Patent Publication Number: US-8529016-B2

Title: Liquid ejection apparatus, controller therefor, nonvolatile storage medium storing program to be executed by the apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-001054, which was filed on Jan. 6, 2011, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus configured to eject liquid such as ink, a controller used therefor, and a nonvolatile storage medium storing a program to be executed by the liquid ejection apparatus. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There is known a liquid ejection apparatus configured to supply cleaning liquid onto a face of a conveyance member and remove or wipe foreign matters (such as recording liquid (e.g., ink) and paper dust) together with the cleaning liquid by a wiper. In this liquid ejection apparatus in the form of an ink-jet recording apparatus, the cleaning liquid is supplied onto a face of a conveyance belt (conveyance member), and foreign matters are removed together with the cleaning liquid by a blade (wiper). 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However, in this liquid ejection apparatus, when the recording liquid and the cleaning liquid are mixed with each other on the face of the conveyance member, cleaning ability of the cleaning liquid decreases, making it difficult to perform good wiping. 
     This invention has been developed in view of the above-described situations, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejection apparatus capable of performing good wiping while preventing cleaning ability of cleaning liquid from decreasing, a controller used in the liquid apparatus, and a nonvolatile storage medium storing a program to be executed by the liquid ejection apparatus. 
     The object indicated above may be achieved according to the present invention which provides a liquid ejection apparatus comprising: a liquid ejection head having an ejection face in which a plurality of ejection openings are formed, the liquid ejection head being configured to eject recording liquid through the plurality of ejection openings; a conveyance member having a face that is disposed so as to be opposed to the ejection face and that is moved while supporting a recording medium thereon to convey the recording medium; a cleaning-liquid supply portion configured to supply cleaning liquid onto the face; a wiper movable relative to the face while contacting the face to remove the recording liquid existing on the face; and a cleaning-operation executing section configured to execute a first cleaning operation including (i) a first operation for reducing an amount of the recording liquid on the face and (ii) a second operation in which the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the face by the cleaning-liquid supply portion after the that operation, and then the recording liquid and the cleaning liquid on the face are removed by the wiper. 
     The object indicated above may be achieved according to the present invention which provides a controller for a liquid ejection apparatus, the liquid ejection apparatus comprising: a liquid ejection head having an ejection face in which a plurality of ejection openings are formed, the liquid ejection head being configured to eject recording liquid through the plurality of ejection openings; a conveyance member having a face that is disposed so as to be opposed to the ejection face and that is moved while supporting a recording medium thereon to convey the recording medium; a cleaning-liquid supply portion configured to supply cleaning liquid onto the face; and a wiper movable relative to the face while contacting the face to remove the recording liquid existing on the face, the controller comprising: a cleaning-operation executing section configured to execute a first cleaning operation including (i) a first operation for reducing an amount of the recording liquid on the face and (ii) a second operation in which the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the face by the cleaning-liquid supply portion after the first operation, and then the recording liquid and the cleaning liquid on the face are removed by the wiper. 
     The object indicated above may be achieved according to the present invention which provides a nonvolatile storage medium storing a program to be executed by a liquid ejection apparatus, the liquid ejection apparatus comprising: a liquid ejection head having an ejection face in which a plurality of ejection openings are formed, the liquid ejection head being configured to eject recording liquid through the plurality of ejection openings; a conveyance member having a face that is disposed so as to be opposed to the ejection face and that is moved while supporting a recording medium thereon to convey the recording medium; a cleaning-liquid supply portion configured to supply cleaning liquid onto the face; and a wiper movable relative to the face while contacting the face to remove the recording liquid existing on the face, the program being designed to execute a first cleaning operation including (i) a first operation for reducing an amount of the recording liquid on the face and (ii) a second operation in which the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the face by the cleaning-liquid supply portion after the first operation, and then the recording liquid and the cleaning liquid on the face are removed by the wiper. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The objects, features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view generally showing an internal structure of an ink-jet printer as a first embodiment of a liquid ejection apparatus to which the present invention is applied; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view showing a channel unit and actuator units of an ink-jet head of the printer in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view showing an area III enclosed by a one-dot chain line in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5A  is a side view partly showing a state of a wiper in a first step, and  FIG. 5B  is a side view partly showing a state of the wiper in a second step; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a wiping unit; 
         FIGS. 7A-7G  are views for explaining operations of a sub-wiper in its wiping; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the printer in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow-chart showing a control of a wiping executed by a controller of the printer in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIGS. 10A-10E  are side views generally showing processings in a first sequence, wherein  FIG. 10A  shows a middle of the first step,  FIG. 10B  shows a completion of the first step,  FIG. 10C  shows a middle of a wiper cleaning,  FIG. 10D  shows a liquid supply in the second step, and  FIG. 10E  shows a start of wiping in the second step. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, there will be described embodiments of the present invention by reference to the drawings. 
     First, there will be explained an overall construction of an ink-jet printer  1  as a first embodiment of a liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     The printer  1  includes a casing  1   a  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A sheet-discharge portion  31  is provided at an upper portion of a top plate of the casing  1   a . An inner space of the casing  1   a  is divided into spaces A, B, and C in order from an upper side thereof. A sheet-supply unit  1   b  is disposed in the space B. In the spaces A, B is formed a sheet conveyance path extending from the sheet-supply unit  1   b  to the sheet-discharge portion  31 . 
     In the space A, there are disposed a sheet sensor  32 , the four heads  10 , a cleaning-liquid supply device  70  (as one example of a cleaning-liquid supply portion), a conveyance unit  21 , a guide unit, a wiping unit  40 , a controller  1   p , and so on. 
     The sheet-convey unit  21  includes: (a) belt rollers  6 ,  7 ; (b) an endless conveyance belt  8  (as one example of a conveyance member) wound around the rollers  6 ,  7 ; (c) a nip roller  4  and a peeling plate  5  disposed outside the conveyance belt  8 ; (d) platens  9   a ,  9   b  disposed inside the conveyance belt  8 ; and so on. The belt roller  7  is a drive roller which is rotated in a clockwise direction in  FIG. 1  by a drive power of a conveyance motor  121  (see  FIG. 8 ). The rotation of the belt roller  7  rotates or circulates the conveyance belt  8  in its circumferential direction in  FIG. 1 . The belt roller  6  is a driven roller which is rotated in the clockwise direction in  FIG. 1  in accordance with the rotation of the conveyance belt  8 . The nip roller  4  is disposed so as to face the belt roller  6  and used for pressing a sheet P (as one example of a recording medium) supplied from an upstream-side guide portion (which will be explained below), onto a face  8   a  of the conveyance belt  8 . The peeling plate  5  is disposed so as to face the belt roller  7  and used for peeling off the sheet P from the face  8   a  to guide the sheet P toward a downstream-side guide portion (which will be explained below). The platen  9   a  is disposed so as to face the four heads  10  and to support an upper portion (an upper loop) of the conveyance belt  8  from an inside thereof. As a result, a predetermined space appropriate for recording is formed between the face  8   a  and lower faces (ejection faces  10   a ) of the respective heads  10 . 
