Patent Publication Number: US-7213904-B2

Title: Discharge recovery device and ink-jet recording apparatus

Description:
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-374666 filed Nov. 4, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a discharge recovery device for maintaining and recovering ink-discharging performance of a recording head that performs recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium, and to an ink-jet recording apparatus including the discharge recovery device. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Ink-jet recording apparatuses perform recording by discharging ink onto a recording medium. Since ink is discharged from fine discharging outlets of a recording head, the discharging outlets are sometimes clogged by ink thickened due to an increase in dye concentration in the ink and fixing of the ink due to evaporation of a volatile component. Moreover, bubbles are sometimes produced in an ink chamber of the recording head. Bubbles interfere with normal ink supply operations. In the worst case, ink does not flow to the recording head, which seriously hinders recording. 
   In order to prevent such problems, some ink-jet recording apparatuses use a discharge recovery device that maintains and recovers ink-discharging performance by unclogging the recording head. The discharge recovery device includes, for example, a cap for covering a discharging surface of the recording head, a suction unit for sucking ink from the discharging outlets by producing a negative-pressure state inside the cap covering the discharging outlets, a wiper for wiping foreign materials, such as ink, off the discharging surface of the recording head, and a wiper cleaner for removing the foreign materials transferred to the wiper. 
   In these ink-jet recording apparatuses, in general, the discharging surface is wiped by utilizing the motion of a carriage on which the recording head is mounted. That is, a wiper-retracting mechanism (mechanism for moving the wiper into and out of contact with the discharging surface) is provided, and the carriage is moved with the wiper protruding only when needed so that the discharging surface is wiped in a direction orthogonal to rows of discharging outlets (horizontal wiping). In this case, since the wiper is away from the discharging surface when being retracted, it does not interfere with a scanning motion of the recording head during recording. In this wiping method utilizing the motion of the carriage, the wiper can be provided as a relatively simple structure. 
   In an ink-jet recording apparatus having a recording head in which a plurality of discharging-outlet rows corresponding to a plurality of color inks are arranged side by side in the scanning direction of the recording head (the moving direction of the carriage), since the above-described horizontal wiping means sequentially wipes the discharging-outlet rows, ink wiped off the preceding discharging-outlet row is forced into the succeeding discharging-outlet row, and consequently, inks of different colors are prone to be mixed. A vertical wiping means for moving a wiper parallel to discharging-outlet rows is used to prevent color mixture. In vertical wiping, however, it is also difficult to reliably clean the discharging surface with the wiper that remains soiled with ink. In order to maintain high cleaning performance of the wiper, a wiper-cleaning means is provided to scrape ink off the wiper with a wiper cleaner (e.g., an edge of a mold) after cleaning of the discharging surface. 
   However, when the wiper passes the wiper cleaner, ink adhering to the wiper may scatter and soil the interior of the apparatus because of elastic bending of the wiper and a returning motion of the wiper. In particular, when the wiper cleaner is used for the above-described vertical wiping, scattering ink sometimes adheres to, for example, a carriage guide and an encoder scale, which adversely affects normal recording operation. As a means for preventing this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,452 discloses a wiping method using a wiper cleaner that can pivot in one direction. In this method, the wiper cleaner is fixed when cleaning the wiper, and is pivoted by using kinetic energy of the wiper during a backward movement of the wiper. 
   In the disclosed method, however, the wiper is bent to counter the biasing spring force holding the wiper cleaner at a predetermined position. Therefore, ink sometimes scatters because of a returning force that is produced at the moment when the wiper separates from the wiper cleaner. The amount of scattering ink can be reduced by setting the biasing spring force extremely small or utilizing the weight of the wiper cleaner without the spring. In these methods, however, the wiper cleaner sometimes does not return to the normal position. Recently, an increasing number of ink-jet recording apparatuses have been using pigment-based ink having higher density and higher water resistance. However, the pigment-based ink thickens easier than dye-based ink. 
