EP1029683A1 - Independent servicing of multiple inkjet printheads - Google Patents
Independent servicing of multiple inkjet printheads Download PDFInfo
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- EP1029683A1 EP1029683A1 EP99110496A EP99110496A EP1029683A1 EP 1029683 A1 EP1029683 A1 EP 1029683A1 EP 99110496 A EP99110496 A EP 99110496A EP 99110496 A EP99110496 A EP 99110496A EP 1029683 A1 EP1029683 A1 EP 1029683A1
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- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- servicing
- printhead
- carriage
- ink
- printheads
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/165—Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
- B41J2/16517—Cleaning of print head nozzles
- B41J2/16535—Cleaning of print head nozzles using wiping constructions
- B41J2/16538—Cleaning of print head nozzles using wiping constructions with brushes or wiper blades perpendicular to the nozzle plate
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- Ink Jet (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Serial No. 09/227,448 filed on January 8, 1999 entitled "Replaceable Capping System For Inkjet Printheads", assigned to the present assignee and incorporated herein by reference.
- Inkjet printing mechanisms may be used in a variety of different products, such as plotters, facsimile machines and inkjet printers, to print images using a colorant, referred to generally herein as "ink." These inkjet printing mechanisms use inkjet cartridges, often called "pens," to shoot drops of ink onto a page or sheet of print media. Some inkjet print mechanisms carry an ink cartridge with a full supply of ink back and forth across the sheet. Other inkjet print mechanisms, known as "off-axis" systems, propel only a small ink supply with the printhead carriage across the printzone, and store the main ink supply in a stationary reservoir, which is located "off-axis" from the path of printhead travel. Typically, a flexible conduit or tubing is used to convey the ink from the off-axis main reservoir to the printhead cartridge. In multi-color cartridges, several printheads and reservoirs are combined into a single unit, with each reservoir/printhead combination for a given color also being referred to herein as a "pen."
- Each pen has a printhead formed with very small nozzles through which the ink drops are fired. The particular ink ejection mechanism within the printhead may take on a variety of different forms known to those skilled in the art, such as those using piezo-electric or thermal printhead technology. For instance, two earlier thermal ink ejection mechanisms are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,278,584 and 4,683,481, both assigned to the present assignee, Hewlett-Packard Company. In a thermal system, a barrier layer containing ink channels and vaporization chambers is located between a nozzle orifice plate and a substrate layer. This substrate layer typically contains linear arrays of heater elements, such as resistors, which are energized to heat ink within the vaporization chambers. Upon heating, an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle associated with the energized resistor.
- To print an image, the printhead is scanned back and forth across a printzone above the sheet, with the pen shooting drops of ink as it moves. By selectively energizing the resistors as the printhead moves across the sheet, the ink is expelled in a pattern on the print media to form a desired image (e.g., picture, chart or text). The nozzles are typically arranged in one or more linear arrays. If more than one, the two linear arrays are located side-by-side on the printhead, parallel to one another, and perpendicular to the scanning direction. Thus, the length of the nozzle arrays defines a print swath or band. That is, if all the nozzles of one array were continually fired as the printhead made one complete traverse through the printzone, a band or swath of ink would appear on the sheet. The height of this band is known as the "swath height" of the pen, the maximum pattern of ink which can be laid down in a single pass.
- It is apparent that the speed of printing a sheet can be increased if the swath height is increased. That is, a printhead with a wider swath would require fewer passes across the sheet to print the entire image, and fewer passes would increase the throughput of the printing mechanism. "Throughput," also known as the pages-per-minute rating, is often one of major considerations that a purchaser analyzes in deciding which printing mechanism to buy. While merely lengthening the nozzle array to increase throughput may seem to the inexperienced-an easy thing to accomplish, this has not been the case. For thermal inkjet pens in particular, there are some physical and/or manufacturing constraints to the size of the substrate layer within the printhead. In the past, inkjet printheads have been limited in swath height to around 5.4mm (millimeters) for tri-chamber color printheads, and around 12.5mm (about one-half inch) for monochrome printheads, such as black printheads.
- To clean and protect the printhead, typically a "service station" mechanism is mounted within the plotter chassis so the printhead can be moved over the station for maintenance. For storage, or during non-printing periods, the service stations usually include a capping system which hermetically seals the printhead nozzles from contaminants and drying. Some caps are also designed to facilitate priming, such as by being connected to a pumping unit or other mechanism that draws a vacuum on the printhead. During operation, clogs in the printhead are periodically cleared by firing a number of drops of ink through each of the nozzles in a process known as "spitting," with the waste ink being collected in a "spittoon" reservoir portion of the service station.
- After spitting, uncapping, or occasionally during printing, most service stations have an elastomeric wiper that wipes the printhead surface to remove ink residue, as well as any paper dust or other debris that has collected on the face of the printhead. Other service stations include auxiliary wiping members to clean areas of the pen adjacent to the ink ejecting nozzles. For instance, a pair of "mud flaps" in the models 720C and 722C DeskJet® color inkjet printers wipe regions beside the color nozzles, while a "snout wiper" in the models 2000 and 2500 DesignJet® color inkjet plotters wipe a rear vertical surface underneath an electrical interconnect region of the pen, with these printers and plotters both being sold by the present assignee, the Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, California.
- To improve the clarity and contrast of the printed image, recent research has focused on improving the ink itself. To provide quicker, more waterfast printing with darker blacks and more vivid colors, pigment-based inks have been developed. These pigment-based inks have a higher solid content than the earlier dye-based inks, which results in a higher optical density for the new inks. Both types of ink dry quickly, which allows inkjet printing mechanisms to form high quality images on readily available and economical plain paper, as well as on recently developed specialty coated papers, transparencies, fabric and other media.
- Indeed, keeping the nozzle face plate clean for cartridges using pigment based inks has proven quite challenging. In the past, multiple inkjet printheads were wiped simultaneously, all at the same speed, which was fine when all the cartridges contained the same type (albeit different colors) of ink. However, these pigment based inks are less viscous than the dye based inks, so the pigment based inks require a slower wiping speed than that previously needed for dye based inks. Yet, there is a lower limit to the wiping speed because too slow a wipe wicks excessive amounts of ink from the dye based pens. This excess dye based ink eventually builds-up a residue on the wiper, leading to less effective wiping in the future, as well as other problems. For instance, excess residue around the wipers may lead to ink build-up around the service station, which could contaminate the caps. Printhead cap contamination may lead to shorter cartridge life because ineffective capping may induce failures in the printhead.
- Actually, a scrubbing type of wiping routine is preferred to clean the tar-like pigment ink residue from the printheads. If a faster wipe was used to accommodate the dye based inks, the wiper for the pigment based ink is prevented from making full contact with the residue. Instead, the wiper skips over bumps formed from the tar-like pigment based ink residue in a jerking or stuttering type of motion, which fails to remove the residue from the printhead. In some cases, during this faster wiping stroke the wiper for the pigment based ink flexed and wiped over the tar-like residue, which smeared the ink over the orifice plate rather than removing it. Thus, any compromise in attempting to accommodate the wiping needs of one pen was at the sacrifice of meeting the needs of the other type of pen.
- As the inkjet industry investigates new printhead designs, the tendency is toward using permanent or semi-permanent printheads in what is known in the industry as an "off-axis" printer. Recent breakthroughs in technology have given hope to developing a printhead with a 25mm swath height (about one inch high), which is double the height previously obtainable, and future developments may bring about even wider swath printheads. While there are a variety of advantages associated with these off-axis printing systems, the possibility of a wider swath height brings on other problems which have not previously been encountered, such as how to provide a uniformly adequate seal when capping the longer printhead, and how to seal the longer printhead without de-priming the nozzles. Moreover, the permanent or semi-permanent nature of the off-axis printheads requires special considerations for servicing, such as how to store ink spit over the printhead lifetime, and how to wipe ink residue from the printheads without any appreciable wear that could decrease printhead life.
- To accomplish this wiping objective, an ink solvent, such as a polyethylene glycol ("PEG") compound, has been used in the HP HP 2000Ccolor inkjet printer, sold by the Hewlett-Packard Company. In this system the ink solvent is stored in a porous medium such as a plastic or foam block in intimate contact with a reservoir, with this porous block having an applicator portion exposed in such a way that the elastomeric wiper can contact the applicator. The wiper moves across the applicator to collect PEG, which is then wiped across the printhead to dissolve accumulated ink residue and to deposit a non-stick coating of PEG on the printhead face to retard further collection of ink residue. The wiper then moves across a rigid plastic scraper to remove dissolved ink residue and dirtied PEG from the wiper before beginning the next wiping stroke. The PEG fluid also acts as a lubricant, so the rubbing action of the wiper does not unnecessarily wear the printhead. Unfortunately, this solvent system uses many parts to accomplish this wiping routine, with multiple parts requiring multiple tooling costs, ordering, inventory tracking and assembly. Moreover, over the lifetime of the printer, the PEG ink solvent may need to be replenished to maintain optimum printhead servicing.
- An overall goal of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printing mechanism which reliably produces clear crisp images over the life of the printing mechanism.
- Another goal of the present invention is to provide a servicing system for inkjet printheads through linear movement of replaceable printhead servicing units.