     Each head  10  (as one example of a liquid ejection head) is a line head having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in a main scanning direction. In recording (forming an image), the four heads  10  respectively eject inks (each as one example of a recording liquid) of four colors, namely, magenta, cyan, yellow, and black, from the lower faces (the ejection faces  10   a ) thereof. The four heads  10  are arranged in a sub-scanning direction (perpendicular to the main scanning direction) at predetermined pitches and supported by the casing  1   a  via a frame  3 . 
     The guide unit includes the upstream-side guide portion and the downstream-side guide portion disposed on opposite sides of the conveyance unit  21 . The upstream-side guide portion includes two guides  27   a ,  27   b  and a pair of conveyance rollers  26 . The upstream-side guide portion connects the sheet-supply unit  1   b  and the conveyance unit  21  to each other. The downstream-side guide portion includes two guides  29   a ,  29   b  and two pairs of conveyance rollers  28 . The downstream-side guide portion connects the conveyance unit  21  and the sheet-discharge portion  31  to each other. 
     The cleaning-liquid supply device  70  includes a tank storing cleaning liquid therein and a multiplicity of nozzles communicating with the tank and opening in a lower face of the device  70 . The cleaning-liquid supply device  70  ejects the cleaning liquid from the nozzles onto the face  8   a . The cleaning liquid may be any liquid as long as the liquid is suitable for cleaning the face  8   a . For example, water, clear ink (e.g., colorless transparent liquid not containing dyes or pigments, or the like) is used as the cleaning liquid. 
     The wiping unit  40  includes a sub-wiper  41 , a wiper  42 , a sub-wiper cleaner  44  (see  FIG. 6 ), and a wiper cleaner  45 . The wiper  42  and the wiper cleaner  45  are disposed so as to be opposed to the face  8   a  of a lower loop (portion) of the conveyance belt  8 . In the wiping, the sub-wiper  41 , while contacting the face  8   a  of the lower loop, is moved in the main scanning direction from its home position located on one side of the lower loop of the conveyance belt  8 . The sub-wiper cleaner  44  (see  FIG. 6 ) is disposed on the other side of the lower loop of the conveyance belt  8  (the sub-wiper cleaner  44  is disposed on the other side of the lower loop from the home position of the sub-wiper  41 ). The platen  9   b  is disposed inside the conveyance belt  8  at a position located on the other side of the conveyance belt  8  from a portion thereof contacted by the wipers  41 ,  42  in the wiping. Since the platen  9   b  supports the lower loop of the conveyance belt  8  from the inside thereof, it is possible to prevent the conveyance belt  8  from being deformed by pressing forces of the wipers  41 ,  42  in the wiping of the wipers  41 ,  42 , resulting in good wiping. 
     The sheet-supply unit  1   b  includes a sheet-supply tray  23  and a sheet-supply roller  25 . The sheet-supply tray  23  is mountable on and removable from the casing  1   a . The sheet-supply tray  23  has a box shape opening upward and can accommodate various sizes of sheets P. The sheet-supply roller  25  supplies, to the upstream-side guide portion, an uppermost one of the sheets P in the sheet-supply tray  23 . 
     The controller  1   p  controls operations of the components of the printer  1  to control entire operations of the printer  1 . 
     In order to record an image on the sheet P on the basis of image data supplied from an external device such as a PC connected to the printer  1 , the controller  1   p  controls: a preliminary operation for the recording; the supplying, conveying, and discharging of the sheet P; an ink ejecting operation synchronized with the conveyance of the sheet P; and other operations for the recording. Specifically, on the basis of a recording command received from the external device, the controller  1   p  controls driving devices for driving: a sheet supply motor  125  (see  FIG. 8 ) for the sheet-supply roller  25 ; a conveyance motor  127  (see  FIG. 8 ) for the conveyance rollers of the guide portions; the conveyance motor  121  (see  FIG. 8 ), the heads  10 ; and so on. The sheet P supplied from the sheet-supply tray  23  is conveyed to the conveyance unit  21  by the conveyance rollers  26 . When the sheet P passes through a position just under the heads  10  in the sub-scanning direction, the heads  10  respectively eject inks of respective colors to form a color image on the sheet P. The ink ejecting operation for the recording is performed on the basis of a detection signal transmitted from the sheet sensor  32  for sensing a leading end of the sheet P. The sheet P is then peeled off from the peeling plate  5  and conveyed upward by the two conveyance rollers  28 . Further, the sheet P is discharged onto the sheet-discharge portion  31  through an opening  30  formed in an upper portion of the printer  1 . 
     Here, the sub-scanning direction is a direction parallel to a direction (a part of a conveyance direction) in which the sheet P conveyed by the conveyance unit  21  is conveyed through the position just under the heads  10 , and the main scanning direction is a direction parallel to the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction. 
     As will be described below, the controller  1   p  executes controls for wiping and removing foreign matters (such as the ink and paper dust) from the face  8   a  of the conveyance belt  8 . 
     In the space C, a cartridge unit  1   c  is disposed so as to be mountable on and removable from the easing  1   a . The cartridge unit  1   c  includes a tray  35  and four cartridges  39  accommodated in the tray  35  side by side. The cartridges  39  respectively store the inks of four colors and respectively communicate with the heads  10  via tubes, not shown. The inks stored in the respective cartridges  39  are supplied to the respective heads  10  at appropriate timings. 
     There will be next explained the construction of each head  10  with reference to  FIGS. 2-4  in detail. It is noted that, in  FIG. 3 , pressure chambers  16  and apertures  15  are illustrated by solid lines for easier understanding purposes though these elements are located under the actuator units  17  and thus should be illustrated by broken lines. It is further noted that, since the four heads  10  have the same construction, the following explanation will be given for one of the heads  10  for the sake of simplicity. 
     The head  10  is a stacked body including: a reservoir unit, not shown; a channel unit  12 ; eight actuator units  17  fixed to an upper face  12   x  of the channel unit  12  (see  FIG. 2 ); Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs, see  FIG. 4 )  19  bonded to the respective actuator units  17 ; and so on which are stacked in an upward and downward direction. The reservoir unit has a channel including a reservoir for temporarily storing the ink supplied from the cartridge  39  (see  FIG. 1 ). The channel unit  12  has channels each extending from a corresponding one of openings  12   y  (see  FIG. 2 ) formed in the upper face  12   x  to a corresponding one of ejection openings  14   a  formed in the lower face (the ejection face  10   a ). Each of the actuator units  17  has piezoelectric actuators respectively for the ejection openings  14   a.    
     Projections and recesses are formed on and in a lower face of the reservoir unit. The projections are bonded to areas of the upper face  12   x  of the channel unit  12  on which the actuator units  17  are not disposed (i.e., areas including the openings  12   y  and enclosed by two-dot chain lines in  FIG. 2 ). A distal end face of each of the projections has an opening connected to the reservoir and opposed to a corresponding one of the openings  12   y  of the channel unit  12 . As a result, individual channels  14  and the reservoir are communicated with each other via the above-described openings. The recesses are opposed to the upper face  12   x  of the channel unit  12 , surfaces of the actuator units  17 , and surfaces of the FPCs  19  with slight clearances therebetween. 
