Wiping device, head maintenance device, and liquid discharge apparatus

• US 10,611,157 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2019
• Issued: 04/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Asano, Yukihiro, Watanabe, Tatsuroh, Hasebe, Daisuke, Takahashi, Kenta
• Primary Examiner(s): Huffman, Julian D
• Application Number:
  US16/247,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20190255854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 448 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16502 Printhead constructions to prevent nozzle clogging or facilitate nozzle cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16535 using wiping constructions B41J2/16552 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16538 with brushes or wiper blades perpendicular to the nozzle plate
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16541 Means to remove deposits from wipers or scrapers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16544 Constructions for the positioning of wipers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/1655 with wiping surface parallel with nozzle plate and mounted on reels, e.g. cleaning ribbon cassettes
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/16558 Using cleaning liquid for wet wiping

Abstract

A wiping device includes a wiping member including a web to wipe an object to be wiped, and circuitry to cause the wiping member to perform a wiping operation to wipe the object to be wiped. The circuitry causes the wiping member to perform a first wiping operation to move the wiping member relative to the object to be wiped in a first direction to wipe the object to be wiped from a wiping start side of the first wiping operation, and perform a second wiping operation to relatively move the wiping member relative to the object to be wiped in a second direction different from the first direction, to wipe the object to be wiped from a wiping finish side different from the wiping start side of the first wiping operation with the wiping member.

Claims

1. A wiping device comprising:

a wiping member including a web to wipe an object to be wiped;

another wiping member including a blade to wipe the object to be wiped; and

circuitry to cause the wiping member to perform a wiping operation to wipe the object to be wiped, wherein the circuitry causes the wiping member to;

perform a first wiping operation to move the wiping member relative to the object to be wiped in a first direction to wipe the object to be wiped from a wiping start side of the first wiping operation;

perform a second wiping operation to relatively move the wiping member relative to the object to be wiped in a second direction different from the first direction, to wipe the object to be wiped from a wiping finish side different from the wiping start side of the first wiping operation with the wiping member; and

cause the another wiping member to move to a wiping position in the first wiping operation, and move to an evacuation position in the second wiping operation.

2. The wiping device according to claim 1,

wherein said another wiping member is movable between the wiping position, which is a position at which said another wiping member is in contact with the object to be wiped to wipe the object to be wiped and the evacuation position, which is a position at which said another wiping member is not in contact with the object to be wiped.

3. The wiping device according to claim 1, further comprising an applicator to apply a cleaning liquid to the wiping member.

4. The wiping device according to claim 1,

wherein the circuitry causes the wiping member to perform the second wiping operation after performing the first wiping operation a predetermined number of times.

5. The wiping device according to claim 1,

wherein the second wiping operation holds the wiping member in contact with the object to be wiped for a predetermined period of time.

6. The wiping device according to claim 1,

wherein the circuitry causes the wiping member to wipe a nozzle face of a liquid discharge head to discharge a liquid from nozzles formed in the nozzle face.

7. The wiping device according to claim 6,

wherein the liquid discharge head includes a guide member disposed at an end portion of the liquid discharge head in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, and

the circuitry causes the wiping member to wipe the guide member in the second wiping operation.

8. The wiping device according to claim 1,

wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction.

9. A head maintenance device comprising the wiping device according to claim 1 to maintain a liquid discharge head to discharge a liquid from nozzles formed in a nozzle face as the object to be wiped.

10. A liquid discharge apparatus comprising:

a liquid discharge head to discharge a liquid to discharge a liquid from nozzles formed in a nozzle face; and

the wiping device according to claim 1 to wipe the nozzle face of the liquid discharge head as the object to be wiped.