Ink jet recording apparatus and a method of cleaning a recording head used in the apparatus

Claim 2

A cleaning method comprising the steps of: moving a carriage, on which a recording head for discharging ink is mounted, from a recording area where recording is performed to a non-recording area opposing a cap member having a cleaning member for cleaning a front surface of said recording head by contacting said front surface; moving said cleaning member toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with a capping operation for capping said front surface of said recording head, said capping operation being initiated when said locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position with locking means; cleaning said front surface of said recording head with said cleaning member by moving said carriage from the recording area into the non-recording area; and releasing and retracting said cleaning member after said front surface is cleaned by moving said carriage further into the non-recording area causing said locking means to be released.

Claim 3

A method according to claim 1, wherein a drive source for said capping operation by said cap member is the same as a drive source for said cleaning member.

Claim 4

A cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning member is cleaned by a second cleaning member prior to cleaning said front surface.

Claim 5

A cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning member is cleaned by a second cleaning member after the cleaning of said front surface.

Claim 6

A method according to claim 1, wherein said recording head includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 7

A cleaning method comprising the steps of: moving a carriage, on which a recording head having electrothermal converting elements for generating thermal energy for discharging ink is mounted, from a recording area where recording is performed to a non-recording area opposing a capping member having a cleaning member for cleaning a front surface of said recording head by contacting said front surface; moving said cleaning member toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with a capping operation for capping said front surface of said recording head, said capping operation being initiated when said carriage is being moved to the non-recording area; locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position with a locking means; cleaning said front surface of said recording head with said cleaning member by moving said carriage from the recording area toward the non-recording area while said cleaning member is in the cleaning position; pre-discharging or pre-heating ink by driving said electrothermal converting elements of said recording head after said cleaning; and releasing and retracting said cleaning member after said pre-discharging or pre-heating of ink by moving said carriage further into the non-recording area causing said locking means to be released.

Claim 8

A cleaning method comprising the steps of: moving a carriage, on which a recording head having electrothermal converting elements for generating thermal energy for discharging ink is mounted, from a recording area where recording is performed to a non-recording area opposing a capping member having a cleaning member for cleaning a front surface of said recording head by contacting said front surface; moving said cleaning member toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with a capping operation for capping said front surface of said recording head, said capping operation being initiated when said carriage is being moved to the non-recording area; locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position with a locking means; cleaning said front surface of said recording head with said cleaning member by moving said carriage from the recording area toward the non-recording area while said cleaning member is in the cleaning position; pre-discharging or pre-heating ink by driving said electrothermal converting elements of said recording head after said cleaning; and releasing and retracting said cleaning member after said pre-discharging or pre-heating of ink by moving said carriage further into the non-recording area causing said locking means to be released.

Claim 9

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; capping means provided at a non-recording are for covering said discharge port surface of said recording head and having a cleaning member at a side thereof; cleaning member advancing means for moving said cleaning member toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of said capping means, wherein said capping means advances when said carriage is being moved from the recording area to the non-recording area; a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position; and an engaging member at a side of said carriage for engaging said locking member to allow said cleaning member to retract to the non-cleaning position, wherein said carriage moves from the recording area to the non-recording area so that said cleaning member rubs and contacts said discharge port surface of said recording head to clean said surface.

Claim 10

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; capping means provided at a non-recording are for covering said discharge port surface of said recording head and having a cleaning member at a side thereof; cleaning member advancing means for moving said cleaning member toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of said capping means, wherein said capping means advances when said carriage is being moved from the recording area to the non-recording area; a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position; and an engaging member at a side of said carriage for engaging said locking member to allow said cleaning member to retract to the non-cleaning position, wherein said carriage moves from the recording area to the non-recording area so that said cleaning member rubs and contacts said discharge port surface of said recording head to clean said surface.

Claim 11

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a drive source for said cleaning member advancing means is the same as a drive source for advancing said capping means.

Claim 12

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said recording head includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 13

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area, a movable carriage for mounting said recording means thereon, capping means provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface, a first cleaning member provided at a side of said capping means for cleaning said discharge port surface, and a second cleaning member movable in accordance with movement of said carriage for cleaning said first cleaning member.

Claim 14

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area, a movable carriage for mounting said recording means thereon, capping means provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface, a first cleaning member provided at a side of said capping means for cleaning said discharge port surface, and a second cleaning member movable in accordance with movement of said carriage for cleaning said first cleaning member.

Claim 15

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said second cleaning member is a projecting section provided on said recording means.

Claim 16

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said projecting section has a round shape.

Claim 17

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said second cleaning member is a projecting section provided on said carriage.

Claim 18

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of said projecting sections are provided.

Claim 19

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said projecting sections are provided on opposite sides of said discharge port surface.

Claim 20

An ink jet recording apparatus method according to claim 10, wherein said recording means includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 21

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed and an electrothermal transducer associated with said discharge port for generating energy to discharge ink from said discharge port in accordance with a recording signal; a movable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping said discharge port surface of said recording means; and drive control means for driving said electrothermal transducer to perform pre-discharge of ink after said cleaning means wipes said discharge port surface of said recording means.

