Inkjet Print Head Cleaning Unit with Airtight Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet recording devices face the challenge of cleaning liquid spilling during the head cleaning process, which is critical in hygienic environments like food, water, and cosmetics production lines, where containment is essential to prevent contamination.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a head cleaning unit with a cleaning nozzle that discharges cleaning liquid into a highly airtight container, using a conduit system to manage the cleaning liquid and prevent spills, and includes a waste liquid container with a sealable connection to ensure containment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning liquid is ejected toward the nozzle discharge port from the cleaning nozzle inside the head, then nozzle clogging is eliminated, but cleaning liquid spills outside the head
Solution Approach 1:
A suction unit is introduced as an intermediary component to manage the cleaning liquid. The suction unit includes a suction nozzle that draws cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid container and a suction path that guides the liquid to the print head. This intermediary system allows precise control of cleaning liquid delivery, enabling effective cleaning while preventing uncontrolled spillage outside the head.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes pneumatic principles through the suction unit that draws cleaning liquid using pressure differential. The suction nozzle creates a vacuum or pressure difference to draw cleaning liquid through the suction path and deliver it precisely to the nozzle discharge port, replacing uncontrolled liquid ejection with controlled pneumatic delivery.
2Reliability
If cleaning liquid is used to clean the print head, then nozzle clogging is eliminated, but hygiene control is compromised in production environments
Solution Approach 1:
The suction unit acts as a controlled intermediary system that manages cleaning liquid containment. By using the suction nozzle and suction path to deliver cleaning liquid precisely where needed, the system prevents cleaning liquid from contacting external surfaces or production environment, thereby maintaining hygiene control while still achieving effective nozzle cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a seal member that creates a flexible barrier between the cleaning liquid containment space and the external environment. This seal member conformably seals around the print head, creating an isolated chamber where cleaning liquid can be used effectively without risking contamination of the production environment, thus maintaining hygiene standards.
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet recording device having a print head cleaning function of preventing a cleaning liquid from spilling around the inkjet recording device and storing the cleaning liquid used for cleaning in a highly airtight container. The inkjet recording device includes a main body including an ink container accommodating an ink used to perform printing on a print target, and a cleaning liquid container that accommodates a cleaning liquid; a print head including a nozzle that is connected to the ink container to discharge the ink which is pressurized and supplied, a charging electrode that charges ink particles, a deflection electrode that deflects the ink particles charged by the charging electrode, and a gutter that recovers the ink particles which are not used for the printing; and a head cleaning unit including a cleaning nozzle that discharges the cleaning liquid, and an insertion port into which the print head is insertable.