JP2837557B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

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, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with an ejection recovery device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording apparatus for performing recording on a recording medium (hereinafter, also referred to as recording paper or simply paper) such as paper or OHP sheets has been proposed in a form in which recording heads of various recording systems are mounted. ing. This recording head has
There are a wire dot method, a thermal method, a thermal transfer method, and an ink jet method.

[0003] In particular, the ink jet recording method, in which ink is directly ejected onto recording paper, has attracted attention as a quiet recording method with low running cost.

In such a recording apparatus of the ink jet system, a recording head generally having an array of fine discharge ports is used. Therefore, when air bubbles or dusts enter the discharge ports, or when the ink solvent evaporates. In a case where the ink becomes unsuitable for ejection or recording due to the increase in viscosity due to the above, a process for removing those ejection failure factors (ejection recovery process) is performed by refreshing the ink. I have.

As one form of the means for performing such an ejection recovery process, there is provided a cap which can cover an ejection port forming surface of a recording head, and a pump which communicates with the cap and acts on a suction force. Are known. This device drives the ink ejection energy generating element inside the ejection port toward the cap to eject ink from all the ejection ports, or applies a suction force while covering the ejection port forming surface with the cap. Then, the ink is forcibly discharged by performing suction from the discharge port, thereby removing the cause of the discharge failure together with the ink. Also, in order to suppress the occurrence of the above-described ejection failure factor, the cap is configured and controlled so that the cap covers the ejection port forming surface of the recording head during non-printing.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus in which the cap is improved so as to surely cover the discharge port forming surface of the recording head, and in which the occurrence of defective discharge is small. Is to do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording head which performs recording by moving ink in a reciprocating direction on a recording medium. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a component; and a component including a cap disposed so as to cover an ink discharge port forming surface of the recording head at a home position of the recording head component. An engaging means provided on the structure and the printhead structure, and engaging with each other when the cap covers the discharge port forming surface to relatively position the two; and moving the printhead structure in the backward direction. A driving unit capable of driving beyond the home position, and at least the hoe when the driving force by the driving unit is released. And biasing means for applying a force to return to the position, characterized in that the provided.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the driving force of the recording head assembly is released after the recording head is driven in the backward direction beyond the home position by the driving means. Then, the recording head assembly is pushed back to at least the home position by the urging means. In this home position, the engagement means provided on the recording head assembly and the cap assembly engage to position the two relatively.

Therefore, the cap can be accurately positioned, and accordingly, the cap can be brought into contact with the regular position of the recording head.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the external configuration of a recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

Here, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head. In this embodiment, a head cartridge having an ink chamber, an ink discharge port, and an electrical connection portion is used. Reference numeral 2 denotes a carrier on which the head cartridge 1 is mounted for scanning in the reciprocating directions indicated by arrows A and B in the figure. Reference numeral 3 denotes a hook for attaching the head cartridge 1 to the carrier 2, and reference numeral 4 denotes a lever for operating the hook 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a concave portion into which a convex portion described later enters, and is formed on the carrier 2. Reference numeral 6 denotes a support plate for supporting an electrical connection to the head cartridge 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a flexible cable for connecting the electric connection section and the main body control section. Reference numeral 8 denotes a guide shaft for guiding the carrier 2 in the A and B directions. The guide shaft 8 has an end portion fixed to the base side plate 31 and a central portion inserted through the carrier 2. The recording head component is mounted on the carrier 2 and moves while being guided by the guide shaft 8.

In 9, the carrier 2 is fixed, and this is
Pulleys 10A and 10B disposed on both sides of the apparatus, for transmitting power for moving in the direction of
It is stretched over. A driving force is transmitted to one pulley 10B from the carrier motor 11 via a transmission mechanism such as a gear. A transport roller 12 regulates the recording surface of a recording medium such as paper (hereinafter, also referred to as recording paper) and transports the recording medium during recording or the like.
Driven by Reference numeral 14 denotes a paper pan for guiding the recording medium to the recording apparatus. Reference numeral 15 denotes a feed roller which is disposed in a recording medium feeding path, presses the recording medium toward the transport roller 12, and transports the recording medium. .

Reference numeral 16 denotes a paper discharge roller disposed downstream of the recording position in the recording medium transport direction to discharge the recording medium toward a paper discharge port (not shown). 17 is a paper discharge roller 16
And presses the paper discharge roller 16 via the recording medium to generate a conveying force of the recording medium by the paper discharge roller 16. Reference numeral 18 denotes a platen provided at a position facing the ink ejection port of the head cartridge 1, and presses the recording medium against the paper pan front surface 19 by an elastic member (not shown).

