Ink jet recording apparatus and mechanism for discharging maintenance and recovery provided for the apparatus

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink to perform recording comprises a carriage member for mounting recording means for discharging ink, a cleaning member arranged to face the regions other than the region for the aforesaid recording means to clean the discharging port formation face of the aforesaid recording means, transporting means for transporting the aforesaid cleaning member to a position to clean recording means and a position not to clean it, and driving means for relatively driving the aforesaid carriage member and transporting means for the aforesaid cleaning member to clean the aforesaid discharging port formation face. The aforesaid cleaning member is provided with a first cleaning member (2a) mainly used for cleaning the discharging port formation portion of the aforesaid recording means and a second cleaning member (2b) mainly used for cleaning the circumference of the aforesaid discharging port formation portion. Hence, the ink discharging condition is maintained and recovered to effectuate a high-quality recording reliably.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus as disclosed in the preamble of claim 1 and as described in EP-A2-0 323 261 or EP-A2-0 398 348. Related Background Art In an ink jet recording apparatus, there is a phenomenon observed that the ink mist generated by recording performance adheres to the discharging port formation face of the recording head or that dirt and dust in the apparatus or foreign substances such as paper particles, etc. concomitantly produced when transporting recording medium adhere to the discharging port formation face. Such adherence of foreign substances to the discharging port formation face results in shifting the flying direction of ink in some case or clogging the discharging ports in the worst case, leading to the deterioration of ink discharging condition such as stuffing, etc. Hence, the quality of recorded image is lowered. For the purpose of improving such condition causing the deterioration of image quality, there has been proposed an apparatus wherein a cleaning member is arranged at a position in the non-recording region of recording area opposite to the discharging port formation face to remove the adherent ink and foreign substances by slidably rubbing the discharging port formation face with a blade made of silicone rubber, etc., for example. Also, there has been proposed an apparatus provided with means for recovery by suction to forcibly exhaust ink from the discharging ports by generating a given suction force on the discharging port formation face by use of a pump while forming a closed system in the ink discharging unit using a capping member as a method of recovering from the stuffing condition caused by the increased viscosity of ink resulting from ink dehydration at the discharging ports, clogging brought about by ink sticking or bubbles and dusts produced in the liquid path. Nevertheless, if this suction recovery is performed, there occurs a state where ink remains in the contacting portion between the discharging port formation face and the capping member. (Hereinafter ink thus remaining is referred to as "cap marking ink"). Therefore, the structure is so arranged that this cap marking ink can also be cleaned off together with the ink mist and foreign substances by rubbing the discharging port formation face with the aforesaid cleaning member. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, there has been proposed an apparatus wherein a cleaning member comprising a plastic board is arranged at the side of a capping member between the home position of a recording head and the recording area to clean the discharging port formation face of the recording head. Also, as shown in Fig. 2, there has been proposed an apparatus wherein a cleaning member comprising two cleaning members mounted in parallel thereon is arranged, each member having a different cleaning characteristic such as different hardness or different amount of contacting depth, which generates different contact pressure against the discharging port formation face. In this respect, from the viewpoint of simplier manufacturing process and lower manufacturing cost, etc., the recording heads having the discharging port formation face which is not flat have been proposed in recent years. The discharging port formation face which is not flat such as mentioned above makes it impossible for the cleaning members constructed as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 to clean the vicinity of the discharging ports sufficiently in some cases. For example, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, while recording head 21 is structured in such a manner that a front plate is arranged in the circumference of discharging ports 21a to constitute the discharging port formation face, the portion of discharging ports 21a forms a concavity which is sunken from the plane of the cap contacting portion 21b. In the aforesaid portion of discharging ports 21a, ink droplets (including foreign substances) Y₂ remain, and on the aforesaid cap contacting portion 21b, cap marking ink Z₂ remain respectively. In this condition, when recording head 21 is transported in the direction indicated by arrow A to be in contact with rubber blade 22, the cleaning of the discharging port formation face is performed. As shown in Fig. 4, however, whereas cap marking ink Z₂ are cleaned off by rubber blade 22 as recording head 21 is being transported in the direction indicated by arrow A in this example, ink droplets (including foreign substances) Y₂ in the portion of discharging ports 21a remain uncleaned because these are not in contact with rubber blade 22 due to the concavity formed in the portion of discharging ports 21a. As the above describes, in the case where the recording head is structured with a step presenting the different planes for the region in which the discharging ports are formed and the regions other than that region, it is difficult to perform a complete cleaning over the entire regions of the discharging port formation face. