Patent Application
20080226308
One major challenge that comes with cleaning large, long life print heads with a web fabric is that it is not feasible to store a lifetime of material in the product. Consequently, the print head cleaning system must be serviced at the customer site with replacement material several times. Typically, the used cleaning components are either discarded or shipped to a remote location for a factory refurbishment. If the components are discarded, the components must be replaced. If the components are shipped to a remote location for a factory refurbishment, considerable costs are incurred as a result of shipping and labor.
An alternate method of refurbishing the components involves removing the used components on site and replacing them directly. However, once the components are replaced, there is no way to verify that the components have been properly refurbished. The present invention addresses this need.
Media supply 14, schematically shown, includes a mechanism configured to supply media to drum 12. In one embodiment, media supply 14 includes a mechanism configured to pick an individual sheet of media from a stack of media and to supply the individual sheet to drum 12 such that the sheet is wrapped at least partially about drum 12. Media output 16, schematically shown, includes a mechanism to withdraw printed upon media from drum 12 and to transport withdrawn media to and contain withdrawn media within an output tray, bin or the like.
Printheads 18 include printheads configured to dispense imaging material, such as ink, upon the medium held by drum 12. In one embodiment, printheads 18 include piezo electric printheads. In another embodiment, printheads 18 include thermal inkjet printheads. As shown by
Carriage 20 includes one or more structures configured to support printheads 18 in the arcuate arrangement. In addition, carriage 20 is configured to movably support printheads 18 along axis 26. Actuator 21 includes a linear actuator configured to move carriage 20 and printheads 18 in the directions indicated by arrows 32, 34 so as to selectively position printheads 18 opposite to the media held by drum 12 or opposite to service station 22. In one embodiment, actuator 21 may include a motor configured to drive a toothed pulley in engagement with a toothed belt coupled to carriage 20.
In another embodiment, actuator 21 may include other forms of a linear actuator using rack and pinion arrangements, hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical means. Although system 10 is illustrated as including five printheads supported by a single carriage 20, system 10 may alternatively include a greater or fewer number of such printheads 18 supported by one or more carriages 20.
Service station 22 includes a station located on an axial end of drum 12 such that carriage 20 may position printheads 18 opposite, or adjacent, to station 22. Station 22 includes one or more components configured to perform servicing operations upon one or more of the printheads 18. As shown by
Web 40 includes an elongate band of material configured to perform a distinct servicing operation upon printheads 18. In the embodiment illustrated, web 40 includes a web of material configured to physically contact the surfaces of printheads 18 so as to wipe printheads 18. The web 40 is thus referred to as the wipe web. In the particular example illustrated, the wipe web 40 is configured to contact the surfaces of printheads 18 as the carriage 20 moves the printheads 18 along axis 26 relative to the wipe web 40 to wipe the printheads 18. In other embodiments, the wipe web 40 may additionally be configured to be moved relative to the printheads 18 to perform such wiping operations. According to one embodiment, web 40 is formed from a fabric material such as Evolon 100 commercially available from the Freudenberg Group of Germany.
As shown by
Turning to
The removability of cartridge 50 facilitates replacement, repair, refurbishment, or refilling of cartridge 50. For example, when one or both of webs 38, 40 becomes sufficiently saturated with printing material or ink from printheads 18, cartridge 50 may be removed and either replaced with an entirely new cartridge or be refilled with another one of webs 38 and/or 40. Alternatively, if cartridge 50 has become damaged, cartridge 50 may be replaced. As a result, the useful life of printing system 10 is not limited by the useful life of web 38 or web 40. However, a method of verifying this refurbishment should be employed.
Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention includes a method of verifying web cartridge refurbishment. The method includes installing a refurbished web cartridge in a print apparatus, the print apparatus comprising an encoder and a web sensor and utilizing the encoder and the web sensor to verify refurbishment of the installed web cartridge. By implementing this method, a quick and reliable refurbishment of the web cartridge is completed in a more cost effective and efficient manner.
In order to accomplish the above-referenced steps, a refurbishment verification module could be employed to interact with the printing system's central processing unit (CPU). Referring now to
Although the components of the above-described refurbishment verification module 600 are shown in a specific configuration, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize the components of the refurbishment verification module 600 could be configured in a variety of ways.
The CPU interface electronics 610, the wipe web encoder interface electronics 620, the drive motor interface logic 640 and the sensor interface electronics 650 include the electronic circuitry employed by the refurbishment verification module 600 to respectively communicate with the CPU (not shown), wipe web encoder 81, the drive motor 84 and the sensor 60. The web cartridge refurbishment verification logic 600 includes logic for verifying the refurbishment of the installed web cartridge 50. This can be accomplished by checking the spit web 38 and the wipe web 40 with the wipe web encoder 81, the drive motor 84 and the sensor 60 respectively.
The web cartridge refurbishment verification logic 620 includes verification parameters related to the spit web 38 and the wipe web 40. Accordingly, through a series of tests, the web cartridge refurbishment verification logic 620 can verify that the web cartridge has been properly refurbished.
To understand how the refurbishment of the spit web 38 is verified, please refer now to
To verify the refurbishment of the wipe web 40, the web drive motor 84 is activated and the wipe web 40 is advanced. As the wipe web 40 advances, the wipe web encoder wheel 82 is read in order to verify the advancement of the wipe web encoder 81. Accordingly, once the advancement of the wipe web encoder 81 is verified, the internal encoder 83 of the web drive motor 84 is read in order to verify the web drive motor 84 is advancing the web fabric. Consequently, once the advancement of the wipe web encoder 81 and the internal encoder 83 of the web drive motor 84 are verified, the refurbishment of the wipe web 40 is verified. Once the refurbishment of both webs 38, 40 are verified, the printing apparatus 10 operates normally. If either detection fails, the apparatus 10 indicates which verification failed so that the associated problem can be addressed.
A method of verifying web cartridge refurbishment is disclosed. The method includes installing a refurbished web cartridge in a print apparatus, the print apparatus including an encoder and a web sensor and utilizing the encoder and the web sensor to verify refurbishment of the installed web cartridge. By implementing this method, a quick and reliable refurbishment of the web cartridge is completed in a more cost effective and efficient manner.
The above-described embodiment may also be implemented, for example, by operating a computer system to execute a sequence of computer readable instructions. Accordingly, a computing device typically includes at least some form of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computing device. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may include computer storage media and communications media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computing device.
Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media. Accordingly, an alternate embodiment includes a computer readable medium having computer executable components for verifying web cartridge refurbishment.
Without further analysis, the foregoing so fully reveals the gist of the present inventive concepts that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. Therefore, such applications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the following claims. Although this invention has been described in terms of certain embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the scope of this invention, as defined in the claims that follow.
