JP3431059B2 - 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 type recording apparatus having a recording head which moves in the width direction of a recording sheet and ejecting ink droplets onto the recording sheet in conformity with print data to form an image. The present invention relates to a capping device suitable for a recording device equipped with a head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet type recording apparatus for recording print data by ejecting ink pressurized in a pressure generating chamber from a nozzle as an ink droplet onto a recording sheet is an ink caused by evaporation of an ink solvent from a nozzle opening. However, there is an inconvenience that defective printing occurs due to increase in viscosity, solidification of ink, adhesion of dust, mixing of air bubbles into nozzle openings, and the like. Therefore, the ink jet type recording apparatus is usually
It is provided with capping means for sealing the nozzle openings of the recording head during non-printing, and cleaning means for cleaning the nozzle plate if necessary. For example, as seen in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-8460, a recording head and a cap that are arranged outside the printing area and are moved by a recording head or a carriage carrying the same to move between a non-capping position and a capping position are provided. There has been proposed a capping device including a cam surface and a cam follower for moving the cap to the nozzle plate side of the recording head in the process of moving from the non-capping position to the capping position.

[0003]

According to this, although the cap can be reliably elastically contacted with the nozzle plate only by the movement of the carriage to surely seal, the black ink is required due to the demand of high density and high speed printing. When the number of nozzle openings of the black recording head that ejects ink and the color recording head that ejects three types of colored ink increases, and the size in the paper feed direction and the paper width direction increases, the size of the cap that seals each recording head also increases. Inevitably, the size becomes large, and there are some inconveniences such as a decrease in hermeticity due to a shift at the time of contact. The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and its object is to:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of reliably sealing the recording head by minimizing the deviation from the recording head.

[0004]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, the end portion side is supported by a sloped portion formed on the base by a projection and the horizontal portion , and the start end portion side is supported. The bottom surface is supported by an arm rotatably provided on the base through an engagement hole formed long in the moving direction, and is pressed by a recording head or a carriage carrying the recording head to rotate the protrusion as a center of rotation. And a holder for accommodating a cap made of an elastic member that seals the nozzle surface of the recording head.
Is housed in the slider so that it is spaced from the protrusion at least to the starting end side by the distance of the cap , and the sealing surface of the cap is substantially flush with the protrusion.
In the non-capping state, the length of the engagement hole is
Only offset to the print area side .

[0005]

[Function] The cap has substantially the same height as the sealing surface (ΔH≈
Since the protrusion formed in 0) contacts the recording head about the rotation center, the amount of movement in the direction parallel to the recording head at the time of contact is minimized, and the distance to the protrusion is at least about the same as the cap. Therefore, the amount of movement in the direction parallel to the recording head becomes small. Slider is formed long in the moving direction
It is connected to the arm through the
In the topping state, the slider prints for the length of the engaging hole.
Since it is offset to the area side, the moving distance of the recording head is shortened
Throughput can be reduced to improve throughput.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below based on embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a carriage 1 is a carriage motor 2
Is connected to the recording paper 4 by a timing belt 3 and is configured to reciprocate in the width direction of the recording paper 4, and ink is ejected from nozzle openings by pressurizing ink to the surface facing the recording paper 4 by an actuator. A head 5 is provided, and an ink cartridge 6 that supplies ink to the recording head 5 is detachably mounted on the upper surface.

The recording sheet 4 is fed at a constant pitch in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 1 by a conveying roller 8 connected to a sheet feeding motor 7 via a power transmission mechanism described later. A capping unit 9 that seals the recording head 5 is provided outside the print area, and a cleaner unit 10 is provided closer to the print area than the capping unit 9.

The capping unit 9 seals the recording head 5 during non-printing to prevent clogging of the nozzle openings, and also receives negative pressure from the pump unit 11 to clogging the ink when the ink is filled or again. Recording head 5
It has a function to forcefully eject ink from the. Reference numeral 12 in the figure indicates a cut sheet feeder.

