JPH0976520A - Cleaning device for ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To tightly and hermetically seal a nozzle orifice surface and to smoothly perform the wiping-off of ink in a cleaning device of an ink jet recording head equipped with a nozzle cap also utilizable as a wiper. SOLUTION: A nozzle cap 36 having a nozzle closing surface 36a capable of hermetically sealing the nozzle orifice surface 3a of a recording head 14 and revolvable to either one of a closing position where the nozzle closing surface becomes parallel to the nozzle orifice surface and a wiping position where the nozzle closing surface forms a predetermined angle (about 45 deg.) with respect to the nozzle orifice surface and arranged so as to be relatively movable to the nozzle orifice surface is provided. When this nozzle cap 36 is present at the closing position, a lip part 73 comes into contact with the nozzle orifice surface to hermetically seal the same and, when the nozzle cap 36 is present at the wiping position, only one side 73a of the lip part comes into contact with the nozzle orifice surface and also functions as a wiper wiping off the ink of the nozzle orifice surface at the contact place.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for wiping off ink adhering to a nozzle opening surface of a recording head included in an ink jet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet recording apparatuses have a cleaning device for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzle opening surface of a recording head. As this type of cleaning device, JP-A-57-96866 and JP-A-4-10943 describe a device for wiping ink using a nozzle cap provided in an inkjet recording device. Originally, this nozzle cap seals the nozzle opening surface of the recording head in order to prevent the inside of the nozzle of the recording head from drying. However, the nozzle cap described in the above publication cancels or closes the sealing operation. At the time of operation, it was arranged to wipe off the ink on the nozzle opening surface in accordance with the operation.

[0003]

However, according to the prior art, there are the following problems. Since the nozzle cap as described above is provided to prevent the nozzle from drying in the first place, it is better to seal the nozzle opening more firmly, considering only this point.
To this end, it is considered effective to adjust the material and shape of the nozzle cap so that the nozzle cap is more closely attached to the recording head.

However, as described above, when the nozzle cap is configured to wipe off the ink on the nozzle opening surface, if the nozzle cap is made to adhere to the recording head excessively strongly, the space between the two will be wiped off when the ink is wiped off. Since the frictional resistance generated in the nozzle increases, there is a possibility that the nozzle cap cannot be smoothly wiped off.

That is, if the nozzle cap and the recording head are brought into close contact with each other, the effect of preventing the nozzle from drying is improved, but the wiping operation may not be smooth, and conversely, the contact between the nozzle cap and the recording head may occur. If the pressure is weakened, the wiping operation will be smooth, but the effect of preventing the nozzle from drying may be deteriorated, and it has been difficult for the structure of the conventional cleaning device to solve both of these conflicting problems.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a cleaning device that also wipes ink using the nozzle cap of an ink jet recording head so that the nozzle opening surface can be tightly sealed and the ink can be wiped off smoothly. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ink jet recording head for wiping off ink adhering to a nozzle opening surface of a recording head provided in an ink jet recording apparatus as described in claim 1. In the cleaning device, the nozzle closing surface is capable of sealing the nozzle opening surface, and the nozzle closing surface is parallel to the nozzle opening surface, or the nozzle closing surface is close to the nozzle opening surface. A nozzle cap that is rotatable relative to the nozzle opening surface and that is rotatable relative to the nozzle opening surface. The nozzle cap is in the closed position. While contacting the opening surface to seal the nozzle opening surface, only a part of the nozzle opening surface contacts the nozzle opening surface at the wiping position, and the nozzle opening surface And wherein the wiping the link.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device of the present invention, the nozzle closing surface is provided with a lip portion which surrounds the entire nozzle opening when the nozzle opening surface is sealed and serves as a packing. When the cap is in the wiping position, only a part of the lip portion is in contact with the nozzle opening surface.

Further, in the cleaning device according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the ink on the nozzle opening surface is wiped off by a part of the lip portion, the wiped ink is collected in the inside of the lip portion. The nozzle cap and the nozzle opening surface are moved relative to each other.

Furthermore, the cleaning device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an ink suction means capable of sucking and removing ink is provided inside the lip portion.