   For this reason, in a recording apparatus using pigment-based ink, when the ink reaches a pivot shaft of the wiper cleaner, the pivotal motion of the wiper cleaner is hindered, the wiper cleaner is not sufficiently returned to the normal position, and wiping performance is reduced. In order to overcome these problems, a sufficient biasing spring force must be ensured so that the wiper cleaner stably returns to the normal position even when ink adheres thereto. That is, the problem in ink scattering during wiper cleaning cannot be fundamentally solved by adjusting the biasing spring force of the wiper cleaner. Therefore, the art disclosed in the above publication cannot prevent ink scattering during wiper cleaning. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a discharge recovery device configured to reliably clean ink off a discharging surface of a recording head without reducing cleaning performance of a wiper cleaner. The present invention is also directed to an ink-jet recording apparatus incorporating the discharge recovery device. 
   In one aspect of the present invention, a discharge recovery device includes a wiper configured to wipe the discharging surface; a wiper-driving unit operable to move the wiper in at least first and second directions along the discharging surface; and a pivotable wiper cleaner configured to remove ink adhering to the wiper, wherein the wiper cleaner is pivotable between a cleaning position in which the wiper cleaner contacts the wiper as the wiper-driving unit moves the wiper in the first direction, and a retracted position in which the wiper cleaner is retracted out of contact with the wiper as the wiper-driving unit moves the wiper in the second direction. In another aspect of the present invention, a discharge recovery device includes a wiper configured to wipe ink from the discharging surface; a wiper-driving unit operable to move the wiper along the discharging surface; a wiper cleaner removing ink adhering to the wiper as the wiper contacts the wiper cleaner; and a cleaner holder pivotably supporting the wiper cleaner, wherein the cleaner holder substantially covers the wiper when the wiper cleaner is in contact with the wiper. 
   According to another aspect, an ink-jet recording apparatus has the above-described discharge recovery device. 
   Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view showing the inner configuration of an ink-jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a partial perspective bottom view showing the layout of a plurality of rows of discharging outlets on a discharging surface of a recording head shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic perspective view of a discharge recovery device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic perspective view showing the inner configuration of the discharge recovery device shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of a wiper-driving unit for driving a wiper in the discharge recovery device. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic side view showing an initial state of the wiper-driving unit shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic side view showing a state in which the wiper of the wiper-driving unit shown in  FIG. 5  is wiping the discharging surface while moving forward. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic side view showing a state in which the wiper is placed at a full-stroke position forward after wiping the discharging surface and passing a wiper cleaner. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic side view showing a return state in which the wiper is moving toward an initial position. 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic perspective view of the wiper cleaner in the first embodiment. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic perspective view of a wiper holder in the first embodiment. 
       FIG. 12  is a schematic side view showing a state in which the wiper holder is moving forward and a control lever is pivoted away from the wiper cleaner before the wiper touches the wiper cleaner. 
       FIG. 13  is a schematic side view showing a state after the wiper holder moves forward and the wiper passes the wiper cleaner. 
       FIG. 14  is a schematic side view showing a state at the moment when the control lever touches the wiper cleaner before the wiper touches the wiper cleaner while the wiper holder moves backward. 
       FIG. 15  is a schematic side view showing a state in which the wiper cleaner is pivoted to a retract position by the control lever while the wiper holder moves backward. 
       FIG. 16  is a schematic perspective view of a wiper cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 17  is a schematic perspective view showing an initial state of a wiper holder in the second embodiment. 
       FIG. 18  is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the wiper holder moves forward while bending an elastic arm of the wiper cleaner. 
       FIG. 19  is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the wiper holder has passed the elastic arm of the wiper cleaner. 
       FIG. 20  is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the wiper holder moves backward and the wiper cleaner is pivoted to a retract position out of contact with the wiper. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding components. 
     FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view showing the inner configuration of an ink-jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a partial perspective bottom view showing the layout of a plurality of rows of discharging outlets on a discharging surface of a recording head shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , a recording medium, such as recording paper, is supplied by a sheet supply unit  100 , and is conveyed onto a platen  103  while being nipped between a feeding roller  101  and pinch rollers  102 . A carriage  104  on which a recording head  110  is mounted reciprocates in a main scanning direction along a guide shaft  105  at a recording position on the platen  103 . One line is recorded by the recording head  110  during a main scanning operation of the carriage  104 . When one line has been recorded, the recording medium is conveyed (sub-scanned) at a predetermined pitch by the feeding roller  101 , and the next line is then recorded. After recording on the entire region of the recording medium is completed by repeating the above operations, the recording medium is ejected out of the apparatus by ejection rollers  106 . 
