Maintenance Jig With Segmented Protector For Nozzle Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing maintenance jigs for printing apparatuses do not effectively protect nozzle rows during cleaning, leading to potential damage and inefficiencies in the cleaning process, especially when dealing with multiple nozzle rows discharging different colors, which can result in color mixing and extended cleaning times.
Innovation Solution
A maintenance jig with a protector and an opening configuration that allows for the attachment to a head or head holder, featuring a design where the distance between the protector's end and the nozzle surface is greater than the distance between the protector's other portion and the nozzle surface, enabling safe and efficient cleaning without touching the nozzles, and includes openings between nozzle rows to prevent color mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cover is used to protect the nozzle surface during maintenance, then the nozzles are protected from damage, but the cleaning process becomes less efficient and color mixing can occur between adjacent nozzle rows
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is divided into multiple protectors, each covering a specific nozzle row. The spaces between adjacent protectors create openings that allow cleaning tools to access and clean the nozzles without removing the protectors. This segmentation enables simultaneous protection of nozzles and efficient cleaning access.
Solution Approach 2:
The protectors are designed with different distances from the nozzle surface at different locations. The end portions of protectors are positioned at a greater distance from the nozzle surface compared to intermediate portions, creating localized access points for cleaning while maintaining overall nozzle protection.
2Reliability
If the protector is positioned close to the nozzle surface for maximum protection, then nozzle safety is improved, but cleaning access is restricted and cleaning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protectors exhibit varying distances from the nozzle surface along their length. Intermediate portions are positioned closer to provide maximum protection, while end portions are positioned at greater distances to create cleaning access points. This local quality variation resolves the contradiction between protection and accessibility.
3Device complexity
If a single cover structure is used for maintenance, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to prevent color mixing between adjacent nozzle rows is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The single cover structure is segmented into multiple protectors, each responsible for covering a specific nozzle row. The spaces between protectors act as isolation zones that prevent liquid from one nozzle row from mixing with adjacent rows during cleaning. This segmentation maintains relative structural simplicity while effectively preventing color mixing.
Data Source
AI summary
A maintenance jig includes a protector and an opening. The protector is configured to be attached to a head that has a nozzle surface including a nozzle row to discharge liquid or a head holder that holds the head. The protector is configured to protect the nozzle row. The opening is adjacent to the protector in a lateral direction of the nozzle row intersecting a longitudinal direction of the nozzle row. A distance between an end of the protector in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle row and the nozzle surface is larger than a distance between a portion of the protector other than the end of the protector in the longitudinal direction and the nozzle surface when the maintenance jig is attached to the head or the head holder.