[0011]

According to the cleaning apparatus of the first aspect, the nozzle cap contacts the nozzle opening surface to seal the nozzle opening surface in the closed position, while the nozzle cap is in the wiping position. Thus, only a part of the nozzle opening surface abuts, and the ink on the nozzle opening surface is wiped off at the abutting portion. Therefore, the contact area with the nozzle opening surface at the wiping position is smaller than that at the closed position. Therefore, even if the nozzle cap is more closely attached to the recording head at the closed position by adjusting the material and shape, the contact area is reduced by wiping at the wiping position. Accordingly, the frictional resistance generated between the nozzle opening surface and the nozzle opening surface is reduced, and the wiping operation becomes smooth.

In the above construction, the nozzle cap is arranged so as to be movable relative to the nozzle opening surface. This is because the nozzle cap side moves while contacting the nozzle opening surface to move the nozzle opening surface. Even if you wipe it off,
The nozzle side may move while contacting the nozzle cap to wipe off the nozzle opening surface. In either case, the contact area between the nozzle cap and the nozzle opening surface can be changed by rotating the nozzle cap from the closed position to the wiping position.

The nozzle closing surface of the nozzle cap is
The nozzle opening surface can be sealed at the closing position and the nozzle opening surface can be wiped off at the wiping position, but the shape is not particularly limited, but a more preferable example is the nozzle closing surface as in claim 2. Project the lip part to
In the closed position, the lip portion surrounds the entire nozzle opening and serves as packing to seal the nozzle opening surface, while in the wiping position, only a part of the lip portion abuts the nozzle opening surface for wiping. Good.

At least the shape and dimensions of the lip portion involved in wiping are such that the necessary portions can be wiped off at the wiping position. The shape and dimensions of the portion not involved in wiping may be adjusted so that the entire lip portion including the portion involved in wiping can function as packing when closed.

In the cleaning device having such a structure, a part of the lip portion functions like a wiper blade to wipe off the ink. The lip portion has an appropriate elasticity that functions as a packing, and when wiping, the lip portion comes into contact with the nozzle opening surface with a slight deflection, so that the contact state with the nozzle opening surface is maintained well, Can be wiped clean.

The nozzle closing surface of the nozzle cap is
In addition to the configuration as claimed in claim 2, for example, a flat surface which is in close contact with the nozzle opening surface over the entire surface, or in addition to this, a concave portion is provided only at a portion where the nozzle opening is formed and is closely attached to the nozzle opening itself. Instead, it is conceivable that the periphery of the nozzle opening comes into close contact with the nozzle opening surface. In these cases, when the nozzle cap is moved to the wiping position, a part of the peripheral edge of the nozzle closing surface comes into contact with the nozzle opening surface, so that the contacting portion has a shape and size necessary for wiping.
In any of these configurations, since the contact area with the nozzle opening surface changes between the closed position and the wiping position, the close contact is made firmly at the closed position, while the wiping position performs a smooth wiping operation. However, as described in claim 2,
Compared with the case where the lip portion is provided so as to project, the ink can be wiped off cleanly by bringing the lip portion into contact with an appropriate degree of bending, and thus the configuration according to claim 2 is preferable.

Further, when the nozzle cap is constructed as described in claim 2, as described in claim 3, the relative movement direction of the nozzle cap and the nozzle opening surface at the time of wiping the ink is set to one of the lip parts. It is more desirable to set the direction in which the ink wiped off at the part gathers inside the lip part.

In this way, the ink wiped off at a part of the lip portion gathers inside the lip portion, so that the ink drips outside as compared with the case where the ink is gathered outside the lip portion. It gets harder. Therefore, it is effective if the wiped ink is in a dripping state.

In addition to the structure described in claim 3, for example, when the amount of the ink to be wiped is not so large as to drip, the ink may be wiped so as to collect the ink on the outside of the lip portion. This does not change the effect that the nozzle can be tightly sealed and the wiping is smooth. Also, for example, even if the amount of ink to be wiped off is large enough to drip, an absorbent material that can absorb the wiped ink is placed near the nozzle cap, and the nozzle cap absorbs the ink each time it is wiped off. If the ink is absorbed by the material, it is possible to prevent the ink from dripping even if the ink is wiped off to collect on the outside of the lip portion.