   The ink-jet recording apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  is a color recording apparatus using a plurality of color inks. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of (four) discharging-outlet rows, each including a plurality of discharging outlets, are provided parallel to the scanning direction of the carriage  104  on a discharging surface  110   a  of the recording head  110 . The discharging-outlet rows include, for example, a black discharging-outlet row  111  for discharging black ink, a cyan discharging-outlet row  112  for discharging cyan ink, a magenta discharging-outlet row  113  for discharging magenta ink, and a yellow discharging-outlet row  114  for discharging yellow ink. At a predetermined position within the moving range of the carriage  104  and outside the passing range of the recording medium, a discharge recovery device (recovery unit)  1  is provided to maintain high ink-discharging performance of the recording head  110 . 
     FIG. 3  is a schematic perspective view of the discharge recovery device  1  shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 4  is a schematic perspective view showing the inner configuration of the discharge recovery device  1  shown in  FIG. 3 . Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the discharge recovery device  1  includes a cap  3  that is movable up and down along a vertical guide  2   a  of a base  2 , a wiper  4  that can reciprocate along a horizontal guide  2   b  of the base  2 , a pivotable wiper cleaner  50 , and a pivotable carriage lock  5 . The cap  3  is in tight contact with the discharging surface  110   a  of the recording head  110  to cover the discharging outlets. The wiper  4  wipes the discharging surface  110   a  ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) of the recording head  110 . The wiper cleaner  50  removes (cleans) ink or the like adhering to the wiper  4  that has wiped the discharging surface  110   a . The carriage lock  5  positions and fixes the recording head  110  (carriage  104 ) so that the recording head  110  will not improperly move relative to the discharge recovery device  1  while being covered with the cap  3 . 
     FIG. 5  is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of a wiper-driving unit for driving the wiper  4 . The motions of the above-described components of the discharge recovery device  1  are controlled by rotating a main cam  11  by a driving force in one direction of a recovery motor  6  transmitted through gears  7 ,  8 , and  9  and a one-way clutch gear  10  shown in  FIG. 4 . The main cam  11  includes a plurality of cam portions arranged in the axial direction corresponding to the above components. The rotation of the main cam  11  is converted into a pivotal motion of the carriage lock  5  by a first cam portion, into a horizontal motion of the wiper  4  by a second cam portion and the wiper-driving unit shown in  FIG. 5 , and into a vertical motion of the cap  3  by a third cam portion and a cap lever  14 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the wiper  4  includes three wiper portions  4   a ,  4   b , and  4   c.    
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the cap  3  has a combination of two spaces, a black-ink discharging cap space and a color-ink discharging cap space, and the cap spaces are respectively connected to tubes  12  and  13 . A tube pump is defined by placing the tubes  12  and  13  along an arc-shaped guide surface (inner surface) provided in a part of the base  2 . A roller-holding unit  15  is rotatably supported coaxially with the center axis of the arc-shaped guide surface, and rollers  17  for crushing the tubes  12  and  13  are rotatably supported by the roller-holding unit  15 . A pump gear  16  is fixed at one end of the roller-holding unit  15 . The roller-holding unit  15  is rotated by transmitting a driving force of the recovery motor  6  to the pump gear  16  through a gear  7 . 
   With the rotation of the roller-holding unit  15 , the rollers  17  rotate and revolve while crushing the tubes  12  and  13 , so that the tubes  12  and  13  are squeezed. Therefore, when the tubes  12  and  13  are squeezed with the recording head  110  capped, a negative pressure is produced in the tubes  12  and  13 , and acts on the cap spaces of the cap  3 . Ink is sucked and discharged from the discharging outlets of the recording head  110  by the negative pressure in the cap spaces, thus recovering the recording head  110 . 