2 and 3 show an embodiment of the above-mentioned driving force transmission mechanism, in which the conveying roller 8 has a gear 13 at one end and a pinion 14 on the shaft of the paper feed motor 7. Is driven via an idler 15, the paper feed roller drive shaft 16 has a gear 17 at one end, and engages with the gear 13 via a clutch mechanism 18 to transmit power to the cut sheet feeder 12. The pump unit 11 is driven from the pinion 14 of the paper feed motor 7 via the idler 19 and the paper discharge roller gear 20 by the gear 22 provided at the other end of the paper discharge roller 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the clutch mechanism 18 is always provided by a spring (not shown) as shown in FIG.
The gears 13 and 17 are configured to be held at a position away from and to be connected to the gears 13 and 17 when pushed by the carriage 1.

Next, the structure of each part will be described. The pump unit 11 is mounted on the surface of the pump frame 23, which is fixed in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the carriage 1, on the home position side. The shaft 24 of the pump unit 11 is rotatably provided with a gear 26 that meshes with the gear 22 of the paper discharge roller 21 via an idler 25. A cleaner cam 29 having an arm 28 that is frictionally rotated by being pressed by a spring 27 is attached to the gear 26 in a freely rotatable manner. The arm 28 moves the cleaner unit 10.

A ratchet wheel 31, an intermediate transmission wheel 32, and a pump wheel 33 are stacked on the shaft 24 of the pump unit 11 so that the intermediate transmission wheel 32 can rotate freely. Ratchet wheel 3
1 is a projection 31a on the surface facing the intermediate transmission wheel 32.
Further, the intermediate transmission wheel 32 is provided with projections 32a and 32b on both surfaces thereof, and the pump wheel 33 is provided with a projection 33a on the surface facing the intermediate transmission wheel 32.

As a result, the ratchet wheel 31 is rotated and is not transmitted to the intermediate transmission wheel 32 until the projection 31a thereof comes into contact with the projection 32a of the intermediate transmission wheel 32. Even if the protrusion 31a of the ratchet wheel 31 contacts the protrusion 32a of the intermediate transmission wheel 32, the power is not transmitted to the pump wheel 33 until the protrusion 32b contacts the protrusion 33a of the pump wheel 33. That is, when the rotation direction of the paper feed motor 7 is switched, a rotation transmission delay of about 2 rotations at maximum is provided between the ratchet wheel 31 and the pump wheel 33.

As is well known, the pump wheel 33 is provided with two shaft holes 33b, 33b, one end of which extends in the central direction and the other end of which extends in the outer peripheral direction, depending on the rotational direction of the pump wheel 33. The rollers 34, 34 axially supported by the shaft holes 33b, 33b are biased in the outer peripheral direction or in the central direction, that is, the paper feed motor 7
It is configured to switch between a pumping action for handling the tube 35 with the pump casing 36 and a releasing action for not pressurizing the tube 35 depending on whether the tube 35 is rotated normally or reversely.

The cleaner unit 10 is constructed by forming a groove 38 on the upper surface of the cleaner holder 37 and inserting a cleaning blade 39 having a height such that the tip of the groove 38 can elastically contact the nozzle plate of the recording head 5. There is. The cleaner holder 37 has a guide protrusion 40 formed on its side portion engaged with a guide groove 42 extending in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 1 at an upper portion of the pump casing 36, and has a length extending in a vertical direction at a tip thereof. The hole 43 is engaged with the protrusion 28 a of the arm 28 of the cleaner cam 29. Further, the cleaner holder 37 includes the cleaning blade 39 and the guide protrusions 4.
A locking protrusion 44 that engages with a carriage stopper 1a provided on the side surface of the carriage 1 is formed between the locking protrusions 44 and 0.

As a result, when the cleaner cam 29 rotates, it reciprocates in the guide groove 40, and when the cleaner cam 29 moves from the retracted position to the cleaning position, that is, from the right end position in the figure into the traveling area of the carriage 1, the cleaning blade 39 moves. It is configured to elastically contact the nozzle 5 to wipe the nozzle surface and to suppress the movement of the cap 80, which will be described later, toward the starting end.

4 and 5 show an embodiment of the capping unit 9, which is a cap frame 51.
Is attached by engaging the two locking projections 52, 52 protruding at one end with the locking holes 23b, 23b of the pump frame 23 described above so that the longitudinal direction thereof is directed to the traveling direction of the carriage 1. ing.