- Another goal of the present invention is to provide a replaceable inkjet printhead cleaner service station system and servicing method which maintains printhead life, particularly when using permanent or semi-permanent printheads and/or printheads having a swath width on the order of at least 20mm to 25mm (about one inch).
- Service station components for interacting with one type of printhead are located to be aligned in operative position only in a first servicing mode, and service station components for interacting with another type of printhead are differently located to be aligned in operative position only in a second servicing mode. This allows for different servicing schemes of two or more modes to be applied based on the individual characteristics of the ink and/or nozzle plates employed in inkjet printheads. In some instances, an individual printhead can be serviced in more than one servicing mode. In a preferred embodiment, replaceable service station units are provided for each different printhead.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of an inkjet printing mechanism, here an inkjet plotter, including one form of a replaceable inkjet printhead cleaner service station system of the present invention, shown here to service a set of inkjet printheads each having a large print swath, for instance about 20-25mm (one inch) wide.
- FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the replaceable service station system shown prior to servicing the wide swath printheads of FIG. 1.
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a replaceable inkjet printhead cleaner unit of the service station system of FIG. 1.
- FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmented, side elevational view of a black printhead cleaner unit of the service station system of FIG. 1 showing a spittoon portion thereof ready to receive ink spit from a black printhead.
- FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmented, side elevational view of a color printhead cleaner unit of the service station system of FIG. 1, shown with a spittoon portion thereof ready to receive ink spit from an associated color printhead of the printing mechanism.
- FIG. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the replaceable service station system of FIG. 1 shown ready to begin wiping the color printheads.
- FIG. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view showing the black printhead cleaner unit of FIG. 1 wiping the black printhead in solid lines, and showing in dashed lines an applicator thereof applying an ink solvent to the black printhead.
- FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevational view showing a color printhead cleaner unit of FIG. 1 capping an associated color printhead.
- FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing a wiper portion of the black printhead cleaner unit of FIG. 1 just prior to scraping ink residue from the wiper portion.
- FIG. 10 is an enlarged side elevational view of the black printhead cleaner unit of FIG. 1 shown wiping a snout portion of the black printhead.
- FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating one method of servicing printheads using the replaceable service station system of FIG. 1.
- FIG. 12A shows a schematic representation of the color ink servicing mode of FIG. 2.
- FIG. 12B shows a schematic representation of a black ink servicing mode as an alternative to FIG. 12A.
- FIGS. 13A and 13B schematically show color and black ink servicing modes respectively for staggered printheads.
- FIGS. 14A and 14B are schematic tabular representations of two different servicing modes which both include black ink servicing.
- FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C are schematic tabular representations of three different servicing modes for respectively servicing six printheads.
- FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic tabular representations of two different servicing modes for respectively servicing eight printheads.
- FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C are schematic tabular representations of three different servicing modes for six printheads, with two printheads included in more than one mode.
- FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an inkjet printing mechanism, here shown as an
inkjet plotter 20, constructed in accordance with the present invention, which may be used for printing conventional engineering and architectural drawings, as well as high quality poster-sized images, and the like, in an industrial, office, home or other environment. A variety of inkjet printing mechanisms are commercially available. For instance, some of the printing mechanisms that may embody the present invention include desk top printers, portable printing units, copiers, cameras, video printers, and facsimile machines, to name a few. For convenience the concepts of the present invention are illustrated in the environment of aninkjet plotter 20. - While it is apparent that the plotter components may vary from model to model, the
typical inkjet plotter 20 includes achassis 22 surrounded by a housing orcasing enclosure 24, typically of a plastic material, together forming aprint assembly portion 26 of theplotter 20. While it is apparent that theprint assembly portion 26 may be supported by a desk or tabletop, it is preferred to support theprint assembly portion 26 with a pair ofleg assemblies 28. Theplotter 20 also has a plotter controller, illustrated schematically as amicroprocessor 30, that receives instructions from a host device, typically a computer, such as a personal computer or a computer aided drafting (CAD) computer system (not shown). Theplotter controller 30 may also operate in response to user inputs provided through a key pad andstatus display portion 32, located on the exterior of thecasing 24. A monitor coupled to the computer host may also be used to display visual information to an operator, such as the plotter status or a particular program being run on the host computer. Personal and drafting computers, their input devices, such as a keyboard and/or a mouse device, and monitors are all well known to those skilled in the art. - A conventional print media handling system (not shown) may be used to advance a continuous sheet of
print media 34 from a roll through aprintzone 35. The print media may be any type of suitable sheet material, such as paper, poster board, fabric, transparencies, mylar, and the like, but for convenience, the illustrated embodiment is described using paper as the print medium. Acarriage guide rod 36 is mounted to thechassis 22 to define ascanning axis 38, with theguide rod 36 slideably supporting aninkjet carriage 40 for travel back and forth, reciprocally, across theprintzone 35. A conventional carriage drive motor 41 may be used to propel thecarriage 40 in response to a control signal received from thecontroller 30. To provide carriage positional feedback information to controller 33, a conventional metallic encoder strip (not shown) may be extended along the length of theprintzone 35 and over theservicing region 42. A conventional optical encoder reader may be mounted on the back surface ofprinthead carriage 40 to read positional information provided by the encoder strip, for example, as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,276,970, also assigned to Hewlett-Packard Company, the assignee of the present invention. The manner of providing positional feedback information via the encoder strip reader, may also be accomplished in a variety of ways known to those skilled in the art. Upon completion of printing an image, thecarriage 40 may be used to drag a cutting mechanism across the final trailing portion of the media to sever the image from the remainder of theroll 34. Moreover, the illustrated inkjet printing mechanism may also be used for printing images on pre-cut sheets, rather than on media supplied in aroll 34. - In the
printzone 35, the media sheet receives ink from an inkjet cartridge, such as ablack ink cartridge 50 and three monochromecolor ink cartridges black ink pen 50 is illustrated herein as containing a pigment-based ink. For the purposes of illustration, color pens 52, 54 and 56 are described as each containing a dye-based ink of the colors yellow, magenta and cyan, respectively, although it is apparent that the color pens 52-56 may also contain pigment-based inks in some implementations. It is apparent that other types of inks may also be used in the pens 50-56, such as paraffin-based inks, as well as hybrid or composite inks having both dye and pigment characteristics. The illustratedplotter 20 uses an "off-axis" ink delivery system, having main stationary reservoirs (not shown) for each ink (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) located in anink supply region 58. In this off-axis system, the pens 50-56 may be replenished by ink conveyed through a conventional flexible tubing system (not shown) from the stationary main reservoirs, so only a small ink supply is propelled bycarriage 40 across theprintzone 35 which is located "off-axis" from the path of printhead travel. As used herein, the term "pen" or "cartridge" may also refer to replaceable printhead cartridges where each pen has a reservoir that carries the entire ink supply as the printhead reciprocates over the printzone. - The illustrated pens 50, 52, 54 and 56 have
printheads media 34 in theprintzone 35. These inkjet printheads 60-66 have a large print swath, for instance about 20 to 25 millimeters (about one inch) wide or wider, although the printhead maintenance concepts described herein may also be applied to smaller inkjet printheads. The concepts disclosed herein for cleaning the printheads 60-66 apply equally to the totally replaceable inkjet cartridges, as well as to the illustrated off-axis semi-permanent or permanent printheads, although the greatest benefits of the illustrated system may be realized in an off-axis system where extended printhead life is particularly desirable. - The
printheads scanning axis 38, with the length of each array determining the maximum image swath for a single pass of the printhead. The illustrated printheads 60-66 are thermal inkjet printheads, although other types of printheads may be used, such as piezoelectric printheads. The thermal printheads 60-66 typically include a plurality of resistors which are associated with the nozzles. Upon energizing a selected resistor, a bubble of gas is formed which ejects a droplet of ink from the nozzle and onto a sheet of paper in theprintzone 35 under the nozzle. The printhead resistors are selectively energized in response to firing command control signals delivered from thecontroller 30 to theprinthead carriage 40. - FIG. 2 shows the
