Inkjet Nozzle Cleaning With Angled Woven Cloth Mountain Portions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet recording apparatuses fail to effectively remove thickened ink from nozzle surfaces due to the geometry of woven cloths, leading to incomplete wiping and reduced cleanability.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet recording apparatus with a cloth wipe unit using woven cloths where the mountain portions on the surface rub against all nozzle ejecting openings during sliding, with an intersection angle between the sliding direction and the mountain portion within 90 degrees ± 15 degrees, ensuring thorough ink removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a woven cloth is used to wipe the nozzle surface, then the nozzle surface can be cleaned, but the mountain portions of the woven cloth fail to contact all ejecting openings, resulting in insufficient ink removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces asymmetry by positioning the woven cloth at a specific angle (15° to 75° relative to the sliding direction) so that the mountain portions are distributed asymmetrically across the nozzle surface. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that mountain portions contact all ejecting openings during sliding, resolving the insufficient coverage problem while maintaining the simplicity of using a woven cloth.
2Device complexity
If the woven cloth slides parallel to the warp or weft direction, then the structure is simple, but the mountain portions create continuous valleys that fail to scrape thickened ink effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the orientation parameter of the woven cloth, positioning it at an angle of 15° to 75° relative to the sliding direction rather than parallel to the warp or weft. This parameter change transforms the mountain-valley pattern so that mountains are distributed across all ejecting openings, enabling effective ink scraping while maintaining structural simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration significantly reduces unwiped ink portions and enhances the cleanability of the nozzle surface by ensuring the mountain portions of the woven cloth consistently contact and scrape the ejecting openings, improving the overall cleaning efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the ink attached to the nozzle surface is wiped by a relative sliding movement between the woven cloth and the nozzle surface, and a mountain portion formed on a surface by a thread passing above a crossed thread of the woven cloth rubs against all of the ejecting openings during the sliding
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A~5
AI summary
An inkjet recording apparatus (1) includes an inkjet head (10) that ejects ink from a nozzle; and a cloth wipe unit (20) that includes a woven cloth (21) that wipes a nozzle surface (11a) in which an ejecting opening of the nozzle of the inkjet head is open. The ink attached to the nozzle surface is wiped by a relative sliding movement between the woven cloth and the nozzle surface. A mountain portion formed on a surface by a thread passing above a crossed thread of the woven cloth rubs against all of the ejecting openings during the sliding.