   In the first embodiment, when the roller-holding unit  15  rotates in one direction, the rollers  17  press the tubes  12  and  13  to suck ink. That is, when the recovery motor  6  rotates in the direction of arrow A, the tube pump operates. In this case, however, since the one-way clutch gear  10  idles, the main cam  11  does not rotate. Therefore, the cap  3 , the wiper  4 , and the carriage lock  5  remain at a standby position. When the recovery motor  6  is reversed, the main cam  11  is rotated, and the cap  3 , the wiper  4 , and the carriage lock  5  are operated at a predetermined timing. In this case, the rollers  17  on the roller-holding unit  15  are guided away from the tubes  12  and  13 , and the tube pump does not perform pumping (suction). 
   The structure and operation of the wiper-driving unit in the first embodiment will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 5 to 9 . The wiper-driving unit includes a wiper holder  19  for holding the wiper portions  4   a ,  4   b , and  4   c , a translatable slider  22 , a pinion  21  rotatably supported by the slider  22 , and the main cam  11  having a cam  24  engaged with (in contact with) the slider  22 . The pinion  21  is integrally provided with a first gear  21   a  and a second gear  21   b . A first rack  20  is integrally provided with a part of the wiper holder  19  so as to be meshed with the first gear  21   a . A second rack  23  is fixed on the base  2  of the discharge recovery device  6  so as to be meshed with the second gear  21   b . The slider  22  has bosses  22   a  that are slidably engaged with a guide groove of the base  2 . 
   The cam  24  of the main cam  11  is engaged with (in contact with) an engaging surface  22   b  of the slider  22 . Therefore, the wiper holder  19  and the wiper  4  reciprocate in the substantially horizontal direction during one-way rotation of the recovery motor  6 . The wiper  4  wipes the discharging surface  110   a  while moving substantially parallel to the discharging-outlet rows  111 ,  112 ,  113 , and  114  of the recording head  110  and is cleaned by the wiper cleaner  50  during a forward movement, and then returns backward to the initial position. 
   In the first embodiment, the height of the recording head  110  (the gap between the recording head  110  and the recording medium) can be switched in two steps. When the recording medium is cardboard, the recording head  110  can be moved to the high position. The entire discharging surface  110   a  of the recording head  110  is wiped with the wiper portion  4   a , and the adjacencies of the discharging-outlet rows are wiped with the wiper portion  4   b  when the recording head  110  is placed at the high position, and are wiped with the wiper portion  4   c  when the recording head  110  is placed at the low position. The discharging surface  110   a  can be thereby wiped reliably. 
   A wiping operation and a wiper-cleaning operation will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 6 to 9 . When the wiper holder  19  is at the initial position, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the slider  22  is in contact with a cylindrical portion  24   a  at the root of the cam  24  as a part of the main cam  11 , but is not in contact with a leading end  24   b  of the cam  24 . That is, while the leading end  24   b  of the cam  24  is out of contact with the engaging surface  22   b  of the slider  22 , the wiper holder  19  does not move even when the main cam  11  rotates. The wiper holder  19  is constantly biased in a return direction by a return spring  26  ( FIG. 5 ), and the cylindrical portion  24   a  or the leading end  24   b  of the cam  24  is constantly in contact with the engaging surface  22   b  of the slider  22 . 
   The pinion  21  rotatably supported by the slider  22  is a two-speed gear including the first gear  21   a  and the second gear  21   b . The first gear  21   a  is meshed with the first rack  20  provided in the wiper holder (wiper-holding unit)  19 , and the second gear  21   b  is meshed with the second rack  23  provided in the base  2 . The slider  22  is translatably supported with the bosses  22   a  at the bottom thereof engaged with a guide groove (not shown) of the base  2 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the cam  24  is rotated in the direction shown by arrow B by the driving of the recovery motor  6  and the leading end  24   b  of the cam  24  touches the engaging surface  22   b  of the slider  22 , the slider  22  translates in the direction shown by arrow C. With the movement of the slider  22 , the pinion  21  also rolls because it is meshed with the second rack  23 . 
   In the first embodiment, the number of teeth of the first gear  21   a  of the pinion  21  is  28 , and the number of teeth of the second gear  21   b  is  14 . That is, when the second gear  21   b  rotates by an angle corresponding to x-number teeth (x is a positive integer), the first gear  21   a  rotates by an angle corresponding to 2x-number teeth, and the wiper holder  19  can be moved relative to the slider  22  by a distance corresponding to 2x-number teeth. Therefore, a speed-increasing mechanism is provided which allows the wiper holder  19  to translate by 3L when the slider  22  translates by L. The engaging surface  22   b  of the slider  22  is curved so that a constant-speed rotation of the cam  24  can be converted into a constant-speed movement of the slider  22 . In this way, the entire discharging surface  110   a  of the recording head  110  can be wiped at the optimal speed. 