     The channel unit  12  is a stacked body constituted by nine metal rectangular plates  12   a - 12   i  (see  FIG. 4 ) having generally the same size and bonded to one another. As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , the channels of the channel unit  12  include (a) manifold channels  13  respectively having the openings  12   y  at respective one ends, (b) sub-manifold channels  13   a  each branched from a corresponding one of the manifold channels  13 , and (c) the individual channels  14  each extending from an outlet of a corresponding one of the sub-manifold channels  13   a  to a corresponding one of the ejection openings  14   a  via a corresponding one of the pressure chambers  16 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the individual channels  14  is formed for a corresponding one of the ejection openings  14   a  so as to have the aperture  15  functioning as a restrictor for adjusting a channel resistance. In areas of the upper face  12   x  to which the respective actuator units  17  are bonded, generally rhombic openings respectively for exposing the pressure chambers  16  are formed so as to be arranged in matrix. In areas of the lower face (the ejection face  10   a ) which are respectively opposed to the areas to which the respective actuator units  17  are bonded, the ejection openings  14   a  are formed in matrix in the same pattern as that of the pressure chambers  16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the actuator units  17  each having a trapezoid shape in plan view are arranged on the upper face  12   x  in two arrays in a staggered configuration. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each of the actuator units  17  covers the openings of the pressure chambers  16  formed in the area to which the actuator unit  17  is bonded. Though not shown in any figures, the actuator unit  17  includes: a plurality of piezoelectric layers expanding over a multiplicity of the pressure chambers  16 ; and electrodes interposing the piezoelectric layer in a thickness direction of the actuator unit  17 . The electrodes include: individual electrodes provided for the respective pressure chambers  16 ; and a common electrode common for the pressure chambers  16 . The individual electrodes are formed on a surface of an uppermost one of the piezoelectric layers. 
     Each of the FPCs  19  has wirings respectively corresponding to electrodes of the actuator unit  17 , and driver ICs, not shown, are mounted on the wirings. One end of the FPC  19  is fixed to the actuator unit  17 , and the other end thereof is fixed to a control board, not shown, of the head  10  (which is disposed on an upper side of the reservoir unit). Under the control of the controller  1   p  (see  FIG. 1 ), the FPC  19  sends the driver ICs various drive signals outputted from the control board and sends the actuator units  17  signals produced by the driver ICs. 
     There will be next explained a construction of the wiping unit  40 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the wiper  42  is constituted by a main body  42   a  and a wall  42   b . The main body  42   a  and the wall  42   b  are formed of the same material (e.g., an elastic material such as a rubber) integrally with each other. 
     The main body  42   a  is a plate member mainly constitutes the wiper  42  and having a distal end (one end) contactable with the face  8   a  (i.e., a contactable portion of the wiper  42  which is contactable with the face  8   a ). A basal end (the other end) of the main body  42   a  is fixed to a shaft  42   x  extending in the main scanning direction. The main body  42   a  extends in the main scanning direction so as to be longer than the conveyance belt  8  in the main scanning direction (that is, a length of the main body  42   a  in the main scanning direction is longer than a width of the conveyance belt  8 ). Near the distal end of the main body  42   a , the wall  42   b  is provided on a downstream face (right face in  FIGS. 5A and 5B ) of the main body  42   a  in a relative movement direction that is a direction in which the wiper  42  is moved relative to the face  8   a  in the wiping (hereinafter may be simply referred to as “relative movement direction”). As in the present embodiment, where the wiper  42  is stopped or at rest, and the conveyance belt  8  is moved, the relative movement direction is a direction opposite to a belt running direction of the conveyance belt  8  in which the conveyance belt  8  runs or is circulated. Where the conveyance belt  8  is stopped or at rest, and the wiper  42  is moved, the relative movement direction coincides with a direction of the movement of the wiper  42 . Where the conveyance belt  8  is moved, and the wiper  42  is moved in a direction opposite to the belt running direction of the conveyance belt  8 , the relative movement direction coincides with the direction of the movement of the wiper  42 . The wall  42   b  projects from the downstream face of the main body  42   a  in a direction toward a downstream side thereof in the relative movement direction, and in a direction inclined toward the basal end of the main body  42   a  with respect to a direction perpendicular to the downstream face of the main body  42   a . A length of the wall  42   b  in its projecting direction is shorter than a length of the main body  42   a  in a direction perpendicular to the shaft  42   x . The wall  42   b  is provided so as to expand over an entire length of the main body  42   a  in the main scanning direction. 
     At times other than the wiping, the wiper  42  is located at a position distant from the conveyance belt  8 , and in the wiping, the wiper  42  is located at a position at which the distal end of the main body  42   a  is held in deforming contact with the face  8   a . In the wiping, the main body  42   a  is held in contact with an entire width of the face  8   a  so as to be inclined with respect to the face  8   a  as seen in the main scanning direction such that a lower portion of the main body  42   a  is located nearer to the downstream side thereof (i.e., a right side in  FIG. 5 ) in the relative movement direction than an upper portion of the main body  42   a . In other words, in the wiping, the main body  42   a  extends from the distal end thereof in a direction including a downward component in a vertical direction and a downstream component in the relative movement direction (i.e., a rightward and downward direction in  FIG. 5 ). When the conveyance belt  8  is circulated in this state, the foreign matters on the face  8   a  are removed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a worm wheel  42   h  is provided on one end of the shaft  42   x . The worm wheel  42   h  is connected to a motor  42 M via gears  42   g   1 ,  42   g   2 ,  42   g   3 . The gears  42   g   3 ,  42   g   2 ,  42   g   1  are rotated by the motor  42 M, which rotates the worm wheel  42   h  with the shaft  42   x . In this rotation, the main body  42   a  is rotated about the shaft  42   x , thereby changing an angle of the main body  42   a  with respect to the face  8   a  as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  (i.e., inclination angles θ 1 , θ 2  of the main body  42   a  with respect to the face  8   a  toward the downstream side thereof in the relative movement direction as seen in the main scanning direction). It is noted that the gears  42   g   1 ,  42   g   2 ,  42   g   3 , the motor  42 M, the worm wheel  42   h , and the shaft  42   x  are examples of an angle adjusting mechanism. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the sub-wiper  41  is a plate member formed of an elastic material such as a rubber and extending in the sub-scanning direction. 
