1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printhead cleaning device for a large printer, and more particularly to a printhead cleaning device that can be securely aligned with a printhead set to effectively clean without damaging the latter. The device structure is simple for assembling and is provided with drawable scrapers that are convenient for changing and cost-saving. The device is applicable to various large ink-jet printers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the peripheral equipments of the computer or the print industries, the printer have become already an essential fundamental equipment, which, in addition to print documents, assignments, and reports, as progressing with color ink-jet techniques, the inkjet printer can produce desirable colors by spraying color with different concentration on a same position by means of ink cartridges with different colors. Therefore, it is not a dream to produce a print with a same quality level as a photograph by using a printer.
For the printing industry, a ink-jet product is a worldwide trend, an inkjet printer can be applied for jet-printing timely a small amount of diverse products, and finished quickly, saving time and operations for making a color separating screen, that create more advantages in the competitive age.
In the use of a inkjet printer, after printing with the printhead for a period of time, the nozzle may have residual ink and dust that can affect the print quality, and after used, if the printhead leaves uncovered, the nozzle might be dried easily and hence jam the printhead. Therefore, in the design of the internal structure of current inkjet printer, a printhead service station is provided, with its main object and function to clean the printhead for maintaining the print quality and to cover the printhead after used, so as to keep the printhead moist without being dried and jammed.
However, a cleaning printhead device in a conventional printhead service station is manually operated or is connected to an external absorbing equipment to absorbing residual ink. Either mode is time-consuming and unable to clean the printhead effectively, and so is undesired.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a printhead cleaning device for a large printer that can be securely aligned with a printhead set to effectively clean the latter without damaging.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printhead cleaning device for a large printer that is structurally simple for assembling, and is provided with scrapers convenient for changing.
Therefore, in order to achieve the objects of the present invention, the printhead cleaning device for a large printer of the present invention is provided at a lateral side of a printing rail of a printer. It comprises a base and a swinging platform, wherein the base has four peripheral sides forming a receiving space and the swinging platform is movably and pivotally connected to the base. The swinging platform has thereon a plurality of elongate holes, so that the residual ink on the printhead set can be collected in the receiving space of the base through the elongate holes. And every two elongate holes have therebetween a scraper in the shape of a taper sectionally and made of soft material, so that when the base is pushed upwards by a pushing device to its predetermined position, the scrapers on the swinging platform can have scraping actions against the moving printhead of the printhead set.
The present invention will be apparent in its content and effects to be achieved after reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof in reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring firstly to
The base 11 has four peripheral sides forming a receiving space 111 and is in the form of a trapezoid for the convenience of collecting waste ink. The bottom of the base 11 is connected with a waste ink pipe 2 through which the waste ink can be recovered.
The two lateral ends of the swinging platform 12 are movably and pivotally connected respectively to the base 11 by pivot axles 3, hence the swinging platform 12 can swing left and right on the base 11. The swinging platform 12 has thereon a plurality of elongate holes 121, so that the residual ink on an printhead set 4 can be collected in the receiving space 111 of the base 11 through the elongate holes 121. Every two elongate holes 121 have therebetween a scraper 122 which is in the shape of a taper sectionally and is made of soft material such as rubber, so that when the base 11 is pushed upwards by a pushing device 5 (as shown in
Referring to
As shown in
In this way, by repeated motion as stated above, the object of cleaning the printhead in the printhead set 4 is obtained, while the residual waste ink on the printhead set 4 and the waste ink scrapped off by the scrapers 122 can flow into the receiving space 111 of the base 11 through the elongate holes 121 provided on the swinging platform 12. All the waste ink is discharged to be dealt with via the waste ink pipe 2, and after use for a long time, damaged scrapers 122 can be drawn upwards out of the engaging seats 123 for changing.
Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages:
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5717446 | Teumer et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20070273724 A1 | Nov 2007 | US |