On both sides of the cap frame 51,
From the start side of the home position to the end side, that is,
Cam grooves 53, 53, each of which is composed of an upward inclined portion 53a extending from the left side to the right side in FIG. 5 and a horizontal portion 53b, are provided on both sides, and a projection 57 of a slider 56 is slidably attached thereto. There is.

The slider 56 has an abutting piece 56a that abuts the carriage 1 on the terminal end side, and as shown in FIG. 6A, a distance Lc from the abutting piece 56a in the longitudinal direction of the cap 80. A holder receiving portion that supports the cap 80 is formed at a position separated by the distance Ls. The slider 56 is
Guide pieces 56b, 56b for guiding the recording head 5 to both sides
The cap frame 5 is provided with a projection 57 on the terminal end side.
It is supported by the cam groove 53 of No. 1 and is held by a lever 59 which constitutes a link whose start end side is subjected to a rotational biasing force toward the end end side by a spring 58.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the protrusion 57 has
Almost the same height as the sealing surface 80a of the cap 80 (ΔH≈
It is formed at the position of 0), and as a result,
As shown in (c), when the slider 56 moves to the capping position and seals the recording head 1, the shift amount ΔL1 when the slider 56 rotates about the protrusion 57 can be minimized. Compared with this, either high or low position (5
In the case of 7 '), the amount of deviation ΔL2 becomes large, and it becomes difficult to obtain reliable sealing.

The lever 59 for supporting the lower portion of the slider 56 has its arm length, that is, the lift amount ΔH1 larger than the lift amount ΔH2 of the inclined portion 53a of the cam groove 53, as shown in FIG. 6B. Is set to. The load at the time of capping can be reduced by bringing the inclined portion 53a closer to horizontal. As a result, the current for driving the carriage motor 2 can be suppressed to be small, the impact on the carriage 1 can be mitigated, and problems such as dot omission due to meniscus destruction of the recording head 5 can be prevented and high reliability can be ensured. Further, since the load at the time of capping is reduced, the length of the lever 59 can be shortened, the amount of horizontal movement due to the amount of rotation can be suppressed, and the size of the entire capping device can be suppressed.

The slider 56 engages with the tip of the lever 59 through an engaging hole 60 having a length L formed in the lower portion of the slider 56, and the length L of the engaging hole 60 (FIG. 6A). Are coupled with each other with a degree of freedom, and are configured to be attracted to the starting end side, that is, the lower end side of the inclined portion 53a while maintaining the non-capping state.

As a result, under the non-capping state, the lowest area is moved to a position overlapping with the operating area of the cleaner unit 10 so that the contact surface 63b of the cap holder 63 faces the tip surface of the cleaner unit 10. The cleaner unit 10 is prevented from protruding into the moving area of the carriage 1 by being displaced to the area where the carriage 1 moves. As a result, the capping unit 9 can be arranged as close to the recording sheet 4 side of the movement path of the carriage 1 as possible, that is, without requiring a large safety tolerance. It is possible to reduce the dimension in the width direction.

On the upper surface of the slider 56, the spring receiving seats 62 are distributed on the left and right so that the center lines of the cap 80 in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction are symmetrical lines and in the moving direction of the carriage 1. 62 is formed, and projections 65 and 65 ′ that engage with the grooves 64 and 64 ′ of the cap holder 63 are formed on both sides of the start end portion side, and a projection 66 of the cap holder 63 is formed on the center line on the end portion side. A groove 67 that engages is formed.

In the cap holder 63, spring receiving portions 68, 68 are formed so as to project on both sides thereof, and the spring receiving seats 69, 6 are dispersed here in the moving direction of the carriage 1.
9 are formed, and the protrusions 6 of the slider 56 are formed on both sides of the starting end side.
Grooves 64, 64 'that engage with 5, 65' are formed, and a projection 66 that engages with the groove 67 of the slider is formed on the center line on the terminal end side.