carriage 40 positioned with the pens 50-56 ready to be serviced by a replaceable printhead cleanerservice station system 70, constructed in accordance with the present invention. Theservice station 70 includes a translationallymoveable pallet 72, which is selectively driven bymotor 74 through a rack andpinion gear assembly 75 in afonvard direction 76 and in arearward direction 78 in response to a drive signal received from thecontroller 30. Theservice station 70 includes four replaceable inkjet printheadcleaner units respective printheads service station pallet 72. Following removal, the cleaning units 80-86 are typically disposed of and replaced with a fresh unit, so the units 80-86 may also be referred to as "disposeable cleaning units," although it may be preferable to return the spent units to a recycling center for refurbishing. To aid an operator in installing the correct cleaner unit 80-86 in the associated stall 90-96, thepallet 72 may include indicia, such as a "B" marking 97 corresponding to theblack pen 50, with the blackprinthead cleaner unit 80 including other indicia, such as a "B" marking 98, which may be matched with marking 97 by an operator to assure proper installation. - FIG. 3 illustrates a generic
cleaner unit assembly 100, including components for assembling both the blackprinthead cleaner unit 80 and the color cleaner units 82-86. Beginning near the bottom of the figure, and working upward, the genericcleaner unit 100 includes abase 102, to which alabel 104 carrying indicia, such as the "B" marking 98 for theblack cleaner unit 80, which may affixed to the exterior ofbase 102. Furthermore, to assure that the cleaner units 80-86 cannot be physically inserted in the wrong pallet stall 90-96, a series of mounting tabs unique for each of the cleaner units 80-86 may be molded along arear comer 105 of thebase 102, with mating slots being supplied within the rear portion of the stalls 90-96 of thepallet 72. Thebase 102 defines two reservoir chambers, including an inksolvent chamber 106 and aspittoon chamber 108. Other features of the base 102 include four cam surfaces or cap ramps 110, which are used during the printhead capping and uncapping process as described further below. The base 102 also defines several different mounting locations for other components of thecleaner unit 100, including a cap returnspring mounting wall 112, a solvent applicatorspring mounting wall 114, a blackwiper mounting wall 116, a colorwiper mounting wall 118, with abrace wall 119 extending between the black and colorwiper mounting walls - The generic cleaning
unit assembly unit 100 also includes a capsled return spring 120, which includes a mountinglip 122 received by the capspring mounting wall 112 ofbase 102. For the color cleaner units 82-86 thespittoon 108 is filled with anink absorber 124, preferably of a foam material, although a variety of other absorbing materials may also be used. Theabsorber 124 receives ink spit from the color printheads 62-66, and the hold this ink while the volatiles or liquid components evaporate, leaving the solid components of the ink trapped within the chambers of the foam material. Thespittoon 108 of theblack cleaner unit 80 is supplied as an empty chamber, which then fills with the tar-like black ink residue over the life of the cleaner unit. - A dual
bladed wiper assembly 125 has twowiper blades wiper assembly 125 includes abase portion 129 which resiliently grips the blackwiper mounting wall 116 when assembling theblack cleaner unit 80. When assembling the color cleaner units 82-86, thewiper base 129 is installed on the colorwiper mounting wall 118. Preferably, each of thewiper assemblies 125 is constructed of a flexible, resilient, non-abrasive, elastomeric material, such as nitrile rubber, or more preferably, ethylene polypropylene diene monomer (EPDM), or other comparable materials known in the art. Forwipers 125, a suitable durometer, that is, the relative hardness of the elastomer, may be selected from the range of 35-80 on the Shore A scale, or more preferably within the range of 60-80, or even more preferably at a durometer of 70 +/- 5, which is a standard manufacturing tolerance. - For assembling the
black cleaner unit 80, which is used to service the pigment based ink within theblack pen 50, the inksolvent chamber 106 receives anink solvent 130, which is held within a porous solvent reservoir body or block 132 installed withinchamber 106. Preferably, thereservoir block 132 is made of a porous material, for instance, an open-cell thermoset plastic such as a polyurethane foam, a sintered polyethylene, or other functionally similar materials known to those skilled in the art. Theinkjet ink solvent 130 is preferably a hygroscopic material that absorbs water out of the air, because water is a good solvent for the illustrated inks. Suitable hygroscopic solvent materials include polyethylene glycol ("PEG"), lipponic-ethylene glycol ("LEG"), diethylene glycol ("DEG"), glycerin or other materials known to those skilled in the art as having similar properties. These hygroscopic materials are liquid or gelatinous compounds that will not readily dry out during extended periods of time because they have an almost zero vapor pressure. For the purposes of illustration, thereservoir block 132 is soaked with the preferred ink solvent, PEG. - To deliver the solvent 130 from the
reservoir 132, theblack cleaner unit 80 includes a solvent applicator ordistribution member 134, which includes anapplicator wick 135 and abase 136, which underlies thereservoir block 132. To hold theapplicator wick 135 in place, theblack cleaner unit 80 includes awick spring 138 which terminates at alip 140 that receives the distal end of theapplicator wick 135. To further support thewick 135, the wick spring also includes two pairs ofsupport tabs 142. Thewick spring 138 has a mountingtab 144 which is supported by the spring mounting 114 ofbase 102. Another feature of thewick spring 138, is areservoir securing tab 146, which rests over an upper service surface of thesolvent reservoir block 132 to hold it in place within thesolvent chamber 106 ofbase 102. - The generic
cleaning unit assembly 100 also includes acap sled 150 which has anactivation wall 151 with a rear surface pushed by the printhead into a capping position and a front surface used to move the sled back into a rest position. Thecap sled 150 has fourcam followers 152 which ride along the cap ramps orcams 110 ofbase 102. The interior of thecap sled 150 defines aspring receiving chamber 154, which receives acompression spring 155. Thecap sled 150 defines a pair of laterally opposingslots 156, and a pair of longitudinally opposingslots slots slot 159 having an open upper end to aid in assembly of the cleaner unit. - The
generic cleaning unit 100 also includes acap retainer member 160 which includes a pair of laterally opposing pins orposts 162 which are captured within the pair ofslots 156 of thecap sled 150. Thecap retainer 160 also includes two longitudinally opposing pins orposts ive slots cap sled 150. Use of theposts slots spring 155, allow the cap retainer to be gimbal-mounted to thecap sled 150, allowing theretainer 160 to move in the Z axis direction, while also being able to tilt between the X and Y axes, which aids in sealing the printheads 60-66. Thecap retainer 160 also includes a pair of cap lip mounting posts orflanges 166. Theretainer 160 also has anupper surface 168, which may define a series of channels or troughs, to act as a vent path to prevent depriming the printheads 60-66 upon sealing, for instance as described in the allowed U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/566,221 currently assigned to the present assignee, the Hewlett-Packard Company. - Overlying the
cap retainer 160 is acap lip member 170, which may be constructed of the same material used for thewiper assemblies 125. Thecap lip member 170 has abase portion 172 which defines a pair of mountingholes 174 therethrough which are slip-fit or press-fit over theretainer flanges 166. Eachretainer flange 166 has a trunk which terminates in a head having a diameter greater than the diameter of the trunk. The length of each flange trunk is selected to be approximately equal to the thickness of the caplip base portion 172, so only the heads offlanges 166 extend above thebase portion 172. To insure a lasting fit, thecap retainer post 166 may be swaged over. The elastomeric material of thelip member 170 allows the material surrounding the mountingholes 174 to resiliently grip the trunk portion of theflanges 166 to hold thelip assembly 170 against theretainer 160. Extending upward from thelip base 172 is alip member 175 which is sized to extend around the nozzles of the printheads 60-66 when making contact therewith during a capping step described further below. To prevent depriming the nozzles of printheads 60-66 during capping, thelip base 172 has a pair of vent holes 176 extending therethrough which aid to relieve pressure along both ends of a sealing chamber formed by thelip base 172, thelip 175 and the lower surface of the orifice plates of printheads 160-166 when capping. Thevents 176 allow air to escape from this sealing chamber along the labyrinth vent path defined bysurface 168 of thecap retainer 160. - The
generic assembly 100 also includes acover 180, here shown for theblack cleaner unit 80. Thecover 180 defines four upper ramps or cam surfaces 182 which cooperate with the cap ramps 110 ofbase unit 102 to clamp thecam followers 152 of thecap sled 150 therebetween for motion between uncapped and capped positions. Thecover 180 also defines acap opening 184, through which thelip member 170 moves to seal the printheads 60-66. Thecover 180 also defines a spittoon opening ormouth 185, through which ink spit is delivered to thecolor spittoon absorber 124 for the color cleaner units 82-86, or to the interior of theopen spittoon 108 for theblack cleaner unit 80. Thecover 180 also defines ablack wiper opening 186, through which extends thewiper assembly 125 when mounted on the blackwiper mounting wall 116ofbase 102. It is apparent that thecover 180 may be easily modified to put a color wiper opening atlocation 188, so thewiper assembly 125 may extend therethrough when mounted to thecolor wiper wall 118 ofbase 102, as shown in FIG. 6. - The generic
