Actuation mechanism for translational wiping of a stationary inkjet printhead

摘要

An inkjet printer has a printhead mounted in a carriage which periodically moves in a carriage scan direction to a stop position in a service station where an actuation device causes a wiper blade to move back and forth across ink orifices on a nozzle surface of the printhead during a wiping operation. The actuation device incorporates a rotating lead screw to impart transtlational motion to the wiper blade in a wiping direction orthogonal to the carriage scan direction. A clutching action prevents further movement of the wiper blade after completion of each wiping step. The actuation device is driven through a gear train from a motor such as a media advance motor. An ink spittoon is incorporated in the same service station for receiving ink generated during a spitting operation, and a scraper in the ink spittoon removes residual ink from the wiper blade.