
- 2001-12-05 CA CA 2364401 patent/CA2364401A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112512816A (en) * | 2018-07-30 | 2021-03-16 | 锡克拜控股有限公司 | Modular service station and method for servicing an inkjet printhead of an inkjet printing system |
| CN112512816B (en) * | 2018-07-30 | 2022-07-29 | 锡克拜控股有限公司 | Modular service station and method for servicing inkjet printheads of an inkjet printing system |
| US11491792B2 (en) | 2018-07-30 | 2022-11-08 | Sicpa Holding Sa | Modular service station and a method of servicing an inkjet printhead of an inkjet printing system |
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