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of a condition such as this, the present invention is designed and an object thereof is to provide a mechanism for discharging maintenance and recovery to maintain an excellent condition of ink discharging from an ink jet recording head, which performs an extremely effective cleaning with a one-time cleaning operation even if the discharging port formation face of the recording head is not formed on the same plane of the other portions thereof as well as an ink jet recording apparatus provided with the aforesaid mechanism. This object is achieved by the features in the characterising portion of claim 1. The second cleaning member arranged independently of the first member also clean completely the portions to which the liquid droplets adhere other than the portion to be cleaned by the first cleaning member, thereby making it possible to perform a perfect cleaning irrespective of whether the discharging ports of the recording head are formed on the same plane of the other portions thereof or not. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic view systematically showing one form of a conventional cleaning blade. Fig. 2 is a schematic view systematically showing another form of a conventional cleaning blade. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing still another example of a conventional cleaning member of an ink jet recording apparatus. Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the movement of still another example shown in Fig. 3 observed in the direction indicated by arrow B. Fig. 5 is a partially cross-sectional view illustrating the principal part of an embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the principal part thereof. Fig. 7 is a view illustrating the movement of another embodiment shown in Fig. 6 observed in the direction indicated by arrow B. Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the movement of another embodiment shown in Fig. 6 observed in the direction indicated by arrow C. Fig. 9 is a view schematically showing a variation of another embodiment shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the principal part of still another embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the principal part of a further embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the principal part of still a further embodiment according to the present invention. Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration in which the apparatus is applicable to an information processing system according to the present invention. Fig. 14 is a view showing the external appearance of an information processing system, and Fig. 15 is a view showing the external appearance of another information processing system. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, in reference to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments of the present invention will be described. As shown in Fig. 5 through Fig. 8, the structure is so arranged as a first embodiment that the cap marking ink can be cleaned off excellently in a better condition. Fig. 5 is a view of the present embodiment observed from the front, in which recording head 1 is installed on main scanning carriage 3 movably mounted on main scanning rail 4 to be shuttled in the directions indicated by arrow A. The aforesaid recording head 1 discharges ink from discharging ports 1a by utilizing heat energy with an electrothermal converter (not shown) provided therein as means for generating the heat energy. Then, recording head 1 provides cap contacting portion 1b where rubber cap 5, which will be described later, is in contact with the recording head. The portion where the aforesaid discharging ports 1a are arranged is formed to show a concavity which is sunken from the aforesaid cap contacting portion 1b. To the portion where the aforesaid discharging ports 1a are arranged, ink mist generated by recording, paper particles produced by recording medium, dirts and dusts in the apparatus, etc. Y adhere, and to the cap contacting portion 1b where the cap used for the protection and recovery of the recording head is in contact with the recording head, cap marking ink Z adheres by the suction recovery process, etc., for example. Here, rubber cap 5 forms a closed system in cooperation with the aforesaid recording head 1 to prevent water evaporation from discharging ports 1a or protect the discharging port formation face by closely contacting with recording head 1 when the recording is not in operation, or to perform the maintenance, recovery, etc. of the discharging condition. The aforesaid rubber cap 5 is supported by cap holder 6 which is movable by driving means (not shown) in the directions indicated by arrows E and F. Suction pump 8 generates a given suction force in the closed system formed by the aforesaid rubber cap 5 and recording head 1 to perform the suction recovery by sucking ink forcibly from discharging ports 1a through the first tube 7 which causes ink to be sucked and exhausted from discharging ports 1a and by exhausting the sucked ink to waste ink disposing member 10 through the second tube 9. In the vicinity of recording head 1, there are arranged one piece of first cleaning member 2a supported by first holder 11 and two pieces of second cleaning member 26 (in Fig. 8, only one piece is represented) supported by second holder 12. First cleaning member 2a and second cleaning member 2b are both resilient plate member made of, for example, silicon rubber or porous spongy material to form blades, which are structured to be movable by driving means (not shown) through first holder 11 and second holder 12 respectively. These members are moved to a position to rub against discharging ports 1a of recording head 1 and cap contacting portion 1b at the time of cleaning and moved to a retracted position at the time of recording. Also, as shown in Fig. 6, the size of first cleaning member 2a is defined to provide its width ℓ wider than the width f of discharging ports 1a but narrower than the width e of the concave portion of the aforesaid discharging ports 1a so as to clean the ink droplets Y of the discharging ports 1a as well as the portion of cap marking ink