Displaceable LED Lens Cleaning Assembly for Printheads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dust and debris coating the lens of LEDs in a printbar reduce light intensity, affecting printing quality, and existing cleaning methods are time-consuming and require technical expertise.
Innovation Solution
A displaceable lens cleaning assembly with a cleaner element that slides across the lens, integrated into the printhead, allowing for easy cleaning without component removal or specialized knowledge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If known methods of cleaning a lens entail removal of components to reach and clean the lens, then the lens can be cleaned, but the cleaning process becomes time intensive and requires expertise not available to most users
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning assembly is designed to be self-contained and self-explanatory, allowing users to clean the lens without requiring technical expertise. The assembly includes all necessary components (cleaning element, displacement mechanism, housing) integrated into a single unit that guides the user through the cleaning process automatically when inserted into the printhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning assembly is divided into separate functional components: a cleaning element (cloth or wiper), a displacement assembly (spring or biasing mechanism), and a housing that guides insertion. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while maintaining overall simplicity for the end user.
2Ease of operation
If components are removed to access the lens for cleaning, then the lens can be cleaned, but the process becomes complex and requires technical expertise
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning element, displacement mechanism, and housing are merged into a single integrated cleaning assembly that fits directly into the printhead. This consolidation eliminates the need to remove separate components to access the lens, reducing both the complexity of the cleaning process and the technical expertise required.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning assembly acts as an intermediary tool that interfaces between the user and the lens. Rather than requiring the user to manipulate multiple components of the printhead directly, the user simply inserts the pre-assembled cleaning unit, which then performs the cleaning function through its integrated mechanisms.
3Productivity
If the lens is not cleaned regularly, then the printhead structure remains simple, but dust and debris coating the lens decreases light intensity and adversely affects printing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning assembly maintains printing quality by enabling users to easily remove dust and debris from the lens themselves. The spring-loaded or biasing mechanism automatically positions the cleaning element against the lens when the assembly is inserted, providing effective cleaning without requiring complex automated systems or increasing overall printhead complexity.
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
Enables effective lens cleaning without requiring expertise or component disassembly, maintaining optimal light intensity for printing.
Implementation Method 1
at least one lens parallel to the plurality of LEDs in the first traverse direction and arranged to focus light from the LEDs
Implementation Method 2
The lens cleaning assembly is displaceable, with respect to the frame, in the first transverse direction to slide the cleaning element across the at least one lens
Data Source
AI summary
A printhead for a device capable of printing, including: a frame; a light-emitting diode (LED) assembly including a housing engaged with the frame, a plurality of LEDs one the housing and extending in a first transverse direction, and at least one lens parallel to the plurality of LEDs in the first traverse direction and arranged to focus light from the LEDs; and a displacement assembly connected to the frame and engaged with the LED assembly and arranged to displace the LED assembly, with respect to the frame to a first position for an operating mode for the printhead, in which light from the plurality of LEDs illuminates media passing through the printbar in first or second process directions orthogonal to the first transverse direction and to a second position for a cleaning mode for the printhead, in which a cleaning operation for the at least one lens is enabled.