JP7106877B2 - Cleaning device for liquid ejection head and device for ejecting liquid - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head cleaning apparatus and a liquid ejection apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an apparatus that ejects liquid such as an inkjet printer, there is a technique of applying a cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head in order to improve maintainability of the liquid ejection head. Further, a technique for wiping off dirt adhering to the nip portion of a cap that caps the nozzle surface has also been disclosed (Patent Document 1).

However, in the conventional configuration, it is necessary to provide a separate wiping member to apply the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface while providing a cleaning member to absorb the ink adhering to the nip portion, which complicates the structure and increases maintenance. The problem was that it took time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve maintenance efficiency at low cost.

The present invention for solving the above problems is a cap movable relative to a nozzle surface of a liquid ejection head; a cleaning member containing a cleaning liquid and movable in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the cap; and the cleaning member is movable in the moving direction of the cap while being separated from the cap, and presses the cleaning member containing the cleaning liquid against the nozzle surface so that the cleaning member moves the cap The cap moves toward the nozzle surface when the cap is between the liquid ejection head and the cap in the movement direction of .

According to the present invention, maintenance efficiency is improved at low cost.

(A) is an explanatory diagram showing the liquid ejection head and the cap, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head. (A) to (E) are explanatory diagrams showing the mechanism of ink being transferred from the cap to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head and adhered and deposited. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of a nozzle surface of a liquid ejection head; (A) is a diagram showing a state before the operation of absorbing ink adhering to the cap is started, (B) is a diagram showing a state in which the cleaning member is moved to the absorption standby position, and (C) is a diagram showing absorption standby. FIG. 8D is a diagram showing a state in which the cap is pressed against the cleaning member moved to the position, and (D) is a diagram showing a state in which the cap is moved downward. (A) is a diagram showing a state before the start of the cleaning liquid applying operation to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head, (B) is a diagram showing the state during the cleaning liquid applying operation, and (C) is a diagram showing the state during the cleaning liquid applying operation. FIG. 7D is a diagram showing how the liquid is applied to the nozzle surface of the ejection head, and (D) is a diagram showing how the cap is moved downward and separated from the cleaning member. (A) is a diagram showing a state before the operation of applying the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head 10 is started, and (B) is a diagram showing a state in which the cleaning member has been moved to the absorption standby position. . FIG. 1C shows the cleaning member moved to the liquid application position and the cap moved to the liquid absorption position, and FIG. 1D shows the cleaning member and the cap moved downward. FIG. 10 shows. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wiping mechanism according to an example; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wiping mechanism according to another example; It is explanatory drawing which shows operation|movement of a wiping mechanism same as the above. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of a device that ejects liquid according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is an explanatory side view of a main part of the apparatus for ejecting liquid;

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing a liquid ejection head and a cap, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head.

In FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid ejection head, and reference numeral 20 denotes a cap for sucking liquid. In addition, in this embodiment, although "ink" is described as an example of "liquid", it is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 is provided with nozzles 11, 11 for ejecting ink arranged in a row with a predetermined interval therebetween.

The cap 20 is connected to the nozzle surface 10a by erecting a nip portion 20a having an opening large enough to surround the nozzles 11, 11, and the end portion 20b of the nip portion 20a abuts on the nozzle surface 10a ( contact). In other words, the cap 20 is relatively movable with respect to the nozzle surface 10 a of the liquid ejection head 10 .

A suction pump P for sucking ink from the nozzles 11, 11 of the liquid ejection head 10 is connected to the cap 20, and a required amount of ink stored inside the cap 20 is sucked and discharged. ing.

A liquid ejection unit A according to an example is one in which the liquid ejection head 10 described above and a head tank 441 for storing ink, which will be described later, are integrally mounted.
A cleaning apparatus C for a liquid ejection head according to one embodiment includes the cap 20 and the cleaning member 30 described above, as well as a moving mechanism 40 and a cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50 .

In the cleaning device C for the liquid ejection head, the cap 20 has a function of pressing the cleaning member 30 containing the cleaning liquid against the nozzle surface 10a.

In this embodiment, the cleaning member 30 is made of a porous material that absorbs ink, and is formed in a flat plate shape having approximately the same area as the nozzle surface 10a. It contains cleaning liquid and is movable in a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the cap 20 .

The moving mechanism 40 appropriately moves the cleaning member 30 to the absorption standby position (a), the cleaning liquid supply position (b), and the liquid application position (c), and moves the cleaning member 30 supplied with the cleaning liquid and the nozzles of the liquid ejection head 10. It has a function of pressing against the surface 10a relatively.

