Abstract:
In a device to clean wiper elements of an inkjet print head of an ink dispenser of a printing apparatus having a chassis, a maintenance station is mounted on the chassis to allow travel of the maintenance station in at least one direction that causes the maintenance station to move past the inkjet print head. The maintenance station carries wiper elements that wipe ink from the surface of the inkjet print head as the maintenance station moves past the inkjet print head. An ink uptake unit is mounted at the chassis at a position past which the maintenance station travels, after traveling past the inkjet print head. The ink uptake unit includes material that transfers ink from the wipers to the material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention concerns a device for cleaning wiper elements for an inkjet print head of an ink dispenser. The invention is suitable for an inkjet printing device that is used for mail processing, addressing and franking machines, and other inkjet printing apparatuses. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The use of a sponge element in a franking machine of the Jetmail® type is described in European patent application EP 885 726 A1. This sponge element is attached to the print head and serves to wipe off the wiper lips that are arranged on the carriage of a cleaning and sealing station (RDS). The solution is expensive because more ink that must be wiped off and absorbed by the sponge also collects on the much larger (in comparison to HP print heads) print head surface of the special print head of the Jetmail®. Since, due to the large amount of ink, the absorption capacity of the sponge is soon exceeded, time-consuming and costly measures for suctioning the excess ink from the sponge element are required for maintenance. 
     For example, modern franking machines with inkjet technology use print heads from Hewlett Packard that have wiper elements in order to remove the excess ink from the print head. Either the print head travels over a stationary wiper element or the wiper element travels over the stationary head. The excess ink taken up by the wiper elements is stripped off by stripping elements (scrapers, (blades)). Since the HP print heads have a relatively small print head surface, this conventional arrangement is sufficient. 
     A device to clean an inkjet print head for a franking machine of the Centormail® type is known from European patent application EP 1 782 954 A1. The inkjet print head is a component of each ink cartridge. Two ink cartridges are arranged in a receptacle such that they can be exchanged. The receptacle is pivotable into a printing position so that the inkjet print head is stationary in a printing window of a guide plate for the flat mail pieces (printing media) during the printing. A cleaning and sealing station serves as a maintenance station and is likewise arranged such that it can be displaced below the guide plate and can be moved toward and away from the inkjet print head. A stripper is arranged separate from the print head mounted on a stripper mount, the latter being attached to the chassis. Two strippers serve to wipe off the wiper lips that are arranged on the carriage of a cleaning and sealing station (RDS) when the carriage is moved away from the inkjet print head again and travels back into its initial position. 
     The postal requirements for digital legibility of a franking imprint must be satisfied with certainty. 
     It has been empirically established that the strippers previously used in the franking machine of the Centormail® type to clean the wiper lips are often insufficient, such that ink residues dry on the wiper elements. In many cases the dried ink has polluting effects upon a new wiping of the damp heads, which reduce the print quality or possibly could lead to failure of the print head. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to improve the maintenance and to achieve a device for cleaning wiper elements in an inkjet printing apparatus, wherein depositing and drying of excess ink residues on the wiper elements is avoided due to the action of the device. The cleaning of the wiper elements should be enabled independent of the movement of the print head and should be integrated into the maintenance workflow of the printing group without additional cost. 
     The object is achieved in accordance with the invention by a cleaning device for an inkjet print head having an ink uptake unit that passively takes up ink into the uptake unit itself and that is arranged on the chassis of the printing apparatus at a point past which a maintenance station moves, the maintenance station traveling in at least one direction. The maintenance station has wiper elements that dispense ink to the ink uptake element during the passing movement. The ink uptake unit is advantageously a sponge module formed by a sponge mount, a sponge body and a mounting plate. The sponge body binds the ink by suction due to the capillary effect and thus cost-effectively removes the excess ink after every wiping procedure by the wiper elements (i.e. immediately after the wiping of the print head surface) when the maintenance station is moved, or the carriage of the RDS returns from the wiping to its initial position. It can therefore be ensured that the wiper elements wipe across the print head only when they are in a clean state. The sponge module is mounted stationary in the rear part of the chassis as an independent module, so that the sponge element can itself easily be exchanged when the RDS has traveled into the sealing position in the forward part. Automated suctioning of the ink from the sponge is not necessary, so that a simpler and cost-effective embodiment is achieved relative to the solution according to EP 885 726 A1. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view, from the front lower right, of a known device for cleaning of wiper elements for an inkjet print head of a known franking machine of the Centormail® type, with the RDS in a starting position. 
         FIG. 2   a  shows the basic configuration of the arrangement of a few modules of an inkjet printing device with the cleaning device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2   b  is a perspective view, from the front lower right, of the device in accordance with the invention for cleaning wiper elements for an inkjet print head. 
         FIG. 3   a  is a perspective view of the sponge module from the front lower left. 
         FIG. 3   b  is a perspective view of the sponge module from the front lower left, in an exploded view. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the improved device from the front lower right, with the RDS in the sealing position. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the device in accordance with the invention from the rear upper right, with the RDS in the starting position. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A perspective view of the known device  1 * of the franking machine of the Centormail® type is shown in  FIG. 1 , seen from the front lower right. A print head receptacle  12 * carries two inkjet print heads  110 *,  120 * and is shown pivoted on an axis  121 * into a cleaning position. A cleaning and sealing device (RDS)  13 * that carries wiper elements  1311 * has been moved into a starting position in the rear part of the franking machine. A stripper mount  1317 * is arranged between the RDS  13 * and the print head receptacle  12 *. The stripper mount carries strippers on its downward facing edges, at which strippers the stripped ink initially drips down. However, a residue of ink remains clinging due to adhesion and can then dry. 