     A basal end of the sub-wiper  41  (i.e., an end portion thereof opposite to a distal end thereof) is fixed to a supporter  41   a . The supporter  41   a  is supported by a shaft  41   x  extending in the sub-scanning direction so as to be rotatable about the shaft  41   x . A pair of sliders  41   s  are respectively provided on opposite ends of the shaft  41   x . The sliders  41   s  are slidably supported on respective bars  41   b  each extending in the main scanning direction. To each of the sliders  41   s  is fixed a lower portion of a corresponding one of belts  41   c . One of the belts  41   c  is wound around pulleys  41   p   1 ,  41   p   2 , and the other of the belts  41   c  is wound around pulleys  41   p   3 ,  41   p   4 . The pulleys  41   p   1 ,  41   p   3  are provided on opposite ends of a roller  41   r . In addition to the pulley  41   p   1 , a gear  41   g   1  rotatable integrally with the pulley  41   p   1  is provided on one of the opposite ends of the roller  41   r . The gear  41   g   1  is connected to a motor  41 M via a gear  41   g   2 . When the pulley  41   p   1  is rotated by the motor  41 M, the belts  41   c  are circulated. The sliders  41   s  are in turn slid along the bars  41   b , whereby the supporter  41   a  is moved in the main scanning direction while supporting the sub-wiper  41 . A plate  41   d  extending in the main scanning direction is disposed on a lower side of the supporter  41   a . During the movement of the sub-wiper  41  in the main scanning direction, a lower end  41   a   1  of the supporter  41   a  is held in sliding contact with a face of the plate  41   d . The face of the plate  41   d  is flat except opposite ends thereof in the main scanning direction. The plate  41   d  has: a step face  41   d   1  on one of the opposite ends thereof in the main scanning direction (i.e., an upstream end portion in a direction indicated by arrow in  FIG. 6  in which the sub-wiper  41  is moved in its wiping); and an inclined face  41   d   2  on the other of the opposite ends thereof in the main scanning direction. The step face  41   d   1  is lower than the face of the plate  41   d  except the opposite ends thereof in the main scanning direction. A protruding portion  41   dp  is provided on the face of the plate  41   d  at a boundary between the step face  41   d   1  and the other area on the face of the plate  41   d  (except the step face  41   d   1 ). It is noted that the supporter  41   a  is urged in a clockwise direction in  FIG. 7A  by an urging member such as a spring. 
     When the wiping is not performed, the sub-wiper  41  is positioned at the home position (see  FIG. 7A ). In this home position, the sub-wiper  41  is opposed to the face  8   a  in the vertical direction and is at rest at an angle φ 1  (see  FIG. 7B ) with respect to the horizontal plane such that the distal end of the sub-wiper  41  does not contact the face  8   a . When the sub-wiper  41  is to move from the home position in the main scanning direction by the motor  41 M, as shown in  FIGS. 7B ,  7 C, and  7 D, the lower end  41   a   1  pivots or rotates while contacting an inclined face of the protruding portion  41   dp  near the step face  41   d   1 . In this operation, the sub-wiper  41  pivots or rotates about the shaft  41   x  against an urging force of the urging member, whereby the angle of the sub-wiper  41  with respect to the horizontal plane is changed from φ 1  to φ 2  and then φ 3  (φ 1 &lt;φ 2 &lt;φ 3 ). As a result, the distal end of the sub-wiper  41  is brought into contact with the face  8   a . Then, as shown in  FIGS. 7D and 7E , the lower end  41   a   1  is moved over the protruding portion  41   dp , and the sub-wiper  41  moves in the main scanning direction while keeping the angle φ 3  to perform the wiping. During the wiping, the urging force of the urging member (i.e., a force in a direction directed so as to change the sub-wiper  41  from the angle φ 2  to the angle φ 1 ) is applied to the sub-wiper  41 , but the sub-wiper  41  is kept at the angle φ 3  because the lower end  41   a   1  is supported on the face of the plate  41   d . When the sub-wiper  41  has reached the other end of the plate  41   d  in the main scanning direction, and the lower end  41   a   1  has reached the inclined face  41   d   2 , as shown in  FIG. 7F , the lower end  41   a   1  comes off or is released from the face of the plate  41   d  (the inclined face  41   d   2 ). In accordance with this operation, the sub-wiper  41  pivots or rotates about the shaft  41   x  by the urging force of the urging member, whereby the angle of the sub-wiper  41  is changed from φ 3  to φ 2  and then φ 1 . As a result, the distal end of the sub-wiper  41  comes off or is released from the face  8   a , and the wiping of the sub-wiper  41  is completed. After the wiping, the sub-wiper  41  is moved in the main scanning direction (specifically in a direction in the wiping) at the angle φ 1  to a position at which the distal end is brought into contact with the sub-wiper cleaner  44  (see  FIG. 6 ). After the sub-wiper cleaner  44  has cleaned the distal end, the sub-wiper  41  is moved at the angle φ 1  in a direction opposite to the direction in the wiping (see  FIG. 7G ) to return to the home position. It is noted that, in the wiping, the sub-wiper  41  is moved in the main scanning direction from one end to the other end of the conveyance belt  8  in its widthwise direction in the state in which the distal end is held in deforming contact with the face  8   a . As a result, the foreign matters on the face  8   a  are removed. 
     The foreign matters removed by the wipers  41 ,  42  are received by respective receiving trays, not shown, located below the respective wipers  41 ,  42 . 
     Each of the wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  (see  FIG. 6 ) is a cylindrical member formed of a material capable of absorbing the ink such as a sponge. The wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  are used respectively for cleaning the distal ends of the respective wipers  41 ,  42 . The sub-wiper cleaner  44  is elongated in the sub-scanning direction, and the wiper cleaner  45  is elongated in the main scanning direction. The sub-wiper cleaner  44  is longer than the sub-wiper  41  in the sub-scanning direction, and the wiper cleaner  45  is longer than the wiper  42  in the main scanning direction. The wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  are always located at their respective positions that are distant from the face  8   a.    
     A shaft  44   x  extending in the sub-scanning direction is fitted in and fixed to a center of the sub-wiper cleaner  44 . A pulley  44   p   1  is provided on one end of the shaft  44   x . A motor  44 M and a pulley  44   p   2  fixed to an output shaft of the motor  44 M are disposed on a lower side of the pulley  44   p   1 . A belt  44   b  is wound around the pulleys  44   p   1 ,  44   p   2 . When the pulley  44   p   2  is rotated by the motor  44 M, the belt  44   b  is circulated, which rotates the pulley  44   p   1  with the shaft  44   x . As a result, the sub-wiper cleaner  44  is rotated about the shaft  44   x.    
     A shaft  45   x  extending in the main scanning direction is fitted in and fixed to a center of the wiper cleaner  45 . A pulley  45   p   1  is provided on one end of the shaft  45   x . A motor  45 M and a pulley  45   p   2  fixed to an output shaft of the motor  45 M are disposed at positions distant from the pulley  45   p   1  in the sub-scanning direction. A belt  45   b  is wound around the pulleys  45   p   1 ,  45   p   2 . When the pulley  45   p   2  is rotated by the motor  45 M, the belt  45   b  is circulated, which rotates the pulley  45   p   1  with the shaft  45   x . As a result, the wiper cleaner  45  is rotated about the shaft  45   x.    
     The wipers  41 ,  42  and components for supporting the wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  (such as the bars  41   b  and the shafts  42   x ,  44   x ,  45   x ) are supported by a frame  50  movable upward and downward relative to the casing  1   a . Teeth  50   t  meshable with teeth of a gear  50   g  are formed on an end face of a one-side face of the frame  50 . When the gear  50   g  is rotated forwardly or reversely by a motor  50 M, the frame  50  is moved upward or downward in the vertical direction. As a result, the shaft  42   x  and the shaft  45   x  are moved upward and downward in the vertical direction while respectively supporting the wiper  42  and the wiper cleaner  45 . 
