Flipping wiper scraper system for inkjet printheads

摘要

A flipping wiper scraper system for cleaning several inkjet printheads in an inkjet printing mechanism has a wiper support mechanism which moves several elastomeric wipers across the printheads to wipe off accumulations of ink residue. This ink residue is then scraped off of the wipers to ready them for the next wiping stroke using a scraper system. The wiper support mechanism inverts the wipers to engage scraper bars of the scraper system. The scraper bars have scraping heads and capillary channels to draw liquid ink residue away from the heads through capillary forces. The scraper bars are arranged so only one or two wipers are scraped at any given time to reduce noise and quiet overall unit operation. A method of cleaning an inkjet printhead, along with an inkjet printing mechanism having such a flipping wiper scraper system are also provided.