cleaner assembly 100 also includes asnout wiper 190 for cleaning a rearwardly facing vertical wall portion of the printheads 160-166, which leads up to electrical interconnect portion of pens 50-56, described in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 10. Thesnout wiper 190 includes abase portion 192 which is received within a snoutwiper mounting groove 194 defined bycover 180. While thesnout wiper 190 may have combined rounded and angular wiping edges as described above forwiper blades base cover 180 also includes asolvent applicator hood 195, which shields the extreme end of thesolvent applicator wick 135 and thelip portion 140 of thewick spring 138 when assembled. - FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the process of spitting to clear the printhead nozzles of any occlusions or blockages, with FIG. 4 showing the
black pen 50 spittingink droplets 196 into the bottom ofspittoon 108, and FIG. 5 showing one of the color pens 56 spittingcolor ink droplets 198 onto theabsorber 124. As mentioned briefly above, thespittoon 108 of theblack printhead cleaner 80 has no absorber, allowing the viscousblack ink residue 196 to accumulate along the bottom of the reservoir floor. Thecolor ink 198 is absorbed into thepad 124, which collects the solids while allowing the volatiles within thecolor ink 198 to evaporate. The black pigment basedink 196 does not dry as rapidly as the color ink, and forms a sticky tar like residue, which is advantageously collected within the base of thespittoon 108 of theblack printhead cleaner 80. - FIG. 6 illustrates the position of the
wiper assemblies 125 of the color cleaner units 82-86, just prior to the start of a wiping stroke where the pallet 72 (omitted for clarity from FIG. 6) moves the cleaner units in arearward direction 78. To wipe theblack printhead 60 with thewiper assembly 125 of theblack cleaner 80, thecarriage 40 is moved to the right in the view of FIG. 6, along the scanningaxis 38 to align the black wipers with the black printhead. Offsetting the wipers of the color printhead cleaners 82-86 from the wiping location of theblack printhead cleaner 80, advantageously allows for different wiping schemes to be employed for cleaning the color printheads 62-66 than from the methods used to clean theblack printhead 60. While wiping both the color and black pens at the same speed is preferred in the illustrated embodiment, the ability to employ individual wiping schemes is particularly advantageous when using different types of ink for color and black printing. - For example, in some implementations it is advantageous to use a slower wiping speed for the black pigment based ink, which is less viscous than the color dye based inks. Too slow of a wiping stroke wicks excessive amounts of ink from the dye based color inkjet pens 52-56. This excess dye based ink eventually builds-up a residue on the wiper, leading to less effective wiping in the future, as well as other problems. Actually, a scrubbing type of wiping routine is preferred to clean the tar-like pigment ink residue from the
black printhead 60. If simultaneous wiping of all of the printheads was required, with a faster wipe used to accommodate the dye based inks, the wiper for the pigment based ink would be prevented from making full contact with the ink residue. Instead, the wiper would skip over bumps formed from the tar-like pigment based ink residue in a jerking or stuttering type of motion, which would fail to remove the residue from the printhead. Offsetting the color wipers from the wiping location of the black wiper allows theservice station 70 to separately tailor the wiping schemes used to clean the color printheads 62-66 than from those used to clean theblack printhead 60. - FIG. 7 illustrates a wiping stroke, here with the
wipers black cleaner 80 shown wiping theblack printhead 60. During this stroke, the cleaner 80 is moving in therearward direction 78, so the rounded exterior wiping edge ofwiper blade 128 first contacts theprinthead 60, followed by the angular interior wiping edge ofblade 126. The rounded wiping edge ofblade 128 is believed to wick or draw ink from the nozzles through capillary action, which acts as a solvent and lubricant during the wiping stroke, followed by the angular wiping edge along the interior ofblade 126 which serves to remove any wicked ink and dissolved ink residue remaining onprinthead 60, as described in the Hewlett-Packard Company's U.S. Patent No. 5,614,930. The same wiping mechanism used to clean theblack printhead 60 is also used to clean the color printheads 62-66, and indeed, it is apparent that given the symmetrical nature ofblades forward direction 76, accomplishing the same results. - FIG. 7 also illustrates application of the
ink solvent 130, here a polyethylene glycol ("PEG") 300 treatment fluid, to afront edge 200 ofprinthead 60. As mentioned in the background section above, the Hewlett-Packard Company's HP 2000C color inkjet printer also uses an ink solvent, but it differs from the system disclosed herein because the solvent system in the HP 2000C printer is a permanent part of the inkjet printing unit, whereas theblack printhead cleaner 80 is replaceable. Moreover, in the HP 2000C printer, the ink solvent is applied first to a wiper, and then the wiper applies the solvent to the printhead, whereas theprinthead cleaner 80 applies the solvent 130 directly to theleading edge 200 of theprinthead 60, as shown in FIG. 7 in dashed lines. - Referring back to FIG. 4, the
solvent reservoir block 132 is preferably constructed of a bonded nylon material, with theapplicator member 134 being constructed of an open cell polyurethane foam, and thebacking spring 140 being constructed of a sheet metal material. Using this system, approximately 0.5 mg (milligrams) of solvent 130 is applied to theprinthead 60 per application. The solvent mainly serves to dissolve ink residue on the surface of the printhead, but also provides a secondary function of acting as a lubricant during the wiping strokes. PEG 300 is a preferred treatment fluid that assists the wiper in maintaining good nozzle health and orifice plate cleanliness throughout the life of the printhead. Thesolvent reservoir 132 and theapplicator wick 138 are preferably sized to store together approximately 10cc (cubic centimeters) of ink solvent 130, although in the illustrated embodiment, 8cc of solvent 130 is an even more preferred amount. - As the
leading edge 200 of theprinthead 60 contacts theapplicator 135, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7,fluid 130 is dispensed as theapplicator wick 135 is compressed by the printhead. When the foam of theapplicator wick 135 is compressed, the solvent 130 is pushed out of the cells of the foam and onto theprinthead leading edge 200. Thewick spring 138 is preferably formed with a preload, which provides a resistant force to support the foam ofwick 135 when pushed against by theprinthead 60. The fluid 130 is then distributed over the orifice plate by thewipers ink solvent 130 adds to an existing quantity of solvent already resident on theprinthead 60 andwipers - Furthermore, the ink solvent 130 acts as a non-stick film barrier on an
interconnect side 202 of theprinthead 60. During development studies, it was found that when too little of the fluid 130 is applied, ink residue builds up on theorifice plate 60, and when toomuch fluid 130 is applied, the excessive solvent 130 mixed with ink builds up on the pen, and can periodically drip onto a printed page. Moreover, too much fluid may also cause the solvent 130 to be sucked into the nozzles of theprinthead 60, which can cause a pen printing problem requiring a time wait while performing a spitting routine to clear the PEG solvent 130 from the nozzles. Thus, application of a desired amount offluid 130, not too much and not too little, became the challenge. - The
applicator member 134 serves the functions of applying the solvent 130 to theprinthead 60, and of transporting the fluid 130 from thereservoir block 132 to theapplicator 135. The material chosen for thewick member 134 is selected to have a sufficiently high capillary pressure to overcome the capillary pressure of thereservoir block 132 and to provide for a vertical rise or fluid head to the point of application, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7. For instance, the steady state ascending capillary pressure of theapplicator wick 135 is greater than 150mm (millimeters) for the PEG 300 solvent 130. The material selected for thewick member 134 is self-wetting or hydrophilic, allowing the material to fill with fluid of its own volition once in contact with thereservoir block 132. Other physical properties of thewick member 134 are selected so that the foam applies the specified amount of fluid, here 0.2-0.8 milligrams, throughout the range of manufacturing tolerance variations that occur in the foam, as well as within theplotter 20. One of the main physical properties of thewick member 134 that affects the fluid dispensing use is the stiffness of the foam, with the main contributor to the stiffness being a compression factor, that is, the ratio of pre-felt to post-felt thickness of the foam, with the post-felt thickness being the primary contributor. Physical properties of the polyurethane based polymer also influence the stiffness of the foam ofapplicator member 134. - Another important component of the ink solvent dispensing system is the material selected for the
fluid reservoir block 132, which is preferably a pultruded, bonded nylon fiber material, with a physical volume of 27cc (cubic centimeters), and an absorption capacity for the PEG solvent 130 of 25cc. Thereservoir 132 is filled to a maximum of 50% capacity, to allow space for absorption of up to 50% water from the atmosphere in high humidity conditions. The ascending height capillary pressure of thefluid reservoir 132 is selected to be 30-40mm (millimeters) for the PEG-300 solvent 130. This capillary pressure is selected to be sufficiently high, so that the PEG solvent 130 will not leak out of thereservoir 132 during transport, or if thecleaner unit 80 is placed on end, while also being sufficiently low to allow free release of the fluid 130 into theapplicator wick member 134. - Another important component in implementing the ink solvent dispense system of
printhead cleaner 80, is thewick spring 138. Thewick spring 138 supports and locates theapplicator wick 135, as described briefly above with respect to FIG. 3. The primary function of thewick spring 138 is to provide a known resisting force so that the PEG solvent 130 is expelled from theapplicator wick 135 when the applicator comes in contact with theprinthead leading edge 200, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7. - Advantageously, by biasing the
