Patent ID: 6402289
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A liquid jet apparatus, comprising:a recording head for discharging a recording liquid from a nozzle; a cap for capping the nozzle of said recording head; suction means for sucking the recording liquid from the nozzle when the nozzle is capped; a drive source for generating a drive power to be used for driving said cap and said suction means; and a switching mechanism including a planetary gear for transmitting the drive power generated by said drive source to either said cap or said suction means, an axis of said planetary gear being movable in a plane substantially perpendicular to said axis of said planetary gear, wherein said drive source is driven in one direction to cause said cap to cap the nozzle, and is driven in a direction opposite to the one direction to cause said suction means to perform sucking.