JP2001277527A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a lateral width of an ink jet recording apparatus and make the apparatus compact and light-weight by omitting a space for a blade unit and reducing a capacity to be occupied by a recovery system unit. SOLUTION: A blade 25 for wiping and cleaning a discharge opening face 81 is set inside a cap 17 which is to cap the discharge opening face 81 where discharge openings 82 of a recording head 1 are disposed. When the discharge opening face is covered with the cap, the blade is held to a retreat position where the blade does not touch the discharge opening face. The blade 25 is moved forward and backward with the utilization of the action of a carriage 2 having the recording head 1 loaded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a composite electronic device or a workstation including a computer and a word processor, etc., is based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording material (recording medium) such as a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type and the like according to a recording method.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a serial scanning system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction crossing a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and then the recording is performed. The image is recorded (main scanning) by the recording means mounted on the carriage moving along the material, and after the recording of one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper feeding (pitch conveyance) is performed, and then the stopped image is stopped again. By repeating the operation of recording (main scanning) the next row of image on the recording material, the entire recording material is recorded. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning in the transport direction of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and recording is performed for one line at a time. Is performed, and the recording of the next line is performed collectively, thereby recording the entire recording material.

Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material. Easy,
High-definition images can be recorded at high speed, recording can be performed on plain paper without special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise, and It has advantages such as easy recording of a color image using ink. Above all, a line-type apparatus using a line-type recording means in which a large number of discharge ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further increase the recording speed.

[0005] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement) and achieve further downsizing. On the other hand, there are various requirements for the material of the recording material,
In recent years, ordinary recording materials such as paper and resin thin plates (OHP
Etc.), thin paper and processed paper (paper with perforated holes or perforated paper for filing, paper of any shape, etc.) have been required to be used.

[0006] A plurality of fine ejection ports for ejecting ink are formed in the recording head of the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus. If foreign matter such as paper dust or dust adheres to the ejection port surface of the recording head (the surface where the ejection port is formed), or bubbles enter the ink in the recording head,
Not only is ink ejection unstable, but ejection failure occurs. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus has a recovery unit for maintaining and recovering the reliability of ink discharge by the recording head. There are four main operations by the recovery means: wiping (wiping), suction (suction of ink from the ejection port), capping (sealing of the ejection port), and preliminary ejection (ink ejection other than recording).

The wiping is performed by using a blade (wiper blade) formed of a rubber-like elastic member in order to clean and remove unnecessary foreign matters such as ink and paper dust on the discharge port surface of the recording head. This is to wipe off the discharge port surface. The suction is to suck ink in the discharge port by a suction pump to recover a normal discharge state when foreign matter on the discharge port surface cannot be removed by wiping or clogging occurs in the discharge port. . When the ink is not ejected from the recording head for a long period of time, the ink in the ejection port thickens and solidifies due to evaporation and drying, and the thickened and solidified ink is clogged in the ejection port and non-ejection occurs. In order to prevent ejection failure, the ejection port surface of the recording head is covered (sealed) during non-printing.

Further, the preliminary ejection is performed at a predetermined timing at a predetermined timing irrespective of print data in order to prevent a decrease in ejection performance and a decrease in print image quality due to evaporation and drying of ink in the ejection openings. (Preliminary ejection reception) is to eject the ink, and to make the ink in the ejection port a fresh ink. On the discharge port surface or inside the discharge port where ink is not continuously discharged for a certain period of time, such as scanning or stopping the carriage with the discharge port surface not capped, evaporation and drying of ink progress. This may cause a decrease in ejection performance and a decrease in print image quality. However, the preliminary ejection is performed at regular time intervals, for example, for the purpose of preventing such inconvenience.

By executing one or a combination of a plurality of wiping, suction, capping, and preliminary ejections as described above, the ink ejection of the recording head is always maintained in an appropriate state. The ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a suction pump, a blade (wiper blade), a cap, a preliminary spout (preliminary spout receiver), and the like in order to perform the above four recovery operations. Incidentally, the recovery means for performing these four recovery operations often constitute a recovery unit as a unit.

