JPH09295412A - Ink jet type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the overload of a motor at the maintenance in a printer in which the carrying of papers and the maintenance of a recording head are carried out by one motor. SOLUTION: Power from a motor is transmitted to a carrying device for papers through a row of gears at all times, and also transmitted selectively to a cap for suction and a pump through a clutch means. In the structure, in the case papers still remain on the carrying device at the time of starting maintenance (S104:YES), the papers are elected first by driving (S106) the carrying device only, and then the recording head is moved to the maintenance position (S108), and the clutch means for the pump is connected and the maintenance is carried out. The overload of the motor generated in the carrying of remaining papers can be prevented at the time of maintenance by the above arrangement.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer which comprises a transporting device capable of transporting a recording medium and a maintenance device capable of performing maintenance of a recording head, and drives these two devices using the same motor. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet printer, if ink remains in the ink ejection port of the print head, the ink causes deterioration of the print performance of the print head. Various maintenance devices capable of removing ink are provided, for example, a wiper device for wiping the ink adhering to the surface of the recording head, and a suction device for sucking the ink in the recording head by a pump or the like.

Further, as this type of maintenance device,
For example, as proposed by the applicant of the present application in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-272752 and the like, a motor mounted for a transfer device is configured to be connectable to the maintenance device side only when necessary, and one motor is used. In some cases, the maintenance device could be driven in addition to the transfer device.

[0004]

However, the prior art has the following problems. In the previously proposed ink jet printer, the motor and the carrier device are always linked, and each part of the carrier device operates even during maintenance. Therefore, if the paper is present at the position where the paper is conveyed by the conveyor, the paper will be conveyed at the same time when the maintenance is performed, and as a result, an unexpectedly large load will be applied to the motor, which may cause a failure of the motor. There was a risk of inviting me.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to have a structure in which a motor mounted for a conveying device can be connected to a maintenance device side only when necessary, and when performing maintenance. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet printer in which the sheet is not transported by the transport device.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a motor and a first power transmission capable of always transmitting power from the motor, as described in claim 1. Mechanism, a transport device driven by the power from the first power transmission mechanism, and capable of transporting a recording medium along a predetermined transport path, and a detection device capable of detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium transported by the transport device. A second power transmission mechanism capable of selectively transmitting the power from the motor; a maintenance device driven by the power from the second power transmission mechanism and capable of performing maintenance of the ink jet recording head; And a control device that controls the operating state of the second power transmission mechanism to carry the recording medium and / or perform maintenance of the recording head. When the control device performs the maintenance of the recording head and the detection device detects that the recording medium is not present, the control device controls the motor and the second power transmission mechanism to be in an operating state to perform the maintenance. It is characterized by operating the device.

In the above structure, the first power transmission mechanism is
It is interposed between the motor and the conveying device to transmit power from the motor to the conveying device. A typical example thereof is a gear mechanism including a large number of gears. In addition to the gear mechanism, various cam mechanisms, belt-pulley mechanisms, chain-sprocket mechanisms, and the like are also conceivable, and some of these mechanisms may be combined.

The second power transmission mechanism is interposed between the motor and the maintenance device to transmit power from the motor to the maintenance device, and can be constructed by the same mechanism as the first power transmission mechanism. However, it is different from the first power transmission mechanism in that the power from the motor can be selectively transmitted. Here, selectively transmittable means that it is possible to arbitrarily select whether or not to transmit the power from the motor to the maintenance device. As a mechanism for selectively transmitting power in this way, various clutch mechanisms having an engagement / disengagement engagement structure can be considered. The second power transmission mechanism may have a structure in which the power is directly transmitted from the motor when transmitting the power from the motor.
The structure may be such that power is transmitted from the motor via the first power transmission mechanism.

Further, the detecting device is a sensor or the like for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying device, and this type of sensor or the like has been adopted in more printers than ever before. As a specific example, when the light emitted from the projector hits the paper when the paper is present and is reflected, it is detected by the light receiver, or when the light emitted from the projector is blocked by the paper when the paper is present, it is detected by the light receiver. An optical sensor for sensing, a contact sensor to which a contact is connected according to contact of a sheet, and the like are applicable.

