Printing Apparatus Cleaning Mechanism Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ink jet printing apparatuses face challenges in maintaining image quality due to ink adherence to nozzles, which requires a cleaning mechanism with higher removal force than traditional blades, leading to increased size and complexity of the printing apparatus.
Innovation Solution
The printing apparatus incorporates a cleaning unit with multiple cleaning mechanisms that can scan in a predetermined direction, a movement mechanism to adjust the height of these mechanisms for contact or non-contact with the printing head, and a coupling/releasing unit to decouple the driving source from the movement mechanism, allowing for efficient cleaning without the need for large-scale movement of the driving components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning mechanism with higher removal force than a blade is mounted to remove ink adherence from the nozzle surface, then the cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the apparatus size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning mechanism is divided into multiple independent cleaning units (first cleaning unit with blade, second cleaning unit with cloth, third cleaning unit with needle array) that can be selectively activated. Each unit addresses different types of contamination with appropriate cleaning methods, providing effective cleaning without requiring all units to be present simultaneously, thus controlling apparatus size.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning units are designed to be movable relative to the printing head, with drive mechanisms that can position them in contact with or retracted from the nozzle surface. This dynamic configuration allows the cleaning mechanisms to be compact when retracted and only occupy full space when actively cleaning, resolving the size-effectiveness contradiction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cleaning mechanisms are mounted to clean the printing head, then the cleaning versatility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cleaning units with different cleaning principles (mechanical wiping by blade, absorption by cloth, puncture by needles) are integrated into a single cleaning mechanism assembly. This allows one integrated system to handle various contamination types (ink adherence, dried ink, particulate matter) that would require separate dedicated mechanisms, thereby improving versatility without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning mechanism includes self-positioning features where the cleaning units automatically move into contact with the printing head when needed and retract when not needed. The drive mechanism for moving the cleaning units is also driven by the same motor that moves the printing head, making the cleaning system self-actuating without requiring separate complex control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes: a cleaning unit including cleaning mechanisms configured to clean a printing head ejecting a liquid, each of the cleaning mechanisms scanning in a predetermined direction while contacting the printing head; a movement mechanism configured to move each of the cleaning mechanisms between a first height in contact with the printing head and a second height not in contact with the printing head; a driving source of the movement mechanism; and a coupling/releasing unit configured to perform coupling/releasing between the driving source and the movement mechanism, in which one or more of the cleaning mechanisms are moved to the first height by the movement mechanism coupled with the driving source, and after the one or more cleaning mechanisms are moved to the first height, the coupling/releasing unit releases coupling between the driving source and the movement mechanism.