JPH02202452A - Ink discharge hole cleaning and ink jet recording device using the same cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce unnecessary ink consumption as well as minimize the abrasion of a water repulsive layer of a discharge hole surface by selectively cleaning an area near the discharge hole together with a recording head for each discharge hole group. CONSTITUTION:After completing a specified printing action, a solenoid 11 is driven to project a blade 4A to an advance position. Under this state, a carriage 2 is moved to the left and the discharge hole surfaces of recording heads 1A to 1D are wiped for cleaning using the blade 4A. All the four recording heads 1A to 1D are not necessarily wiped but only the head which reaches a printing duty which is more than a setting after continuous printing for a specified period of time is wipe. The wiping operation is controlled so that wiping is omitted for the discharge hole surface which indicates a low printing duty and has almost no attachment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device for color printing etc. in which a plurality of recording heads are mounted on a carriage. The present invention relates to a cleaning method and device for cleaning.

[Conventional technology]

An inkjet recording device supplies ink (recording liquid) to a recording head and drives ink droplet ejection means such as a piezo element or an electric heat exchanger provided in the recording head based on image data, thereby printing a sheet of paper or the like. It is configured to form an image consisting of a dot pattern of adhered ink on a recording medium.

In the case of color printing, for example, a plurality of ejection opening groups are used to eject ink between a plurality of recording heads, etc., corresponding to ink colors such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. These recording heads are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording medium.

Further, there are cases where recording is performed using a plurality of inks of the same hue but different densities, and the multi-color recording head in this application also includes cases where such inks of different shading are used.

The surface where the ink ejection ports of each recording head are arranged (ejection port surface)
is provided with a plurality of ink ejection ports (orifices).

In such inkjet recording devices, paper scraps, dust, or ink moisture may adhere to the ejection port surface where the ink ejection ports are provided, resulting in ink ejection failure such as clogging or skewed ejection. .

In particular, when using a fixing heater that promotes fixation of ink to a recording medium, dew condensation occurs on the ink ejection port surface due to water vapor from ink moisture, etc., which may block the ink ejection port or There were times when a discrepancy occurred.

Therefore, it is necessary to clean the ejection port surface of the print head.

As this cleaning means, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-23
Japanese Patent No. 0950 proposes a mechanism for wiping the vicinity of the ejection ports of the recording head using a flexible blade or the like, and such a leaning method is particularly effective.

By the way, the wiping means in the conventional inkjet recording apparatus is driven in conjunction with the capping means that covers the ejection orifice surface of the print head in the non-printing position, and is controlled as part of the ink ejection recovery operation. .

[Technical Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional wiping means that works in conjunction with ink ejection recovery, when wiping is performed as a pre-recovery operation, air and ink from ink suction or ink ejection ports during the recovery operation are removed. Even after the ink is discharged, a small amount of ink may remain around the ejection port, which causes the problem of unstable ink ejection.

In addition, when using a fixing heater to improve the fixation of ink on a recording medium such as paper, the ink moisture that evaporated during fixing condenses on the ejection port surface, causing water droplets near the ejection port to Ink ejection failures also occurred.

Furthermore, when wiping a plurality of recording heads mounted on a carriage, ink around the ink ejection ports mixes colors, resulting in a problem in that image quality deteriorates.

In order to improve the above technical issues, the inventors of the present invention have conducted numerous experiments and conducted comparative studies, and have found that the following cases have a particularly negative effect on ink ejection failure. .

In conventional technology, when wiping multiple print heads, all the print heads were wiped sequentially, so even print heads that were clean and did not require wiping were wiped, resulting in the ink ejection orifice surface being wiped. This accelerates the wear of the water-repellent layer. Further, there is a problem that the amount of preliminary ejection of unnecessary ink after wiping is large (which makes it uneconomical).

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional technical problems, and to freely perform cleaning operations on a plurality of recording heads as many times as necessary by selecting only the heads that require cleaning, regardless of recovery operations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for cleaning an ink ejection port of an ink shared recording device, which can eliminate ink ejection failure, reduce wear of a hydrodynamic layer on the ejection port surface, and prevent color mixing at the ink ejection port.