The motor, the transport device, the maintenance device, the control device, and the like may be the same as those provided in the conventional ink jet printer. According to the inkjet printer of the present invention configured as described above,
When the control device performs the maintenance of the recording head and the detection device detects that there is no recording medium, the control device controls the motor and the second power transmission mechanism to the operating state to operate the maintenance device. Therefore, the maintenance device operates only when the recording medium does not exist at the position where the conveyance device performs the conveyance, and the motor is not overloaded.

In such a printer, when the recording medium is present at the position where it is conveyed by the conveying device, as a countermeasure, it is necessary to simply display that maintenance operation is impossible or to request that the recording medium be removed. The display may be displayed, but when the control device performs the maintenance of the recording head and the detection device detects that the recording medium is present, the motor is activated. In this state, the second power transmission mechanism is controlled to the inoperative state, the recording medium is ejected by the conveying device, and thereafter, when the absence of the recording medium is detected by the detection device, the motor and the 2 When the maintenance device is operated by controlling the power transmission mechanism to the operating state, the user must take action such as removing the recording medium. Even if there is no I, in terms of the discharge of automatically recording medium was carried out, it is very convenient because maintenance is performed.

When the recording medium is automatically ejected as described above, a motor and a power from the motor are provided as described in claim 3 in addition to the configuration described in claim 2. A power transmission mechanism capable of always transmitting a recording medium, a transport device driven by the power from the first power transmission mechanism and capable of transporting a recording medium along a predetermined transport path, and a recording transport by the transport device. A detection device capable of detecting the presence / absence of a medium, a second power transmission mechanism capable of selectively transmitting power from the motor, and drive by the power from the second power transmission mechanism for maintenance of the ink jet recording head. An in-vehicle control device that includes an executable maintenance device and a control device that controls the operating states of the motor and the second power transmission mechanism to carry the recording medium and / or perform maintenance of the recording head. In the jet printer, when the control device performs the maintenance of the recording head and the presence of the recording medium is detected by the detection device, the motor is activated and the second power transmission mechanism is deactivated. The recording medium may be ejected by the conveying device, and the maintenance device may be operated by controlling the motor and the second power transmission mechanism to the operating state.

That is, in the above-mentioned claim 1 and claim 2, the maintenance device is operated when the detection device detects that there is no recording medium, but when the recording medium is present, it is automatically discharged. In the case of the above configuration, if the transport device is controlled in advance so as to perform a sufficient operation for ejecting the recording medium, then the maintenance device may be operated without the confirmation by the detection device.
This makes the control process simpler.
However, since the recording medium according to claim 2 is superior in that the recording medium can be ejected more reliably, which configuration should be selected should be appropriately determined in consideration of the required cost and the required performance. Good.

By the way, in this kind of ink jet printer, various arrangement positions of the maintenance device can be considered, and a concrete example is as described in claim 4.
The recording head is mounted on a carriage that is movable in the width direction of the recording medium under the control of the control device, and the maintenance device is arranged within the movable range of the carriage and outside the recording range of the recording medium. The control device may be configured to perform control for moving the carriage to a maintenance position where the recording head and the maintenance device face each other when performing maintenance of the recording head.

According to the printer having such a structure, when carrying out maintenance of the print head, when the carriage is moved out of the printable range, the print head and the maintenance device come to a maintenance position where they face each other.
Maintenance can be performed at that position. With such a structure, even if the surroundings are contaminated with ink drops during maintenance, the recordable range is not contaminated.

Further, particularly in the case of the structure according to claim 4, as in claim 5, the second power transmission mechanism is brought into contact with a portion that moves together with the carriage, so that the maintenance device is removed from the motor. The control means has a clutch means for switching the transmission state of the power to the vehicle, and the clutch means normally shuts off the power while transmitting the power when the carriage moves to the maintenance position. However, by the control of moving the carriage to the maintenance position, the second
The power transmission mechanism may be switched to a power transmission state to operate the maintenance device.

In this case, the carriage can also serve as an actuator required to operate the clutch means of the second power transmission mechanism, and the second power transmission mechanism can be in the power transmission state by simply moving the carriage to the maintenance position. Can be switched to.

