Fluid jet apparatus and method for cleaning inkjet printheads
First Claim
1. A fluid jet apparatus for cleaning an array of ink jet nozzles in a printhead, wherein each nozzle includes an orifice, comprising:
- a cleaning head having an array of cleaning nozzles registrable with said array of ink jet nozzles;
a mounting assembly that mounts said cleaning head in opposition to said printhead with said cleaning nozzles in substantial alignment with said inkjet nozzles, and a supply of pressurized cleaning fluid connected to said cleaning nozzles such that said cleaning nozzles discharge a stream of cleaning droplets that impinge said ink jet nozzles, wherein at least some of said droplets are about the same size as the orifices of the printhead nozzles.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Both a cleaning fluid jet apparatus and method for cleaning an array of inkjet nozzles in a printhead is provided. The fluid jet apparatus includes a cleaning head having an array of cleaning nozzles registrable with the array of inkjet nozzles in the printhead, and a mounting assembly that mounts the cleaning head in opposition to the printhead with the cleaning nozzles in substantial alignment with the inkjet nozzles. A supply of pressurized cleaning fluid is connected to the cleaning nozzles such that the cleaning nozzles discharge a stream of high velocity cleaning droplets that impinges the inkjet nozzles. Both a droplet sizing mechanism and a droplet speed controller are provided so that the size, frequency, and velocity of the cleaning droplets may be selected for maximum cleaning efficiency. The apparatus also includes a mechanism for changing a location of cleaning droplet impingement so that both the inkjet nozzles and the areas immediately surrounding the nozzles may be effectively cleaned.
34 Citations
33 Claims
-
1. A fluid jet apparatus for cleaning an array of ink jet nozzles in a printhead, wherein each nozzle includes an orifice, comprising:
-
a cleaning head having an array of cleaning nozzles registrable with said array of ink jet nozzles;
a mounting assembly that mounts said cleaning head in opposition to said printhead with said cleaning nozzles in substantial alignment with said inkjet nozzles, and a supply of pressurized cleaning fluid connected to said cleaning nozzles such that said cleaning nozzles discharge a stream of cleaning droplets that impinge said ink jet nozzles, wherein at least some of said droplets are about the same size as the orifices of the printhead nozzles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method for cleaning an array of inkjet nozzles in a printhead with a cleaning head having an array of cleaning nozzles registrable with said array of inkjet nozzles each of which includes an orifice, comprising the steps of:
-
aligning the nozzles of the cleaning head with the nozzles of the printhead, and discharging a stream of droplets of cleaning fluid from said cleaning head toward said printhead such that said cleaning droplets impinge said nozzles of said printhead to clean the same. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
-
Specification