[0010]

The size of the recovery unit in the ink jet recording apparatus varies depending on the size of the recording head (recording means) and the like, but the ratio of the recovery system unit to the size of the recording apparatus main body is large.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having a narrow width by reducing the volume occupied by the recovery system unit.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention (claim 1) provides:
In order to achieve the above object, in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording material by discharging ink from recording means, a carriage for mounting the recording means and moving along the recording material, A carriage for capping the discharge port, and a blade disposed inside the cap for wiping and cleaning the discharge port surface of the recording unit on which the discharge port is disposed; The blade is moved forward and backward by utilizing the above method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the ejection port surface of the recording means is covered with a cap, the blade is retracted to a position where it does not touch the ejection port surface. The above-mentioned object can be achieved more efficiently by adopting a configuration in which the cap and the blade are integrally formed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus suitable for applying the present invention. In FIG. 1, a recording means (recording head) 1 is mounted on a carriage 2, and the carriage 2 is guided and supported so as to be able to reciprocate along two guide shafts 3 installed in the apparatus main body. A carriage motor 4 for moving the carriage 2 is mounted at one end of the apparatus main body, and an idler pulley 5 is provided at the other end.
A timing belt 6 parallel to the guide rail 3 is stretched between the carriage motor 4 (the motor pulley) and the idler pulley 5, and a part of the timing belt 6 is connected to the carriage 2. . Also,
The timing belt 6 is given a predetermined tension by a tension spring 7 provided on the idler pulley 5. Thus, the carriage 2 is reciprocated by the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carriage motor 4, and the position of the carriage 2 (the position of the recording head 1) is controlled by the rotation amount of the carriage motor 4.

A platen 8 having a length substantially covering the width of the recording material is provided at a position facing the ink ejection portion of the recording head 1.
Are provided in parallel with the guide rail 3. The platen 8 regulates the position of the recording material at the recording position (such as the gap between the recording material and the ink ejection unit). A feed roller (not shown) is disposed on the upstream side of the platen 8 in the sheet passing direction and in parallel with the guide shaft 3. A pinch roller 10 supported by a pinch roller guide 9 is pressed against the feed roller, and the recording material sent out from the automatic paper feeder 15 is recorded by the feed roller and the pinch roller 10 on a recording unit (on the platen 8). It is constituted so that it may be conveyed to.

A discharge roller 11 and a spur (not shown) for discharging the recording material that has passed through the recording unit are provided downstream of the platen 8 in the sheet passing direction. The recording material is sent out by a frictional conveying force between the spur and the spur. The platen 8
A recovery unit 16 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right side of the right side of FIG. The recovery system unit 16 is provided with a cap 17 which is in close contact with the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 and can seal the ink ejection section. The recovery system unit 16 generates a negative pressure in the cap 17 with a suction pump or the like in a state where the ink ejection unit is sealed, and sucks the thickened ink or the fixed ink in the ejection port of the recording head 1 to perform recording. The ink ejection performance of the head 1 is configured to be recovered and maintained.

The cap 17 is used not only as a negative pressure chamber in the above-described recovery operation of the recording head 1 but also for preventing ink drying in the ejection openings. That is, at the time of non-recording or transportation, the carriage 2 on which the recording head 1 is mounted is moved to the right end in FIG. 1 (a position facing the cap 17), and the cap 17 is advanced toward the recording head 1. By doing so, the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 is sealed (capped). The LF motor 12 is used as a drive source for driving the automatic paper feeder 15, the feed roller (not shown), the paper discharge roller 11, the recovery system unit 16, and the like. This is performed through a transmission mechanism consisting of:

The recording means (recording head) 1 is an ink jet recording means for discharging ink using thermal energy, and has an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Further, the recording head 1 includes:
The recording is performed by discharging ink from the discharge ports by utilizing a pressure change generated by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by the heat energy applied by the electrothermal transducer.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection section of the recording means (recording head) 1.
In FIG. 2, a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.
A plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port surface 81 facing at a distance of about 3 to 2.0 mm), and each liquid path 84 connects the common liquid chamber 83 and each discharge port 82. An electrothermal converter (heat-generating resistor or the like) 85 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along the wall surface.
In the present embodiment, the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 in such a manner that the discharge ports 82 are arranged in a direction crossing the scanning direction of the carriage 2. Thus,
A recording head that drives (energizes) a corresponding electrothermal transducer 85 based on an image signal or an ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid path 84 to boil, and ejects the ink from the ejection port 82 by the pressure generated at that time. 1 is configured.

FIG. 3 is a partial elevational view showing the structure of a main part of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 3, a carriage 2 on which a recording unit (recording head) 1 is mounted reciprocates along a guide shaft 3. The cap 17 of the recovery system unit 16 disposed at a position outside the recording area protects the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 and sucks ink from the ejection port 82 of the recording head 1. . This cap 17 is attached to a cap holder 21. The cap holder 21
Is a guide 2 of a base (not shown) of the recovery system unit 16.
2 is fixed to a cap slider 23 guided by.