In other words, the cleaning member 30 is made movable between the liquid ejection head 10 and the cap 20, and when the cleaning member 30 is between the liquid ejection head 10 and the cap 20 in the movement direction of the cap 20, the cap 20 is moved. moves toward the nozzle surface 10a. Of course, the cleaning member 30 and the liquid ejection head 10 may be moved by separate mechanisms.

The absorption standby position (a) is a position facing the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 and spaced downward in the figure from the nozzle surface 10a.
The cleaning liquid supply position (a) is a position on one side away from the nozzle surface 10a, and the cleaning liquid W is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50 at this position.
The liquid application position (c) is a position where the cleaning member 30 containing the supplied cleaning liquid W is pressed against the nozzle surface 10a.

The cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50 is for supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning member 30 which is moved to the cleaning liquid supply position (a). ing. That is, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the cleaning member 30 that is in contact with the nozzle surface 10a.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are explanatory diagrams showing the mechanism by which ink is transferred from the cap 20 to the nozzle surface 10a and adheres and deposits thereon. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing how the cap 20 is retracted, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing how the cap 20 is brought into contact with the liquid ejection head 10. FIG. In addition, FIG. 2C shows a state in which the ink Ia adheres to the end 20b of the nip portion 20a of the cap 20, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the is in contact with the liquid ejection head 10. FIG. FIG. 4(E) shows how the ink Ia attached to the end portion 20b of the nip portion 20a is transferred to the liquid ejection head 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state of the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head.

As shown in FIG. 2A, when performing maintenance on the liquid ejection head 10, the cap 20 is lifted from the retracted position (D) where the cap 20 is separated from the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 to perform capping.
Then, the end portion 20b of the cap 20 is brought into contact with the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10, as shown in FIG.
After the ink is sucked, the cap 20 is lowered and separated from the nozzle surface 10a as shown in FIG.

During the capping, the ink Ia adheres to the end portion 20b of the cap 20 that contacts the nozzle surface 10a. When capping is performed again as shown in FIG. 2(D) while this adhesion state is maintained, the ink Ib is transferred to the nozzle surface 10a so as to surround the nozzles 11 as shown in FIGS. 2(E) and 3. will adhere.

Next, the operation of absorbing ink adhering to the cap 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 4, and the operation of applying cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and 5 do not show the moving mechanism 40 and the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50 described above. 1 and the like are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

FIG. 4A shows the state before the start of the operation of absorbing ink adhering to the cap 20, FIG. 4B shows the state after the cleaning member 30 has been moved to the absorption standby position, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the cap 20 is pressed against the cleaning member 30 moved to the absorption standby position, and (D) is a diagram showing a state in which the cap 20 is moved downward.

<Ink absorption operation of cap 20>
As shown in FIG. 4A, when the ink absorption operation is requested, the cleaning liquid W (see FIG. 1) is dripped and supplied to the cleaning member 30 moved to the cleaning liquid supply position (a).
After that, the cleaning member 30 supplied with the cleaning liquid is moved to the absorption standby position (a) above the cap 20, as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the cap 20 is lifted and the end 20b of the nip portion 20a is pressed against the lower surface 30a of the cleaning member 30 shown in the figure. This causes the cleaning member 30 to absorb the ink Ia adhering to the end portion 20b of the nip portion 20a.
Then, the cap 20 is lowered and separated from the cleaning member 30 as shown in FIG. As a result, the ink adhering to the end portion 20b of the nip portion 20a is removed.

<Cleaning Liquid Applying Operation to Liquid Ejection Head 10 According to First Example>
FIG. 5A shows a state before starting the cleaning liquid applying operation to the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10, FIG. 5B shows a state during the cleaning liquid applying operation, and FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a state in which the cleaning liquid is applied to the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10, and (D) a diagram showing a state in which the cap is moved downward and separated from the cleaning member.

When the application operation of the cleaning liquid is requested, the cleaning liquid W (see FIG. 1) is dripped and supplied to the cleaning member 30 moved to the cleaning liquid supply position (a) as shown in FIG. 5(A).
Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cleaning member 30 supplied with the cleaning liquid is moved to the absorption standby position (a) above the cap 20. Then, as shown in FIG.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the cleaning member 30 is moved upward to press the upper surface of the cleaning member 30 against the nozzle surface 10a.
After that, as shown in FIG. 4D, the cleaning member 30 is lowered to separate the cleaning member 30 from the nozzle surface 10a. As a result, the cleaning liquid W can be evenly applied to the nozzle surface 10a and the ink Ic adhered to the nozzle surface 10a.