     There will be next explained an electric configuration of the printer  1  with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the controller  1   p  includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  101 , a Read Only Memory (ROM)  102 , a Random Access Memory (RAM)  103  such as a nonvolatile RAM, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)  104 , an interface ( 11 F)  105 , an Input/Output Port (I/O)  106 , and so on. The ROM  102  stores therein programs executed by the CPU  101 , various fixed data, and so on. The RAM  103  temporarily stores therein data required for the execution of the programs, such as image data relating to an image to be formed on the sheet P. The ASIC  104  performs, e.g., rewriting and sorting of the image data. Specifically, the ASIC  104  performs a signal processing and an image processing, for example. The I/F  105  transmits or receives data to or from the external device. The I/O  106  inputs or outputs detection signals of various sensors. 
     The controller  1   p  is connected to the motors  121 ,  125 ,  127 ,  41 M,  42 M,  44 M,  45 M,  50 M, the sheet sensor  32 , the control board of the head  10 , the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  and other components. 
     There will be next explained a wiping control executed by the controller  1   p  with reference to FIGS.  9  and  10 A- 10 E. The following processings are executed by the CPU  101  in accordance with the program stored in the ROM  102 . It is noted that  FIG. 10  omits illustrations of the sub-wiper  41  and the sub-wiper cleaner  44 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the controller  1   p  in S 1  judges whether a wiping command has been received or not. The controller  1   p  receives the wiping command in the following cases: (i) after preliminary ejection is performed; (ii) when a jamming of the sheet P occurs in the sheet conveyance path in the casing  1   a ; and the like. The preliminary ejection is ejection of the ink from the head  10  at a timing different from that of the recording, and the preliminary ejection includes purging (that is an operation for driving a pump so as to apply pressures to the ink in the head  10  to eject the ink from the ejection openings  14   a ) and flushing (that is an operation for driving the actuators of the head  10  on the basis of flushing data (different from the image data) to eject the ink from the ejection openings  14   a ). Whether the head  10  performs the purging or the flushing is determined depending upon a situation. For example, the purging is performed after the printer  1  is turned on, when the sheet Jamming has occurred (the above-described case (ii)), or when no recording command has not been received for equal to or longer than a predetermined length of time after the recording has been completed on the basis of the recording command, and the flushing is performed after the recording is completed on a predetermined number of the sheets P in successive recording (i.e., in recording for a plurality of the sheets P) and before the recording starts to be performed on the next sheet P. 
     When having received the wiping command (S 1 : YES), the controller  1   p  estimates an amount of the ink on the face  8   a , and judges in S 2  whether or not the estimated ink amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount α. In this processing, the controller  1   p  estimates the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  on the basis of a type of the preliminary ejection (i.e., the purging or the flushing) where the preliminary ejection has been performed before S 2  (the above-described case (i)), and the controller  1   p  estimates the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  on the basis of image data where the sheet jamming has occurred before S 2  (the above-described case (ii)) and the preliminary ejection has not been performed, for example. An amount of the ink to be ejected is larger in the purging than in the flushing. Thus, it is estimated that the ink having an amount that is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount a exists on the face  8   a  where the purging has been performed before S 2 , and it is estimated that the ink having an amount that is less than the predetermined amount a exists on the face  8   a  where the flushing has been performed before S 2 . In the case of the sheet jamming, the amount of the ink ejected by the head  10  can be obtained on the basis of the image data used in the recording during which the sheet jamming has occurred, and the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  can be estimated assuming that all the ejected ink has been landed on the face  8   a  (not on the sheet P). Here, where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount α, a degree of lowering of a density of the ink on the face  8   a  upon supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  is relatively low when compared with a case where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  is less than the predetermined amount α, whereby the density of the ink remaining on the face  8   a  after the wiping is relatively high. This makes it easy for the ink to adhere to the sheet P. It is noted that the ink and the face  8   a  are attracted and bonded to each other by an intermolecular force therebetween and by entrance of the ink into fine recessions and projections on the face  8   a , but when cleaning liquid having a high affinity for the ink is supplied (such as cleaning liquid mainly composed of water in the case of aqueous (water-based) ink), the ink on the face  8   a  diffuses in the cleaning liquid. It is impossible to remove all the ink (the cleaning liquid) from the face  8   a  by the wiping, and thus a considerably small amount of the ink (the cleaning liquid) always remains on the face  8   a . The predetermined amount is set at any value and obtained by experiment, for example. 
     Where the controller  1   p  has judged that the estimated ink amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount a (S 2 : YES), the controller  1   p  in S 3  executes a first sequence (as one example of a first cleaning operation). The first sequence S 3  includes a first step (as one example of a first operation) S 11 , a wiper cleaning S 13 , and a second step (as one example of a second operation) S 14 . Here, the first sequence S 3  is explained in detail. 
     In the first sequence S 3 , the controller  1   p  executes the first step S 11  in which, as shown in  FIG. 10A , the wiper  42  wipes the face  8   a  without the supply of the cleaning liquid by the cleaning-liquid supply device  70 . In this processing, the controller  1   p  first drives the motor  42 M to rotate the shaft  42   x . As a result, the wiper  42  located at the position distant from the face  8   a  is moved to a position in which the main body  42   a  is at an inclination angle θ 1  (see  FIG. 5A ), and the distal end thereof is held in deforming contact with the face  8   a . The controller  1   p  drives the conveyance motor  121  to circulate the conveyance belt  8  in a state in which the wiper  42  is held or located at a position thereof indicated in  FIG. 5A . As a result, ink I on the face  8   a  runs down the distal end of the main body  42   a  and is received by the receiving tray, not shown, that is, the ink I is removed from the face  8   a . As thus described, an amount of the ink I on the face  8   a  is reduced by the first step S 11 . 
     It is noted that settings of an area on the face  8   a  to be wiped in the first step S 11 , a running amount of the conveyance belt  8 , and the like can be appropriately performed. For example, where the controller  1   p  has identified an area on the face  8   a  on which the ink I has been landed, the controller  1   p  may wipe only the identified area. On the other hand, where the controller  1   p  has not identified any area on the face  8   a  on which the ink I has been landed, the controller  1   p  may circulate the conveyance belt  8  for equal or more than one circulation to wipe the entire face  8   a  of the conveyance belt  8  in its circumferential direction. 