Claim 22

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed and an electrothermal transducer associated with said discharge port for generating energy to discharge ink from said discharge port in accordance with a recording signal; a movable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping said discharge port surface of said recording means; and drive control means for driving said electrothermal transducer to perform pre-discharge of ink after said cleaning means wipes said discharge port surface of said recording means.

Claim 23

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means for discharging ink in accordance with a recording signal; a moveable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping a front surface of said recording means; recovery means for recovering ink discharged from said recording means; and control means for controlling both the operation of cleaning the front surface of said recording head by said cleaning means and the recovery operation by said recovery means, wherein the cleaning operation is selected by manually operating a recovery member of said control means.

Claim 24

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means for discharging ink in accordance with a recording signal; a moveable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping a front surface of said recording means; recovery means for recovering ink discharged from said recording means; and control means for controlling both the operation of cleaning the front surface of said recording head by said cleaning means and the recovery operation by said recovery means, wherein the cleaning operation is selected by manually operating a recovery member of said control means.

Claim 25

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the cleaning operation is effected by a first contact making of said recovery member.

Claim 26

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said recording means includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 27

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; capping means provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface and having a cleaning member at a side thereof movable toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of said capping means, wherein the drive source for advancing said cleaning member to the cleaning position is the same as a drive source for advancing said capping means toward said carriage to cover said discharge port surface when said carriage is being moved form the recording area to the non-recording area; and a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position, wherein said carriage moves so that said cleaning member rubs and contacts said discharge port surface of said recording head to clean said surface.

Claim 28

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; capping means provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface and having a cleaning member at a side thereof movable toward said carriage from a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of said capping means, wherein the drive source for advancing said cleaning member to the cleaning position is the same as a drive source for advancing said capping means toward said carriage to cover said discharge port surface when said carriage is being moved form the recording area to the non-recording area; and a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position, wherein said carriage moves so that said cleaning member rubs and contacts said discharge port surface of said recording head to clean said surface.

Claim 29

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said recording head includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 30

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; a capping member provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface; a cleaning member provided at a side of said capping member for cleaning said discharge port surface; capping member advancing means for advancing said capping member toward said recording head; cleaning member advancing means for moving said cleaning member toward said recording head form a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the advancing of said capping means which advances when said carriage is being moved from the recording area to the no-recording area, said cleaning member advancing means having the same drive source as said capping member advancing means; a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position; and an engaging member provided on said carriage for engaging said locking member and allowing said cleaning member to move away from said recording head to the non-cleaning position.

Claim 31

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed for discharging ink and recording at a recording area; a movable carriage for mounting said recording head; a capping member provided at a non-recording area for covering said discharge port surface; a cleaning member provided at a side of said capping member for cleaning said discharge port surface; capping member advancing means for advancing said capping member toward said recording head; cleaning member advancing means for moving said cleaning member toward said recording head form a non-cleaning position to a cleaning position in accordance with the advancing of said capping means which advances when said carriage is being moved from the recording area to the no-recording area, said cleaning member advancing means having the same drive source as said capping member advancing means; a locking member for locking said cleaning member in the cleaning position; and an engaging member provided on said carriage for engaging said locking member and allowing said cleaning member to move away from said recording head to the non-cleaning position.

Claim 32

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said recording head includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.

Claim 33

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed and an electrothermal transducer associated with said discharge port for generating energy to discharge ink form said discharge port in accordance with a recording signal; a movable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping said discharge port surface of said recording means; and drive control means for driving said electrothermal transducer to perform pre-heating of ink after said cleaning means wipes said discharge port surface of said recording means.

Claim 34

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means having a discharge port surface in which a discharge port is disposed and an electrothermal transducer associated with said discharge port for generating energy to discharge ink form said discharge port in accordance with a recording signal; a movable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping said discharge port surface of said recording means; and drive control means for driving said electrothermal transducer to perform pre-heating of ink after said cleaning means wipes said discharge port surface of said recording means.

Claim 35

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means for discharging ink in accordance with a recording signal; a moveable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping a front surface of said recording means; recovery means for recovering ink discharged from said recording means; and control means for controlling both the operation of cleaning the front surface of said recording head by said cleaning means and the recovery operation by said recovery means, wherein the recovery operation is selected by manually operating a recovery member of said control means.

Claim 36

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: recording means for discharging ink in accordance with a recording signal; a moveable carriage for mounting said recording means; cleaning means for wiping a front surface of said recording means; recovery means for recovering ink discharged from said recording means; and control means for controlling both the operation of cleaning the front surface of said recording head by said cleaning means and the recovery operation by said recovery means, wherein the recovery operation is selected by manually operating a recovery member of said control means.

Claim 37

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the recovery operation is effected by a second contact making of said recovery member.

Claim 38

An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said recording head includes an electrothermal converting element for generating thermal energy to cause discharge of ink.