[Means to solve the problem]

The invention according to claim 1 provides a method for cleaning an ink ejection port of an inkjet recording apparatus in which a plurality of ejection port groups that eject the same ink are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along a recording surface of a recording medium. The above object is achieved by an ink ejection port cleaning method that selectively cleans the vicinity of the ejection ports for each print head for a group of ejection ports.

The present invention according to claim 2 provides inkjet recording in which a plurality of ejection port groups for ejecting the same ink are arranged on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium, and recording is performed using a plurality of inks. In a method for cleaning ink ejection ports of an apparatus, a plurality of capping means for covering each of a plurality of ejection port groups and a common cleaning means are provided in a non-printing position, and each ejection port group is cleaned while moving a carriage. The above object is achieved by an ink ejection port cleaning method that sequentially and selectively cleans and selectively ejects ink from a cleaned ejection port group to a capping means closest to the cleaning means. It is something.

The present invention according to claim 3 provides an inkjet recording apparatus in which a plurality of ejection orifice groups for ejecting the same ink are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along a recording surface of a recording medium, and a cleaning means for cleaning the vicinity of the ejection orifices. The above object is achieved by an inkjet recording apparatus having a configuration including: and a control means for selectively cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports by the cleaning means for each ejection port group for each print head.

The present invention according to claim 4 provides an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a plurality of inks in which a plurality of ejection port groups for ejecting the same ink are arranged on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along a recording surface of a recording medium. , a cleaning means provided at a non-recording position to clean the vicinity of the ejection ports; a plurality of cap members provided at the non-recording positions corresponding to each of the ejection port groups to cover each of the ejection port groups; and a preliminary ejection means for selectively ejecting ink at times, and the preliminary ejection means includes a capping means closest to the cleaning means from the ejection port group after being cleaned by the cleaning means. The above object is achieved by an inkjet recording apparatus configured to eject ink.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus that best represents the features of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main parts of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2. It is.

1 to 3, 4(lliI recording head I
The recording head assembly 1 consisting of A, IB, and IC1ID is as follows:
It is mounted on a carriage 2 that reciprocates along a guide shaft 7 in the direction of the printing digits.

As the recording head, it is preferable to use a head that employs a method of ejecting ink using thermal energy, and an electrothermal converter is provided as a thermal energy generator corresponding to each ejection port.

At opposing positions within the movement range of the recording heads IA to ID, from the right, a recording medium 6 such as paper backed up on the platen 5, a wiping means 4 for wiping the ejection opening surface of each of the recording heads IA to ID, Caps 3A, 3B, 3C1 for covering and sealing the ejection port surface of each recording head IA to ID
A capping means 3 consisting of 3D is arranged.

The wiping means 4 includes a solenoid 11 (Fig. 1).
It is composed of a flexible blade (for example, a plate-shaped silicone rubber blade>4A) that is driven forward and backward by the blade.

The capping means 3 is driven forward and backward by a solenoid 12 (FIG. 1), etc., and is driven forward when the forward recording heads IA-ID come to a position where they are exactly facing each other, and the corresponding camps 3A-3D are connected to each head IA-ID. It is constructed so that it can be tightly sealed and tightly attached to the discharge port surface.

Further, the inside of each cap 3A to 3D is connected to a suction pump 8, respectively, so that ink accumulated in each cap can be discharged.

Alternatively, each cap may be configured to be capable of suction.

In FIG. 1, the carriage 2 is driven by a carriage drive motor 13 via a timing belt 14, and the carriage 2 includes a flexible cable 15 for driving each recording head IA-ID, and a flexible cable 15 for driving each recording head IA-ID. An ink supply pipe 16 for supplying ink (for recording) is connected in an expandable and retractable manner.

A fixing heater is disposed above the platen 5, that is, in a portion of the one-way feeding path immediately after printing on the recording medium 6, for promoting fixation of the ink (image @) adhering to the recording medium 6.

Reference numeral 18 indicates a control means with a built-in timer. The control means 18
is configured to manually input detection signals from various sensors 19 and control various operating sections of the recording apparatus based on the results of arithmetic processing based on a predetermined program.

