A head cleaning disk for cleaning magnetic transducer heads in flexible computer disk drives. The head cleaning disk comprises a top fibrous wiping layer having a blend of low melt point and high melt point fibers, an inner composite layer of a multi-layer thermoplastic opaque film having two outside reflective layers of low melt point polymer and two inner layers of metal and film, and a bottom fibrous wiping layer having a blend of low melt point and high melt point fibers. The top, inner and bottom layers are bonded together by passing them between a pair of heated rolls which are under pressure. The heat from the rolls melts the low melt point fibers in the top and bottom fibrous layers and the outside reflective thermoplastic polymer of the inner layer thusly securing the layers together. The top and bottom fibrous layers provide sufficient abrasivity so when they contact the transducer heads they will remove debris from them without the use of cleaning solutions. In addition, the abrasivity of the top and bottom fibrous layers is controlled so there is insufficient abrasivity to damage the transducer heads. The inner opaque film layer permits activation of the optical system of the computer disk drive system thus permitting the transducer heads to be loaded onto the disk. The opaque layer also provides sufficient stiffness so that the cleaning disk can be rotated in its jacket without difficulty or malfunction.
A discrete card or sheet of substantially homogeneous spun-bonded polyester material having a thickness in the range of 0.009-0.015 inch, and a length-to-width ratio in the range of 1.00-14.0, provides high absorption of cleaning solvent, including petroleum-based solvents, for cleaning rollers and read or print heads. A pouch, preferably made of barrier film and having two compartments, encapsulates a plurality of fresh cards with solvent in one compartment and at least one used card in the other compartment.
A cleaning device for the heads of a Personal Computer is in the form of a diskette insertable in a disk drive of the computer. The diskette is provided with a pair of superimposed abrasive disks each of which rubs against one head of the computer when the diskette is in the disk drive and the latter is activated.
A moderately flexible laminate sheet article 30, capable of simultaneously cleaning both inner surfaces of slots and cavities of credit card readers, fax machines and the like, and in particular the scanners, sensors and printers residing therein, having a three layer structure, comprising two outer layers 21 and 23, that provide outer surface cleaning means, and comprising natural or synthetic, woven or nonwoven fibers, spot bonded to a moderately flexible, resilient center layer 22, comprising natural or synthetic, woven or nonwoven fibers, film or foam, wherein said spotbonds comprise 2% to 99% of bondable area. The laminate sheet article 30 has sufficient stiffness and resilience to prevent its wrinkling, buckling, crumpling or kinking while in use, and has utility for cleaning surfaces in its dry, or when saturated with liquids, in its wet state.
In order that sensitive structures of inkjet printing mechanisms be cleaned without damaging these structures, a cleaning sheet and a process of using the sheet has been created. Debris and dried ink is removed from print cartridges and their carriage using a cleaning sheet having two strips of material spaced with a napped surface disposed longitudinally between the side edges and spaced apart from each other. By controlling the distance the strips are spaced from the sheet feed edge of the cleaning sheet, the print cartridges can be placed adjacent the strips for scrubbing against the strips without resulting in a media jam in the printer due to the increased thickness of the cleaning sheet.
A cleaner or replenishing cartridge and a method of cleaning an inkjet printing mechanism using such a cartridge is disclosed. An inkjet pen within the printing mechanism is replaced by a cleaner cartridge which is then positioned over or adjacent to a location of the printing mechanism to be cleaned. Power is applied to the cartridge either by coupling an on-board battery via a signal from the carriage interconnect, or through pulses applied through the interconnect. The cartridge may be fashioned for dispensing a fluid, such as an ink solvent, a lubricant, or a staticide to various printer components. The fluid may also be supplied to replenish a printer reservoir. The cartridge may be used for extracting ink sludge from the printer's ink lines, or for applying a vacuum suction force to draw particles into the cartridge. The cartridge may propel a strip of cleaning media across an area to be cleaned, or refurbish worn printhead wipers. By removing various accumulations of dirt, grit, and solidified ink from the printer, print quality may be improved and operation of the printer restored to a near-new condition.
