US 11,858,275 B2
Inkjet printing apparatus, and a method of maintaining a filter thereof
Tamio Fukui, Kyoto (JP); Yuichi Nagase, Kyoto (JP); and Masaki Kato, Kyoto (JP)
Assigned to SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., Kyoto (JP)
Filed by SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., Kyoto (JP)
Filed on Feb. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/677,104.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-040196 (JP), filed on Mar. 12, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0288942 A1, Sep. 15, 2022
Int. Cl. B41J 2/175 (2006.01)
CPC B41J 2/17563 (2013.01) [B41J 2/17596 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An inkjet printing apparatus for printing on a printing medium by feeding ink to an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles and dispensing the ink from the inkjet head to the printing medium, the apparatus comprising:
a tank for storing the ink;
a supply pipe communicatively connecting the tank and the inkjet head;
a pump mounted on the supply pipe for feeding the ink stored in the tank to the inkjet head;
a filter disposed on a path of the supply pipe;
a degassing filter mounted on the supply pipe between the pump and the inkjet head and downstream of the filter for removing bubbles from the ink; and
a controller configured to:
operate the pump to engage in forward drive for feeding the ink from the tank toward the inkjet head in time of printing operation that causes the inkjet head to dispense the ink fed from the tank; and
operate the pump to engage in backward drive for feeding the ink from a position downstream of the pump back to the tank in time of functional recovery operation for improving choking of the filter, the functional recovery operation being performed until an interface between the ink and gas in a portion of the supply pipe adjacent the inkjet head is located on a side of the degassing filter adjacent the inkjet head.