   When the main cam  11  further rotates in the direction of arrow B and the cam  24  is placed at a position shown in  FIG. 8 , the slider  22  and the wiper holder  19  are moved to a full-stroke position. While the wiper holder  19  fully moves in the forward direction (direction shown by arrow C), the wiper  4  wipes the discharging surface  110   a , and is then cleaned by the wiper cleaner  50 . Wiper cleaning is performed to scrape ink off the wiper  4 . After the wiper cleaning, the wiper holder  19  stops at the position shown in  FIG. 8 , and is moved in the opposite direction. 
   That is, after the wiper holder  19  reaches the full-stroke position shown in  FIG. 8 , the recording head  110  is moved in the scanning direction and is placed outside the wiping region, and the wiper holder  19  starts to be moved in the direction shown by arrow D, as shown in  FIG. 9 . In this case, a return force in the direction of arrow D is applied to the wiper holder  19  by the return spring  26  ( FIG. 5 ). A pin  24   c  at the leading end of the cam  24  is normally engaged with an inclined face  22   c  of the slider  22 , and prevents sound from collision from being produced by swift movements of the wiper holder  19  and the slider  22  because of the spring force of the return spring  26 . 
     FIG. 10  is a schematic perspective view of the wiper cleaner  50 , and  FIG. 11  is a schematic perspective view of the wiper holder  19 . The structure of the wiper cleaner  50  and a control lever  55  provided in the wiper holder  19  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 10 and 11 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , the wiper cleaner  50  is supported by a cleaner holder  52  so as to pivot on a pivot shaft  50   a . The wiper cleaner  50  is biased by a spring  53  in one pivot direction. In a state in which the wiper cleaner  50  is biased by the spring  53 , it is prevented from further pivoting by the contact of an abutting portion  50   c  with a retaining portion  52   a  of the cleaner holder  52 . 
   That is, when a force in the direction shown by arrow E acts on a cleaning edge (a portion for cleaning the wiper  4 )  50   b  of the wiper cleaner  50 , the retaining portion  52   a  of the cleaner holder  52  touches the abutting portion  50   c  of the wiper cleaner  50 , thereby preventing the wiper cleaner  50  from further pivoting. Such prevention allows ink adhering to the wiper  4  to be scraped off. 
   As the wiper  4 , made of an elastic rubber material, moves in the forward direction (the direction of arrow E), the wiper  4  bends while passing through the cleaning edge  50   b . The wiper  4  returns from the bending state to its initial state after passing the cleaning edge  50   b . Although ink scatters in the traveling direction of the wiper  4  during this return operation, since the cleaning edge  50   b  is covered by the cleaner holder  52 , soiling of the surroundings with the scattering ink can be prevented or reduced. While a small amount of ink sometimes comes out from the gap of the cleaner holder  52 , and adheres onto the inner side of the housing of the apparatus, this does not cause a serious problem. 
   Referring to  FIG. 11 , the wiper holder  19  has the control lever  55  that can pivot on a pivot shaft  55   a . When the wiper  4  (wiper holder  19 ) moves in the forward direction (direction shown by arrow X), as shown in  FIG. 12 , the control lever  55  touches the wiper cleaner  50  and pivots away from the wiper cleaner  50  (in the direction shown by arrow F). That is, when the wiper holder  19  moves in the forward X-direction to clean the wiper  4 , the control lever  55  retracts and does not operate. Therefore, the wiper  4  is cleaned while in contact with the wiper cleaner  50 . When the wiper  4  passes the wiper cleaner  50 , the control lever  55  is returned to its initial position by a force of a return spring (helical torsion spring shown in  FIG. 11 )  56 . At the initial position, the control lever  55  is held on standby while in contact with an abutting portion  19   a  of the wiper holder  19 . 