Furthermore, when the wiped ink is collected inside the lip portion as described in claim 3, the ink is sucked and removed inside the lip portion as described in claim 4. It is also effective to provide possible ink suction means. As the ink suction means, for example, a through hole penetrating the nozzle cap is provided inside the lip portion, and the ink is forcibly sucked by a pump or the like through the through hole, or the ink is sucked by a capillary phenomenon. It is possible to consider a configuration in which the fine pores are provided inside the lip portion and the ink is guided to the porous absorbent through the fine pores. In any case, if the ink is sucked inside the lip, it is possible to remove the ink that has accumulated inside the lip, and as a result, the ink is prevented from overflowing from the lip, and the ink drip from the lip. It does not fall and get dirty around it.

In addition to the structure described in claim 4, if the amount of ink to be wiped off is small, it is possible to dry the ink naturally. In this case, ink suction means is not required. Good. In addition, an absorbent material that can absorb the wiped ink is placed near the nozzle cap,
Even when the nozzle cap is configured to perform the operation of causing the absorbing material to absorb the ink each time it is wiped, the ink suction means may not be provided inside the lip portion. In any of these cases, there is no change in the effect that the nozzle can be tightly sealed and the wiping is smooth.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0023]

EXAMPLES Next, in order to further clarify the embodiments of the present invention, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the examples 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 examples illustrated below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus of the embodiment is provided with a cylindrical platen 10 rotatably attached to a frame 12 in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and a platen 10 facing the platen 10. An ink jet type recording head 14 is provided. The recording head 14 is mounted on the carriage 16. The carriage 16 includes a guide rod 20 arranged parallel to the center line of the platen 10.
Is slidably supported by the pair of pulleys 22, 2 and
4 is engaged with the timing belt 26 wound around the belt 4. Then, one of the pulleys 22 is rotated by the carriage drive motor 28, and the timing belt 26 is sent, so that the carriage 16 moves along the platen 10.

The recording head 14 has a large number of ink flow paths (not shown) and a large number of nozzles provided corresponding to the ink flow paths. Ink is supplied from an ink supply device (ink cartridge) that is freely attached. The wall of the ink flow path is formed by a vibrating plate (piezoelectric element), and when the vibrating plate is deformed by a drive circuit (not shown) based on a command from a control device (not shown), the pressure change due to the deformation Causes the ink to be ejected from the nozzle. The vibrating plate is deformed based on the recording data, and the ink supplied to the ink flow path is ejected from the nozzles determined based on the recording data. The ink is ejected onto the recording paper 32 supplied between the platen 10 and the recording head 14 as the carriage 16 moves, thereby forming an image for one line. When the image formation for one line is completed, the platen 10 is rotated to feed the recording paper 32 for one line, and the image for one line is formed again. By repeating this, an image is formed on the entire recording sheet 32. The recording paper 32 is supplied from a paper supply port (not shown) at the rear of the frame 12 in the direction of an arrow C in the drawing, is fed in the direction of an arrow D in the drawing by the rotation of the platen 10, and is discharged from a paper discharge port (not shown).

Next, the cleaning mechanism which doubles as the nozzle cap, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, will be described in detail. A cap device 34 is provided on one side of the platen 10 at a position facing the recording head 14 that has moved to the non-recording position. The cap device 34 includes a nozzle cap 36 made of rubber on the surface facing the recording head 14.