The cap holder 21 includes a compression spring 24
In the direction toward the recording head 1 (forward direction, upward direction in the figure). A through hole is formed in the cap 17 and the cap holder 21, and a blade 25 is fitted and mounted through the through hole. The blade 25 is formed of a plate-like rubber-like elastic body, and is for wiping and removing ink, dust, and the like attached to the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1. Also,
The inside of the cap 17 is a suction pump (not shown) for sucking (sucking) ink from the discharge port 82 with the discharge port surface 81 capped via a suction tube.
It is connected to the.

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view showing a blade unit (a unit including the blade 25) of the recovery system unit 16 shown in FIG. 4, the blade unit includes a blade 25, a blade holder 26, a compression spring 27, and a cover 28. This blade unit is attached to the cap holder 21 with patch claws 29, 29 as shown in the figure. Blade 25
Is moved by a cam portion 30 provided on a base (not shown) of the recovery system unit 16.

That is, when the rear end (the lower end in the figure) of the blade 25 is located in the area of 30 a of the cam section 30,
The blade holder 26 moves the compression spring 27 to the cap holder 2.
By compressing the discharge port surface 1 with respect to the discharge port 1, the discharge port surface 81 is at a forward position (a raised position in the figure) and can be wiped (wiped and cleaned). On the other hand, when the rear end (lower end in the figure) of the blade 25 is located in the region 30b of the cam portion 30, the compression spring 27 is released and the blade 25
Is a retreat position (down position in the figure) not in contact with the discharge port surface 81. The blade 25 has a discharge port surface 8.
1 with the cap 17 in close contact (with capping)
A valve 31 is provided for preventing a negative pressure (suction force) from leaking when performing the suction recovery operation.

In the recovery system unit 16, the recording means 1
The blade 25 for wiping and cleaning the discharge port surface 81 is provided inside the cap 17 for protecting the discharge port surface 81 and sucking ink from the discharge port 82. Next, the operation of the blade unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the position (forward position) of the blade 25 during recording. The wiping operation of the discharge port surface 81 is performed by the carriage 2 moving rightward in the figure along the guide shaft 3 in the state of FIG.

When capping the discharge port surface 81,
The carriage 2 moves further rightward, and the carriage 2
Pushes the engaging portion 32 of the cap slider 23 rightward in the drawing, and moves the cap slider 23 to the rising portion of the guide 22 (the region running up to the recording head 1 side),
When the cap holder 21 and the cap 17 are advanced (raised), the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 positioned in the carriage moving direction by the engagement portion 32 is capped. At that time, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear end of the blade 25 in the cap 17 is located in the area 30 b of the cam portion 30, and the blade (wiper) 25 is in the retracted position (downward in FIG. Position) and is housed in the cap 17.

According to the above-described embodiment, in the ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from the recording means (recording head) 1 onto a recording material such as recording paper, protection of the discharge port surface 81 of the recording means. And a discharge port surface 8 inside the cap 17 for sucking ink from the discharge port 82.
A blade 25 for wiping and cleaning the discharge port 1 is provided.
Is covered so as not to touch the discharge port surface, so that the volume of the recovery system unit 16 can be reduced by the amount occupied by the blade unit including the blade 25, and particularly, the apparatus main body. By reducing the dimension in the width direction, it is possible to reduce the size and weight of the recording apparatus. Further, in the present embodiment, the recording means 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 which moves along the recording material, and the cap 17 is moved forward and backward by the operation of the carriage 2. Can be achieved.

FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view showing a main part of a second embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The second embodiment relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which two recording heads arranged side by side are mounted on a carriage. In FIG. 5, two recording heads 1A, 1B
The carriage 2 on which the recording means composed of
Reciprocate along. Each of the recording heads 1A and 1B is provided in the recovery system unit 16 disposed at a position outside the recording area.
Of the ejection port surfaces 81A and 81B of the
A for performing ink suction from the ejection openings 82 of A and 1B.
The caps 17A and 17B are provided. These caps 17A and 17B share a common cap holder 21.
Attached to. The cap holder 21 is fixed to a cap slider 23 which is guided (guided) by a guide 22 of a base (not shown) of the recovery system unit 16.