<Cleaning Liquid Applying Operation to Liquid Ejection Head 10 According to Second Example>
FIG. 6A shows the state before starting the operation of applying the cleaning liquid to the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10, and FIG. 6B shows the state after the cleaning member has been moved to the absorption standby position. It is a diagram. FIG. 1C shows the cleaning member moved to the liquid application position and the cap moved to the liquid absorption position, and FIG. 1D shows the cleaning member and the cap moved downward. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing;

As shown in FIG. 6(A), when the operation of applying the cleaning liquid is requested, the cleaning liquid W is dropped and supplied to the cleaning member 30 moved to the cleaning liquid supply position (a).
After that, the cleaning member 30 supplied with the cleaning liquid is moved to the absorption standby position (a) above the cap 20, as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the cleaning member 30 is moved upward to press the upper surface of the cleaning member 30 against the nozzle surface 10a, and at the same time, the nip portion of the cap 20 is pressed against the lower surface of the cleaning member 30. As shown in FIG. It moves to the liquid absorption position (e) against which 20a is pressed. By simultaneously pressing the cleaning member 30 against the nozzle surface 10a and the cleaning member 30 against the cap 20, maintenance time can be reduced.
In other words, the moving mechanism 40, which is a pressing mechanism, presses the cleaning member 30 against the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 and presses the cap 20 against the cleaning member 30 at the same time. .

Then, as shown in FIG. 2D, the cap 20 and the cleaning member 30 are moved downward to separate them from the nozzle surface 10a and the cleaning member 30, respectively. As a result, the cleaning liquid W can be evenly applied to the nozzle surface 10a and the ink Ic adhered to the nozzle surface 10a, and the ink Ia adhering to the end portion 20b of the nip portion 20a can be absorbed by the cleaning member 30 and removed. .
In other words, when the cleaning member 30 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 10 a and the cap 20 , the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning member 30 adheres to the nozzle surface 10 a and the dirt adhering to the cap 20 adheres to the cleaning member 30 .

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wiping mechanism according to an example. Note that FIG. 7 does not show the cleaning member 30, the cap 20, the moving mechanism 40, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50, and the like. 1 and the like are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

The wiping mechanism B1 according to one example has a wiping member 60 formed of a blade material made of a required material. In this posture, it is moved in the arrow direction α2 along the nozzle surface 10a.
In this example, after the cleaning member 30 is pressed against the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10, the wiping member 60 is moved in the direction of the arrow α2 along the nozzle surface 10a, thereby cleaning the ink adhering to the nozzle surface 10a. Ic is wiped out. As a result, the ink adhering to the nozzle surface 10a can be removed.

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an outline of a wiping mechanism according to another example, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the wiping mechanism. 8 and 9 also do not show the cleaning member 30, the cap 20, the moving mechanism 40, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 50, and the like. 1 and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted, as in FIG.

The wiping mechanism B2 according to another example is for wiping ink Ic, foreign matter, etc. adhered to the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 during head maintenance, and has the following configuration.
That is, the wiping mechanism B2 mainly includes a wiping sheet 70 as a wiping member, a supply roller 80, a winding roller 81, a pressing roller 82, and a compression coil spring 83 as an example of a pressing member. It is configured to be housed in a pedestal 90 .
The supply roller 80 feeds and supplies the wiping sheet 70 wound in a roll.
The wiping sheet 70 is made of an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink.

The take-up roller 81 takes up the wiping sheet 70 drawn out from the supply roller 80 and is arranged side by side with the supply roller 80 at a required interval. A rotary encoder (not shown) or the like is attached to the winding roller 81, and the winding distance is counted by these.

The pressing roller 82 is arranged between the supply roller 80 and the take-up roller 81 and slightly above the supply roller 80 and the take-up roller 81 .
The pressing roller 82 presses the wiping sheet 70 stretched between the supply roller 80 and the take-up roller 81 against the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 with a constant pressure. They are connected by a coil spring 83 .

The width of the wiping sheet 70 orthogonal to the moving directions α1 and α2 is set so that the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 can be wiped at once.
The pedestal 90 is sized to accommodate the supply roller 80 and the like, and has side walls 92, 92 erected on both sides of a bottom wall 91. It is also supported so that it can be positioned at a height that protrudes slightly upward.
The wiping mechanism B2 configured as described above reciprocates in the movement directions α1 and α2, and is connected to a control unit (not shown) for controlling each part of the apparatus including the wiping mechanism B2.

