Head tending apparatus for an ink jet printer
US4968994A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 1989 |
| Grant date | Nov 6, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 30, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB41J2/16538
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A head tending apparatus for an ink jet printing system with at least one ink jet is disclosed. The apparatus includes a solvent supply system for spraying solvent on the faces of the ink jets and in the jet openings. The apparatus also has a brush for scrubbing the ink jet faces during and immediately after the spraying process. The solvent loosens and dissolves any solid matter that may have formed on the jet faces or in the jet openings and also deprimes any ink remaining in the jets when the printer is shut down; the brush cleans the loosened matter off the jet faces. If the printer has a rotating image insert assembly with the ink jets thereon, the brush and a solvent jet are mounted to a shell adjacent the ink jets. The brush includes a bristle-free section that is normally adjacent the image insert assembly and spaced away therefrom when the head tending appartaus is deactivated; this prevents the apparatus from interfering with the normal operation of the printer. Head tending is normally performed when the
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.