The nozzle cap 36, as shown in FIG.
It is rotatably supported by a support shaft 71 incorporated in the cap device 34. The nozzle cap 36 has a nozzle closing surface 36a capable of sealing the surface 3a provided with the opening of the nozzle 3 (hereinafter, also referred to as the nozzle opening surface 3a), and has a rectangular cylindrical projection at the center thereof. Formed lip portion 73 is formed. Inside the lip 73, the nozzle cap 3
A through hole 75 penetrating the inside of 6 is formed, and this through hole 75 communicates with a suction tube 77 connected to the back side of the nozzle cap 36. Also, the nozzle cap 3
A spring 79 is connected to the back side of the nozzle 6, and the nozzle cap 36 is always pulled by the spring 79 to rotate the nozzle closing surface 36a to a wiping position where the nozzle closing surface 36a forms about 45 degrees with respect to the nozzle opening surface 3a. On the other hand, when the spring 79 is rotated against the pulling force of the spring 79, the nozzle closing surface 36a moves to the nozzle opening surface 3a.
Rotate to a closed position that is parallel to.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction tube 77 is further connected to the suction pump 38 via a suction tube 40.
It is connected to the. A discharge tube 48 is connected to the suction pump 38 in addition to the suction tube 40, and the discharge tube 48 is connected to a waste ink tank 52 containing an adsorbent 50. The ink in the nozzle sucked by the suction pump 38 is adsorbed by the adsorbent 50 in the waste ink tank 52 via the ejection tube 48.

The cap device 34 described above is arranged so that it can move forward toward the recording head 14 side, and the recording head 14 is moved along the guide rod 20 in the direction of the arrow G in the drawing by a cap device drive motor (not shown). Even if the retracted position does not contact the nozzle 3, one side 73a of the lip portion 73
Only the first advance position where only the nozzle opening surface 3a is contacted, or the second advance position where the entire lip portion 73 contacts the nozzle opening surface 3a is advanced or retracted.

Next, the operation of the cap device 34 at each of the above operating positions will be described. First, the recording head 14
During the normal recording operation, the cap device 34 moves to the retracted position and stands by so as not to interfere with the operation of the recording head 14. Further, when wiping off the ink adhering to the nozzle opening surface 3a, the cap device 34 moves the first
Move to the forward position. In this state, the recording head 14
Is moved in the direction of arrow G in the figure, one side 73a of the lip portion 73 is moved along with the movement of the recording head 14 as shown in FIG.
(See FIG. 2) contacts the nozzle opening surface 3a, and the ink 7 attached to the nozzle 3 is wiped off by the lip portion 73. The lip portion 73 has an appropriate rubber elasticity, and when wiping, the lip portion 73 comes into contact with the nozzle opening surface 3a with a slight bending. Moreover, when the frictional resistance between the lip portion 73 and the nozzle opening surface 3a is large, the nozzle cap 36 rotates against the pulling force of the spring 79.
No excessive frictional force acts between the nozzle 3 and the nozzle opening surface 3a. Therefore, the lip portion 73 has the nozzle opening surface 3a.
The ink 7 can be wiped off cleanly by maintaining good contact pressure. Further, due to the relationship between the moving direction of the recording head 14 and the rotational position of the nozzle cap 36, the ink 7 wiped from the nozzle opening surface 3a.
Are collected inside the lip 73. This ink is sucked and removed to the suction tube 77 side through the through hole 75. Therefore, even if a large amount of ink adheres to the nozzle opening surface 3a, the ink does not accumulate on the lip portion 73 and drip.

Further, when sealing the nozzle opening surface 3a, the cap device 34 moves to the second forward position. At this time, the recording head 14 is moved to a position facing the cap device 34 in advance. When the cap device 34 advances, the nozzle cap 36 in the wiping position first comes into contact with the nozzle 3 only at one side 73a of the lip portion 73 (see FIG. 2).
4, the nozzle cap 36 is rotated against the tensile force of the spring 79 by the pressing force received from the nozzle 3 side, and the nozzle 3 and the nozzle cap 36 come into close contact with each other as shown in FIG. To do. At that time, the lip portion 73
Since it forms a packing that surrounds the entire nozzle row of the nozzle opening surface 3a, the degree of close contact with the nozzle opening surface 3a is higher than in the case where no lip portion is provided, and the nozzle row is airtightly covered. Further, when a head recovery operation is required due to defective ink ejection or the like, when the nozzle 3 and the nozzle cap 36 come into close contact with each other, a through hole 75 (see FIG. 2) of the nozzle cap 36 is used. Ink is sucked. This is for recovering the recording head to a good state by sucking and removing the ink containing bubbles generated inside the nozzle 3 and the ink whose flow has deteriorated due to evaporation of water. That is, the suction pump 38 shown in FIG.
It operates both when wiping the nozzle opening surface and when sealing the nozzle opening surface.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus described above, the nozzle cap 36 can be used to wipe off the ink adhering to the nozzle 3 and to seal the nozzle 3. In particular, the lip portion 73 seals the ink. At the same time, by wiping only a part of the lip portion 73, the ink can be wiped off more smoothly.