wick spring 138 with a preload, that is, with thewick spring 138 reclined in arearward direction 78 from the mountingtab 144, creates a preload with approximately a constant spring force of around one Newton. This preload assures that the fluid dispense volume is consistent regardless of service station axis positioning accuracy and tolerance stack in assembling theplotter 20. For instance, in commercially produced printing units a typical printhead-to-cleaning unit spacing variation may be on the order of 2 to 4mm (millimeters). Preloading thewick spring 138 advantageously minimizes variation in spring force resulting from either variation in the contact position of theapplicator wick 135 with respect to theprinthead leading edge 200, and from manufacturing variations in thewick spring 138 itself, such as variation in bend angles and the like. - Preferably, the
wick spring 138 has an approximate 45° bend or ramp just prior to reaching thelip portion 140. This 45° inclined ramp ensures that theapplicator wick 135 only touches theleading edge 200 of theprinthead 60, regardless of the Z axis alignment ofcorner 200 relative to theapplicator 135. Use of this ramp portion of the wick, which encounters the printhead leading edge 200 (FIG. 7 - dashed lines) insures that the area of foam contact with theprinthead 60 is constant regardless of the Z axis alignment of the assembled components for a consistent fluid application. Additionally, the preloaded spring force on thewick spring 138 serves to provide a constant Y axis spring force in therearward direction 78, regardless of the vertical or Z axis positioning of theprinthead 60 with respect toapplicator 135. Thus, any misalignment in the Z axis has very little affect on the amount of fluid dispensed, since the surface area of contact between the inclined portion of thewick 135 and theleading edge 200 ofprinthead 60 is substantially constant, regardless of any Z axis misalignment therebetween. - A variety of advantages are realized using the ink solvent application system portion of the
black printhead cleaner 80. For example, applying the ink solvent 130 withwick 135 increases the usable life of theblack printhead 60, when compared to other printers which do not have an ink solvent system to facilitate successful wiping of long life printheads, such as permanent orsemi-permanent printhead 60. Without an adequate coating of ink solvent 130, tests found that an orifice plate dispensing pigment basedink 196 would become encrusted with contamination, and eventually limit the useful life of the printhead. Additionally, the use of ink solvent 130 dissolves ink residue built up on the orifice plate, while also providing a non-stick fluid barrier which prevents additional ink residue from adhering to the orifice plate ofprinthead 60. Finally, the solvent 130 lubricates thewipers - The use of an
ink solvent 130 has also enabled the use of a wider variety of ink types, by eliminating wipability as a constraint to ink development. Use of new types of ink has resulted in a number of important customer benefits, related to the quality of the printed page, including the use of inks with (1) higher optical density, allowing (2) faster throughput (pages per minute), (3) better light fastness, (4) better smear fastness, (5) better water fastness, and (6) overall increased reliability. First, the use of black pigment based inks yields a higher optical density, which is directly related to the percentage of black pigment added to the ink vehicle, Indeed, during initial development of the black pigmented ink cartridges, the dye load was constrained by the wipability of the ink, with too much black pigment causing solid masses of black ink residue to build up on the orifice plate, which could not be removed by the earlier wiping systems then employed. Advantageously, the use of aPEG ink solvent 130 enables clean wiping of the orifice plate, even though dispensingink 196 which has high concentrations of black pigment. - Second, achieving faster throughput, measured in pages per minute, requires that the inks are fast drying. However, fast drying inks tend to be difficult to wipe because they dry rapidly and adhere to the
orifice plate 60 before the wiping stroke occurs. The use of the PEG ink solvent 130 advantageously redissolves the dried ink, allowing it to then be removed by subsequent wiping strokes. - Third, improved light fastness is found with the use of pigment based inks, in comparison to dye based inks, which are easier to service but are not often as lightfast as pigment based inks. From a servicing standpoint, the problem with pigment based inks is that they form solid masses on the orifice plate which are difficult to wipe, but this problem is solved by using the PEG solvent 130 which facilitates clean wiping of the
orifice plate 60. - Fourth, regarding smear fastness, sticky polymer binders in inks may be used to improve smear fastness, but these binders often adhere to the orifice plate, as well as to fibers in the paper. Polymer binders are very difficult to wipe off of the
orifice plate 60 without the use of anink solvent 130. Thus, by using solvent 130, these polymer binders are no longer a problem. - Fifth, regarding water fastness, the use of both polymer binders and pigments in the
black ink 196, both of which are inherently not soluble in water, improves the water fastness of the ink. Finally, regarding the enhanced reliability, the chemical stability of an ink affects the reliability of the entire pen, and without the use of an ink solvent, more organics are required in the ink composition to prevent ink crusting, especially since ink crust is one of the more difficult ink residue substances to remove from theprinthead 60. Unfortunately, the addition of organics to an ink composition also contributes to pigment settling, clogged nozzles, and flocculation, all of which reduce the reliability of the ink. Thus, the use of anink solvent 130 allows for less organics to be required in the ink composition, resulting in a higher ink reliability. - A variety of other advantages are realized using the fluid dispense system of the black
printhead cleaner unit 80. For example, depending upon the particular implementation and types of printheads being cleaned, the amount of fluid can be tuned or adjusted during product development by a variety of different methods, including: changing the spring force of the wick spring 138 (e.g. by adjusting bend angles, using a different spring thickness, or a different spring geometry); by changing the foam geometry of thewick assembly 134; by changing the foam properties of the wick assembly 134 (e.g. the stiffness, the pores per inch, or the base foam material); by changing the material properties of the reservoir block 132 (e.g. density); or by changing the fill volume of thereservoir block 172. Thus, it is possible to tailor the amount of PEG ink solvent 130 dispensed from theapplicator 135 to an optimal amount based on both expected printer usage and service station servicing routines. - Furthermore, use of the
applicator wick 135 allows the solvent 130 to be dispensed using only one axis of motion in the printer, that is, to move thecleaning unit 80 rearwardly, as indicated byarrow 78 in FIG. 7. This single axis of motion system is far simpler than earlier solvent application systems, such as that used in the Hewlett-Packard Company's HP 2000C color inkjet printer which rotated and elevated the wipers for solvent application. Thus, use of thesolvent wick applicator 135, in combination with the cappingassembly 170 andcap sled 150, allows for single axis actuation of thereplaceable service station 70, that is, through motion along the Y axis. - Another advantage of the illustrated solvent dispensing system is that storing the
ink solvent 130 within thereservoir block 132 ensures that the fluid does not leak during shipping because thereservoir 132 provides a sufficiently high capillary pressure to retain all the fluid in all orientations when subjected to shipping environments, including varying temperature ranges, humidity ranges, shipping vibrations and the like. Furthermore, the use of areplaceable printhead cleaner 80 allows fresh ink solvent 130 to be replenished each time thecleaner unit 80 is replaced, so the reservoir need not carry an amount of fluid sufficient for the entire life ofplotter 80, but only for the life span of thecleaner unit 80. Moreover, by containing theink solvent 130 within thereplaceable cleaner unit 80, a customer is not required to separately replenish or replace the fluid 130 during the life of theprinting mechanism 20. Thus, replacement of theink solvent 130 is an operation which is essentially transparent to the customer, allowing this replenishment without the customer needing to know or understand why they are replacing the cleaningfluid 130. - FIG. 8 shows the printhead capping routine, here illustrating the cyan printhead of
pen 56 being capped by thecyan cleaning unit 86. Here, theservice station pallet 72 has been moved in the rearward direction ofarrow 78 until theactuation wall 151 of thecap sled 150 has contacted the forward facing surface ofpen 56, at a point where thecam followers 152 are shown in dashed lines between the cam surfaces 110 and 182. Furtherrearward motion 78 elevates thecap sled 150 as thecam followers 152 move upward between cam surfaces 110 and 182, to reach the capped position, shown in solid lines in FIG. 8. Thus, the linear motion of thecleaner unit 86 is translated into vertical motion as the cap sled is elevated by thecam followers 152 traveling upwardly along cap ramps 110, 182. Use of the cam surfaces 110, 182 andcam followers 152 advantageously eliminates the need for two axis service station actuation because capping is achieved through pure linear motion ofpallet 72, without requiring rotation or combinations of rotational and translating motion to achieve capping. Thus, the replaceableservice station unit 70 requires only onemotor 74 to achieve all the servicing functions, resulting in higher reliability and cost savings, as well as power savings for the ultimate consumer. - This capping mechanism of cleaner units 80-86 is quite different from the earlier replaceable printhead cleaners described in the background portion above, for the Hewlett-Packard DesignJet® 2500CP inkjet plotter. In this earlier system, cap actuation was achieved by lifting the entire replaceable service station unit into contact with an associated printhead, requiring two axes of actuation, that is, the service station had to move both vertically and horizontally to achieve capping. Unless, the replaceable cleaner units 80-86 are designed to achieve capping elevation through purely translational movement of the cleaner units.