In addition, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance device includes a cap that is in close contact with the recording head.
With a pump for sucking the ink in the recording head through the cap, the cap can be brought into close contact with the recording head and the residual ink of the recording head can be sucked by the pump, so that unnecessary ink can be removed. It can be removed efficiently.

As the maintenance device, a wiper device for wiping the recording head may be provided in addition to the structure described in claim 6.

[0020]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The specific devices described below are merely examples of the embodiments of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the specific devices illustrated below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 is provided with rails 5 and 7 fixed to a mounting seat 3a on a base frame 3 and reciprocally movable along the rails 5 and 7. A print mechanism including a carriage 11 and an ink jet type recording head 13 mounted on the carriage 11 is provided, and the recording head 13 has a resin supporting frame 15 whose ink ejection surface 13 a is fixed on the base frame 3. It faces the guide surface 15a.

The support frame 15 has a carrying roller 23 for carrying the paper supplied from the upstream side to the front of the recording head 13, and a carrying roller 2 by the urging force of a spring (not shown).
A sheet retainer 25 pressed against the sheet 3, a sheet sensor 27 for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller 23 along the guide surface 15a, and a discharge roller 29 for discharging a printed sheet are attached. Paper sensor 27
Is a reflection type optical sensor including a pair of a light projector and a light receiver, and the on / off state is switched depending on the presence or absence of paper.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support frame 15 is provided with a pair of side frames 1 provided perpendicularly to the base frame 3 on both sides of the guide surface 15a in the paper width direction.
It is equipped with 5b and 15c. Then, the transport roller 2
Both ends of the rotary shaft 23a of No. 3 are attached to the side frame 15
It is rotatably supported by b and 15c.

A metal reinforcing plate 31 is fixed to the outer surface of one side frame 15b, and a transport gear mechanism is provided on the reinforcing plate 31. The transport gear mechanism is a mechanism that transmits the driving force of a motor 33, which is provided in the support frame 15 and is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions, to the transport roller 23. The fixed motor gear 35 and the motor gear 35
The reduction gear 37 has a large diameter portion 37a that meshes with the first roller gear 47 that is fixed to the rotary shaft 23a of the transport roller 23 and that meshes with the small diameter portion 37b of the reduction gear 37. In addition to the above series of gear groups, the transport gear mechanism is also provided with a gear group for transmitting the driving force of the motor 33 to the paper feed roller 21, the discharge roller 29, and the like. Since it is not a main part of the present invention, illustration and detailed description thereof are omitted.

Outside the other side frame 15c (outside the recordable range), a wiper 71 for wiping the ink ejecting surface 13a of the recording head 13 and a cap 7 that is in close contact with the ink ejecting surface 13a are provided as a maintenance device.
3, a pump 75 for sucking ink in the recording head 13 through the cap 73, a wiper 71, a cap 73, a cam 77 for operating the pump 75, and the like.

The wiper 71 and the cap 73 are provided on the cam 7.
7 are arranged so as to be movable back and forth as the recording head 13 rotates, move forward when the recording head 13 moves to a predetermined position outside the side frame 15c, and move to a position where the recording head 13 comes into close contact with the ink ejection surface 13a of the recording head 13. To do.

The pump 75, as shown in FIG.
It has a built-in piston 79 that slides in accordance with the rotation of 7. The base end portion 79a of the piston 79 is engaged with the cam groove 77a of the cam 77, and when the cam 77 rotates, the base end portion 79a is guided by the cam groove 77a and moves back and forth.
By this operation, the piston 79 slides inside the pump 75 to generate a negative pressure. The inside of the pump 75 is communicated with the inside of the cap 73, and a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the cap 73 that is in close contact with the ink ejection surface 13a in accordance with the above operation, so that the ink is sucked from the recording head 13. .

A maintenance gear mechanism is provided on the inner surface side and a part of the outer surface side of the side frame 15c. This maintenance gear mechanism is provided by the transport roller 23.
2 is a mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the motor 33 transmitted via the rotary shaft 23a to the cam 77, as shown in FIGS.
A second roller gear 81 fixed to the rotary shaft 23a of the transport roller 23, a first relay gear 97 that meshes with the second roller gear 81, and a second relay gear 9 that meshes with the first relay gear 97.
8 and a clutch gear 85 that meshes with the second relay gear 98, and further, a third relay gear 93 that meshes with the clutch gear 85 when the clutch gear 85 slides as described later.
And a third relay gear 93 which is integrally formed coaxially with the cam 77.
And a cam gear 95 that meshes with.