When wiping off the ink, the ink is scraped inside the lip portion 73 and the collected ink is removed by using the suction pump 38. Therefore, even when the amount of ink adhering to the nozzle is large, Waste ink does not collect in the cap 36, and the nozzle cap 36
There is no problem of ink dripping from it.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modes can be adopted within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. You can For example, in the embodiment, the spring 7
9, the nozzle cap 36 is rotated to the wiping position, and the nozzle cap 36 is pressed against the nozzle 3, and at this time, the nozzle cap 36 is rotated to the closed position by the pressing force received from the nozzle 3. Although the configuration is shown, a specific rotating mechanism may be other than this as long as it can be rotated to the wiping position or the closed position as necessary.

As a specific example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a lever 81 which is driven by a drive motor (not shown) to rotate, and a lever 81 which is operated in the direction of arrow P are shown. First fan gear 82 that rotates clockwise
And a second fan gear 83 that is rotatable integrally with the nozzle cap 36 and that rotates by meshing with the first fan gear 82.
And a spring 84 that gives a biasing force to the first fan gear 82 to rotate it counterclockwise in the drawing.
Be prepared for. With such a cap device 34,
As shown in FIG. 5A, first, move the lever 81 to the arrow P
Direction, the nozzle cap 36 is rotated to the closed position, and then the cap device 34 is advanced in the direction of the arrow Q in the drawing to close the nozzle 3. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, by returning the lever 81, the nozzle cap 36 is rotated to the wiping position by the force of the spring 84, and the nozzle 3 is moved in the arrow G direction in the same manner as the main embodiment. Then, the nozzle 3 can be wiped off. With such a structure, the nozzle cap 36 can be more smoothly rotated to the closed position, as compared with the case where the nozzle cap 36 is pressed against the nozzle 3 and rotated to the closed position as in the main embodiment. . However, the structure is more complicated than that of the main embodiment.

Further, as another specific example, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b) of the figure, a lever 91 that is driven by a drive motor (not shown) to rotate, and a fan-shaped gear 92 that rotates counterclockwise when the lever 91 operates in the direction of arrow R in the figure. And a connecting piece 92a extending from the fan gear 92
And a link 93 that is rotatably connected to each of the connecting pieces 36a extending from the nozzle cap 36, and a spring 94 that applies a biasing force to the fan gear 92 to rotate in the clockwise direction in the figure. It may be provided in the device 34. Even with such a cap device 34, as shown in FIG.
First, the lever 91 is operated in the direction of the arrow R in the drawing to rotate the nozzle cap 36 to the closed position, and then the cap device 34 is advanced in the direction of the arrow S in the drawing to close the nozzle 3. it can. On the other hand, FIG.
As shown in (b), the lever 91 is returned to rotate the nozzle cap 36 to the wiping position by the force of the spring 94,
Similar to the main embodiment, the nozzle 3 can be wiped by moving the nozzle 3 in the direction of the arrow G in the drawing. Even with such a structure, the nozzle cap 36 can be more smoothly rotated to the closed position as compared with the main embodiment.

Further, in addition to this, in the main embodiment, the nozzle cap 36 is tilted by its own weight and rotated to the wiping position by adjusting the arrangement direction of the recording head 14 and the cap device 34. Good. In this case, the spring 79
Can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, but the arrangement direction of the recording head 14, the cap device 34, etc. is restricted to some extent.