Then, one of the grooves 64 and 64 ', for example, the groove 6
So that the bottom surface of 4'is slightly higher than the other groove 64,
Alternatively, one of the protrusions 65 and 65 ', for example 65', is formed so that the surface facing the groove 64 'projects more than the other protrusion 65.

With such a configuration, the cap holder 6
3, the grooves 64, 64 ′ are the projections 65 of the slider 56,
65 ′, the projection 66 is engaged with the groove 67 of the slider 56, and the compression spring 70 is inserted into each spring receiving portion 62, 69, and the starting end portion with respect to the slider 56 is biased upward. One side is supported at three points with a slightly lower position. Specifically, it is set to 1 mm or more, or the inclination of the recording head 5 with respect to the nozzle surface is 2 degrees or more.

Further, since the cap holder 63 is supported at three points, the positioning height of the sealing surface of the cap 80 accommodated therein can be adjusted more accurately. Further, when the cap 80 is separated from the recording head 5, the peeling force acts on the outside of the cap 80 as a fulcrum to amplify the moment, and even when the cap 80 sticks to the recording head 5 due to solidification of ink or the like. However, it can be easily separated.

As described above, since the cap holder 63 is elastically pressed toward the recording head 5 by the compression springs 70 on both sides outside the sealing area, the compression springs 70 on both sides are used as shown in FIG. Assuming that the compression force is PA, Pb, the distance from the spring 70 to the sealing point of the cap 80 is La, Lb, and the distance between the sealing points, that is, the width W of the cap 80, the reaction force Ra, Rb of each sealing point. Respectively become Ra = {Pa (W + La) -Pb * Lb} / W Rb = {Pb (W + Lb) -Pa * La} / W. Then, in order to keep the adhesion to the recording head 5 constant, it is necessary to make the reaction forces Ra and Rb at the respective sealing points the same, so that {Pa (W + La) −Pb · Lb} = {Pb (W + L
b) -Pa · La} Pa (W + 2La) = Pb (W + 2Lb), that is, Pa = Pb La = Lb must be satisfied. That is, the same load may be used for the compression springs 70 on both sides, and these springs 70 may be arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to the cap 80.

On the other hand, the cap holder 63 has grooves 64, 6
When the cap 80 starts to adhere to the recording head 5 in order to change the height of 4 ′ or the thickness of one of the protrusions 65 and 65 ′ so that one side of the starting end side is slightly lower. Then, an imbalance occurs in the load. That is,
As shown in FIG. 8B, the reaction forces Ra and R of the supporting points A and D.
d is Ra = {Pa (W ′ + La) −Pb · Lb ′} / W ′, respectively, and Rd = {Pb (W ′ + Lb ′) − Pa · La} / W ′. Then, as described above, the respective loads Pa and Pb
Since Ra is set to the same value, Ra = Pa + {Pa (La-Lb ')} / W' Rd = Pa + {Pa (Lb'-La)} / W 'Also, since La>Lb', Naturally {Pa (La-
Lb ′)} / W ′> 0, and thus Ra = Pa + {Pa (La−Lb ′)} / W ′> Pa.

That is, at the time when the cap 80 starts to come into close contact with the recording head 5, the load Pa applied by the spring 70 itself.
A load larger than that by {Pa (La-Lb ')} / W' acts on the contact point, and the aligning property and the adhesion are improved. In addition, the incremental load at the initial stage of adhesion {Pa (La-L
b ′)} / W ′ can be increased by decreasing W ′ and Lb and increasing La, and W ′ is the cap 8
Since it is decided to be 0 size, La is increased and L is increased again.
A practical method is to reduce b '.

FIG. 8C shows the distance between the cap of the present invention and the conventional cap in which the cap is held by two springs located on the center line inside the sealing region of the cap. In the present invention shown by the solid line (A), a sufficient load can be applied at the initial stage of contact, whereas the cap shows the relationship with the load acting on the recording head. Then, as shown by the dotted line (B), the contact load is applied only immediately before contacting the entire surface.

In the cap holder 63, two projections 71 are planted on the center line of the bottom surface 63a, and two cylindrical members 72 and 73 are formed on the starting end side so as to be symmetrical with respect to the center line. The tubular body 73 is vertically extended to the outside to the tube 35 of the pump unit 11, and the tubular body 72 is extended to the outside to be parallel to the bottom surface and bent toward the terminal end side via the tube 74. It is connected to a valve seat 75 described later.

