Elastic Inkjet Cap with Liquid Repellent Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid ejection apparatuses, ink tends to creep up and adhere to the cap's side walls and bottom face, leading to tainting of the recording medium during printing, and existing liquid repellent treatments lack durability for repeated capping operations.
Innovation Solution
A cap design featuring an elastic member with liquid repellency, made from silicone resin, that covers the wall and bottom plate, guiding ink towards discharge outlets through capillary grooves, ensuring reduced adherence and improved ink elimination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cap made of elastomer material is used to seal the nozzle forming face, then sealing performance is improved, but ink creep-up on side walls and adherence to the bottom face increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface properties to different regions of the cap. The side walls are treated with liquid repellent treatment to prevent ink creep-up, while the bottom face maintains good wettability for proper sealing. This local differentiation of surface properties allows the cap to simultaneously achieve both sealing performance and ink repellency where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the surface energy parameters of the cap materials. The elastomer material is selected and treated to have appropriate surface energy characteristics - low surface energy on side walls for ink repellency, and higher surface energy on the bottom face for sealing. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between sealing and ink adherence.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If liquid repellent treatment is applied to the cap to prevent ink creep-up, then ink adherence is reduced, but durability of the treatment deteriorates under repeated capping operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure combining elastomer material with specific surface treatments. The elastomer base material provides mechanical durability for repeated capping operations, while the applied liquid repellent treatment provides ink repellency. The composite approach allows both functions to coexist - the durable elastomer substrate supports the functional coating without compromising either property.
3Ease of manufacture
If the cap is made of hard synthetic resin to improve structural stability, then manufacturing ease is improved, but sealing performance and ink repellency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the material parameters by selecting elastomer materials with appropriate hardness and elasticity balances. The material is formulated to be soft enough for effective sealing contact with the nozzle forming face, yet durable enough for repeated operations. This parameter optimization achieves both sealing performance and manufacturing feasibility.
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
The design effectively minimizes ink adherence to the cap's bottom face, reducing tainting of the recording medium and maintaining liquid repellency and durability for extended periods, even under repeated capping operations.
Implementation Method 1
at minimum, a portion included in the wall and being brought into contact with the protruding portion is an elastic member including liquid repellency
Implementation Method 2
guiding ink towards discharge outlets through capillary grooves
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection apparatus includes a liquid ejection head including a nozzle forming face in which a plurality of nozzles through which liquid is ejected toward a droplet landing object are formed, and a protruding face protruding toward the droplet landing objet and disposed so as to surround the nozzle forming face, and a cap body including a bottom plate and a wall extending upwardly from the bottom plate and configured to seal the nozzle forming face within a sealing space formed by bringing a top portion of the wall into contact with the protruding face. Further, at minimum, a portion included in the wall and being brought into contact with the protruding portion is an elastic member including liquid repellency.