Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-30
2004-01-20
Nguyen, Judy (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
C134S006000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679601
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to transport belts (sometimes referred to in the art as conveyor belts), particularly to a method and apparatus for cleaning a transport belt and, more specifically, to cleaning a print media transport belt in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
The art of ink-jet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, copiers, and facsimile machines employ ink-jet technology for producing hard copy. The basics of this technology are disclosed, for example, in various articles in the
Hewlett
-
Packard Journal
, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4 (August 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No. 1 (February 1994) editions. Ink-jet devices are also described by W. J. Lloyd and H. T. Taub in
Output Hardcopy [sic] Devices
, chapter 13 (Ed. R. C. Durbeck and S. Sherr, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988).
FIG. 1
(PRIOR ART) depicts a hard copy apparatus, in this exemplary embodiment a computer peripheral, ink-jet printer,
101
. A housing
103
encloses the electrical and mechanical operating mechanisms of the printer
101
. Operation is administrated by an electronic controller
102
(usually a microprocessor or application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) controlled printed circuit board) connected by appropriate cabling to a computer (not shown). It is well known to program and execute imaging, printing, print media handling, control functions and logic with firmware or software instructions for conventional or general purpose microprocessors or with ASIC's. Cut-sheet print media
105
, loaded by the end-user onto an input tray
120
, is fed by a suitable paper-path transport mechanism (not shown) to an internal printing station where graphical images or alphanumeric text is created. A carriage
109
, mounted on a slider
111
, scans the print medium. An encoder subsystem
113
is provided for keeping track of the position of the carriage
109
at any given time. A set of individual ink-jet pens, or print cartridges,
115
“X” is mounted in the carriage
109
(generally, in a full color system, inks for the subtractive primary colors, cyan, yellow, magenta (X=C, Y, or M) and true black (X=K) are provided; in some implementations an ink-fixer chemical (X=F) is also used). An associated set of replaceable or refillable ink reservoirs
117
“x” is coupled to the pen set by ink conduits
119
. Ink is deposited on the sheet of media
105
at a “print zone,” or “printing station,”
107
. Once a printed page is completed, the print medium is ejected onto an output tray
121
. The carriage scanning axis is conventionally designated the x-axis, the print media transit axis is designated the y-axis, and the printhead firing direction is designated the z-axis.
For convenience of describing the ink-jet technology and the present invention, all types of print media are referred to simply as “paper,” all compositions of colorants are referred to simply as “ink,” and all types of hard copy apparatus are referred to simply as a “printer.” No limitation on the scope of invention is intended nor should any be implied.
FIG. 2
is a schematic depiction of another ink-jet hard copy apparatus
210
as may be associated with the present invention. A writing instrument
115
X is provided with a printhead
214
having drop generators including nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto an adjacently positioned print medium, e.g., a sheet of paper
105
, in the apparatus' printing zone
107
. A perforated, endless-loop belt
232
is one type of known manner printing zone input-output paper transport. A motor
233
having a drive shaft
230
is used to drive a gear train
235
coupled to a belt pulley, or roller,
238
mounted on a fixed axle
239
. A biased idler wheel
240
provides appropriate tensioning of the belt
232
. The belt rides over a platen
236
(sometimes including heating devices) in the print zone
107
associated with a known manner vacuum induction system
237
. The paper sheet .
105
is picked from an input supply (not shown) and its leading edge
254
is delivered to a guide
250
,
252
where a pinch wheel
242
in contact with the belt
232
takes over and acts to transport the paper sheet
105
through the printing zone
107
(the paper path is represented by arrow
231
). Downstream of the printing zone
107
, an output roller
244
in contact with the belt
232
receives the leading edge
254
of the sheet
105
and continues the paper transport until the trailing edge
255
of the now printed page is released.
Ink-jet technology is used to describe the present invention even though it has wider applicability because the ink-jet environment typifies a transport belt use where the local environment may contain contaminants such as ink mist and paper dust which can soil a transport belt and clog perforations in a vacuum belt or even be sucked through the belt, contaminating the subjacent platen and other subsystems of the apparatus. Furthermore, the latest generation of ink-jet printers has found commercial success for economical color printing of high resolution graphics, including photographic reproductions, which require edge-to-edge paper printing (referred to as “full bleed”). Overspray and aerosol will build up on the belt over time. Not only does this affect performance of the belt itself, ink on the belt can be transferred undesirably to the back side of the print, particularly if the ink remains in a liquid or semi-fluidic state.
It can also be recognized that this type of problem can occur in other vacuum transport systems such as for transporting thin sheets of metal where particulate flakes might be present or for coating processes where an aerosol spray is used on a passing receptor on the transport belt.
Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus for cleaning transport belts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method and apparatus for cleaning a perforated, transport belt has belt surface cleaner mechanisms that include a pair of moveable, consumable webs. A scrubbing of the belt by a wet web is followed by a scrubbing of the belt by a dry, absorbent web. A solvent dispensing mechanism can be fluidically coupled to re-soak the wet web. Mechanisms for selectively engaging and disengaging the belt surface cleaner mechanisms ensure free belt travel during flexible material transport and the cleaning of both surfaces during cleaning cycles. The system includes consumable piece-part elements for refurbishing and remanufacturing.
In a basic aspect, the present invention provides a method for cleaning a transport belt, including the steps of: positioning a solvent-bearing cleaning web in non-contacting juxtaposition to a transport surface of the belt; positioning a dry cleaning web downstream of the cleaning web in non-contacting juxtaposition to the transport surface of the belt; and selectively repositioning both the solvent-bearing cleaning web and the dry cleaning web into contact with the surface.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a transport belt cleaning apparatus including: first web means for wet cleaning mounted adjacently an outer surface of the belt; mounted downstream of the first web means, second web means for dry cleaning the outer surface; means for selectively engaging the first and second web means with the outer surface.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides an ink-jet hard copy apparatus including: a transport belt for media input-output; a belt inner-surface cleaner; and a belt outer-surface cleaner, including a first movable wet web and a second movable dry web mounted downstream of the wet web, wherein the inner-surface cleaner and outer-surface cleaner are releasably engagable with the belt.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a method for re-furbishing an ink-jet printer having a vacuum belt cleaning appar
Pham Le
Roche Wesley Baxter
Nguyen Judy
Tran Ly
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