Printhead Wiper Cleaning Mechanism with Scraper and Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers face inefficiencies in cleaning printhead wipers, as residual ink can congeal and reduce the wiper's effectiveness or clog printheads, especially with viscous inks, leading to reduced printing performance and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A wiper cleaning mechanism that combines a scraper to remove ink from the wiper with a suction device to vacuum off the scraped ink, ensuring the wiper and printhead remain clean, utilizing a scraper and chamber with a suction device to efficiently manage ink removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wiper is used to clean residual ink from printheads, then the printhead nozzles are cleaned effectively, but the wiper itself accumulates residual ink which reduces its cleaning efficacy and can damage printheads
Solution Approach 1:
A secondary wiper is introduced as an intermediary element to clean the primary wiper. The secondary wiper is positioned adjacent to the primary wiper and receives residual ink from it, preventing the primary wiper from accumulating ink and maintaining its cleaning effectiveness throughout operation.
2Productivity
If wipers continuously scrape ink from printheads, then ink is removed effectively, but congealed ink on wipers reduces overall cleaning efficacy and can clog printheads
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary wiper acts as a mediator that receives transferred ink from the primary wiper, preventing congealed ink from building up on the primary wiper and maintaining consistent cleaning performance over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The wiper system performs self-cleaning through the secondary wiper that automatically removes ink from the primary wiper during operation, eliminating the need for external cleaning interventions and maintaining continuous effectiveness.
3Speed
If wipers are used to clean printheads at high speed, then printing productivity is maintained, but residual ink has insufficient time to be removed from wipers leading to congealment
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary wiper continuously removes ink from the primary wiper throughout the printing operation, ensuring that ink residue does not accumulate even at high printing speeds. This continuous action maintains the system's effectiveness without requiring speed reductions or停顿 for cleaning.
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 system effectively maintains wiper cleanliness over long periods, preventing ink congealment and clogging, thereby enhancing printing performance and extending the interval between maintenance, while minimizing waste and mess.
Implementation Method 1
a suction device that is proximate to the scraper and is able to remove the ink from the scraper
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for cleaning wipers for printheads of a printing system. The system includes a cleaning mechanism for a wiper of a printing system. The cleaning mechanism includes a scraper able to scrape ink off of the wiper, and a suction device that is proximate to the scraper and is able to remove the ink from the scraper.