Patent ID: 7648222

Claim:
A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition, said maintenance station comprising: a maintenance roller having an elastically deformable contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of said printhead, said roller being rotatable and moveable between a first position in which said contact surface is sealingly engaged with said face and a second position in which said contact surface is disengaged from said face; a chassis on which said maintenance roller is mounted, said chassis being reciprocally moveable between said first and second positions, said chassis comprising at least one engagement formation; an engagement mechanism for moving said chassis, said engagement mechanism comprising at least one engagement arm for complementary engagement with said at least one engagement formation; and an ink removal system for removing ink from said contact surface when said maintenance roller is rotated, wherein said maintenance roller does not rotate when sealingly engaged with said face.