The various sensors 19 include, for example, heads IA to
There are temperature sensors for ID, ink level sensors, sheet sensors that detect the presence and location of recording media, sensors that detect the position of the carriage (home position, etc.), and sensors that detect ambient temperature and humidity.

As shown in FIG. 1, the various operating parts include a carriage drive motor 13, a suction pump 8 for discharging ink inside the cap, a solenoid 11 for wiping operation, a solenoid 12 for capping operation, and various recording Ink ejection drive unit of heads IA to ID, fixing heater 17
, a paper feed motor (not shown), etc.

In the cleaning operation, after a certain printing operation is completed, the solenoid 11 is driven to project the blade 4A to a forward position as shown by the chain line in FIG. 3, and in this state, the carriage 2 is moved leftward.

This movement of the carriage 2 causes the recording heads IA to ID to
The discharge port surface can be cleaned by wiping it with the blade 4A.

In this case, the blade 4A (cleaning means 4) can be moved forward and backward freely by a dedicated solenoid, so wiping of the four recording heads IA to ID is not necessarily performed for all heads IA to ID. You can freely perform wiping (cleaning) on heads of specific colors.

Furthermore, the number of times wiping (cleaning) is performed for each recording head can be freely controlled by repeating it a desired number of times.

For example, control is performed so that wiping is performed only on heads whose print duty reaches a predetermined value or more after continuous printing for a certain period of time, and wiping is omitted for the ejection port surface where the print duty is low and there is still almost no deposits. You can also do it.

After completing the wiping operation for each recording head IA to ID, when these heads come to a position facing each cap 3A to 3D, ink is preliminarily ejected into each camp 3A to 3D in preparation for restarting color printing. .

When the blade 4A is in the forward position, the blade 4A is retreated (retracted) during the preliminary ejection, and then the carriage 2 is moved to the right to return the recording heads IA to ID to the platen 5 side, and then starts printing operation.

Note that the wiping means 4 and the capping means 3
In addition to the illustrated solenoids 11, 12, the forward and backward movement of can be easily controlled by, for example, cam operation.

The wiping operation during continuous printing as described above is started by generating a wiping command every certain printing operation or when the printing duty (density) is high.

With the above configuration, the ink ejection orifice cleaning method according to the present invention, that is, the inkjet recording apparatus in which a plurality of ejection orifice groups that eject the same ink are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In the ink ejection orifice cleaning method, an ink ejection orifice cleaning method is carried out which is characterized by selectively cleaning the vicinity of the ejection orifices for each ejection orifice group for each recording head.

In addition, there is provided a method for cleaning an ink ejection port according to the present invention as claimed in claim 2, in which a plurality of ejection port groups for ejecting the same ink are disposed on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In a method for cleaning ink ejection ports of an inkjet recording apparatus that performs printing using ink, a plurality of capping means for covering each of a plurality of ejection port groups and a common cleaning means are disposed in a non-printing position, Each of the ejection port groups is sequentially and selectively cleaned while moving the carriage, and ink is selectively ejected from the cleaned ejection port group to the capping means closest to the cleaning means. A similar ink ejection orifice cleaning method has been implemented.

Furthermore, an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention according to claim 3 using the above cleaning method, that is, a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium is equipped with a plurality of ejection opening groups that eject the same ink. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a cleaning means for cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports; and a control means for selectively cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports by the cleaning means for each group of ejection ports for each print head. More specifically, an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention according to claim 4, that is, a group of ejection ports that ejects the same ink onto a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In an inkjet recording device that performs recording using a plurality of inks provided with a plurality of inks,
a cleaning means provided at a non-recording position to clean the vicinity of the ejection ports; a plurality of camp members provided at the non-recording positions corresponding to each of the ejection port groups to cover each of the ejection port groups; and a cleaning device selected during non-printing. and a preliminary ejection means for ejecting ink from the group of ejection ports cleaned by the cleaning means to the capping means closest to the cleaning means. Inkjet recording apparatuses configured to eject ink have also been implemented.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system for performing the wiping operation of the recording apparatus described in FIGS. 1 to 3.