As described above, since the tubes 35 and 74 are attached as close to the center line of the cap 80 as possible and are arranged perpendicularly to the cap and parallel to the moving direction, the bending moment acting on the cap 80 is It is possible to reduce it as much as possible.

The valve seat 75 is fixed to the end of the slider 56, and the valve 77 is fixed to the valve seat 75. Operating rod 7
9 is abutting against an abutting piece 76 provided on the cap frame 51, is slidable in the carriage movement direction, and is attached to the valve 77 so that the valve 77 always keeps the closed position while being biased by the spring 78. It is attached to the slider 56 at the opposite position.

The cap holder 63 has a cap 80 formed of an elastic member such as rubber having ink resistance inside.
Are held by the recesses 81 and 82 formed in the cap 80, the projection 71, and the claw 83.

The cap 80 has a cylindrical body 72, 73 on the bottom surface.
Two ink absorbing sheets 8 made of a porous material having ink resistance and having recesses 84 and 85 communicating with
6, 87 are held by the claw 88.

In this embodiment, during rest,
As shown in FIG. 9, the locking protrusion 4 of the cleaner unit 10
4 is engaged with the carriage stopper 1a to lock the carriage 1, and the cap 80 seals the recording head 5.

On the other hand, when the carriage 1 is moved to the home position by the carriage motor 2 after the recording operation is completed, the carriage 1 contacts the contact piece 56a of the slider 56 as shown in FIG. The slider 56 against the return spring 61 and the lever 59 to the spring 5.
It moves toward the terminal end while rotating against 8.

During this moving process, the lever 59 moves the carriage 1
Rises with the movement of the
7 moves on the slope 53 a of the cam groove 53. When the protrusion 57 of the slider 56 pushed by the carriage 1 is further moved to the horizontal portion 53b of the cam groove 53, the cap holder 63 takes a posture in which one side of the starting end portion is slightly lower in the process. Since the cap 80 is attached to the slider 56 as described above, first, one point on the terminal end side of the cap 80 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 by the compression force of the total compression spring 70. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the slider 56 moves to the terminal end, the entire circumference of the cap 80 receives the compressive force of the entire compression spring 70 and comes into contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 for reliable sealing. .

In the process from the initial contact to the entire surface sealing, the projection 57 is located at substantially the same height (ΔH≈0) as the sealing surface 80a of the cap 80, so that FIG.
When the slider 56 moves to the capping position as shown in FIG. 5, the amount of deviation ΔL1 when the slider 56 rotates about the protrusion 57 is extremely small and surely abuts on the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 for reliable sealing.

Further, since the cap 80 is provided with a copying property so as to assume a slightly inclined posture, it should be separated from the recording head 5 while gradually expanding the opening area from one end on the cap start end side when opening. become. As a result, the ink remaining at the boundary between the nozzle surface of the recording head 5 and the sealing surface 80a of the cap 80 due to the capillary force or the like due to the forced discharge of the ink, even if an attempt is made to form a film due to surface tension, the opening area is increased. When the cap 80 is opened all at once, it is possible to move the cap 80 to one point of the end part which is finally separated from the surface of the recording head 5 since the cap 80 can be moved following the gradual expansion of the cap 80. Since the ink film ruptures when the area of the ink film becomes smaller than that of the above, it is possible to reduce the adhesion amount of the ink to the nozzle surface and suppress the deterioration of the print quality.

On the other hand, when the flushing of the recording head 5 is required during the printing period, the carriage 1 is slightly moved in the direction of the starting end portion so that the gap between the recording head 5 and the cap 80 as shown in FIG. Form ΔG. In this state, when a flushing signal is supplied to the recording head 5 and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles to the cap 80, the cap 80
Since the surface is inclined at the angle θ with respect to the nozzle surface of the recording head 5, it is possible to prevent the ink splashes rebounding from the ink absorbing sheet 86 from adhering to the nozzle surface as much as possible.
Since the carriage is slightly moved toward the paper edge portion by the length L of the engagement hole 60 of the lever 59, the lever 59 maintains the improper state. Therefore, even if the carriage 1 contacts the slider 56. Even if they come into contact with each other, the impact on the carriage 1 can be mitigated as much as possible, the damage of the meniscus of the recording head 5 can be prevented, and the printing with high reliability can be ensured.