The apparatus of this embodiment employs an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink as a recording head. Therefore, the distance between the ink ejection port of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording medium is relatively small, and the interval must be strictly controlled to avoid contact between the recording medium and the ejection port. It is effective to regulate the position of the recording medium on the front surface 19.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a release lever for releasing the urging of the feed roller 15, spur 17, and platen 18 when the recording medium is detached. 21 is carrier 2
Is a sensor for detecting the position of a carrier 2 (not shown).
, The position of the carrier 2 is detected. Reference numeral 22 denotes a cap formed of an elastic material such as rubber so as to face the ink ejection port forming surface of the head cartridge 1 at the home position, and is supported so as to be able to contact and separate from the head cartridge 1. The cap 22 is used for protection of the ink ejection port of the head cartridge 1 during non-recording or the like, and for ejection recovery processing.

In the ejection recovery process, the ink is ejected from all ejection openings (preliminary ejection) by driving an energy generating element provided inside the ejection openings and used for ink ejection, or ejected by a cap. A suction force is applied from the discharge port by applying a suction force while covering the outlet forming surface to forcibly discharge the ink, causing discharge failure factors such as bubbles, dust, or thickened ink that is not suitable for recording. This is a process for removing.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a suction force for forcibly discharging the ink, and the cap 2 is used for the discharge recovery process by the forced discharge and the discharge recovery process by the preliminary discharge.
2 is a pump used to attract the ink received by the pump 2.
A protruding portion 24 that penetrates is formed. More specifically,
The projection 24 includes a fixed arm 24b formed integrally with the outer shape of the pump 23, and a pivot 24c provided at the tip thereof.
And a rotating arm 24a rotatably supported on the fixed arm 2 by an urging spring 24d.
4b is urged by the protrusion 24e at the tip of the fixed arm 2b.
4b. The rotating arm 24a is E,
It is rotatable in the F direction (see FIG. 7).

The cap 22 is mounted on a cap arm 23c formed integrally with the pump 23 via a cap lever 32, and a communication hole extends from the cap 22 to the pump 23 (see FIG. 7). . The cap 22 works with the pump 23. Then, the cap 22
The cap member is integrally formed with the cap member.

Again, in FIG. 1, 25 is the pump 2
A waste ink tank 26 for storing the waste ink sucked by 3 is a tube for communicating the pump 23 with the waste ink tank 25. 27 is the head cartridge 1
A blade for wiping the ejection port forming surface of the head cartridge 1 and protruding toward the head cartridge 1 to perform wiping during the movement of the head cartridge 1 and a retracted position not engaging with the ejection port forming surface. It is movably supported. Reference numeral 28 denotes a recovery system motor, and 29 denotes a cam device for receiving the power transmitted from the recovery system motor 28 and driving the pump 23 and moving the cap 22 and the blade 27, respectively.

The operation of the pump 23 and the cap 22 will now be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, a cam follower 23a integrally formed on the outer shape of the pump 23 abuts a cam (not shown) in a cam device 29 by a spring 31 having one end attached to the pump. It is being urged. Further, the pump 23 is supported so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft 23b. A cam (not shown) is driven by the driving force of the recovery system motor 28, and the cam follower 23 a follows the cam surface, whereby the pump 23 rotates in the C and D directions, and further moves the cap arm 23 c and the cap lever 32. Through,
By rotating the cap 22 in the C and D directions, the cap 22 can be brought into contact with and separated from the ejection port forming surface of the head cartridge 1.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a return spring that pushes back the carrier 2 when the carrier 2 assumes the home position. One end of the spring is supported by the base side plate 31, and as shown in FIG.
The push-back spring force is set so as to be applied to the carrier 2 for the first time after deviating from the printing start position and the acceleration / deceleration region of the carrier 2. As a result, during printing, the push-back spring 30 does not suffer from adverse effects such as misaligned ruled lines. Also, the push-back spring force and the carrier motor 11
Is set so as to satisfy the following relationship.

(Torque during driving of carrier motor)> Spring-back spring force> (Detent torque of carrier motor) As a result, while the carrier motor 11 is being driven, the push-back spring 30 is compressed without stepping out of the carrier motor 11, At the same time as the excitation of the carrier motor 11 is released, the carrier 2 is pushed back by the push-back spring force.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a capping control procedure for ensuring that the cap 22 covers the ejection port forming surface of the recording head in the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment.

