Printhead maintenance station having maintenance belt
View Patent ↗A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance station comprises: an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead, the contact surface being sloped with respect to the face; and a conveyor mechanism for conveying the belt past the face. The belt is reciprocally movable between a first position in which part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face, and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face.
1. A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition, said maintenance station comprising:
an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of said printhead, said contact surface being sloped with respect to said face; and
a conveyor mechanism for conveying said belt past said face, wherein said belt is supported by a drive spool and at least one other spool, said spools being mounted on a chassis, said chassis being reciprocally moveable between a first position in which part of said contact surface is sealingly engaged with said face, and a second position in which said contact surface is disengaged from said face.
2. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said belt is an endless belt.
3. The maintenance station of claim 2 further comprising a cleaning station for cleaning said contact surface.
4. The maintenance station of claim 3 , wherein said conveyor mechanism is configured to convey said belt past said cleaning station.
5. The maintenance station of claim 3 , wherein said cleaning station comprises at least one roller positioned for engagement with said contact surface.
6. The maintenance station of claim 5 , wherein said cleaning station comprises a cleaning roller and/or a drying roller.
7. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said part of said contact surface is substantially coextensive with said printhead.
8. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said conveyor mechanism is configured to convey said belt past said face in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of said printhead.
9. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said contact surface is substantially uniform.
10. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said belt is comprised of silicone or polyurethane.
11. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said contact surface is flat.
12. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein a peel zone between said contact surface and said ink ejection face advances and retreats transversely across said face during engagement and disengagement.
13. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said conveyor mechanism comprises a motor and said drive spool operatively connected to said motor.
14. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said chassis is biased towards said first position.
15. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said chassis is moveable substantially perpendicularly with respect to said face.
16. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein said chassis is contained in a housing, said chassis being moveable relative to said housing.
17. The maintenance station of claim 1 , wherein an engagement mechanism comprises at least one engagement arm, a first end of said at least one arm engaging with a complementary engagement formation of said chassis.
18. The maintenance station of claim 17 , wherein said chassis comprises at least one lug for complementary engagement with said first end of said at least one engagement arm.
19. The maintenance station of claim 17 , wherein said at least one engagement arm is part of an engagement mechanism for moving said chassis between said first and second positions.