A high deflection capping system has an elastomeric sealing member with a sealing lip that, when viewed in cross section, forms a smiling-shaped seal against an inkjet printhead to provide improved printhead sealing, particularly when sealing over surface irregularities on the printhead. This high deflection sealing member may be onsert molded onto a support frame. A series of these sealing lips being molded on a single flexible frame to simultaneously seal several adjacent inkjet printheads, with the flexible frame having a border region with one or more cap bases attached to the frame by plural suspension spring elements. The suspension spring elements have both cantilever and torsional characteristics which allow the bases to tilt and twist independent of one another to seal each printhead. Alternatively, the support frame may be designed to support only a single high deflection sealing member. A venting system is also provided with vapor diffusion handling capabilities.
RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part application of the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/741,850, filed on Oct. 31, 1996, both having at least one co-inventor in common.
An apparatus and method are disclosed herein for capping one or more printheads in a printing device. Further characteristics and features of the present invention are additionally disclosed herein, as are exemplary alternative embodiments. This abstract is not to be used in the interpretation of any of the claims.
A recording head has a nozzle formation face provided with nozzle orifices from which ink drops are jetted to print on a recording medium in accordance with print data. A capping unit has an internal space communicated with a negative pressure generator, and an opening for sealing the nozzle formation face and sucking ink from the nozzle orifices into the internal space by negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generator. An ink discharge port is formed on a bottom portion of the internal space of the capping unit. An ink leader is provided in the capping unit so as to generate capillary action to lead the sucked ink toward the ink discharge port.
The elastic member for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is formed from: (1) a thermoplastic elastomer composition comprising 100 parts by weight of (a) a hydrogenated block copolymer, 60 to 170 parts by weight of (b) a softening agent for a non-aromatic rubber and 5 to 30 parts by weight of (c) polypropylene, (2) a thermoplastic elastomer composition in which a network structure having a pore diameter of 50 .mu.m or less is formed, comprising 100 parts by weight of (a) a hydrogenated block copolymer, 60 to 170 parts by weight of (b) a softening agent for a non-aromatic rubber and 5 to 30 parts by weight of (c) crystalline polyolefin, or (3) a thermoplastic elastomer composition in which a shear rate dependency of a melt viscosity measured by means of a capillograph is -1.5 to -0.8, comprising 100 parts by weight of (a) a hydrogenated block copolymer, 60 to 170 parts by weight of (b) a softening agent for a non-aromatic rubber and 5 to 30 parts by weight of (c) crystalline polyolefin. The elastic member of the present invention is used as an ink tank valve, a sealing member for an ink tank and a sealing member for preventing an ink from leaking from a recording head.
A ganged inkjet printhead sealing system maintains inkjet printhead health in an inkjet printing mechanism during periods of printing inactivity. In multi-printhead printing mechanisms, separate caps seal against each of the printheads. The caps each have an outlet vent. The vents are all ganged together and fluidically coupled to a single, common pressure regulation chamber that isolates the environment adjacent the printhead nozzles from the external environment when the printheads are capped. A fluid in a U-shaped manometer tube, or an elastomeric bladder are used to isolate the pressure chamber environment. The bladder may be constructed as a thin-walled sheet, a spring-biased bag, or as a bellows. The pressure chamber volume changes to accommodate pressure spikes during the capping process, as well as environmental changes in temperature, elevation, barometric pressure, etc. An inkjet printing mechanism having such a ganged capping system, along with associated capping methods are also provided.