Since the slider 56 is engaged with the arm 59 through the elongated engaging hole 60 in the moving direction of the carriage 1, the cap 80 is moved toward the printing area by the length L of the engaging hole 60. It becomes possible to offset, and the moving distance of the carriage 1 at the time of flushing can be shortened to improve the throughput.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the amount of movement of the cap, which is parallel to the nozzle surface of the recording head, at the time of contact, and the cap is used for recording.
The lid can be reliably sealed. Also, Flashin
Throughput by shortening the moving distance of the recording head during
Can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a drive power transmission system of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a pump unit in the same apparatus.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are perspective views showing an embodiment of a capping unit used in the same apparatus as seen from both sides.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a capping unit used in the above apparatus.

6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining respective sizes of a slider and a cap frame, and a diagram for explaining a shift amount at the time of capping.

7A to 7C are respectively a top view showing an embodiment of a cap holder with a cap inserted, a cross-sectional view showing a cap removed, and an embodiment of a cap. FIG.

8A is an explanatory diagram showing a load acting on the cap, FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing a load at the initial stage of contact with the recording head, and FIG. 8C is a cap of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance between the cap and the recording head and the load applied to the recording head by the two springs located on the center line inside the sealing region of the cap. is there.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are views showing a sealed state from the plane and the side of the operation of the cleaner unit and the capping unit, respectively.

10A and 10B are plan and side views showing a process of raising a slider by a carriage in the operations of a cleaner unit and a capping unit, respectively.

11 (a) and 11 (b) are views showing a flushing state of the cleaner unit and the capping unit in plan and side views, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carriage 2 Carriage motor 5 recording head 6 ink cartridges 7 Paper feed motor 8 Conveyor rollers 9 Capping unit 10 cleaner unit 11 pump unit 12 cut sheet feeder 13, 17, 22, 26 gears 14 pinion 16 Paper feed roller drive shaft 18 Clutch mechanism 21 Paper ejection roller 28 arms 29 Cleaner Cam 31 ratchet wheel 32 Intermediate transmission wheel 33 pump wheels 34 Laura 35 tubes 36 Pump casing 37 cleaner holder 38, 64, 64 ', 67 grooves 39 Cleaning blade 40 Guide protrusion 42 guide groove 43 long hole 44 Locking protrusion 51 cap frame 53 Cam groove 53a inclined part 53b Horizontal part 56 slider 56a contact piece 59 lever 60 engagement holes 63 Cap holder 68 Spring receiving part 70 spring 74 tubes 75 seat 77 valve 80 cap 86,87 ink absorption sheet

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Nobutoshi Otsuka No. 3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Seiko Epson Corp. (72) Inventor Atsushi Kobayashi 3-5, Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Sei Co-Epson Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Isono 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko Epson Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Seiji Mochizuki 3-3.5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Sei Co-Epson (56) References JP-A-5-318752 (JP, A) JP-A-5-330072 (JP, A) JP-A-7-137287 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165 B41J 2/175

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A moving direction is supported by an arm which is supported on a slope portion formed on a base by a projection on a terminal end side and a horizontal portion, and whose bottom surface on a start end side is rotatably provided on the base. A slider that is supported through a long engaging hole and is pressed by a recording head or a carriage that carries the recording head and moves up and down in accordance with the movement of the carriage while using the protrusion as a rotation center. And a holder for accommodating a cap made of an elastic member for sealing the nozzle surface of the recording head, wherein the holder is separated from the protrusion at least to the start end side by a distance corresponding to the cap, and Is accommodated in the slider so that its sealing surface is substantially flush with the protrusion, and is offset toward the printing area by the length of the engaging hole in the non-capping state. An ink jet recording apparatus are. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are arranged on both sides outside the cap. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of rise by the arm is set to be larger than the amount of rise by the slope portion.