Patent ID: 8419162
Filing Date: 2013-04-16
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: at least one recording head each having a nozzle-opening surface and configured to eject ink through nozzles opening in said nozzle-opening surface, toward a sheet conveyance space through which a recording sheet is to be conveyed in a sheet conveyance direction; at least one cap each movable along a movement path between an extracted position and a retracted position, such that each of said at least one cap covers said nozzle-opening surface of a corresponding one of said at least one recording head, when being positioned in the extracted position, and such that each of said at least one cap is located in an adjacent space adjacent to a corresponding one of said at least one recording head in the sheet conveyance direction without covering said nozzle-opening surface of said corresponding one of said at least one recording head, when being positioned in the retracted position; at least one guide each movable between a closing position and an opening position, such that each of said at least one guide is closer to the sheet conveyance space than a corresponding one of said at least one cap positioned in the retracted position so as to guide the recording sheet to be conveyed through the sheet conveyance space and so as to close at least a part of the movement path of said corresponding one of said at least one cap, when being positioned in the closing position, and such that each of said at least one guide opens the movement path of a corresponding one of said at least one cap, when being positioned in the opening position; and each of said at least one guide being positioned in the opening position when a corresponding one of said at least one cap is moved between the extracted position and the retracted position, and being positioned in the closing position when said corresponding one of said at least one cap is positioned in the retracted position, wherein each of said at least one guide is caused, when being positioned in the closing position, to separate the adjacent space from the sheet conveyance space, and wherein each of said at least one guide includes a recording-head-side end portion which is adjacent to a corresponding one of said at least one recording head, said recording-head-side end portion being caused, when said each of said at least one guide is moved from the closing position to the opening position, to be displaced in a clearance increasing direction that increases a clearance between said recording-head-side end portion and said corresponding one of said at least one recording head, for thereby allowing a corresponding one of said at least one cap to be moved from the refracted position to the extracted position via the clearance along the movement path.