In FIG. 4, the control means 18 includes a central processing unit CP
In addition to U18A, it has a monitoring part that calculates internal conditions such as the number of printed dots, printing density, and number of printed lines. Also,
External conditions such as circumferential UfJ temperature, circumferential 'VffJ humidity, or recording head temperature can also be input to the control means 18 from the temperature sensor 21 and the temperature sensor 22.

The CPU 8A controls the driver (drive circuit) 2 based on information regarding the internal conditions or the external conditions.
3, the carriage drive motor 13 and blade drive source (solenoid) 11 are operated to control the wiping operation of each of the recording heads IA to ID.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating one aspect of the cleaning operation of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention explained in FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 5 shows the relative positional relationship between the cleaning means (blade) 4A and a plurality of heads IA-LD on the carriage 2 over time. and ID are selected as wiping targets.

In FIG. 5, when two of the 41 J recording heads IA to ID are selected to be wiped, the carriage 2 is first driven to the left in the figure, and the left end of the recording head IB is Move until it is in front of blade 4A.

Next, the blade 4A is driven forward from 1 to ■, and then the carriage 2 further moves to the left by one color (one recording head), and the relative position of the blade 4A with respect to the recording head 1 becomes a state of ■. Wiping of the recording head IB is performed while the blade 4A moves from ■ to ■.

When the wiping of the head IB is completed, the blade 4A retreats to the state shown in (2).

Next, when the carriage 2 moves to the left until the left end of the recording head ID is in front of the blade 4A, the blade 4A is advanced from the state of ■ to the state of ■.

After that, while driving the carriage 2 further to the left, the recording head ID is wiped with the blade 4A, and the blade 4A wipes the recording head ID with the blade 4A.
When A reaches the state of ■, move the blade 4A backward and press ■
state.

In FIG. 5, the state of the blade 4A is changed by changing the carriage 2 and the recording heads IA to ID, but the states of the blade 4A in FIG. Shows the same position when the device is evacuated.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the cleaning operation of the ink ejection ports of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention explained in FIGS. 1 to 4, and shows the most characteristic configuration of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, while continuous printing is being performed in step S1, it is determined in step S2 whether or not the printing duty (dot density) is high. It is determined whether the printing duty of a specific ink color is high or whether the printing duty of all ink colors is high.

The procedure of the wiping operation will be described below, taking as an example a case where the printing duty of specific ink colors, for example, yellow and cyan is high.

In that case, the process advances to step S4, where a wiping command is issued to select and wipe the yellow and cyan heads IA and IC.

Then, the process advances to step S5, and the yellow recording head IA
When the blade 4A is moved to the left until just in front of the blade 4A, the blade 4A is advanced in step S6, and in step S7, the yellow head IA is further moved to the left by a distance of about one color while wiping the yellow head IA. do.

After the wiping operation for the yellow head I is completed and before the next magenta head IB reaches the blade 4A, step S is performed.
Proceed to step 8 and retract the blade 4A.

Since the magenta head IB in this case does not have a high printing duty and does not require wiping, the magenta head IB is passed to the left with the blade 4A retracted.

When the cyan head IC, which is the second specific color head, reaches just before the blade 4, the wiping operations of steps 85 to S8 described above are similarly repeated on the cyan head IC.

That is, when the head IC comes in front of the blade 4A in step S5, the blade 4A is advanced in step S6, and the face of the cyan head IC is moved while moving the cyan head 1C to the left by about one color in step S7. Wipe with blade 4A.

When the wiping for one color is completed, step S8
Then, the blade 4A is moved backward to complete the wiping operation selected for each recording head.

Note that heads IA and IC of specific colors with high printing duty
If two or more wiping operations are necessary, judging from the printing time, etc., in step S7 the specific color head is controlled to move back and forth repeatedly within the range of one color to perform wiping a desired number of times. Can be done.

In the flowchart of Fig. 6, the wiping operation was explained using the case where the specific colors are yellow and cyan as an example, but this is the same for one or more arbitrary recording heads selected based on the print duty etc. can be controlled.

