MAINTENANCE SYSTEM HAVING WICKING CAP FOR PRINTHEAD
A maintenance apparatus for a printhead, the apparatus having a seal for sealing against a surface of the printhead which has fluid ejection nozzles, the seal being configured to form a sealed space about the nozzles; and a porous material positioned within the seal to be in proximity of the nozzles in the sealed space, fluid egested by the nozzles contacting, and being transferred to, the porous material in the sealed space.
1 . A maintenance apparatus for a printhead, the apparatus comprising:
a seal for sealing against a surface of the printhead which has fluid ejection nozzles, the seal being configured to form a sealed space about said nozzles; and
a porous material positioned within the seal to be in proximity of said nozzles in the sealed space, fluid egested by said nozzles contacting, and being transferred to, the porous material in the sealed space.
2 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the seal is formed of a resilient material.
3 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a capper module having a body on which the seal is mounted and in which the porous material is disposed.
4 . An apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein sidewalls of the seal have a wave profile with a lower section of the sidewalls defining a groove configured to be held over a ridge of the body of the capper module and an upper section of the sidewalls defining a cantilevered beam terminating at a free outer surface such that pressing contact of the outer surface against the surface of the printhead causes bending of the cantilevered beam
5 . An apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein a base of the body has ribs on which a lower surface of the porous material is supported.
6 . An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the porous material is a hydrophilic polyethylene.