According to GlobalData’s company profile on Screen, Semiconductor fabrication robots was a key innovation area identified from patents. Screen's grant share as of September 2023 was 37%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.

The patent is filed for a printing apparatus with a movable cap

Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Credit: Screen Holdings Co Ltd

A recently filed patent (Publication Number: US20230311512A1) describes a printing apparatus and a printing head maintenance method. The printing apparatus includes a head unit with a nozzle that discharges ink, a base member facing the head unit from below, a cap supported by the base member that can move upward and downward, and a biasing member that biases the cap upward. The apparatus also includes a close-contact member arranged on the base member to surround the cap and an interval changer that changes the interval between the head unit and the base member.

The interval changer performs two operations. In the first operation, the close-contact member is elastically deformed to hold it in close contact with the head unit by setting the interval between the head unit and the base member to a first interval. The cap is held in contact with the head unit from below, isolating the nozzle inside the close-contact member from the outside atmosphere by blocking the flow of gas. In the second operation, the cap is brought into contact with the head unit from below by the biasing force of the biasing member, with the head unit and the close-contact member separated by setting the interval between them to a second interval wider than the first interval. This allows a gas flow between the outside and inside of the cap. The second operation is performed during purging to cause the ink to flow out from the nozzle, and the ink is received by the cap while it faces the nozzle.

The printing apparatus may also include a purge guide blade fixed to the cap. The purge guide blade contacts the head to block the ink that has flowed out from the nozzle during purging, while it is separated from the head during the first operation.

The cap in the printing apparatus is provided with a communication hole that allows communication between the outside and inside of the cap. Additionally, the cap held in contact with the head unit during the first operation is not held in close contact with the head unit, creating a gap between them. The gas flows between the outside and inside of the cap via this gap. At least a part of the cap that contacts the head unit is made of resin.

The printing head maintenance method involves performing the same first and second operations described above to maintain the printing head. The close-contact member is held in close contact with the head unit during the first operation, isolating the nozzle from the outside atmosphere. The cap is brought into contact with the head unit during the second operation, allowing the ink to flow out from the nozzle during purging.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.