Curved Scraper Wiper Design for Liquid Ejector Cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejecting detectors face issues with waste liquid accumulation on the cleaner, leading to decreased wiping quality and potential interference with the recording head, as the waste liquid tends to accumulate on the sides of the scraper, causing contamination and image defects.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejector design featuring a wiper with a contact surface that deforms elastically and has a curved scraper to collect waste ink from the sides to the center, preventing it from running off and accumulating on the cleaner, ensuring continuous high wiping quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If a straight ridge line scraper is used to scrape waste liquid from the wiper, then waste liquid is removed from the wiper surface, but waste liquid accumulates on the cleaner at the side ends
Solution Approach 1:
The scraper's contact surface is designed with a curved shape (convex toward the wiper center) instead of a straight ridge line. This curvature causes the wiper to contact the scraper from side ends to center, directing waste liquid toward the center and preventing accumulation at the side ends of the cleaner.
2Productivity
If the wiper continuously wipes the droplet landing surface, then droplets are removed from the surface, but wiping quality decreases over time due to waste liquid adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaner automatically removes waste liquid from the wiper surface during the wiping operation itself, without requiring separate cleaning interventions. The curved scraper design enables continuous self-cleaning of the wiper, maintaining wiping quality throughout continuous operation.
3Loss of substance
If waste liquid accumulates on the cleaner, then the cleaner becomes contaminated, but this contamination may interfere with the recording head or reattach to the wiper
Solution Approach 1:
The curved scraper design converts the potentially harmful waste liquid that would accumulate at the side ends into a beneficial flow toward the center, where it can be collected and removed. This transforms the harm of waste liquid accumulation into a controlled flow pattern that prevents contamination interference.
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 design effectively prevents waste liquid accumulation on the cleaner, maintaining wiping quality over time and preventing contamination, ensuring reliable operation of the recording head.
Implementation Method 1
a wiper to wipe the droplet off the droplet landing surface, and a cleaner having a contact surface to remove the droplet adhered to the wiper by relatively moving the wiper and the contact surface in the first direction while the wiper deforms elastically by contact and pressed against the contact surface of the cleaner
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejector includes a head having a plurality of nozzles arranged along a first direction of a nozzle surface of the head to eject a droplet from the nozzles, and an ejection detector to detect whether or not a droplet is ejected from the plurality of nozzles of the head by detecting an electrical change generated when the droplet lands onto the ejection detector. The ejection detector includes a droplet landing surface arranged opposed to the nozzle surface, a wiper to wipe the droplet off the droplet landing surface along the first direction, and a cleaner having a contact surface to remove the droplet adhered to the wiper after the wiper wipes the droplet landing surface. The contact surface has a curvature such that side ends of the wiper contacts with the contact surface at first, and then a center part of the wiper contacts the contact surface.