First, in step S1, the output of the sensor 21 is detected, and it is checked whether the carrier 2 is currently located on the left or right of the sensor position. If the sensor output is not 1, the carrier 2 is on the right side of the sensor position.
Is moved left by one step, the sensor output is detected in step S3, and steps S2 and S3 are repeated until the sensor output becomes 1. If the sensor output becomes 1 in step S3, the process goes to step S4 and moves leftward by 5 steps. The operations in steps S2 to S4 are because, unless the position detection by the sensor 21 is performed in the same direction, a position shift occurs between the right direction detection and the left direction detection due to backlash of the carrier driving system. In the present example, an example in which the detection is performed when the carrier 2 moves rightward has been described. Therefore, when the carrier 2 is located to the left of the sensor 21, the carrier 2 is to be brought to the right of the sensor. It is sufficient if the step amount eliminates backlash and the like when the moving direction of the carrier changes.

Next, the process goes to step S5, where the sensor output becomes 1
Therefore, it is known that the carrier 2 is on the left side of the sensor position. Therefore, the carrier 2 is moved right by one step in step S5, the sensor output is detected in step S6, and steps S5 and S6 are performed until the sensor output becomes 0. repeat. If the sensor output becomes 0 in step S6, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, if there is a forced suction recovery operation signal, the flow proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the user moves leftward by 15 steps (direction B in FIG. 1).
Here, the calculated cap position is overrun to compress the push-back spring 30, and the spring energy is stored. Further, since the carrier motor 11 is excited, the carrier 2 is not moved by the pressing of the spring 30. Next, the process proceeds to step S9. As shown in FIG. 7, a cam follower 23a urged by a spring 31 against a cam (not shown) follows a cam (not shown) surface, and a pump 23 integrally formed with the cam follower 23a moves in a C direction. The cap arm 23c, the cap lever 32, and the cap 22 also rotate in the C direction (not shown in FIG. 7), and the cap 22 is pressed against the head 1.
At this time, the convex portion 24 which is an engaging portion formed integrally with the outer shape of the pump 23 is also rotated in the C direction. Do not coincide with each other, the rotating arm 24a is urged to the carrier 2 by the urging spring 24d at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. (State shown in FIG. 5) Next, the process goes to step S10, where the excitation of the carrier motor 11 is turned off, whereby the spring energy of the push-back spring 30 is released, and the carrier 2 is released.
Pushed back in the A direction. In step S11, the positions of the convex portion 24 and the concave portion 5 coincide with each other, and the rotating arm 24a is rotated in the F direction to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. It will stop at the cap position (FIG. 6). Therefore, in step S12, forced suction is performed.

Next, in step S13, a cam (not shown) is driven to drive the pump 23, the cap 22, and the convex portion 2.
4 in the direction D to remove the cap 22 from the head 1
Then, the protrusion 24 is separated from the recess 5 of the engagement receiving portion.

In step S14, the carrier motor 11
To move the carrier 2 to the printing start position. In step S7, the operation of step S14 is also performed when there is no recovery operation signal of the forced suction.

In step S15, printing is started.

In step S16, the presence or absence of a recovery operation signal for preliminary ejection is determined during printing. If there is a recovery operation signal for preliminary ejection, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the cap position is calculated from the current position of the carrier 2, and the carrier 2 is moved to the cap position. At this time, the cap 22 is not pressed by the head 1.

In step S18, a preliminary ejection is performed into the cap 22.

In step S19, the printer returns to the printing position and restarts printing.

Printing is completed in step S20. Also,
In step S16, if there is no recovery operation signal for preliminary ejection, the process proceeds to step S20, and printing is completed.

In step S21, the carrier 2 is moved to the position where the sensor output = 0. If this is desired to be performed accurately, steps S1 to S6 described above may be performed and the sensor output may be moved to the 0 position. However, it is calculated from the current position of the carrier 2 and moved to the sensor output = 0 position. It may be.

In step S22, the carrier 2 is set to 15
Move to the left (step B). In this case, the cap position is overrun as in step S8, so that the push-back spring 30 is compressed and the spring energy is stored. Further, since the carrier motor 11 is excited, the carrier 2 is not moved by the pressing force of the spring 30.

In step S23, the cap 22 is pressed against the head 1 as in step S9. The protrusion 24 is urged by the carrier 2 without engaging with the recess 25.

In step S24, step S10
By turning off the excitation of the carrier motor 11, the spring energy of the push-back spring 30 is released, and the carrier 2 is pushed back in the direction A.

In step S25, as in step S11, the projection 24 of the engagement portion engages with the recess 5 of the engagement receiving portion, and the carrier 2 stops at the correct cap position.