     After the start of the first step S 11 , the controller  1   p  judges in S 12  whether or not the amount of the ink I on the face  8   a  has become equal to or less than a predetermined amount β. In this processing, the controller  1   p  judges that the amount of the ink I on the face  8   a  has become equal to or less than the predetermined amount β (S 12 : YES) where the wiping of the above-described identified area on which the ink I has been landed is completed in the first step S 11  or where the wiping of the entire face  8   a  of the conveyance belt  8  in its circumferential direction is completed, for example. Where the wiping of the area on which the ink I has been landed is completed or where the wiping of the entire face  8   a  of the conveyance belt  8  in its circumferential direction is completed, at least the area of the face  8   a  on which the ink has been landed is in a state in which the wiping has been performed by the wiper  42 . That is, the area is in a state in which the ink has been removed by the wiper  42 . Thus, an amount of the ink remaining on the face  8   a  is extremely small, whereby good wiping performance can be obtained where the cleaning liquid is supplied by the cleaning-liquid supply device  70 . That is, whether or not the amount of the ink I on the face  8   a  is equal to or less than the predetermined amount β is judged on the basis of whether the area of the face  8   a  on which the ink had been landed has been wiped by the wiper  42  when the controller  1   p  has received the wiping command. 
     Where the controller  1   p  has judged that the amount of the ink I on the face  8   a  has become equal to or less than the predetermined amount β (S 12 : YES), the controller  1   p  completes the first step S 11  and performs the wiper cleaning in S 13 . When the first step S 11  is completed, the controller  1   p  stops the driving of the conveyance motor  121  to stop the conveyance belt  8 . The controller  1   p  then drives the motor  50 M to lower the frame  50  together with the wiper  42  and the wiper cleaner  45  (see  FIG. 10B ). As a result, the wiper  42  comes off or is released from the face  8   a . The ink I held on the distal end of the main body  42   a  may remain on an area on the face  8   a  at which the wiper  42  has been released. Thus, the controller  1   p  drives the motor  42 M to rotate the wiper  42  once about the shaft  42   x  in a clockwise direction in  FIG. 1  (see  FIG. 10C ). In this rotation, the distal end of the main body  42   a  is brought in deforming contact with an outer circumferential face of the wiper cleaner  45 . As a result, the foreign matters attached on the distal end of the main body  42   a  are removed by the wiper cleaner  45 . 
     After S 13 , the controller  1   p  executes a second step S 14  in which, as shown in  FIG. 10D , the cleaning liquid is supplied by the cleaning-liquid supply device  70 , and then as shown in  FIG. 10E , the face  8   a  is wiped by the wiper  42  (noted that the ink ejection onto the sheet P is not performed between the first step S 11  and the second step S 14 ). In this processing, the controller  1   p  controls the conveyance motor  121  to circulate the conveyance belt  8  and then to stop the conveyance belt  8  at a timing when a position on the face  8   a  at which the wiper  42  has been released from the face  8   a  at the completion of the first step S 11  (hereinafter may be referred to as “released position of the wiper  42 ”) has reached a position located on a downstream side of the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  in the belt running direction (that is, when a state shown in  FIG. 10D  has been established). It is noted that the released position of the wiper  42  is a position of the ink I in  FIGS. 10B-10D . The controller  1   p  then controls the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  to eject the cleaning liquid CL onto an area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction. Here, an amount of the cleaning liquid CL supplied by the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  is constant regardless of the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  which has been estimated in S 2 . As a result, it is possible to reduce a consumption of the cleaning liquid CL. The controller  1   p  then controls the conveyance motor  121  to circulate the conveyance belt  8  and then to stop the conveyance belt  8  at a timing when an area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction and on an upstream side of the position at which the cleaning liquid CL has been supplied in the relative movement direction (i.e., an area on the face  8   a  between the ink I and the cleaning liquid CL in  FIG. 10E ) is positioned just over (or positioned at a position opposed to) the distal end of the main body  42   a . The controller  1   p  then controls the motor  50 M to raise the shaft  42   x  and controls the motor  42 M to rotate the shaft  42   x  to move the wiper  42  located at the position distant from the face  8   a , to a position (see  FIG. 10E ) at which the main body  42   a  is held into deforming contact with the face  8   a  so as to be at an inclination angle θ 2  (see  FIG. 5B ). In this operation, the distal end of the main body  42   a  contacts the above-described area on the face  8   a  (i.e., as shown in  FIG. 10E , the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a right side of the ink I and on a left side of the cleaning liquid CL). The controller  1   p  then controls the conveyance motor  121  to circulate the conveyance belt  8  in a state in which the wiper  42  is kept at the position shown, in  FIG. 5B . As a result, the wiping is performed in a state in which the cleaning liquid CL is held between the wall  42   b  and the distal end of the main body  42   a  (the contactable portion of the wiper  42  which is contactable with the face  8   a ), more specifically, a portion of the wiper  42  near the distal end of the main body  42   a , whereby the ink I on the face  8   a  is removed together with the cleaning liquid CL. That is, when the conveyance belt  8  is circulated from its position shown in  FIG. 10E , the cleaning liquid CL is brought into contact with the distal end of the main body  42   a . The conveyance belt  8  is circulated in the state in which the cleaning liquid CL is held on the main body  42   a . When the conveyance belt  8  has made about one circulation or rotation, the ink I contacts the distal end of the main body  42   a . That is, in this construction, it is possible to reduce an area for which the wiping is performed by the wiper  42  in a state in which the cleaning liquid CL is mixed with the ink I attached to the released position of the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11 . Thus, the good wiping performance can be obtained. 
     It is noted that, a face of the wall  42   b  near the distal end of the main body  42   a  (i.e., an upper face thereof in  FIGS. 5A and 5B ) extends obliquely downward (in a direction including the downward component in the vertical direction) in the first step S 11  and extends in a horizontal direction or obliquely upward (in a direction including an upward component in the vertical direction) in the second step S 14 . As a result, in the second step S 14 , the cleaning liquid can be effectively held on the distal end of the main body  42   a . As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a height of the shaft  42   x  in the wiping in the second step S 14  is set such that a pressure of the wiper  42  on the face  8   a  is greater than that in the first step S 11 . The pressure per a unit area is calculated by an expression “Q/S” (The sign “Q” represents a force applied to the portion of the face  8   a  which is contacted by the wiper  42 , and the sign “S” represents an area (size) of the portion of the face  8   a  which is contacted by the wiper  42 . The area “S” is calculated by an expression “l*d”, the sign “l” represents a length of the portion of the face  8   a  which is contacted by the wiper  42  in the widthwise direction of the conveyance belt  8  (i.e., the width of the conveyance belt  8  in the present embodiment), and the sign “d” represents a length of the portion of the face  8   a  which is contacted by the wiper  42  in the circumferential direction of the conveyance belt  8  (i.e., a length of a deformed portion of the distal end of the wiper  42 )). In the present embodiment, the inclination angle is smaller in the second step S 14  than in the first step S 11  (θ 2 &lt;θ 1 ), but the shaft  42   x  is located at a higher position in the second step S 14  than in the first step S 11 . Thus, a deformation amount of the distal end of the main body  42   a  is larger in the second step S 14 , and accordingly the above-described pressure is larger in the second step S 14 . Settings of an area on the face  8   a  to be wiped in the second step S 14 , a running amount of the conveyance belt  8 , and the like can be appropriately performed. However, the conveyance belt  8  is preferably circulated more than once for removing the ink I remaining on the face  8   a  at the completion of the first step S 11 . A supply amount of the cleaning liquid, a supplied position, and the like in the second step S 14  can be also appropriately set. For example, even where the cleaning liquid is supplied onto an extremely small area on the face  8   a , the cleaning liquid is spread by the wiper  42 , resulting in good wiping performance. The supply amount of the cleaning liquid in S 14  may be changed depending on the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  which has been estimated in  82 . For example, this printer  1  may be configured such that, where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  which has been estimated in S 2  is relatively large, the supply amount of the cleaning liquid is made larger, and where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  which has been estimated in S 2  is relatively small, the supply amount of the cleaning liquid is made smaller. 