If it is determined in step S3 that the print duty etc. of all the recording heads IA~ID are high and wiping is required, the process advances to step S9 and all the recording heads IA~
Wipe the face of the ID. This golden wiping can be performed by moving the blade 4A forward and passing all the recording heads IA to ID, and then retracting the blade 4A after passing through all 1ffi.

In the case of this golden wiping, the wiping operation can be performed a desired number of times by reciprocating the recording heads IA to ID with respect to the blade 4A a plurality of times as necessary.

After completing the above wiping operation, proceed to step SIO, and move the carriage 2 to the left until it comes to a position (home position) where each of the recording heads IA to ID faces the corresponding cap 38 to 3D. In step 511, each of the recording heads IA to ID is driven to drive the electric heat exchanger to preliminarily eject ink into the corresponding caps 3A to 3D.

Next, in step S12, the carriage 2 is moved to the right (towards the platen 5) to return the recording heads IA to ID to the print area.

The cleaning operation based on the sequence detailed above is performed in an inkjet recording device using multiple heads.
This can be done particularly efficiently.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the main parts of an inkjet recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, while moving the carriage 2 to the left, a plurality of recording heads IA, IB on the carriage 2,
When the IC and LD are sequentially wiped with the blade 4A, the recording head that has finished wiping is moved to the capping means 3.
Camp 3D to 3C on the right side...---m-・
Each recording head I passes in front of it in the order of
Immediately after wiping before facing the caps 3A to 3D to which A to ID all correspond, preliminary ejection is performed one after another only into the rightmost cap 3D. Therefore, the time required for recovery of these ejections is shortened.

Ink discharged into the cap 3D from each of the recording heads IA to LD is sucked by a suction pump (negative pressure source) 8 at regular intervals.

Negative pressure suction for discharging ink from each cap can be easily performed for each individual camp or for all caps at the same special appointment.

According to the above configuration, each of the recording heads IA to ID can perform preliminary ejection immediately after wiping.
Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent color mixing of inks within the ink ejection ports of each of the recording heads IA to ID.

Also, if the cap D that receives the preliminary ejection ink is made into a cap for black ink, all the preliminary ejection will be carried out inside the cap for black ink, and it will look like the cap 3D.
The color inside will not change to a different color.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the main parts of an inkjet recording apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the recording heads IA to I of each color are
A plurality of blades 4A, 4A, 4 corresponding to each of D
A and 4A are provided.

In the illustrated example, a slide 4C supporting each blade 4A
are supported by respective guide portions 4B so as to be slidable in the forward and backward directions, and each blade 4 is moved by individually driving each slide 4C by the movement of the eccentric camshaft 4D.
A is configured to move forward and backward individually at predetermined timings.

Note that each blade 4A is used instead of the eccentric camshaft 4D.
Of course, it is also possible to provide a plurality (four) of actuators such as solenoids 11 for each recording head and operate these actuators individually to selectively wipe the face of each of the recording heads IA to ID. be.

Various embodiments of the ink ejection orifice cleaning method according to the present invention have been described above, but the cleaning operation may be performed every time a certain number of lines are printed during printing, or when the ejection duty of a particular recording head exceeds a set value. In addition to controlling based on conditions that can be managed within the control unit, such as when the print head is set, it can also be controlled based on various setting conditions, such as controlling based on external conditions such as ambient temperature, humidity, or recording head temperature. It is something.

Further, the wiping operation may be performed at predetermined timings during printing, or may be performed as appropriate, such as before or at the end of the ejection recovery operation.

In addition, cleaning of the ejection surface (recovery of bad heads due to summer)
The number of times (wiping) can also be arbitrarily selected.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention as claimed in claim 1, an ink sharing system is provided in which a plurality of ejection port groups for ejecting the same ink are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In the method for cleaning the ink ejection ports of a printing device, we decided to selectively clean the vicinity of the ejection ports for each group of ejection ports for each printhead, so cleaning operations for multiple printheads can be performed independently of recovery operations. , an ink ejection system for inkjet recording devices that allows cleaning to be performed freely by selecting only the heads that require cleaning as many times as necessary, thereby reducing wasteful consumption of ink and reducing abrasion of the heavy water layer on the ejection orifice surface. A method of cleaning the outlet is provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, a carriage reciprocating in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of the recording medium is provided with a plurality of ejection opening groups that eject the same ink, and the plurality of inks are used for recording. In a method for cleaning ink ejection ports of an inkjet recording apparatus, a plurality of capping means for covering each of a plurality of ejection port groups and a shared '11 IN means are disposed in a non-printing position, and a carriage is moved. According to claim 1, each group of ejection ports is sequentially and selectively cleaned, and ink is selectively ejected from the cleaned ejection port group to the capping means closest to the cleaning means. In addition to achieving the same effect as in the case of cleaning, it is also possible to prevent color mixing at the ejection ports of each color head during cleaning.