The cap holder 21 includes a compression spring 24
In the direction toward the recording head 1 (forward direction, upward direction in the figure). A through-hole is formed in one of the caps (cap in this embodiment) near the recording area 17A and the cap holder 21, and a blade 25 is fitted through the through-hole. The blade 25 is formed of a rubber elastic body in a plate shape, and is for wiping and removing (wiping) ink, dust, and the like attached to the ejection port surfaces 81A, 81B of the recording heads 1A, 1B. The inside of each of the caps 17A and 17B is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via each suction tube. This suction pump sucks (sucks) ink from the ejection ports 82 while capping the ejection port surfaces 81A and 81B of each recording head, thereby recovering the properties of the ink in the ejection ports 82. Pump.

The above-described second embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other respects, and corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Is attached. The blade unit (unit including the blade 25) of the recovery system unit 16 shown in FIG.
Has substantially the same configuration as in the case of and performs substantially the same operation.

That is, also in the recovery system unit 16 according to the second embodiment of FIG. 5, the cap 17A for protecting the discharge port surface 81A of the recording means 1A and sucking ink from the discharge port 82 of the discharge port surface. A configuration is provided in which a blade 25 for wiping and cleaning the discharge port surface 81A is provided. The ejection port surfaces 81A of the recording heads 1A and 1B,
The wiping operation of 81B is performed by one (common) blade 25 by moving the carriage 2 rightward in the figure along the guide shaft 3 in a state where the blade 25 is advanced by the cam portion 30 as shown in FIG. Do.

Each discharge port surface 81A, 81B is connected to each cap 1
When capping with 7A and 17B, the carriage 2
Further moves rightward, the carriage 2 pushes the engaging portion 32 of the cap slider 23 rightward in the drawing, and moves the cap slider 23 to the rising portion of the guide 22 (the region running up to the recording head 1 side), The cap holder 21 and the caps 17A, 17B are advanced (raised), thereby capping the ejection opening surfaces 81A, 81B of the recording heads 1A, 1B positioned in the carriage moving direction by the engagement portion 32. At that time, the rear end of the blade 25 in the cap 17A is
(FIG. 4), the blade (wiper) 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a retracted position (a lowered position in the drawing) not in contact with the discharge port surfaces 81A and 81B, and is in a state of being stored in the cap 17A. According to the second embodiment described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a partial elevational view showing a main part of a third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged elevation view showing the cap and the blade in FIG. In the third embodiment, the cap 17 and the blade 25 are integrally formed. In FIG. 6, a carriage 2 on which a recording head 1 is mounted has a guide shaft 3
Reciprocate along. A rubber-like elastic material for protecting the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 and sucking ink from the ejection port 82 of the recording head 1 is formed in the recovery system unit 16 disposed outside the recording area. An article cap 17 is provided. In this embodiment, a blade 25 that is elastically displaceable in the forward and backward directions (vertical movement in the drawing) is integrally formed inside the carriage 17.

In FIG. 7, a cap 17 which is a molded product of a rubber-like elastic material has an inverted bell shape as shown in FIG.
A hollow portion 33 opening to the lower surface is formed in the lower central portion, and a vertically extending blade (blade portion) 25 is integrally formed inside the cap immediately above the hollow portion 33. The inverted roof portion (umbrella-shaped portion) 34 of the cap 17 is formed of a thin portion (film-shaped portion) that can be elastically deformed in the vertical direction. In FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the tip portion 3 of the arm 35 is provided in the hollow portion 33 of the cap 17.
6 is fitted and inserted.

The arm 35 is pivotally supported about a support shaft 37 so that the tip end 36 moves forward and backward (vertical movement in the drawing) in accordance with the swing (rotation) of the arm 35. It is configured to move to. The other end of the arm 35 is an engagement portion 38 that can be engaged with the carriage 2 that moves along the guide shaft 3. further,
A torsion coil spring (not shown) that elastically urges the arm 35 counterclockwise is attached to the support shaft 37.

In the above configuration, when the carriage 2 located on the recording area side moves rightward in the figure, the carriage 2 pushes the engaging portion 38 of the arm 35, and the arm 35 moves about the shaft 37. It rotates clockwise, and its tip 36 moves (displaces) in the forward direction (upward in the figure). Therefore, in the cap 17, as shown by a two-dot chain line, the umbrella-shaped portion 34 is elastically displaced, and the blade 25 moves to a forward position (a position where wiping is possible) where the blade 25 overlaps the ejection opening surface 81 of the recording head 1. (It rises in the example shown). Next, when the carriage 2 reverses the moving direction and moves to the left in the drawing, the ejection port surface 81 of the recording head 1 is
And wipe (clean).