Z equivalent to the width of first cleaning member 2a itself. Meanwhile, the two pieces of cleaning member 2b are arranged to provide the portion corresponding to the width d of the region to rub off for cleaning in such a manner that such portion is overlapped with the region to be rubbed off for cleaning by first cleaning member 2a; thus leaving no ink uncleaned. The two pieces of second cleaning member 2b also clean the portions of the adherent ink remaining on the discharging port formation face of recording head 1a other than the portion cleaned off by first cleaning member 2a. Subsequently, the cleaning process in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, ink droplets Y adhere to the portion of discharging ports 1a while cap marking ink Z adheres to cap contacting portion 1b. In this condition, when recording head 1 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow A, ink droplets Y are cleaned off by first cleaning member 2a and cap marking ink Z is cleaned off by second cleaning members 2b respectively as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. First cleaning member 2a and second cleaning members 2b are overlapped with each other in the width portions d, thus making it possible to remove inklets Y and cap marking ink Z perfectly from the discharging port formation face of recording head 1. In this respect, the structure of cleaning members shown in Fig. 5 through Fig. 8, particularly that of second cleaning members 2b for cleaning cap marking ink Z, may be arranged to form a shape of almost as shown in Fig. 9 in which the members broaden themselves towards the outside. With a structure such as this, cap marking ink Z tends to run outwards when the ink Z is being cleaned off; it is thus possible to remove cap marking ink Z more assuredly to make the influence against the discharging ports extremely small. Fig. 10 illustrates a second embodiment according to the present invention. In the embodiments shown in Fig. 5 through Fig. 9, second cleaning member 2b comprises two separate pieces. In the present embodiment, however, second cleaning member 12b comprises one piece. If only its width is sufficiently wide, it is still possible to clean cap making ink Z perfectly even with the second cleaning member 12b comprising only one piece as mentioned above. Ink droplets Y on discharging ports 1a is cleaned off completely by first cleaning member 2a as in the first embodiment. Regarding the cleaning members according to the present embodiment, it is desirable for first cleaning member 1a to maintain a relationship that the width ℓ of the first cleaning member 1a is longer than the alignment width f of the ink discharging ports and shorter than the width e of the concavity, i.e., f < ℓ < e. By satisfying this relationship, it becomes possible to attain an excellent cleaning of ink droplets and foreign substances remaining on the discharging port portion. Also, the width w of second cleaning member 12b must be wider than the width w₂ of cap marking ink Z because it is necessary to clean off cap marking ink Z assuredly. In this respect, although the width w of second cleaning member may be wider or narrower than the width W₁ of the head, if the structure thereof is arranged to satisfy a condition, W₁ ≧ w, it is possible to attain the maximum cleaning effect while implementing the reduction of space required for mounting the cleaning member. Here, in the present embodiment, these first and second cleaning members are formed by a same material of a same thickness. However, in consideration of cleaning characteristics, it is desirable to decide on the materials, thicknesses, etc. of the members accordingly. For information, the cleaning members in each of the aforesaid embodiments are formed by urethane rubber or hydrogenated nitrical butadiene rubber, and the thickness thereof is approximately 0.7 mm. In this respect, since the contacting area of the second cleaning member with the head is quite wide, there are some cases where a satisfactory cleaning effect cannot necessarily be obtained if the material and thickness thereof are the same as those of the first cleaning member. For example, in practice it is only the second cleaning member and the cap contacting region of the head which are in contact in the case of cleaning the front face including the region of discharging port formation face whereas a force is being exerted almost in the central part of the cleaning member due to its resiliency to restore itself from deformation at the time of cleaning. Then, because of this, the central part of the second cleaning member is bent to show a convexity. In this case, if the curvature is great, this member is in contact with the discharging port formation face and there is a possibility that ink is caused to adhere again to the portion which has been cleaned by the first cleaning member. Therefore, the thickness of the second cleaning member might be formed to be thicker. Then, there occurs another possibility that the resilient deformation force becomes completely different if the thickness of the entire body of the member is made thicker; thus causing the finish of the head surface to be detriorated or leading to the generation of defective cleaning characteristics. In order to correct this situation, it is desirable to form the cleaning member in such a way that in the vicinity of its contacting portion with the head, cladding is applied to thicken the portion thereof to slidably rub the head for cleaning, thereby preventing the curring deformation of the second cleaning member in cleaning the discharging port portion. With this structure, it is possible to attain an excellent cleaning because the bending of the second cleaning member can be prevented in cleaning the cap contacting portion corresponding to the region of the discharging ports without any change in the contacting condition between the head and the second cleaning member, and there is no possibility of the aforesaid problem to arise. Also, the direction of the slidable rubbing for cleaning can be varied (vertical direction) from the direction in which each cleaning member performs rubbing for cleaning in each embodiment. For