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. 01, 2003
Filed:
Nov. 29, 2000
Todd R. Medin, Vancouver, WA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An inkjet printhead service station for an inkjet printing mechanism includes a printhead wiping system having a wiper blade with a contoured cross sectional shape selected to impart a lower wiping force along an ink-ejecting nozzle region of the printhead than along side regions of the printhead. In a relaxed state, the blade has opposing leading and trailing surfaces, with each surface having a concave contour running along at least a portion of the length of the blade, preferably from the support sled to the wiping tip. During a wiping stroke, the blade flexes along both the length and width of the blade, with the trailing surface having a greater degree of concavity than when relaxed, and the leading surface having a linear contour at the wiping tip and tapering into the concave contour adjacent the sled. An inkjet printing mechanism having such a wiping system, and a method of cleaning a printhead are provided.