The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 05, 1994
Filed:
Feb. 28, 1992
Peter M Burke, Corvallis, OR (US);
Earl L Barton, Corvallis, OR (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An automatic system for cleaning a thermal inkjet printhead. A thermal inkjet cartridge and service station are provided within a printer unit. The service station is directly beneath the cartridge when it is not printing. Attached to the service station is a printhead wiper unit consisting of a single member or, in the alternative, dual members positioned against each other to form a capillary pathway therebetween. The cartridge includes a compartment having an opening therethrough and an absorbent member impregnated with cleaning solution When the cartridge is not printing, the wiper unit is aligned with the compartment containing the absorbent member and is in contact therewith. This supplies the wiper unit with cleaning solution The service station may include a secondary absorbent member contacting with the wiper unit to absorb cleaning solution from the capillary pathway in a dual wiper system or supply the pathway with additional solution