     Where the estimated ink amount is less than the predetermined amount a (S 2 : NO), the controller  1   p  in S 4  executes a second sequence (as one example of a second cleaning operation). In this second sequence S 4 , only the second step S 14  is executed without executing the first step S 11 . The second step S 14  is explained above and thus the explanation thereof is omitted here, but the position on the face  8   a  at which the cleaning liquid CL has been supplied in this step and the contact position of the wiper  42  on the face  8   a  at the start of the wiping in this step are not limited in particular. Further, the wiper cleaning S 13  may be performed before the second step S 14  in the second sequence S 4 . 
     After the first sequence S 3  or the second sequence S 4 , the controller  1   p  in S 5  controls the components of the printer  1  to perform the wiping of the sub-wiper  41 . In this wiping, the controller  1   p  controls the conveyance motor  121  to circulate the conveyance belt  8  and then to stop the conveyance belt  8  at a timing when a predetermined area on the face  8   a  (e.g., a released position of the wiper  42  at the completion of S 14 ) reaches the wiping area of the sub-wiper  41 . The controller  1   p  then drives the motor  41 M to move the sub-wiper  41  in the main scanning direction. As described above, the sub-wiper  41  having reached the other end of the conveyance belt  8  in its widthwise direction returns to the home position after the distal end of the sub-wiper  41  is cleaned by the sub-wiper cleaner  44 . 
     After S 5 , the controller  1   p  finishes the control for the wiping. 
     It is noted that the controller  1   p  controls the motors  44 M,  45 M to rotate the wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  by a predetermined angle smaller than 360 degrees each time when one or a plurality of times of the wiper cleanings for the wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  is or are finished. As a result, portions of the wiper cleaners  44 ,  45  which are contacted by the distal ends of the respective wipers  41 ,  42  during the wiper cleaning are changed, making it possible to effectively remove the foreign matters attached on the distal ends of the respective wipers  41 ,  42 . 
     In view of the above, the controller  1   p  can be considered to include a cleaning-operation executing section configured to execute the first sequence, for example. Further the controller  1   p  can be considered to include a judging section configured to estimate the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  and judges whether or not the estimated ink amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount α. 
     As described above, in the printer  1  as the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is supplied, and the wiping is performed after the ink amount is reduced in the first step S 11 . As a result, good wiping can be performed while preventing cleaning ability (effect) of the cleaning liquid from decreasing. 
     In this printer  1 , the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied onto the face  8   a  in the first step S 11  is zero which is less than the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied onto the face  8   a  in the second step S 14 . As a result, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid. 
     In this printer  1 , where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  has become equal to or less than the predetermined amount β (S 12 : YES), the controller  1   p  goes to the second step S 14  from the first step S 11 . In this case, the second step S 14  is executed after the ink amount is reduced in the first step S 11  to become equal to or less than the predetermined amount β, making it possible to reliably obtain the above-described effect in which the cleaning liquid can be effectively used to perform the good wiping. 
     In this printer  1 , the pressure of the wiper  42  on the face  8   a  in the first step S 11  is less than the pressure of the wiper  42  on the face  8   a  in the second step S 14 . In this case, it is possible to reduce wear of the wiper  42  used in the first step S 11  to perform the good wiping. 
     In this printer  1 , the controller  1   p  in  52  estimates the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  and judges whether or not the estimated ink amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount α. Where the controller  1   p  has judged that the estimated ink amount is less than the predetermined amount α, the second sequence S 4  in which the second step S 14  is executed without executing the first step S 11 . On the other hand, where the controller  1   p  has judged that the estimated ink amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount α, the first sequence S 3  is executed. That is, where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  is relatively large, the first sequence S 3  is executed (the cleaning liquid is supplied and the wiping is performed in the second step S 14  after the ink amount is reduced in the first step S 11 ). On the other hand, where the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  is relatively small, the second sequence S 4  is executed (the first step S 11  is omitted, and the cleaning liquid is supplied and the wiping is performed in the second step S 14 ). As thus described, one of the two sequences is executed depending on the amount of the ink on the face  8   a , making it possible to perform the wiping efficiently with a relatively short time without deteriorating the wiping performance. 
     In this printer  1 , the controller  1   p  executes the first step S 11  so as to reduce the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  with the wiper  42  used in the second step S 14 . In this case, an additional component does not need to be provided for the first step S 11 , which simplifies the construction of the printer  1 . 
     In this printer  1 , the controller  1   p  in S 13  executes the cleaning of the wiper  42  used in the first step S 11  after the completion of the first step S 11  and before the start of the second step S 14 , and then executes the second step S 14  with the cleaned wiper  42 . In this case, it is possible to prevent the foreign matters attached to the wiper  42  in the first step S 11  from being attached to the face  8   a  again in the second step S 14 , for example. 
     In this printer  1 , when the second step S 14  is started, the cleaning liquid CL is supplied onto the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the released position of the wiper  42  (the position of the ink I in  FIG. 10D ) at the completion of the first step S 11  in the relative movement direction. Then, the wiper  42  is brought into contact with the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction and on an upstream side of the position at which the cleaning liquid CL has been supplied in the relative movement direction (i.e., the area on the face  8   a  between the ink I and the cleaning liquid CL in  FIG. 10E ). In this case, it is possible to prevent the ink I held on the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11  (i.e., the ink remaining on the face  8   a  after the completion of the first step S 11 ) from being mixed with the cleaning liquid CL supplied in the second step S 14 , thereby preventing the cleaning ability of the cleaning liquid CL from decreasing. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently use the cleaning liquid CL in the second step S 14  to perform the wiping. Further, it is possible to prevent the ink I held on the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11  from being spread on the face  8   a  in the second step S 14 . 
     In this printer  1 , the wiper  42  is constituted by the main body  42   a  and the wall  42   b , and the wall  42   b  can effectively hold the cleaning liquid on the distal end of the main body  42   a  (i.e., the contactable portion of the wiper  42  which is contactable with the face  8   a ) to perform the good wiping. In particular, where a viscosity of the cleaning liquid is relatively low, the cleaning liquid easily flows down on the main body  42   a , but the wall  42   b  can prevent this. 