Then, the process stands by at step S26.
When the power of the main body is turned off, it is performed in the state of step S26.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the home position (cap position) used in this embodiment and the detection position of the carrier home sensor 21, the relationship between the carrier 2 and the strength of the carrier push-back spring force, and the relationship between the carrier 2 and the carrier home sensor 21. Show output.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control structure for implementing the control procedure and the like shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1000 denotes a CPU for executing the above control, 10
01 is a ROM for storing the above control procedure, and 1002 is a RAM for storing the current position of the carrier 2 and used as a work area in the execution of the above control. Also 1A
Is a head driver for driving the head cartridge 1 according to a signal from the CPU 1000. 11A, 13A and 28A are drivers for the carrier motor 11, the transport motor 13 and the recovery motor 28, respectively.
Each motor is driven by a signal from U1000.

In this embodiment, a coil spring wound around the guide shaft 8 is used as the push-back spring 30, but this is not limited to a coil spring, and may be an elastic material such as rubber.

In this embodiment, the carrier 2 is moved to the left by 15 steps in step S7.
Any number of steps may be used as long as the position is on the left side of the home position of the carrier 2 and on the right side of the physically abutting position of the carrier 2 and the printer base 31.

From the sensor detection position to the carrier home position position (cap position), such as 10 steps,
Although specific numbers are shown, it is needless to say that the numbers vary depending on the configuration of the carrier drive system gears and the like.

In step S1, the position of the carrier 2 is detected by the home sensor 21. For example, when the position of the carrier 2 is known during printing or the like, the position is not detected and the calculation is performed by calculation. Step S
6, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained even if the process proceeds to step S7.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a concave portion 240 is formed in the pump 23 in place of the convex portion 24 in the previous embodiment, and an engagement urged by an urging spring 241 so as to move forward and backward in this concave portion 240. A pin 242 is provided. Then, the driving direction of the pump 23 provided with the cap 22 is configured to be G, H directions orthogonal to the moving directions A, B directions of the carrier 2 within a plane parallel to the upper surface of the carrier 2. In this example, the engagement pin 242 is engaged with the concave portion 5 of the carrier 2 at a predetermined position.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a recess 240 is formed in the pump 23 as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
In the concave portion 5 of the carrier 2 in reverse to the previous embodiment.
It is provided to be able to move forward and backward while being biased by 1. The driving direction of the pump 23 is within the plane parallel to the upper surface of the carrier 2 as in the previous embodiment.
It is configured to be in the G and H directions orthogonal to the direction.
In this example, the engagement pin 242 is engaged with the concave portion 240 of the pump 23 at a predetermined position.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the pump 2 is replaced with the recess 240 and the recess 5 in the above embodiment.
3 is provided with a stepped engagement portion 243, and the carrier 2 is also provided with a stepped engagement receiving portion 51, and the shape thereof is hook-shaped so as to mesh with each other. It is configured to rotate in the same manner as in the example, or to be in the G and H directions orthogonal to the movement directions A and B of the carrier 2 in a plane parallel to the upper surface of the carrier 2. In this example, in the process in which the carrier 2 is returned in the illustrated A direction by the push-back spring 30, the engaging portion 23 is held at a predetermined position.
4 and the engagement receiving portion 51 are engaged.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44,558 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or an electric connection to the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body when mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to the recording head having only one corresponding to a single color ink, it corresponds to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start solidifying when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0061]

According to the present invention, since the cap can reliably cover the ejection port forming surface of the recording head, the position of the ink ejection port of the recording head, that is, the position of the carrier on which the recording head is mounted, is reduced. Eliminating problems such as ink ejection failure due to thickening of ink and dust, and inability to suck ink through the cap at the time of suction recovery, which occur because the position does not match the position of the cap.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a cap position and a carrier home sensor, a relationship between a carrier and the strength of a push-back spring force, and an output of the carrier home sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, showing a state where the carrier has overrun the cap position.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, showing a state where the carrier is stopped at a correct cap position.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state of a pump, a carrier, a cap, an engagement portion, and an engagement receiving portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 head cartridge 2 carrier 5 concave portion (engagement receiving portion) 22 cap 23 pump 24 convex portion (engagement portion) 24a rotating arm 24b fixed arm 24d biasing spring 30 push-back spring

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A structure including a recording head for performing recording by moving ink in a reciprocating direction on a recording medium, and an ink ejection port of the recording head at a home position of the recording head structure. A structure including a cap disposed so as to cover the formation surface, wherein the cap is provided on the recording head structure and the cap is provided on the discharge port formation surface. Engaging means for engaging with each other when covering and positioning the two relative to each other; driving means capable of driving the recording head assembly beyond the home position in the backward direction; and An urging means for applying at least a force for returning to the home position when the driving force by the driving means is released. Recording device. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head uses heat energy to generate bubbles in the ink, and discharges the ink as the bubbles are generated. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bubbles are generated by film boiling caused by application of thermal energy.