The clutch gear 85 has a small-diameter portion 85a and a large-diameter portion 85b which are integrally formed, and has a side frame 15
It is arranged in a recess 15d that is recessed inward at the lower end of c, and is slidable along a shaft 83 that horizontally protrudes outward from the recess 15d and is supported rotatably about the shaft 83. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 15e is formed in the upper wall surface of the recess 15d, and the second relay gear 98 is arranged so as to partially penetrate into the recess 15d. Meshes with.

A spring 87 is disposed between the clutch gear 85 and the recess 15d, and the spring 87 biases the clutch gear 85 toward the outside while the clutch gear 8
5, the lower end 89a of the lever 89 contacts the outer side of the lever 5, and the lower end 89a of the lever 89 urges the clutch gear 85 inwardly against the urging force of the spring 87.

The lever 89, as shown in FIG.
It is rotatably supported by two bearings 7a protrudingly provided on the lower surface thereof, and is rotatable about an axis connecting the two bearings 7a. A spring 91 is connected to the crank-shaped portion of the lever 89, and the biasing force of the spring 91 causes the lever 89 to rotate in a predetermined direction, and the lower end 89a of the lever 89 presses the clutch gear 85. Lower end 89 of lever 89
The pressing force from a is larger than the urging force of the spring 87, and normally, the spring 87 is compressed and the clutch gear 85
Has moved to the inside (to the left in FIG. 2). This time,
The small diameter portion 85a of the clutch gear 85 is formed by the third relay gear 93
The drive force is not transmitted to the cam 77 side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever 89 is arranged such that an upper end 89b bent upward is projected on the rail 7. The recording head 13
When the carriage 11 moves to the maintenance position where the cap 73 and the cap 73 face each other, the claw 11a provided on the lower portion of the carriage 11 contacts the upper end 89b of the lever 89 and pushes down the upper end 89b. At this time, the lever 89 rotates around the axis connecting the two bearings 7a against the biasing force of the spring 91. As a result, the lower end 89 of the lever 89 is
a rotates to a position away from the side frame 15c (a position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2), and the clutch gear 85 slides outward (to the right in FIG. 2) by the biasing force of the spring 87.
As a result, the small diameter portion 85a of the clutch gear 85 and the third relay gear 93 mesh with each other. The second relay gear 98 and the large-diameter portion 85b of the clutch gear 85 always mesh with each other regardless of the sliding position of the clutch gear 85.
The engagement of the third relay gear 93 with the third relay gear 93 brings about a state in which the driving force is transmitted to the cam 77 side. That is, the clutch gear 85 and the third relay gear 93 constitute clutch means.

The wiper 71, the cap 73, the pump 75, the cam 77, the third relay gear 93, and the cam gear 95.
Are supported on the base frame 3 by the auxiliary frame 99. In the printer 1 configured as above,
A control device (not shown) mainly composed of a well-known CPU and the like
The operation of each unit is controlled by the above, and a series of processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed.

When this processing is started, the control device first checks whether or not a maintenance command has been received (S102). The maintenance instruction is given by a function key on an operation panel (not shown), control data received from an external device such as a host computer, or every predetermined cycle of operation of the printer 1.

If the maintenance command is received (S102: YES), it is then checked whether the paper sensor 27 detects the paper (S10).
4) While the paper is being detected (S104: YE
In S), the motor 33 is rotated in the forward direction to eject the paper (S106). The driving force of the motor 33 is the motor gear 35
→ The reduction gear 37 → the first roller gear 47 → the rotation shaft 23a is transmitted in this order, and the transport roller 23 rotates. Further, the driving force of the motor 33 is further transmitted in the order of the rotating shaft 23a → the second roller gear 81 → the first relay gear 97 → the second relay gear 98 → the clutch gear 85. At this point, the carriage 11 is Since it is within the recordable range facing the paper transport path, the claw 11a at the bottom of the carriage 11 shown in FIG.
Does not push down the upper end 89b of the lever 89, and the clutch gear 85 is held at a position separated from the third relay gear 93. Therefore, the driving force of the motor 33 is not transmitted from the clutch gear 85 to the third relay gear 93, and the third
The maintenance device located downstream of the relay gear 93 on the power transmission path does not operate.