Further, in the embodiment, the nozzle cap 36 capable of sucking / removing ink through the through hole 75 is shown, but when the amount of ink wiped by the nozzle cap 36 is small, or when the nozzle cap 36 is outside. In the case where a member for removing ink is separately provided in the nozzle cap 36, the nozzle cap 36 itself may not have a suction mechanism. Even in this case, as long as the nozzle cap is configured to rotate to the closed position or the wiping position, there is no change in the effect that good sealing can be achieved at the closed position and smooth wiping can be performed at the wiping position.

Further, in the embodiment, the wiped ink is collected inside the lip portion 73, but the wiped ink may be collected outside the lip portion. In this case as well, the effect that the nozzle can be tightly sealed and the wiping is smooth is the same.

Further, in the embodiment, the lip portion 73 is provided, but the nozzle cap seals the nozzle opening surface in the closed position, while the nozzle cap only partially covers the nozzle opening surface in the wiping position. If they are configured to contact with each other, the nozzle can be tightly sealed without necessarily providing the lip portion, and the wiping can be smoothly performed.

[0041]

As described above, according to the cleaning device of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, even if the adhesion of the nozzle cap to the recording head is improved, if the wiping is performed at the wiping position, The ink attached to the nozzle opening surface can be wiped off smoothly.

Particularly, according to the cleaning device of the second aspect, the nozzle can be well sealed by the lip portion, and moreover, a part of the lip portion acts like a wiper blade, and the nozzle opening surface can be well satisfactorily formed. The ink can be wiped off. According to the cleaning device of the third aspect, in addition to the above effects, since the ink collects inside the lip portion, compared to collecting the ink outside the lip portion,
Ink does not easily drip to the outside, and there is no risk of contaminating each part of the device.

Further, according to the cleaning device of the fourth aspect, in addition to the above effects, since the ink collected inside the lip portion can be sucked and removed, even when a large amount of ink is wiped off, The ink does not drip to the outside, and there is no fear of further contaminating each part of the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a recording head and a cap device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a wiping state of the recording head by the cap device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a closed state of the recording head by the cap device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first modification of the cap device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second modification of the cap device.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Nozzle, 3a ... Nozzle opening surface, 10 ...
Platen, 12 ... Frame, 14 ... Recording head, 16 ... Carriage, 20 ... Guide rod,
22, 24 ... Pulley, 26 ... Timing belt, 28 ... Carriage drive motor, 32 ... Recording paper, 34 ... Cap device, 36 ... Nozzle cap, 36a ... Nozzle blockage Surface, 38 ... Suction pump, 40, 77 ... Suction tube, 48 ... Discharge tube, 50 ... Adsorption material, 52 ... Waste ink tank, 71 ... Spindle, 73 ...・ Lip, 75 ...
Through hole, 79 ... Spring, 81, 91 ... Lever, 8
2, 83, 92 ... fan gear, 36b ... connecting piece,
92a ... connecting piece, 93 ... link, 84, 94 ...
··Spring.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device for an ink jet recording head for wiping off ink adhering to a nozzle opening face of a recording head included in the ink jet recording device, wherein the nozzle closing face has a nozzle closing face capable of sealing the nozzle opening face. The surface is parallel to the nozzle opening surface, or the wiping position where the nozzle closing surface forms a predetermined angle with respect to the nozzle opening surface is rotatable relative to the nozzle opening surface. A nozzle cap disposed so as to be movable, the nozzle cap abuts the nozzle opening surface to seal the nozzle opening surface in the closed position, and the nozzle opening in the wiping position. Only part of the surface abuts,
An ink jet recording head cleaning device, characterized in that the ink on the nozzle opening surface is wiped off at the contact portion. 2. A cleaning device for an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a lip portion which is a packing is provided so as to surround the entire nozzle opening when sealing the nozzle opening surface, on the nozzle closing surface, An ink jet recording head cleaning device, wherein only a part of the lip portion abuts the nozzle opening surface when the nozzle cap is in the wiping position. 3. The ink jet recording head cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein when the ink on the nozzle opening surface is wiped off by a part of the lip portion, the wiped ink collects inside the lip portion. A nozzle cap and a nozzle opening surface are relatively moved in a direction. 4. The ink jet recording head cleaning device according to claim 3, further comprising an ink suction unit capable of sucking and removing ink inside the lip portion. Cleaning device.