example, as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 11, recording head 1' may be arranged to move in the direction indicated by arrow B, which is rubbed off slidably by first cleaning member 2a' and second cleaning member 2b', or in each of the embodiments, while the structure is so arranged that the discharging port formation face is rubbed off slidably by moving the recording head, this may also be arranged to move the cleaning members to rub off the discharging port formation face slidably. Further, as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 12, it may be possible to arrange each pairs of first and second cleaning members 2a, 2b, 2a' and 2b'. Then, in each of the embodiments, while the descriptions have been made of the structure wherein discharging ports 1a are concaved from cap contacting portion 1b, it may also be possible to make them convexed therefrom. Also, in each of the embodiments, while the structure is so arranged that first cleaning member 2a is first in contact with the discharging port formation face, this may also be structured so that second cleaning member 2b first in contact therewith. Now, since the present invention is structured as has been set forth above, there are the effects thereof given below. Irrespective of the structual condition that the discharging ports of the recording head are formed on the same plane of the other constituents or not, a perfect cleaning can be effectuated by separating the cleaning functions of the members; a member which functions to clean the discharging port formation portion, and another member which functions to clean the portions other than that portion. Hence, it is possible to improve the reliability of image recording because with this cleaning system, the adhesion of ink and sticking of foreign substances to the discharging port formation face can be prevented to maintain a stable ink discharging condition as well as to avoid the dropping of liquid droplets to adhere to the recording medium. The present invention demonstrates excellent effects for the ink jet recording heads and apparatuses, particularly for an ink jet head and apparatus to generate flying liquid droplets for recording by utilizing heat energy. For the typical structure and principle thereof, it is desirable to adopt the fundamental principles disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Patents 4723129 and 4740796, for example. The methods disclosed in those specifications are applicable to both of the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. Particularly in the case of the on-demand type, heat energy is generated by an electrothermal converter, which is arranged in accordance with a sheet or liquid path holding requid (ink) employed therefor, and at least one driving signal applied to the electrothermal converter generates the recording liquid with a rapid temperature rise which exceeds the nuclear boiling in response to recording information. As a result, the recording liquid in the vicinity of the thermoactive plane of the recording head is brought to a film boiling; thus consequently forming bubbles in the recording liquid by the driving signals one to one effectively. By the actions effectuated in this process of the growth and contraction of bubbles, the recording liquid is discharged into the atmospher through the discharging port to form at least one drop. If the driving signals are generated in the form of pulses, the growth and contraction of bubbles are instantaneously performed to enable an appropriate discharging of recording liquid, which is particularly fine in responsibility. The pulse driving method should preferably be adopted, and driving signals in pulse form such as disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Patents 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitably adoptable. In this respect, it is possible to perform a finer recording by adopting the conditions disclosed in the specification of U.S. Patent 4,313,124 concerning the invention on the temperature rise ratio of the above-mentioned thermoactive plane. Regarding the structures of the recording head, those disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Patents 4558333 and 4459600 wherein the thermoactive part is arranged in a curbing area are included in the present invention in addition to the structure (linear liquid path or right-angled liquid path) formed by combining discharging ports, liquid path, and electrothermal converter as disclosed in each of the above-mentioned specifications. Besides, the present invention is effectively applicable to the structures based on those disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 59-123670 wherein the slit common to a plurality of electrothermal converters is utilized as discharging port of the electrothermal converter and in Japanese Laid-Open patent Application 59-138461 wherein the opening to absorb the pressure waves generated by heat energy is arranged for the discharging port. Further, regarding the full-line type recording head having the length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium which the recording apparatus can accept for recording, there are structures to satisfy the required length by combining or plurality of recording heads or by forming them integrally as one recording head. Both are effectively applicable, and the present invention can be employed to enhance those effects in either cases. Furthermore, the present invention is effectively applicable to the chip-type recording head which is freely replaceable and enables electrical connection with the main body of the apparatus or ink supply from the main body thereof when the head is installed therein. It is also desirable to add recording means, preparatory auxiliary means, etc. which are provided as constituents of a recording apparatus of the present invention because with these constituents, the effects of the apparatus become more stable. Specifically, these constituents are capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, compressing or sucking means, electrothermal converter or heating element aside therefrom, or preparatory heating means formed by combining them. It is also