     In this printer  1 , the controller  1   p  controls the motor  42 M such that the inclination angle of the main body  42   a  is smaller in the second step S 14  than in the first step S 11  (θ 2 &lt;θ 1 ). In this case, the cleaning liquid can be effectively held on the distal end of the main body  42   a  (the contactable portion of the wiper  42  which is contactable with the face  8   a ) by making the inclination angle smaller. Thus, the wiping can be performed in the second step S 14  while holding the cleaning liquid more reliably on the distal end of the main body  42   a , making it possible to perform the good wiping. Since the ink is to be removed from the face  8   a  by the wiper  42  in the first step S 11 , the ink preferably flows down on the main body  42   a  without remaining on the distal end of the main body  42   a . Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid and the ink are wiped by the wiper  42  in the second step S 14 . Since the cleaning liquid is liquid to be supplied to the ink on the face  8   a  to lower the density of the ink, the cleaning liquid preferably remains on the distal end of the main body  42   a . Thus, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the main body  42   a  is controlled to be smaller in the second step S 14  than in the first step S 11 . 
     There will be next explained an ink-jet printer as a second embodiment of the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention. The printer as the second embodiment is different from the printer as the first embodiment in the wiping control executed by the controller  1   p , but the other construction and control are the same as those of the first embodiment. 
     In the present embodiment, in the first sequence S 3  (see  FIG. 9 ), the controller  1   p  controls the sub-wiper  41  after the completion of the first step S 11  and before the start of the second step S 14  (for example, after S 13  and before S 14 ), to remove the ink I (see  FIG. 10B ) remaining on the face  8   a  after the completion of the first step S 11 . 
     In the present embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained in addition to the above-described effects obtained by the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. That is, since the controller  1   p  goes to the second step S 14  after the ink I remaining on the face  8   a  after the completion of the first step S 11  is removed by the sub-wiper  41 , it is possible to prevent the mixture of the ink I and the cleaning liquid CL from decreasing the cleaning ability of the cleaning liquid CL, resulting in the good wiping performance. It is noted that, in the present embodiment, the position on the face  8   a  onto which the cleaning liquid CL has been supplied and the contact position of the wiper  42  on the face  8   a  at the start of the wiping in the second step S 14  in the first sequence S 3  are not limited in particular. 
     While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of the illustrated embodiments, but may be embodied with various changes and modifications, which may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     The conveyance member is not limited to the conveyance belt and may be a rotational drum, for example. 
     The cleaning-liquid supply portion may have any construction. For example, the cleaning-liquid supply portion may have the same construction as that of the liquid ejection head configured to eject the recording liquid. Further, the cleaning-liquid supply portion may be a sprayer for spraying the cleaning liquid or a component for coating the cleaning liquid. 
     The wiper cleaner may be a rotatable brush instead of the sponge, for example. Further, the wiper cleaner and the wiper cleaning using this may be omitted. 
     The wall of the wiper does not need to be formed integrally with the main body. For example, there may be employed a component independent of the main body (e.g., a component having high rigidity), and bonded to the main body or movable so as to come into contact with or come off the main body. Further, the wall may be omitted. The wall may be provided on only a part of the portion of the main body which is contactable with the face of the conveyance member. The wiper is not limited to have the plate shape and may have various shapes such as a circular cylinder roller as long as the wiper can wipe the face of the conveyance member by moving relative to the face while contacting the face. A material of the wiper is not limited in particular. The sub-wiper and the wiping using this may be omitted. 
     In the wiping of each wiper, the wiper and the face of the conveyance member only need to move relatively to each other. That is, the face of the conveyance member may be moved in a state in which the wiper is at rest, and the wiper may be moved in a state in which the face of the conveyance member is at rest, and both of the wiper and the face of the conveyance member may be moved. 
     The inclination angle of the wiper with respect to the face of the conveyance member in the wiping is not limited in particular. Further, the inclination angle may be the same between the first step and the second step. 
     In addition to the height of the wiper and/or the angle of the wiper with respect to the face of the conveyance member, the pressure of the wiper on the face of the conveyance member may be adjusted by using wipers whose materials and/or sizes (e.g., lengths, widths, thicknesses) are different from each other (that is, the printer may be configured such that the different wipers are used for the wipings in the first step and the second step in the first sequence, and the above-described pressures of the wipers are adjusted). Further, such an adjustment of the pressure may not be performed (for example, the above-described pressures may be the same as each other in the first step and the second step of the first sequence). 
     The controller does not need to execute the control in which the amount of the ink on the face  8   a  is estimated, and one of the sequences is selected on the basis of the estimated ink amount. For example, the controller may always execute the first sequence where the wiping command has been received. 
     The position of the face of the conveyance member onto which the cleaning liquid is supplied and the position of the face which is contacted by the wiper at the start of the wiping in the second step of the first sequence are not limited in particular. The wipings in the first step and the second step of the first sequence may be performed by using different wipers. 
     The wiper used in the first step and the second step may be used where the recording liquid remaining on the face after the completion of the first step is removed after the completion of the first step and before the start of the second step. For example, the above-described remaining recording liquid is removed by the sub-wiper  41  in the second embodiment, but the printer may be configured such that the sub-wiper  41  is omitted, and the above-described remaining recording liquid is removed by the wiper  42 . 
     The printer may be configured such that the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the face of the conveyance member in the first step, and an amount of the cleaning liquid supplied in the first step is equal to or greater than the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied onto the face of the conveyance member in the second step. Further, the amount of the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the face of the conveyance member in the first step may be equal to or less than the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied onto the face of the conveyance member in the second step. The first step is not limited to the wiping using the wiper as long as the amount of the recording liquid on the face of the conveyance member is reduced in the first step. For example, the first step may be a step for removing the recording liquid on the face by a non-contact device or component for removing the recording liquid using an electrostatic force, an air sucking force, an air discharge force, and the like without contacting the face. 
     Further, in the above-described embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 10D , the conveyance belt  8  is stopped and the cleaning liquid CL is ejected onto the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction at the timing when the released position of the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11  has reached the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  in the belt running direction, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the printer may be configured such that the conveyance belt  8  is stopped before the released position of the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11  has reached the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  in the belt running direction (that is, when the released position of the wiper  42  at the completion of the first step S 11  is located on an upstream side of the cleaning-liquid supply device  70  in the belt running direction), and the cleaning liquid CL is ejected onto an area on the face  8   a  which is located on an upstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction. In this case, where, as in the above-described embodiment, the wiper  42  is brought into contact with the area on the face  8   a  which is located on a downstream side of the above-described released position in the relative movement direction and on an upstream side of the position at which the cleaning liquid CL has been supplied in the relative movement direction, the cleaning liquid CL is removed before the ink I on the face  8   a . This makes it possible to perform the wiping in a state in which the cleaning liquid CL is held on the distal end of the main body  42   a , thereby obtaining the good wiping performance. Further, where the control in S 11  in  FIG. 9  is for executing the wiping of the wiper  42  from the start to the end thereof, the completion of the control in S 11  means that the area on the face  8   a  to which the ink is attached has been wiped by the wiper  42 . Thus, it is possible to omit the judgment in S 12 . 
     The present invention is applicable to any of a line printer and a serial printer. Further, the present invention is applicable to not only the printer but also another liquid ejection apparatus such as a facsimile machine and a copying machine. The present invention is also applicable to a recording apparatus configured to record an image by ejecting liquid other than the ink. 
     The recording medium is not limited to the sheet P and may be various recording media.