Here, after the carriage 2 moves rightward, the arm 35 is pushed in to move the blade 25 forward (up) to the wiping position, and then the carriage 2 reverses the moving direction and moves leftward. Until the recording head 2 is wiped, it is necessary to hold the blade 25 at a forward position (up position) so that the blade 25 does not move backward (downward in the figure). Therefore, blade 25
A lock mechanism (not shown) for holding the arm 35 at the forward position is provided to maintain the state in which the arm has advanced. Then, the lock mechanism uses the blade 25 to
It is released by using the movement of the carriage 2 toward the recording area (to the left in the figure) after wiping 1.

According to the third embodiment described above, the ejection port face 8 is also provided inside the cap 17 for protecting the ejection port face 81 of the recording means 1 and sucking ink from the ejection port 82.
A blade 25 for wiping and cleaning the print head 1 is provided. When the cap 17 covers the discharge port surface 81 of the recording means, the blade 25 is held at a position where the blade 25 does not touch the discharge port surface and the carriage 2 is moved. Using the blade 2
5 is advanced so as to wipe off and clean the discharge port surface 81, so that the volume of the recovery system unit 16 can be reduced by the amount occupied by the blade unit including the blade 25, and particularly in the width direction of the apparatus main body. By reducing the size, the size and weight of the recording apparatus can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, a serial recording method in which recording is performed while the recording head 1 is relatively moved with respect to the recording material has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the entire width or a part of the recording material. It can be applied to various inkjet recording devices regardless of the type of recording method, such as a line recording method that records only by sub-scanning using a line type recording head that covers the same length, and achieves the same effect. Can be done.

The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus using a single recording head, a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording heads for recording with inks of different colors, and a plurality of recording heads for recording the same color at different densities. A tone recording device using
Alternatively, as long as an ink jet recording apparatus, such as a recording apparatus in which the color recording apparatus and the gradation recording apparatus are combined, it can be widely applied regardless of the form of the recording apparatus,
A similar effect can be achieved. Further, the present invention provides a recording head having a configuration using a replaceable inkjet cartridge in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated, a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank are separated, and the space therebetween is connected by an ink supply tube or the like. The present invention can be similarly applied to any arrangement of the ink tank and the ink tank, and the same effect can be obtained.

The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the ink jet recording apparatus uses another type of ink jet recording means such as an ink jet recording means using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. The same effect can be obtained.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by discharging ink from the recording means, the recording means is mounted on the recording material. A carriage for moving along the material, a cap for capping the ejection port of the recording means, and an interior of the cap for wiping and cleaning the ejection port surface of the recording means where the ejection port is disposed. And the blade is arranged to move forward and backward using the movement of the carriage, so that the space of the blade unit can be omitted and the volume occupied by the recovery system unit can be reduced. Accordingly, an ink jet recording apparatus having a small width and capable of reducing the size and weight of the apparatus is provided.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the ejection port surface of the recording means is covered with the cap, the blade retreats to a position where it does not touch the ejection port surface. Or a configuration in which the cap and the blade are integrally formed, so that the space of the blade unit can be omitted more efficiently and the volume occupied by the recovery system unit is reduced, so that the width is reduced. The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus having a small size and capable of reducing the size and weight of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus suitable for applying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink ejection unit of a recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial elevational view showing a configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view showing a blade unit of the recovery system unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view showing a configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a partial elevational view showing a configuration of a main part of a third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged elevation view showing a cap and a blade in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 recording means (recording head) 2 carriage 3 guide shaft 4 carriage motor 8 platen 11 discharge roller 12 LF motor 16 recovery system unit 17 cap 21 cap holder 22 guide 23 cap slider 25 blade 26 blade holder 30 cam portion 32 engagement portion 33 Cavity part 34 Umbrella part 35 Arm 36 Tip part (arm) 37 Support shaft 38 Engagement part (arm) 81 Discharge port surface 82 Discharge port 84 Liquid path 85 Electrothermal converter

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus which performs recording on a recording material by discharging ink from a recording means, a carriage for mounting the recording means and moving along the recording material, and a discharge port of the recording means. And a blade disposed inside the cap for wiping and cleaning the discharge port surface of the recording unit where the discharge port is disposed, and utilizing the movement of the carriage. An ink jet recording apparatus wherein the blade is moved forward and backward. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the ejection port surface of the recording means is covered with a cap, the blade is retracted to a position where the blade does not touch the ejection port surface. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cap and said blade are integrally formed. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is an ink jet recording means provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for discharging ink.
3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of 3. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer. .