LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MAINTAINING LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS

• US 20200130355A1
• Filed: 10/30/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KANAZAWA, Yuji, ANDO, Masaaki
• Granted Patent: US 10,894,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/165 Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16505 Caps, spittoons or covers for cleaning or preventing drying out
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16508 connected with the printer frame
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16511 Constructions for cap positioning B41J2/16547 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16517 Cleaning of print head nozzles B41J2/16505, B41J2/1707 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16523 Waste ink collection from caps or spittoons, e.g. by suction
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16526 by applying pressure only
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16532 by applying vacuum only
• 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 2/16544 Constructions for the positioning of wipers
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16552 using cleaning fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/1655 with wiping surface parallel with nozzle plate and mounted on reels, e.g. cleaning ribbon cassettes

Abstract

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejector having a nozzle surface having nozzles, a cap configured to perform capping when coming into contact with the nozzle surface, a capping mechanism configured to move the cap between a capping position for the capping and a separated position separated from the nozzle surface, a cleaning-liquid supply mechanism configured to supply a cleaning liquid into the cap, and a facing portion configured to face a lip portion of the cap coming into contact with the nozzle surface in the capping, in which the lip portion and the facing portion are made to face each other and a predetermined space is provided between the lip portion and the facing portion for the cleaning liquid supplied in the cap to come into contact with the facing portion.

Claims

1. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:

a liquid ejector having a nozzle surface having nozzles from which a liquid is to be ejected;

a cap configured to perform, when the cap comes into contact with the nozzle surface, capping for covering a space in which the nozzles are open;

a capping mechanism configured to move the cap between a capping position for the capping and a separated position separated from the nozzle surface;

a cleaning-liquid supply mechanism configured to supply a cleaning liquid into the cap;

a facing portion configured to face a lip portion of the cap coming into contact with the nozzle surface in the capping; and

a controller configured to control the capping mechanism and the cleaning-liquid supply mechanism such that the lip portion faces the facing portion and a predetermined space is provided between the lip portion and the facing portion for the cleaning liquid supplied in the cap to come into contact with the facing portion.

2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a contact angle between a surface of the facing portion and liquid droplets of the cleaning liquid is smaller than a contact angle between a surface of the lip portion and liquid droplets of the cleaning liquid.

3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a carriage configured to hold and move the liquid ejector, wherein

the facing portion is disposed in the carriage.

4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning-liquid supply mechanism is configured to supply the cleaning liquid into the cap via a communication portion that is open in the cap.

5. A method of maintaining a liquid ejecting apparatus including:

a liquid ejector having a nozzle surface having nozzles from which a liquid is to be ejected;

a cap configured to perform capping for covering a space in which the nozzles are open when the cap comes into contact with the nozzle surface;

a capping mechanism configured to move the cap between a capping position for the capping and a separated position separated from the nozzle surface;

a cleaning-liquid supply mechanism configured to supply a cleaning liquid into the cap; and

a facing portion configured to face a lip portion of the cap coming into contact with the nozzle surface in the capping, the method comprising;

making the lip portion and the facing portion face each other and providing a predetermined space between the lip portion and the facing portion for the cleaning liquid supplied in the cap to come into contact with the facing portion.

6. The method of maintaining the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein before providing the predetermined space between the lip portion and the facing portion, starting the supply of the cleaning liquid into the cap.

7. The method of maintaining the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein after making the lip portion of the cap in the separated position and the facing portion face each other, moving the cap from the separated position toward the facing portion to provide the predetermined space between the lip portion and the facing portion.

8. The method of maintaining the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein before the lip portion and the facing portion face each other, starting the supply of the cleaning liquid into the cap.

9. The method of maintaining the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the liquid ejecting apparatus further comprises a carriage configured to hold and move the liquid ejector, and a wiping mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface, wherein

after making the lip portion and the facing portion face each other and providing a predetermined space between the lip portion and the facing portion for the cleaning liquid supplied in the cap to come into contact with the facing portion, moving the carriage, and wiping the facing portion by the wiping mechanism.

10. The method of maintaining the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the liquid ejecting apparatus further comprises a discharge mechanism configured to discharge the liquid in the cap, wherein

after the cleaning liquid supplied into the cap comes into contact with the facing portion, before wiping the facing portion by the wiping mechanism, discharging the cleaning liquid supplied in the cap by the discharge mechanism.