Next, the wiping operation using the wiping mechanism B2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows how the wiping operation is started.
When a wiping operation is requested, the upper portion of the pressing roller 82 is positioned slightly above the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 to be wiped.
The vertical distance between the position of the upper portion of the pressing roller 82 and the position of the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 at this time connects the pressing roller 82 and the pedestal 90 when wiping the nozzle surface 10a. It is equal to the contraction amount of the compression coil spring 83 .
Then, the nozzle surface 10a of the liquid ejection head 10 is wiped by relatively moving the liquid ejection head 10 and the wiping mechanism B in the α2 direction.

Next, a liquid ejecting apparatus equipped with the liquid ejecting unit described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view of the essential part of the device for ejecting liquid according to one embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory side view of the essential part of the device for ejecting liquid according to the embodiment.

A device G for ejecting liquid according to one embodiment is of a serial type, and a main scanning movement mechanism 493 reciprocates a carriage 403 (see FIG. 11) in the main scanning direction.
The main scanning movement mechanism 493 includes a guide member 401, a main scanning motor 405, a timing belt 408, and the like. The guide member 401 is bridged between the left and right side plates 491A and 491B to movably hold the carriage 403 . A main scanning motor 405 reciprocates the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction via a timing belt 408 stretched between a drive pulley 406 and a driven pulley 407 .

The carriage 403 is mounted with the liquid ejection unit A in which the liquid ejection head 10 and the head tank 441 for storing ink are integrated.
The liquid ejection head 10 described above ejects liquids (inks) of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K), for example. Further, the liquid ejection head 10 is mounted such that the nozzle row composed of the plurality of nozzles 11 described above is arranged in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction, and the ejection direction faces downward (see FIGS. 1 and 3). .

The supply mechanism 494 is for supplying the ink (liquid) stored in the liquid cartridge 450 to the liquid ejection head 10 .
The supply mechanism 494 is composed of a cartridge holder 451 which is a filling portion for mounting the liquid cartridge 450, a tube 456, a liquid feeding unit 452 including a liquid feeding pump, and the like.
The liquid cartridge 450 is detachably attached to the cartridge holder 451 . Ink (liquid) is sent from the liquid cartridge 450 to the head tank 441 through the tube 456 by the liquid sending unit 452 .

The device G for ejecting liquid has a transport mechanism 495 for sucking the paper 410 and positioning it to a position facing the liquid ejection head 10 . The transport mechanism 495 has an endless transport belt 412 and a sub-scanning motor 416 for driving the transport belt 412 . The adsorption of the paper 410 can be performed, for example, by electrostatic adsorption or air suction.

The conveying belt 412 is stretched between a conveying roller 413 and a tension roller 414, and is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor 416 via a timing belt 417 and a timing pulley 418 to rotate in the sub-scanning direction. do.

On one side of the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction, the liquid ejection head cleaning device C for wiping the nozzle surface 10 a of the liquid ejection head 10 is arranged on the side of the transport belt 412 . The details of the cleaning apparatus C for the liquid ejection head have been described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The above-described main scanning movement mechanism 493, supply mechanism 494, liquid ejection head cleaning device C, and transport mechanism 495 are attached to a housing including side plates 491A and 491B and a back plate 491C.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus G configured as described above, the paper 410 is fed onto the conveying belt 412 and attracted to it, and is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveying belt 412 .
Therefore, by moving the carriage 403 in the main scanning direction and driving the liquid ejection head 10 in accordance with the image signal, the liquid (ink) is ejected onto the stationary paper 410 to form an image. That is, since the liquid ejection head 10 is provided, high-quality images can be stably formed.

The apparatus for ejecting the liquid described above is one embodiment, and it is needless to say that the apparatus is not limited to this, and can be configured as follows.
In other words, the "apparatus for ejecting liquid" is an apparatus that includes a liquid ejection head or a liquid ejection unit, drives the liquid ejection head, and ejects liquid. Devices that eject liquid include not only devices that can eject liquid onto an object to which liquid can adhere, but also devices that eject liquid into air or liquid.

The "apparatus for ejecting liquid" can include means for feeding, conveying, and discharging an object to which liquid can adhere, as well as pre-processing devices, post-processing devices, and the like.
For example, as a "device that ejects liquid", an image forming device that ejects ink to form an image on paper, and powder is formed in layers to form a three-dimensional object (three-dimensional object). There is a three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) that ejects a modeling liquid onto a formed powder layer.

Further, the "apparatus for ejecting liquid" is not limited to one that visualizes significant images such as characters and figures with the ejected liquid. For example, it includes those that form patterns that have no meaning per se, and those that form three-dimensional images.
The above-mentioned "substance to which a liquid can adhere" means a substance to which a liquid can adhere at least temporarily, such as a substance to which a liquid adheres and adheres, a substance which adheres and permeates, and the like. Specific examples include media such as recording media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, and cloth, electronic components such as electronic substrates and piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Yes, and unless otherwise specified, includes anything that has liquid on it.