In the control device, the trailing edge of the sheet is the sheet sensor 27.
Even when the sheet passes above, the same control as that when the sheet is still detected is continued for a predetermined distance until the trailing edge of the sheet passes the discharge roller 29. Then, after that (S104:
If NO, the carriage 11 is moved to the maintenance position (S108). As described above, this maintenance position is the position where the recording head 13 and the cap 73 face each other, and the claw 11a at the bottom of the carriage 11 is held by the lever 89.
The clutch gear 85 meshes with the third relay gear 93 in order to push down the upper end 89b of the clutch gear 85.

Then, subsequently, the motor 33 is normally rotated to perform the maintenance operation (S110). This time,
The driving force of the motor 33 is the motor gear 35 → the reduction gear 37.
→ The first roller gear 47 → the rotary shaft 23a → the second roller gear 81 → the first relay gear 97 → the second relay gear 98 → the clutch gear 85 → the third relay gear 93 → the cam gear 95 are transmitted in this order, and the cam 77 is transmitted. Rotate.

When the cam 77 starts rotating, the cap 73 first advances toward the recording head 13 and comes into close contact with the ink ejection surface 13a. Then, the pump 75 is driven,
The ink in the ink ejection port of the recording head 13 is sucked. Further, the cap 73 retracts, and then the wiper 71
Moves forward. After that, when the carriage 11 moves in the direction of returning to the recordable range, the ink ejecting surface 13a is wiped by the wiper 71, and the ink on the ink ejecting surface 13a is removed.

In the process of S102, if the maintenance command is not received (S102: N
O), processing other than the maintenance operation, such as normal printing processing, is performed (S200). During normal printing processing, the driving force of the motor 33 is transmitted to the transport roller 23 or the like to transport the paper.

However, at this time, since the carriage 11 reciprocates within the recordable range facing the sheet conveyance path, the lever 89 is not pushed down by the claw 11a, and the clutch gear 85 is moved to the lever 89. Lower end 89a
Held in position pushed back to. Therefore, although the driving force of the motor 33 is transmitted to the clutch gear 85, it is not transmitted to the third relay gear 93 and the subsequent mechanisms on the downstream side of the power transmission path do not operate.

As described above, according to the ink jet printer 1, the driving force of the motor 33 is used to carry and maintain the paper. However, if the paper is present on the carrying path, Since the maintenance operation is performed after discharging, the above operations are not performed at the same time, an excessive load is not applied to the motor 33, and the failure of the motor 33 is less likely to occur.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various specific configurations of the present invention are possible other than the above-described embodiments. Hereinafter, useful modifications will be described. In the above specific example, during the processing shown in FIG.
By repeating the process of S106, the paper is fed by a predetermined amount until the paper is no longer detected by the paper sensor 27. However, if the maximum size of the paper that can be set in the printer 1 is determined, that is determined. By performing the paper feeding operation for the size or more, the paper can be discharged without repeating the detection by the paper sensor 27 for the second time and thereafter.

Further, as described above, the sheet ejection is not limited to a series of processes. For example, when a sheet is detected by the sheet sensor 27, the maintenance operation is not executed simply as an error and unnecessary. Even if the maintenance operation is executed only when a large amount of paper is removed, the intended purpose of preventing the motor from being overloaded can be achieved. Whether or not to automatically eject the paper may be determined in advance, or may be arbitrarily selected by the user by setting the operation mode.