     The basic configuration of the arrangement of a few modules of an inkjet printing device in connection with the device according to the invention for cleaning of wiper elements is explained using  FIG. 2   a . An ink dispenser  2  and an ink uptake unit  4  are arranged along a path on which a maintenance station  3  is moved. 
     A perspective view of the improved device  1  for cleaning of wiper elements for an inkjet print head is shown from the front lower right in  FIG. 2   b . The arrangement of the modules in the printing device of the known franking machine of the Centormail® type relative to one another is in principle the same as was shown in  FIG. 1 , but instead of a stripper mount an ink uptake unit  4  is used that is arranged between the ink dispenser  2  and the maintenance station  3  at the rear part of the chassis. A print head receptacle can be used as the ink dispenser  2 , a cleaning and sealing device  13  can be used as the maintenance station  3 , and a sponge module  14  with at least one sponge mount  14  and a sponge body  142  can be used as the ink uptake unit  4 . 
       FIG. 3   a  shows a perspective view of the sponge module from the front lower left. The sponge module  14  consists of a sponge mount  14 , a sponge body  142  and a retention plate  144 . The rear part of the sponge mount is fashioned flat on the bottom and possesses two lifters  148  and an opening  147  for attachment. The front part  141  is fashioned box-shaped on the bottom, with a large opening directed downwardly in which the sponge body  142  with the retention plate  144  is attached at the sponge mount  14 . 
     The opening  147  for attachment in the rear part of the sponge mount is centrally arranged. A stopper edge for a fastening plate (not shown) of the chassis is formed by the box  141  or by an additional box at the transition to the flat rear part of the sponge mount. 
       FIG. 3   b  shows a perspective view of the sponge module from the front lower left in an exploded representation. The sponge mount  14  has oblong, approximately rectangular opening  140  in the box  141  whose cross-sectional area tapers inward. The sponge body  142  advantageously has a wedge shape tapering in the direction of the floor of the opening and a rounded, rectangular shape on the surface, matching the opening in the sponge mount. The opening  140  is bordered by four side walls of the box  141 , wherein two admissions  143  and  146  are respectively molded in two opposite side walls, which admissions  143  and  146  allow the wiper lips to slide through when the RDS wipes the wiper lips off on the sponge in a maintenance phase. A wall part  145  stands between the admissions  143  and  146  of the side wall and the opposite side wall of the edge  141 . 
     The retention plate  144  is curved in a u-shape, wherein its side surfaces  1441  and  1442  are slightly curved inward and thereby exert an elastic force on the sponge mount  14  in a mounted state. The footprint of the retention plate  144  has the dimensions of the largest cross-sectional area on the surface of the sponge body. The footprint  1445  of the retention plate possesses two rectangular openings  1443 ,  1446  that extend in the two side surfaces  1441  and  1442 , each suitable for a passage of a pair of wiper elements for a respective print head during the wiping-off. The two openings are separated from one another corresponding to the interval of the two print heads in the print head receptacle. 
     The front part of the sponge mount is flat on top and is fashioned in a box shape on the bottom, with a large opening directed downwardly. The opening has a width B and a length L, with B&lt;L. 
     The sponge  142  is produced from, for example, a biodegradable, synthetically manufactured material and can also be reused as necessary after washing out the ink. If necessary, it is washed out with an antibacterial solution when a longer time interval has passed and its absorption capacity for ink is depleted. 
     A perspective view of the improved device from the front lower right, with the print head receptacle  12  and RDS  13  shown in the sealing position, is shown in  FIG. 4 . In this position the print heads are protected from drying out. In contrast to this, the ink may dry on the sponge of the sponge mount  14 . 
     In  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the improved device from the rear upper right, with RDS  13  in the starting position. The print head receptacle  12  is arranged between two side walls of a frame of the inkjet printing device such that said receptacle  12  can pivot; the left side wall  101  of the inkjet printing device is shown in the background. In the drawn starting position the RDS  13  is located in the lower rear part of the frame whose left side wall possesses an introduced guide in the form of a diagonal oblong hole  1012  running forward and upward in which the carriage of the RDS  13  is directed, i.e. slides along when the RDS  13  is moved into the sealing position. 
     The print head receptacle  12  has a rotation axis  121  in the front upper part of the frame. An ink update means (advantageously a sponge module with a sponge mount  14 ) is arranged between the RDS  13  and the print head receptacle  12  in the rear part of the frame and is attached to the plate part  16  of the chassis of the printing device of the franking machine by means of a bolt  15  in the shown manner. The sponge mount  14  has a box-shaped cavity  149  in the upper part. 
     The ink uptake unit  4  is economically formed as a synthetically produced sponge, but suitable naturally occurring substances can be used as well. 
     The shape of the ink uptake means must naturally be adapted to the number and shape of the wiper elements (wiper lips) so that it is suitable to wipe off said wiper elements. The number of wiper elements in the aforementioned exemplary embodiment is only two per print head. 
     As an alternative to the present embodiment, an equivalent ink uptake unit can naturally also be used which is based on a different material with similar properties. 
     For example, absorbent fleece is suitable that has a hygroscopic effect or that interacts with a suitable hygroscopic substance or material, or is coated or impregnated with a suitable chemical element or a chemical compound. The ink uptake unit  4  can also have a special absorbent foam substance. The foam substance/sponge/fleece can be round or angular or can be tailored to an arbitrary suitable shape. The ink uptake means should not exclude any passively active means or substance or, respectively, chemical element or a chemical compound; only active means should be excluded. 
     The ink uptake unit  4  can be realized in an arbitrary form and is arranged on the chassis of the inkjet printing device at a point past which a maintenance station  3  or the RDS  13  is moved in at least one direction. 
     The ink dispenser  2  does not have to be as in the shown embodiment, but can also be designed alternatively, i.e. differently than is shown, or in modified form. 
     Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art.