The material of the above-mentioned "thing to which a liquid can adhere" may be paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., as long as the liquid can adhere even temporarily.
The "liquid" also includes inks, treatment liquids, DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, binders, modeling liquids, or solutions and dispersions containing amino acids, proteins, and calcium.

Further, the "apparatus for ejecting liquid" includes an apparatus in which the liquid ejection head and an object to which liquid can be adhered move relatively, such as a serial type apparatus in which the liquid ejection head is moved, and a line type apparatus in which the liquid ejection head is not moved. equipment, etc. are included.

Furthermore, the "apparatus for ejecting liquid" includes a treatment liquid application apparatus for applying treatment liquid to the surface of paper for the purpose of modifying the surface of the paper, It includes an injection granulator that granulates fine particles of the raw material by injecting the composition liquid dispersed therein through a nozzle.

By the way, although the liquid ejection unit has been exemplified with reference to FIG. 4, it is of course not intended to limit the configuration of the liquid ejection unit, and the following configuration can be employed.
For example, the liquid ejection unit may be one in which the liquid ejection head and the head tank are integrated as shown in FIGS. Furthermore, a unit including a filter can be added between the head tank and the liquid ejection head of those liquid ejection units.

As the liquid ejection unit, the liquid ejection head and the carriage may be integrated. As the liquid ejection unit, the liquid ejection head may be movably held by a guide member forming part of the scanning movement mechanism, and the liquid ejection head and the scanning movement mechanism may be integrated. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the liquid ejection head, the carriage, and the main scanning movement mechanism may be integrated as the liquid ejection unit.

Further, as the liquid ejection unit, the liquid ejection head, the carriage, and the wiping mechanism may be integrated by fixing a cap, which is a part of the maintenance and recovery mechanism, to the carriage to which the liquid ejection head is attached.

Furthermore, as the liquid ejection unit, a tube may be connected to a liquid ejection head to which a head tank or a channel component is attached, and the liquid ejection head and the supply mechanism may be integrated. It should be noted that the main scanning movement mechanism also includes a single guide member. Also, the supply mechanism includes a single tube and a single loading unit.

The cleaning member described above may be configured to be attached detachably instead of being fixed to another member. By adopting a detachable configuration, the cleaning member can be replaced by the user, and downtime can be reduced.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 liquid ejection head 10a nozzle surface 11 nozzle 20 cap 20b end 30 cleaning member 40 moving mechanism (pressing mechanism)
50 cleaning liquid supply mechanism 60 wiping member 70 wiping sheet (wiping member)
81 winding roller 82 pressing roller 83 compression coil spring 90 pedestal 92 side wall A liquid ejection unit B1 wiping mechanism B2 wiping mechanism C cleaning device for liquid ejection head G device for ejecting liquid Ia ink Ib ink Ic ink W cleaning liquid

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-292030

Claims (8)

a cap movable relative to the nozzle surface of the liquid ejection head;
a cleaning member containing a cleaning liquid and movable in a direction intersecting with the direction of movement of the cap;
the cleaning member is movable in a moving direction of the cap while being separated from the cap, and presses the cleaning member containing the cleaning liquid against the nozzle surface;
A cleaning device for a liquid ejection head , wherein the cap moves toward the nozzle surface when the cleaning member is between the liquid ejection head and the cap in the movement direction of the cap . When the cleaning member comes into contact with the nozzle surface and the cap, the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning member adheres to the nozzle surface, and dirt adhering to the cap adheres to the cleaning member. 2. The apparatus for cleaning a liquid ejection head according to claim 1 . Having a wiping member for wiping the nozzle surface,
2. The apparatus for cleaning a liquid ejection head according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle surface is wiped by the wiping member after the cleaning member is pressed against the nozzle surface. 4. A cleaning apparatus for a liquid ejection head according to claim 3 , wherein said wiping member is made of an ink absorbing material that absorbs liquid or a blade material. 5. The liquid ejection head cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cleaning member is detachable. 6. The liquid ejection head cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a cleaning liquid supply mechanism that supplies cleaning liquid to the cleaning member. 7. The apparatus for cleaning a liquid ejection head according to claim 6 , wherein the cleaning liquid supply mechanism supplies the cleaning liquid to a surface of the cleaning member that is in contact with the nozzle surface. An apparatus for ejecting liquid, comprising the apparatus for cleaning a liquid ejection head according to any one of claims 1 to 7 .

Images