- The capping operation is quite important, because during periods of inactivity if an inkjet printhead is left open to the air, volatile components in the ink may evaporate out of the printhead nozzles. Thus, the use of elastomeric caps has come into practice for sealing the printheads to isolate them from ambient environmental conditions, including dust and contamination, when the printhead is not in use. By forming a seal on the printhead, the cap slows the loss of volatile ink components from the nozzles, while also maintaining a humid environment around the nozzles to prevent hard ink plugs from forming therein and blocking the nozzles. Furthermore, the use of a
printhead cap 170 advantageously minimizes the occurrence of crusting, bearding and soft ink plugs so that a minimum number of drops are required to be spit intospittoons - While ramping mechanisms have been used to elevate caps before, typically this motion has occurred parallel to the
printhead scanning axis 38, as the printhead and or carriage moved in the negative X axis direction to elevate the caps to a sealing position. Other capping sleds have been attached to a rotary tumbler (in the Hewlett-Packard Company's DeskJet® 800 series color inkjet printers), or through a translating or sliding motion (in the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet® 720C and 722C models of inkjet printers), with a portion of the sled contacting either the printhead or the printhead carriage so that further rotational motion or rearward motion in the Y direction elevates a bar linkage mechanism to achieve capping. However, to date, the illustrated printhead cleaners 80-86 are the first ones known to achieve capping through horizontal motion in a direction parallel to the linear nozzle arrays, and perpendicular to thescanning axis 38. Uncapping is then accomplished by moving thepallet 72 in theforward direction 76, allowing the capsled return spring 120 to push on theactivation wall 151 to force thecap sled 150 andcap 170 back down along the cap ramps 110, 182 to the rest position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8. Moreover, the use of the capsled return spring 120 advantageously allows capping to occur in a gradual steady motion as thepallet 72 moves rearwardly, so capping is achieved gradually to allow proper cap venting as described further below. - In commercial inkjet printing mechanisms, such as
plotter 20, a variety of different parts are used to assemble the printer. Each part of aninkjet printing mechanism 20 varies in size within the tolerance specified on the engineering drawings, and as a result of various processing factors, such as cooling temperatures and the like for plastic and/or elastomeric molded parts which may vary from batch to batch. Variations in the geometry of each component is a normal part of all manufacturing processes. The tolerance variation of each part contributes to a tolerance stack or total variation in the distance over which a printhead cap must travel to adequately seal an inkjet printhead. Thus, the challenge becomes that of sufficiently ensuring a good alignment between the cap and the printhead in the presence of these various mechanical tolerance stacks. Moreover, both the pens 50-56 are replaceable in thecarriage 40, and the cleaner units 80-86 are replaceable within thepallet 70, so when replaced, the new pens and cleaner units may vary in size from their predecessors. Thus, a variety of different physical impediments may exist which must be accommodated by the printhead cap to ensure adequate sealing, without applying excessive force to the printhead which may damage it. - If the
cap sealing lip 175 is not accurately aligned with the printhead, then ambient air will leak into the cap resulting in excessive vapor loss from the pen. Typically, there is a limited target area or cappingracetrack 206 on the printhead reserved for contact with the cap lip, as shown by the regions in FIG. 6 between the dashed lines and the perimeter of the orifice plates of printheads 60-66. To assure adequate sealing, thecap lip 175 must be aligned to the printhead in six orientations, or degrees of freedom, which together define a three dimensional space, that is, in the X, Y and Z axis directions, as well as in rotational orientation about each of these axes, denoted as x, y and z. - In the replaceable servicing units 80-86, the
cap sled 150 rides along the cam surfaces 110, 182 to seal the printhead, as shown between the dashed line and solid line positions of FIG. 8. Thecap lip 175 moves vertically upward and pushes against the orifice plate of the printhead as thecap sled 150 progresses up the cam surface. The rearward facing surface of the capsled activation wall 151 has a pair ofvertical alignment ribs 204, seen in top view in FIG. 6. In this system, the replaceable cleaning units 80-86 align thesled 150 directly to the printhead in the Y axis and with respect to the z rotation. The gimbaling action provided by thecap spring 155, and the free floating nature of thecap retainer 160 with respect tosled 150, allows the cap lip and retainer to tilt and gimbal to align the cap to the printhead in the Z axis and with respect to rotation in the x and y directions. Thus, the capping system of the replaceable cleaning units 80-86 allows for closed loop alignment between the cap and the pen, so the cap can be positioned very accurately against the orifice plate. This self alignment routine achieved by the cleaning units 80-86 results in a small tolerance stack, so there is no need to cap over encapsulant beads, resulting in the reliable seal at a low capping force. Regarding aliment in the X direction, thecap lips 70 are wide enough to enable open loop alignment between the cap and the printhead in the X direction that is, there is adequate room along theracetrack 206 between each nozzle array and the edge of the printhead to allow some minor misalignment, without endangering sealing over the nozzles, and without increasing the overall width of the printing unit. - Thus, several advantages are realized using self aligning capping system of the replaceable cleaner units 80-86, including minimizing the tolerance stack in the X, Z, x, y, and z orientations. Moreover, there is no need to cap over printhead encapsulant beads, so lower overall capping forces are employed. Additionally, the need for any special cap lip design for sealing over non-flat surfaces is totally eliminated. Furthermore, this capping system allows for a minimum gap between the end of the nozzle row and the edge of the pen, which allows for smaller margins on a printed page. Additionally, there is no need for precision tolerances on all of the service station, printhead and carriage components. Additionally, time consuming manufacturing line adjustments are not required, such as to orient the service station in the Z axis direction. Additionally, the service station cleaning units 80-86 do not need any type of electronics self-adjustments or separate calibrations, as were required in some previous inkjet printers.
- Here, the cap vents are small air passages that relieve pressure from within a printhead sealing chamber defined between the
cap base portion 172, thelip member 175, and the printhead orifice plate. The cap vents 176 prevent the nozzles from being subjected to a positive pressure air pulse as thecap seal lip 175 is compressed during capping, as well as during environmental changes. In the past, typically a single vent hole has been used to provide the service. However, the capping system of the replaceable cleaning units 80-86 uses a redundant cap vent system, having a pair of vent holes 176 which connect the sealing chamber to the retainer labyrinth path surface 168, which defines passageways leading from the vent holes 176 to atmosphere. Using a pair of redundant vent holes 176 allows the cap vent feature to function even if one vent hole becomes clogged with ink, for example, if ink were flicked by one of thewiper blades - The labyrinth vent channels or grooves defined by
surface 168 of thecap retainer 160 are sized to prevent pressure differentials from forming during capping actuation, while still creating a resistive path to vapor diffusion when the printhead is sealed. Besides the use of channels or grooves on thelabyrinth surface 168, elevated beads may also be used to define these vent paths. The exact sizing and orientation of the labyrinth vent path in the cap retainer will vary depending upon the size of the sealing chamber, the number of printhead nozzles, chemical properties of the inks, and the desired venting versus vapor diffusion characteristic selected for the particular inkjet printhead and printing mechanism. - Thus, use of the pair of redundant vent holes 176 with the labyrinth vent passageway to atmosphere advantageously eliminates a pressure pulse during the capping process, while also allowing the vent system to function correctly, even if one of the two vent holes becomes clogged.
- FIG. 9 shows an optional operation of scraping the
wipers printhead cleaning unit 80. Thewiper assembly 125 is shown moving in therearward direction 78 into contact with awiper scraper 210. Thescraper 210 extends downwardly from an interior surface of an upper stationary wall or hood 212, which forms part of the frame ofservice station 70. Thescraper 210 is preferably an inverted T-shaped member, having afront wiping edge 214, which is engaged when the wipers move in therearward direction 78, and arear wiping edge 215, which encounters and removes debris from the wipers after passing underassembly 200, when then moving in theforward direction 76. Also shown in the view of FIG. 9 is a retainingtab member 216, which forms a portion of thepallet 72. Thetab 216 rests against a pair of protrusions 217 (see FIG. 3) extending from the exterior of thebase 102, and serves to positively secure the printhead cleaning unit, hereunit 80, withinstall 90 ofpallet 72. The color stalls 92, 94, 96 are also equipped with similar retainingmembers 216 to secure therespective cleaning units - The scraping step illustrated in FIG. 9 may be considered an optional step if amounts of ink solvent 130 in excess of those described above are applied to not only the
black printhead 60, but also to the color printheads 62-64. As mentioned above, the amount of ink solvent 130 applied bywick 135 may be easily varied by changing the contours and dimensions, and material properties of thereservoir block 132, thewick base 136 and thewick member 135 to increase-the amount of solvent applied to the printheads. Indeed, experiments were conducted with respect to theblack printhead 60, where an increased amount offluid 130 was applied to the printhead by increasing the frequency of solvent application, resulting in a scraperless inkjet ink solvent application system, as illustrated in FIG. 4. - It was found that an accumulation of the solvent 130 and ink residue on the wipers runs downwardly under the force of gravity along the wipers and into an
auxiliary wiper chamber 220 defined by thebase 102, as shown in FIG. 4 by the droplets of ink solvent andink residue mixture 218. This solvent andink residue mixture 218 may then flow through anopening 222 defined by the blackwiper mounting wall 116 into themain spittoon 108. It is apparent that similar modifications may be made to the color cleaning units 82-86, with the inclusion of the inksolvent applicator wick 135 andreservoir block 132 underneath each capping assembly, inside thechamber 106. Similarly, thecolor wiper wall 118 may be modified with an opening similar toopening 222, to allow the combination of ink residue and PEG to drip down from the color wipers for absorption into thespittoon pad 124. Of course, it is also apparent that in such a scraper system, it may be desirable to line the bottom portion of theblack spittoon 108 with an absorbent material, such as a smaller version ofabsorber 124, to assist in absorbing this additional flow of ink solvent 130 and ink residue, 218, 224 dripping from therespective wipers - Thus, a variety of advantages are associated with using the gravity drip method for cleaning the wipers through use of an additional amount of ink solvent, as shown in FIG. 4. For example, by eliminating the