effective for a stable recording to perform a preparatory discharging mode which is the preparatory execution of discharging aside from the recording itself. Further, the present invention is particularly effective for an apparatus provided with a recording mode of a complex coloring having different colors or at least one of full colors by mixing colors with the recording heads formed integrally into one body or combining plural heads, not to mention the recording mode of a main color such as black etc. only. In the embodiments of the present invention set forth above. The descriptions have been made with ink as fluid. However, it is a common practice to use ink which is solidified at room temperature or less and to perform a temperature control so that ink becomes soft or liquidized at room temperature or the viscosity of ink is maintained in the range of stable discharging in the above-mentioned ink jet by adjusting the temperature of ink itself within a range of 30°C or more but 70°C or less. Therefore, there is no problem encountered if only the ink to be used is fluid at the time of applying the recording signals currently in use. In addition, by preventing ink from becoming fluid from solid by positively using the temperature-rise caused by heat energy as energy for changing such states or by using the ink which is solidified when left as it is for the purpose of preventing ink dehydration, or an ink capable of being discharged as liquid ink when heat energy is applied in accordance with the recording signals or an ink which begins to be solidified when reaching the recording medium, etc., it is possible to apply to the present invention an ink having a property that it is only liquidized by heat energy. In such a case, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications 54-56847 or 60-71260, it may be possible to hold ink in fluid or solid state in the concavities or through holes of porous sheet which faces the electrothermal converter. According to the present invention, an apparatus wherein the above-mentioned film boiling method is employed is the most effective for each of the above-mentioned kinds of ink. Furthermore, as a mode of the recording apparatus provided with a recording mechanism using an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, a copying apparatus combined with reader, etc. and a facsimile apparatus having transmitting and receiving functions may be adopted in addition to the image output terminal of information processing apparatus such as computer, etc. Fig. 13 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, which is applied to an information processing apparatus having functions of word processor, personal computer, facsimile apparatus, and copying apparatus. In Fig. 13, controlling unit 1801 performs the control of the entire systems, comprising CPU such as microprocessor, etc. and various I/O ports to output control signals and data signals to each unit or input control signals and data signals from each unit to execute the required control. Display unit 1802 displays on its display screen various menu, documentary information, image data read by image reader 1807, etc. Touch panel 1803, which is transparent and pressure sensitive, is arranged on display unit 1802 to enable items and coordinate positions to be inputted into display unit 1802 by depressing the surface of the panel by finger, etc. FM (Frequency Modulation) sound source 1804 stores musical information produced by music editor, etc. in memory 1810 and peripheral storage unit 1812 as digital data, and read such data from the memory, etc. for FM modulation. Electrical signals from the FM sound source 1804 are converted into audible sound by speaker unit 1805. Printing unit 1806, to which the recording apparatus of the present invention is applied, is an output terminal for word processor, personal computer, and copying apparatus. Image recording unit 1807 reads an original photoelectrically for input and is arranged to read various originals in addition to those for facsimile and copying. Facsimile (FAX) transmitting and receiving unit 1808 having interface functions with the outside to transmit the original data read by image reader unit 1807 for facsimile and receiving facsimile signals transmitted for recording. Telephone unit 1809 has various telephoning functions such as an ordinary telephone function, answering phone function, etc. Memory unit 1810 includes ROM storing the system program, manager program, and other application programs, and character fonts, dictionary, etc., and RAM storing application program, documentary information, video, etc. loaded from the peripheral storage unit 1812. Keyboard unit 1811 is used to input documentary information, various commands, etc. Peripheral storage unit 1812 employs floppy disc, hard disc, etc. as storing media. In this peripheral storage unit 1812, documentary information, musical and voice information, user's application program, etc. are stored. Fig. 14 is a view showing the typical external appearance of information processing apparatus shown in Fig. 13. In Fig. 14, a reference numeral 1901 designates a flat panel display utilizing liquid crystal, etc. to display various menu, graphic information, etc. On this display 1901, touch panel 1803 is installed. By depressing the surface of this touch panel 1803 with finger, etc., it is possible to input coordinates and specific items. Handset 1902 is used when the apparatus functions as a telephone set. Keyboard 1903 is detouchably connected to the main body through cord, thereby inputting various documentary information and various data. Also, in this Keyboard 1904, various functional keys 1904, etc. are arranged. A reference numeral 1905 designates an inlet for a floppy disc for the peripheral storage unit 1812. Paper stacking unit 1906 stacks originals to read by image reader unit 1807 and exhausts originals read from the rear side of the apparatus. Also, when receiving facsimile signals, etc., recording is performed by ink jet printer 1907. In this respect, while the above-mentioned display unit 1802 can be a CRT, it is preferable to employ a flat panel such as liquid crystal, etc. utilizing ferroelectric