Furthermore, an inkjet recording apparatus using the cleaning of the ink ejection ports according to claim 3, that is, a plurality of ejection port groups that eject the same ink is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of the recording medium. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a cleaning means for cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports; and a control means for selectively cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports by the cleaning means for each group of ejection ports for each print head. According to , it is possible to select only the heads that require cleaning and perform cleaning operations on multiple recording heads as many times as necessary, thereby eliminating wasteful consumption of ink and reducing abrasion of the heavy water layer on the ejection orifice surface. can be achieved.

Furthermore, according to the present invention of claim 4, recording is performed using a plurality of inks in which a plurality of ejection opening groups for ejecting the same ink are arranged on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs the above, the cleaning means is provided at a non-printing position and cleans the vicinity of the ejection ports, and a plurality of caps are provided at the non-printing positions corresponding to each of the ejection port groups and cover each of the ejection port groups. and a preliminary ejection means for selectively ejecting ink during non-recording, the preliminary ejection means includes a capping member that is closest to the cleaning means from the ejection port group after being cleaned by the cleaning means. Since the means is configured to eject ink, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the invention according to claim 3, and also to prevent ink color mixture type a when cleaning the ejection port group of each color head. A device is obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus suitable for implementing the ink discharge port cleaning method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main parts of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system suitable for carrying out the ink ejection orifice cleaning method according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an embodiment of the cleaning operation of the print head of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. A schematic plan view showing the
7 is a plan view showing the main parts of an inkjet recording device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of cleaning operation of the recording head of the recording device shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main parts of the related inkjet recording device. LA, IB, IC1II)------Record Hesod,
2--Carriage, 3--Capping means, 4--Cleaning (wiping) means, 4 A-11--Blade (cleaning), 6・-m
------ Recording medium, 11-- Curve cleaning means drive source (solenoid), 12-1 --- Capping means drive source (solenoid), 17--
-Fusing heater 18-- Control means.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a method for cleaning ink ejection ports of an inkjet recording device equipped with a plurality of ejection port groups that eject the same ink on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium, ejecting to each ejection port group is performed. A method for cleaning an ink ejection port, characterized in that cleaning near the port is selectively performed for each recording head. (2) Ink ejection ports of an inkjet recording device that performs printing using multiple inks by disposing a plurality of ejection port groups that eject the same ink on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium. In the cleaning method, a plurality of capping means for covering each of the plurality of ejection port groups and a common cleaning means are arranged in the non-recording position,
Each of the ejection port groups is sequentially and selectively cleaned while moving the carriage, and ink is selectively ejected from the cleaned ejection port group to the capping means closest to the cleaning means. A method for cleaning ink ejection ports. (3) In an inkjet recording device equipped with a plurality of groups of ejection ports that eject the same ink on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium, a cleaning means for cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports and each ejection port are provided. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a control means for selectively cleaning the vicinity of the ejection port by the cleaning means for each group for each recording head. (4) In an inkjet recording device that performs recording using a plurality of inks in which a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction along the recording surface of a recording medium is provided with a plurality of ejection port groups that eject the same ink, a non-printing position a cleaning means for cleaning the vicinity of the ejection ports; a plurality of cap members provided at non-recording positions corresponding to each of the ejection port groups to cover each of the ejection port groups; and a preliminary discharge means for discharging, the preliminary discharge means comprising:
For the capping means closest to the cleaning means from the outlet group after being cleaned by the cleaning means,
An inkjet recording device characterized by ejecting ink.