wiper scraper 210, the stationary portion of 212 of service station frame is simplified, not only in construction, but also in the manner in which it may be molded. Moreover, using this gravity drip method allows thewiper assembly 125 to be self cleaning, which eliminates the servicing time required for the scraping step shown in FIG. 9 so less time is required for printhead servicing. Additionally, wiper scrapers have been used in other inkjet printing units, such as Hewlett-Packard Company's DeskJet® 800 series, 700 series and HP 2000C models of inkjet printers. When scraping in these earlier devices, ink residue was thrown from the wipers blades after passing under the scraper, with this flying ink often landing in undesirable locations. Thus, use of the gravity drip method for cleaning the wipers shown in FIG. 4 may not only have the advantages of simplifying part construction and speeding service, but may also increase reliability of thereplaceable service station 70. - Moreover, the elimination of a
wiper scraper 210 may be particularly useful if different types of inks are used interchangeably within the same carrier portion of theprinthead carriage 40. Thus, if the wiper scrapers are eliminated, there can be no cross contamination of one type of ink with another type of ink at the wiper scrapers when the ink cartridges are exchanged. The need for a separate wiper scraper increases the complexity of the service station, such as in the Hewlett-Packard Company's HP 2000C color inkjet printer which requires two motors to apply the solvent to the wipers, then to wipe the solvent along the printheads, followed by scraping the wipers on a stationary scraper. Other wiper scrapers have been also designed as a permanent part of the service station, such as in the Hewlett-Packard Company's: DeskJet® 700 series and 800 series inkjet printers; DesignJet® 600 series, 700 series, and 800 series inkjet plotters; DesignJet® 2500CP inkjet plotter; and the HP 2000C printer. Other wiper scrapers have been designed as a part of the pen itself, which unfortunately accumulates residue during printing, leading to fiber tracking and other print defects. Indeed, even on systems with replaceable service stations which employ a scraper permanently mounted to the service station frame, upon replacement of the service station modules, the new wipers become contaminated with residue remaining on the scraper from cleaning the wipers of the previous cleaner module. Thus, in some implementations the use of aseparate wiper scraper 210 becomes an optional feature, rather than a necessity as in earlier printer designs, when anink solvent 130 is used, particularly when applied using thewick applicator 135. - FIG. 10 illustrates the final operation of the printhead cleaning units 80-86, where the
pallet 72 has moved reanvardly in the direction ofarrow 78 until thesnout wipers 190 are in interference contact with theinterconnect face 202 of their respective printheads, such asprinthead 60. Once in wiping contact, thepallet 72 remains stationary while theprinthead carriage 40 is reciprocated back and forth along the X axis direction, which is also along scanningaxis 38. This snout wiping step removes unwanted ink residue and anyink solvent 130 remaining on this portion of the pen. The snout portion of the printhead communicates electric signals between the firing resistors and anelectrical interconnect portion 230 of thepen 50. Thepen interconnect 230 receives signals from thecontroller 30 via amating interconnect portion 232 of thecarriage 40, with each of theinterconnect portions carriage 40. Any ink residue or liquid solvent 130 remaining on thesnout portion 202 could migrate upwardly, through capillary forces, or through removal and replacement of the pen by the consumer,, and cause a short circuit between theinterconnects - In the past, snout wipers have been used in the Hewlett-Packard Company's DesignJet® 2000 and 2500 models of inkjet plotters. While other interconnect wipers have been proposed, these have typically been either fixed wipers located on a stationary portion of the service station frame, as in the DesignJet® units mentioned, or a wiper fixed to the printhead carriage. In either case, these interconnect snout wipers were permanent parts of the inkjet printing unit, and thus could only be replaced with a service call. Indeed, a further disadvantage of the snout wipers in the DesignJet® units was that the same wiper was used to wipe all four pens, which could lead to cross contamination of the inks, which may then accidentally be wiped from the interconnect over the nozzle plate by the wipers.
- Thus, a significant advantage of the
snout wiper 190 on cleaning units 80-86 is that the snout wipers are replaced each time the cleaning units 80-86 are replaced. Moreover, using aseparate snout wiper 190 for each printhead 60-66 eliminates any possibility of cross contamination of inks. Additionally, use of thesnout wipers 190 prevents the ink residue and ink solvent 130 from accumulating along theinterconnect portions 202 of printheads 60-66, which, without thesnout wipers 190, may eventually build up and drop under the weight of gravity onto media during a print job, ruining the print job. Additionally, use of thesnout wipers 190 removes some of the ink residue from the printhead which would otherwise be removed by thewiper assembly 125 and in the case of a fixed wiper scraper as shown in FIG. 9 accumulated thereon. Thus, use of thesnout wipers 190 prevents excessive ink buildup on thescraper 210. Preferably, thesnout wiper 190 is constructed of the same material as described above for thewiper assembly 125, although other resilient materials may be more preferable in some implementations. Moreover, besides just removing waste ink and ink solvent, the snout wiper also removes any ink aerosol, which are floating airborne ink particles that are generated during drop ejection and fail to impact either the print media or thespittoons - FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating one manner of operating the
replaceable service station 70 to service the printheads 60-66 installed incarriage 40. In the flow diagram of FIG. 11, the blocks in the left column all refer to motion of theservice station pallet 72, while the blocks in the right column all refer to motion of theprinthead carriage 40 along the scanningaxis 38. Motion of both theservice station pallet 72 and thecarriage 40 are in response to control signals received from theplotter controller 30. Here, the servicing routine begins following completion of a print job, with thecarriage 40 being located in theprintzone 35. In afirst step 240, theservice station pallet 72 is moved indirection 76 to a full forward position, indicated in FIG. 11 as "forward 76," whereas rearward motion in FIG. 11 is indicated as "rearward 78," both referring toarrows first step 240 is followed bystep 242 wherecarriage 40 enters theservicing region 42. - Once in the
servicing region 42, theservice station pallet 72 may perform theoptional step 244 of moving rearward 78 to wipe the printheads, as shown solid lines in FIG. 7. The references to wiping in the flow chart of FIG. 11 just refer to FIG. 7, although it is implied that wiping is shown in solid lines in FIG. 7 fromstep 244. Following theoptional step 244, or if not performed then followingstep 242, is anotherstep 246 where theservice station pallet 72 is moved in therearward direction 78 to a spit position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the black and color printheads, respectively. Instep 248, it is assumed that thecarriage 40 has positioned the printheads 60-66 over therespective spittoon 108 andabsorbers 124, so the pens then spitblack ink 196 andcolor ink 198 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. - Following the spitting step, the
service station pallet 72 may take theoptional step 250 of moving in theforward direction 76 to wipe the printheads clean of any ink residue, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7. Following this optional wiping step, theservice station pallet 72 then moves in therearward direction 78 instep 252, until thesolvent wick 135 is in the dashed line position of FIG. 7. In this position, with thewick 135 pressing against theblack printhead 60,step 254 is performed where thecarriage 40 may reciprocate theblack printhead 60 gently back and forth along thescan axis 38 to wick additional solvent 130 fromapplicator 135, for application on theleading edge 200 of the printhead. - Following the
solvent application step 254, the wipingstep 250 may optionally be repeated. After this, thecarriage 40 then locates the printheads 60-66 instep 256 adjacent thecaps 170, where thesled actuator 150 andcam followers 152 are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8. Followingstep 256, theservice station pallet 72 then moves in therearward direction 78 instep 258 to elevate thecaps 170 for sealing, as shown by the transition of the cap sled from the dashed line position in FIG. 8 to the solid line position. Following the sealing or cappingstep 258, to ready the printheads 60-66 for printing,step 260 is performed, where theservice station pallet 72 moves in theforward direction 76 to uncap the printheads. As a portion of this uncappingstep 260, optionally the printheads may be spit as described above with respect to the spittingstep 248, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and this spitting may be followed by an optional wiping step such assteps - Following the uncapping
step 260, thecarriage 40 may momentarily exit theservicing region 242 instep 262, and enter theprintzone 35, allowing thepallet 72 to move rearward instep 264. Step 264 is a scraping step, where thepallet 72 moves theprinthead wiper assemblies 125 so thescraper 210 can clean thewipers 125 by reciprocating the service station pallet in the forward andbackward directions step 264 is an optional step if ink solvent is applied byapplicators 135 to all of the printheads 60-66 using the gravity drip method to clean the wipers, as illustrated in FIG. 4. In asnout wiping step 266, theservice station pallet 72 moves in theforward direction 76 to position thesnout wipers 190 as shown in FIG. 10. Following thesnout positioning step 266, thecarriage 40 then re-enters theservicing region 42 instep 268 and reciprocates back and forth along the scanningaxis 38 for a snout wiping step. Following thesnout wiping step 268, is an exitingstep 270, where thecarriage 40 again exits theservicing region 42 to enter theprintzone 35, as shown in FIG. 1 to perform a print job. Following the exitingstep 270, instep 272 theservice station pallet 72 is moved in therearward direction 78 to a rest position underneath the stationary service station hood 212, which concludes the servicing routine. - Thus, a variety of advantages are realized by using the
replaceable service station 70, including the ability to replace the printhead cleaning units 80-86 over the life of theprinting mechanism 20. In discussing the various components and sub-systems of the cleaning units 80-86, various advantages have been noted above. Moreover, from a discussion of the servicing routine with the respect to the flowchart of FIG. 11, it is apparent that a method of servicing an inkjet printhead, including wiping steps such as 244, spittingsteps 248, solvent application steps 254, cappingsteps 258, uncappingstep 260, scrapingstep 264 andsnout wiping step 266, have been described in full above, with the method of FIG. 11 also disclosing several optional steps and variations which may be performed in specific implementations. Moreover, two alternate manners of cleaning thewipers 125 have also been shown, one with respect to FIG. 10 where ink residue is scrapped from the wipers, and an alternate gravity drip method described with respect to FIG. 4, where thescraper 210 becomes unnecessary. Also, FIGS. 2 and 6 exemplify the offset wiper components which enable independent servicing schemes for different groupings of printheads such as, for example, different ink types or different nozzle configurations. - In addition to such specific service station embodiments already described, other combinations of printheads may need customized groupings for servicing, or even individual independent servicing. This is true because some servicing actions applied excessively can be harmful instead of beneficial. Some service actions for particular printheads could require different parameters (speed, force, cycles, pressure, ...) depending on pen architecture, ink type, plot usage (monochrome versus color), etc. When recovering pens it is preferable to treat only the pens or nozzle arrays that show damage, not all the healthy pens. So the more servicing variables we could control independently, the better control over the life and quality of the printheads.