Further, the above-mentioned paper sensor 27 is a reflection type optical sensor, but any sensor may be used as long as it can detect the presence or absence of paper. Also,
The position and the number of the sensors may be arbitrary, and the presence or absence of the sheet may be surely detected according to the arrangement of the rollers included in the transport device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an inkjet printer as viewed from a side surface side.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the inkjet printer seen from the front side.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view in which a maintenance device is omitted from FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control process including a maintenance operation.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Inkjet printer, 3 ... Base frame, 3a ... Mounting seat, 5, 7 ... Rail, 7a
... Bearings, 11 ... Carriage, 11a ...
Nail, 13 ... Recording head, 13a ... Ink ejection surface, 15 ... Support frame, 15a ... Guide surface,
15b, 15c ... Side frame, 21 ... Paper feeding roller, 23 ... Conveying roller, 23a ... Rotating shaft,
25 ... Paper retainer, 27 ... Paper sensor, 29 ...
・ Discharging roller, 31 ... Reinforcing plate, 33 ... Motor,
35 ... Motor gear, 37 ... Reduction gear, 47 ...
・ First roller gear, 71 ... Wiper, 73 ... Cap, 75 ... Pump, 77 ... Cam, 77a ...
-Cam groove, 79 ... Piston, 81 ... Second roller gear, 83 ... Shaft, 85 ... Clutch gear, 87,
91 ... Spring, 89 ... Lever, 93 ... Third relay gear, 95 ... Cam gear, 97 ... First relay gear, 98 ... Second relay gear, 99 ... Auxiliary frame.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A motor, a first power transmission mechanism that can always transmit power from the motor, and a recording medium that can be driven along with a predetermined transport path by being driven by power from the first power transmission mechanism. A transport device, a detection device capable of detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium transported by the transport device, and a second power transmission mechanism capable of selectively transmitting power from the motor,
A maintenance device that is driven by the power from the second power transmission mechanism and is capable of performing maintenance of the ink jet recording head, and the operating states of the motor and the second power transmission mechanism are controlled to convey and / or convey the recording medium. Alternatively, in an inkjet printer including a control device that performs maintenance of the recording head, the control device, when performing the maintenance of the recording head, detects that there is no recording medium by the detection device, the motor An inkjet printer characterized in that the maintenance device is operated by controlling the second power transmission mechanism to an operating state. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein, when the control device performs maintenance of the recording head, the control device detects that the recording medium is present, and then activates the motor. The second
When the absence of the recording medium is detected by the detection device by controlling the power transmission mechanism to the inoperative state and discharging the recording medium by the transport device, the motor and the second power transmission mechanism are An inkjet printer characterized in that the maintenance device is operated by controlling the maintenance state. 3. A motor, a first power transmission mechanism that can always transmit power from the motor, and a recording medium that can be driven along with a predetermined transport path by being driven by power from the first power transmission mechanism. A transport device, a detection device capable of detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium transported by the transport device, and a second power transmission mechanism capable of selectively transmitting power from the motor,
A maintenance device that is driven by the power from the second power transmission mechanism and is capable of performing maintenance of the ink jet recording head, and the operating states of the motor and the second power transmission mechanism are controlled to convey and / or convey the recording medium. Alternatively, in an ink jet printer provided with a control device that executes maintenance of the recording head, the control device, when performing the maintenance of the recording head, detects that the recording medium is present by the detection device, the motor The operating state, the second
Controlling the power transmission mechanism to a non-operating state to perform the recording medium ejection operation by the conveying device, and thereafter controlling the motor and the second power transmission mechanism to the operating state to operate the maintenance device. Inkjet printer characterized by. 4. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is mounted on a carriage that is movable in a width direction of a recording medium under the control of the control device. The maintenance device is disposed within a movable range of the carriage and outside a recordable range of a recording medium, and when the control device performs maintenance of the recording head, the recording head and the maintenance device are An inkjet printer characterized in that control is carried out to move the carriage to an opposite maintenance position. 5. The ink jet printer according to claim 4, wherein the second power transmission mechanism switches a power transmission state from the motor to the maintenance device by contact with a portion that moves together with the carriage. The clutch means cuts off the power at all times and transmits the power when the carriage moves to the maintenance position, and the control means moves the carriage to the maintenance position. The inkjet printer characterized in that the maintenance device is operated by switching the second power transmission mechanism to the power transmission state by the control. 6. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance device sucks ink in the recording head through the cap that is in close contact with the recording head. An ink jet printer, comprising: