Inkjet Wiper Blade Segmentation for Nozzle Surface Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet recording apparatuses face issues with ink viscosity increase and clogging due to solidification and contamination, leading to defective ink ejection and poor recording quality, particularly when using wiper blades with oblique inclinations that fail to maintain intimate contact with nozzle arrays.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning mechanism featuring a wiper unit with a first wiper blade inclined at angle θ1 and a second wiper blade inclined at angle θ2, both moving parallel to the nozzle surface, ensures effective wiping of nozzle arrays by preventing the wiper blade from being raised and ensuring complete coverage of the nozzle surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single wiper blade is used to wipe the nozzle surface, then the structure is simple, but the wiping reliability deteriorates when the wiper encounters the sealing portion protrusion
Solution Approach 1:
The wiper unit is divided into multiple independent wiper blades (first wiper blade and second wiper blade) that operate in sequence. The first wiper blade wipes the nozzle surface before the sealing portion, and the second wiper blade wipes after the sealing portion, ensuring complete coverage without interruption when encountering the protruding sealing portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The wiper blades are arranged at different positions in the wiping direction, creating a multi-dimensional wiping approach. This spatial arrangement ensures that when one wiper blade encounters the sealing portion protrusion, the other wiper blade can continue wiping without interruption, maintaining reliable cleaning coverage.
2Productivity
If the wiper blade is inclined at a large angle to gather ink efficiently, then ink gathering is improved, but the wiper blade is raised by the sealing portion causing insufficient contact with nozzle arrays
Solution Approach 1:
The wiping function is segmented into multiple wiper blades with different inclination angles. The first wiper blade can be inclined at a larger angle for effective ink gathering, while the second wiper blade compensates for contact reliability when the first blade is raised by the sealing portion protrusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The first wiper blade performs preliminary wiping and ink gathering before the nozzle encounters the sealing portion. This preliminary action prepares the nozzle surface for subsequent wiping by the second wiper blade, ensuring that ink is gathered efficiently without compromising overall contact reliability.
3Device complexity
If a single wiper blade wipes across the entire nozzle surface including sealing portions, then the device is simple, but regions may be left unwiped reducing cleaning completeness
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle surface is divided into multiple wiping zones handled by different wiper blades. The first wiper blade handles the region before the sealing portion, and the second wiper blade handles the region after the sealing portion, ensuring complete coverage of all nozzle arrays without leaving any regions unwiped.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple wiper blades are positioned at different locations in the wiping direction, creating a multi-zone wiping system. This dimensional arrangement ensures that all regions of the nozzle surface, including areas around the sealing portion protrusion, are thoroughly cleaned without requiring a single complex wiper configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a recording head having a sealing portion arranged in proximity to nozzle arrays and protruding beyond a nozzle surface. A wiper unit configured to wipe the nozzle surface of the recording head has a first wiper blade and a second wiper blade, and the first wiper blade is arranged to be inclined by an angle θ1 (θ1>0) with respect to a direction orthogonal to the wiping direction within a plane parallel to the nozzle surface, while the second wiper blade is arranged to be inclined by an angle θ2 (θ2<0) with respect to the direction orthogonal to the wiping direction within the plane.