liquid crystal, which enables the apparatus to be made smaller, thinner and lighter. In the case of the above-mentioned information processing apparatus functioning as a personal computer or a word processor, various kinds of inputted from keyboard unit 1811 are processed by controlling unit 1801 in accordance with a given program and output to printing unit 1806 as received image signals. In the case of the apparatus functioning as a receiver for facsimile apparatus, facsimile information inputted from FAX transmitting and receiving unit 1808 through communication line is processed for receiving in accordance with a given program and output to printing unit 1806 as image signals received. Also, in the case of the apparatus functioning as a copying apparatus, originals are read by image reader unit 1807, and the original data thus read are output to printing unit 1806 as copying image through controlling unit 1801. In this respect, in the case of the apparatus functioning as a transmitter for facsimile apparatus, the original data read by image reader unit 1807 is processed for transmitting by controlling unit 1801 in accordance with a given program and transmitted to the communication line through FAX receiving and transmitting unit 1808. Also, as shown in Fig. 15, the above-mentioned information processing apparatus may also be constructed with an ink jet printer built-in as an integrated body. In this case, it becomes possible to enhance the portability. In Fig. 15, those constituents having the same functions as in Fig. 14 are referenced by the same marks. Applying the recording apparatus of the present invention to the multi-functional information processing apparatus set forth above enables the functions of the above-mentioned processing apparatus to be further improved because with this recording apparatus, a high-quality image can be recorded at a high speed with low noise.

Claims: An ink jet apparatus for discharging ink to perform recording, comprising: a carriage member for mounting recording means (31; 1; 21) for discharging ink; a cleaning member (22; 32; 2; 12) arranged to face and clean the discharging port formation portion of said recording means (31; 1; 21); transporting means for transporting said cleaning member to a position to clean recording means (31; 1; 21) and a position not to clean recording means (31; 1; 21); and driving means for relatively driving said carriage member and transporting means for said cleaning member (22; 32; 2; 12) to clean said discharging port formation portion, characterized in that said cleaning member (22; 32; 2; 12) is provided with a first cleaning member (22a; 32a; 2a; 12a) adapted to clean the discharging port formation portion of said recording means (31; 1; 21), and a second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) adapted to clean the circumference of said discharging port formation portion, and in that an area cleaned by said first cleaning member is at least overlapped with an area cleaned by said second cleaning member at lateral sides of said first cleaning member. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is divided into the portions arranged on both sides of said first cleaning member (22a; 32a; 2a; 12a) crossing the direction of cleaning movement (A). An ink jet apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said divided second cleaning members (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) are arranged in parallel to each other and perpendicular to the direction of cleaning movement (A). An ink jet apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said divided second cleaning members (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) are slantly arranged to move substances cleaned off towards the outside against the direction of cleaning movement (A). An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) has a slidably rubbing portion which is longer than said first cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b), and is arranged adjacent to said first cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b). An ink jet apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is structured in such a manner that the portion thereof to slidably rub said recording means (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is formed thicker than the other portions thereof. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is provided with an electrothermal converting element for generating heat energy and is structured to discharge ink by changing the states of ink by utilizing said heat energy. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port formation portion of said recording means (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) and the vicinity thereof is formed as a recess portion deeper than an adjacent area, and said first cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is adapted to clean said recess portion and said second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) is adapted to clean the recess portion. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the width of said first cleaning member satisfies a relationship of f < ℓ < e, where f is the width of the aligned direction of the discharging ports of said recording means (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b), e is the width of said concavity related to the aligned direction of discharging ports, and ℓ is the width of said first cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b). An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus has a cap member for covering a discharge port surface of said recording means (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) and said second cleaning member (22b; 32b; 2b; 12b) cleans at least an area which is in contact with said cap member. An ink jet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second cleaning members clean the discharge port surface of said recording means (22b, 32b; 2b; 12b) in this order.

Inventors: TAJIKA HIROSHI, UCHIDA HARUO, TAJIKA, HIROSHI, UCHIDA, HARUO, TAJIKA, HIROSHI, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, UCHIDA, HARUO, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2