- When designing a service station mechanism, it is often difficult to completely isolate each variable, and some of them have to be linked in order to simplify the mechanism, reduce cost, and reduce the size of the service station components. When designing a replaceable service station, the cost and size constraints become much more important.
- Independent wiping by color or other grouping can be achieved simply by increasing the lateral pen to pen distance until a wiper can pass in between two pens without touching them (depending on system dimension tolerances). Then, we off-center the wipers so that the position of the wiper (left, right) will determine if a particular nozzle array gets wiped when aligning the printheads with this wiper location.
- In the schematic of FIG. 12A, we can see that if we put the three first wipers to the left, the right most pen will not be wiped when aligning the pens with the left wiper location. The opposite (wiping only the right most pen) can be achieved by aligning the pens with the right most location as shown in FIG. 12B. This arrangement also works with pens that are partially overlapping or completely staggered as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B.
- As can be seen, the benefits of this invention include simplicity since there are no extra moving parts, no complicated mechanisms to hide wipers, and flexibility. This results in a low cost solution which is fast. There is no mechanism actuation, only position alignment indexing with the pen carriage and its printhead nozzle arrays. It is also a versatile solution. By simply changing wiper positions relative to the nozzle arrays, we can decide which pen gets wiped. If, for example, we want to create two groups (K and M require much more wiping than Cyan and yellow), we will put K and M wipers on the right, and Y and C on the left, so we can wipe them independently.
- The same concept is used for the PEG dispense mechanism, where you can choose in the preferred embodiment between K and CMY for customized independent dispensing. The lateral pen to pen distance needs to be increased from 24 mm to 32 mm (50%) but this increase also has advantages.
- This bigger pen to pen distance allows room to include some additional mechanisms on the printhead cleaner unit enabling the use of only one motor in the service station. Printhead cleaner units are much more compact while being able to hold the same quantity of waste ink. By having the pens more separated, cross contamination (ink aerosol traveling from one pen to another) is minimized. Now there is better usability because with 24 mm spacing the pens were too close to grab them without touching the neighboring pens.
- It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing system creates the capability to split some servicing functions between two or more groups of printheads. This means that if a printer has N printheads, we can easily select which of them will belong to the first group and which of them will belong to the second group (or third group or fourth group, etc.) and those groups will be serviced independently (See FIGS. 14-17). Also, a pen can belong to one or more of those groups at the same time. (See FIGS. 14A-B and 17A-C). We have applied that grouping to the wiping and PEG (polyethileneglycol) dispensing servicing actions. This servicing grouping can also be applied to other servicing functions, such as priming, which require close interaction with the printhead or its nozzle arrays. The preferred embodiment is simple since the service station motion as a unit is linear (one degree of freedom only), and it moves more or less perpendicular to the printhead carriage motion. Servicing action is achieved by aligning the printheads with the component such as wipers in the scan axis direction and then moving the service station to rub the wiper against the pens in a forward and/or reverse direction.
- In FIGS. 12-13, the active aligned servicing function is shown as a
solid arrow 302 while the inactive non-aligned servicing function is shown as adotted arrow 304. Two exemplary functions are shown in FIGS. 12A-B (wiper 306, solvent applicator 308) while a single function such as wiping or other interactive printhead servicing function or component is designated as 310 in FIGS. 13-17. - FIGS. 15A-C show three
servicing modes pens 318. FIGS. 16A-B show twoservicing modes pens 324. FIGS. 17A-C show threeservicing modes pens 332. The designations K1 K2, C1 C2 and M1 M2 represent examples of any different ink types, as for example, black, cyan and magenta, respectively. - It is apparent that a variety of modifications may be used to construct a replaceable service station unit for various implementations, while still implementing the various concepts and methods disclosed herein. For instance, while these printhead maintenance concepts have been illustrated in the context of a reciprocating printhead, it is apparent that they may be implemented to service other types of printheads, such as a page-wide array printhead which permanently expands the width of the active printzone, as well as other types of inkjet printing systems such as drum printers, all within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
Claims (17)
- A printing system for servicing a plurality of printing components mounted in a predetermined spaced-apart locations on a printer carriage comprising:a carriage for holding the printing components in the predetermined locations;a guide member for supporting said carriage in proximity to a service station;multiple servicing elements on the service station which each perform a same function;a first group of said servicing elements which are positioned for interactive alignment with at least one of the printing components during a given time period for a first servicing mode;a second group of said servicing elements which are positioned for interactive alignment with at least another of the printing components during another time period for a second servicing mode; andwherein said first group of said servicing elements are in a non-aligned inactive position during said another time period, and said second group of said servicing elements are in a non-aligned inactive position during said given time period.
- The printing system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of printing components includes a plurality of nozzle arrays each holding a different type of ink.
- The printing system of claim 1 or 2 wherein said servicing elements include a wiper and /or a solvent applicator adapted to directly contact at least one of the printing components.
- The printing system of one of the preceding claims which further includes a first motor coupled to said carriage for moving said carriage from a first servicing place for said first servicing mode to a second servicing place for said second servicing mode.
- The printing system of claim 4 wherein said first motor also moves said carriage from a print zone to said first servicing place
- The printing system of claim 4 or 5 wherein said first motor moves said carriage in a scan axis direction.
- A printing system for servicing a plurality of printheads on a printer carriage comprising:a carriage for holding the plurality of printheads in locations which are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance;a guide member supporting said carriage in a print zone and also in a service station zone;a first motor coupled to said carriage for moving said carriage to a first servicing mode position in said service station zone and to a second servicing mode position in said service station zone;a first servicing element positioned in said service station zone for alignment with a first printhead when said carriage is in said first servicing mode position;a second servicing element positioned in said service station zone for alignment with a second printhead when said carriage is in said second servicing mode position; with said first servicing element and said second servicing element performing a same type of servicing function for said first printhead and said second printhead, respectively; andwherein said first servicing mode position and said second servicing mode position are in different locations such that said first servicing element is not capable of active operative engagement with said first printhead when said carriage is in said second servicing mode position, and said second servicing element is not capable of active operative engagement with said second printhead when said carriage is in said first servicing mode position.
- The printing system of claim 6 or 7 which further includes a second motor coupled to said servicing elements for moving said servicing elements along a path while said carriage is stationary during said first servicing mode and said second servicing mode.
- The printing system of one of claims 6-8 wherein said second motor moves said servicing elements along said path which is a linear path substantially perpendicular to said scan axis direction.
- The printing system of claim 8 or 9 wherein said second motor moves both said first group and said second group of said servicing elements along said path during said first servicing mode and said second servicing mode.
- The printing system of claim 10 wherein said first servicing element is part of a replaceable service component dedicated for servicing said first printhead, and said second servicing element is part of a replaceable service component dedicated for servicing said second printhead.
- The printing system of claim 10 or 11 wherein said first servicing element and said second servicing element each include servicing elements selected from the group consisting of wiper, solvent applicator, capper, and spittoon.
- The printing system of one of claims 10-12 which includes three or more servicing mode positions and a third or more servicing elements associated respectively therewith.
- The printing system of one of claims 10-13 which includes a plurality of different printheads having different types of ink, and wherein said first servicing element includes one or more servicing elements associated with one or more printheads, as well as one or more other printheads associated with one or more second servicing elements.
- The printing system of claim 14 wherein at least one of the printheads is capable of being serviced in both said first servicing mode and in said second servicing mode.
- A method of color inkjet printing which includes a plurality of different printheads having different color inks and mounted on a scanning carriage which moves in a carriage scan direction between a print zone and a service station comprising:providing a separate replaceable servicing component associated respectively with each of the printheads;mounting the service station components in a housing which moves as a unit back and forth in a servicing direction;moving the carriage to a first servicing mode position which is in interactive alignment with one set of servicing elements for servicing of a first group of the printheads;moving the carriage to a second servicing mode position which is in interactive alignment with another set of servicing elements for servicing of a second group of the printheads; andmoving the housing during a first time period while the carriage is in the first servicing mode position, and moving the housing during a second time period while the carriage is in the second servicing mode position.moving the carriage to a first servicing mode position which is in interactive alignment with one set of servicing elements for servicing of a first group of the printheads;moving the carriage to a second servicing mode position which is in interactive alignment with another set of servicing elements for servicing of a second group of the printheads; andmoving the housing during a first time period while the carriage is in the first servicing mode position, and moving the housing during a second time period while the carriage is in the second servicing mode position.
- The method of claim 16 wherein the housing is moved along a servicing path which is approximately perpendicular to the carriage scan direction.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US253381 | 1981-04-13 | ||
US09/253,381 US6203135B1 (en) | 1999-01-08 | 1999-02-19 | Independent servicing of multiple inkjet printheads |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP1029683A1 true EP1029683A1 (en) | 2000-08-23 |
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ID=22960033
Family Applications (1)
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EP99110496A Withdrawn EP1029683A1 (en) | 1999-02-19 | 1999-05-31 | Independent servicing of multiple inkjet printheads |
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