     FIGS. 12 to 15  show the operations of the control lever  55  and the wiper cleaner  50 . When the wiper  4  moves in the forward direction shown by arrow X, the wiper cleaner  50  remains in a predetermined position, and the control lever  55  is pivoted to a retract position by contacting the wiper cleaner  50  immediately before the wiper  4  reaches the wiper cleaner  50 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . Therefore, the wiper  4  is properly cleaned by the wiper cleaner  50 . When the wiper  4  and the control lever  55  pass the wiper cleaner  50 , the control lever  55  is returned to its initial position (standby position) by the return spring  56 , as shown in  FIG. 13 . In  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the wiper holder  19  is placed substantially at the full-stroke position, and then starts to move in the backward direction (shown by arrow Y). 
   During the backward movement in the direction of arrow Y, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the control lever  55  touches the wiper cleaner  50  before the wiper  4  touches the wiper cleaner  50 . In this case, since the control lever  55  is stopped by the abutting portion  19   a  and does not pivot clockwise, the wiper cleaner  50  is pivoted clockwise against the force of the spring  53  ( FIG. 10 ) before the wiper  4  touches the wiper cleaner  50 . Then, the wiper  4  passes the wiper cleaner  50  in a state in which the wiper cleaner  50  is pivoted away from the wiper  4  by the control lever  55 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . In this way, when the wiper holder  19  moves in the backward direction (Y-direction), the wiper  4  and the wiper cleaner  50  do not touch each other. That is, since the wiper  4 , made of an elastic rubber material for example, passes without bending, ink can be reliably prevented from scattering during the backward movement. 
   The wiper  4  has the three wiper portions  4   a ,  4   b , and  4   c , as described above. After all the wiper portions  4   a ,  4   b , and  4   c  pass the wiper cleaner  50 , the wiper cleaner  50  is disengaged from the control lever  55 , and is returned to the normal position by a spring force of the return spring  53 . In the discharge recovery device of the first embodiment, the discharging surface  110   a  is wiped by the reciprocating motion of the wiper  4 , and the wiper  4  is cleaned by the wiper cleaner  50 . By holding the pivotable wiper cleaner  50  in a normal position by a sufficient biasing spring force, a high wiper-cleaning performance can be ensured, and ink scattering can be reliably prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the interior of the apparatus from being soiled with ink, and to prevent operation failure due to adhering ink. 
   While the wiper  4  and the wiper cleaner  50  are out of contact with each other during the backward (Y-direction) movement in the first embodiment, similar operational advantages can be provided even when the wiper  4  and the wiper cleaner  50  are in slight contact with each other. Therefore, the present invention also covers a case in which the wiper  4  is substantially out of contact with the wiper cleaner  50  while moving backward. 
   A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 16 to 20 . While the wiper holder  19  is provided with the pivotable control lever  55  that is spring-biased in order to control the contact between the wiper  4  and the wiper cleaner  50  in the above-described first embodiment, the second embodiment also provides operational advantages equivalent to those of the first embodiment without adding a special component. Referring to  FIGS. 16 and 17 , an elastic arm  70   a  is provided integrally with a wiper cleaner  50 , and an engaging rib  75   a  for contacting with the elastic arm  70   a  is provided integrally with a wiper holder  19 . An inclined face  75   b  is provided at a front end in the forward direction of the engaging rib  75   a , and a substantially vertical engaging face  75   c  is provided at a front end in the backward direction of the engaging rib  75   a.    
   As shown in  FIG. 18 , when the wiper holder  19  moves in the forward direction (shown by arrow X), the wiper cleaner  50  remains in the normal pivot position. Also, the leading end of the elastic arm  70   a  is guided by the inclined face  75   b  of the engaging rib  75   a , is elastically deformed to spread sideward, and slides on the outer surface of the engaging rib  75   a . Therefore, in a state in which the wiper cleaner  50  is held in the normal cleaning position (normal pivot position), a wiper  4  passes the wiper cleaner  50 . This ensures high wiper-cleaning performance. When the wiper holder  19  further moves in the direction of arrow X, and the elastic arm  70   a  is disengaged from the engaging rib  75   a , as shown in  FIG. 19 , the elastic arm  70   a  is unbent. 
   When the wiper holder  19  moves in the backward direction shown by arrow Y, as shown in  FIG. 20 , the leading end of the elastic arm  70   a  of the wiper cleaner  50  touches the engaging face (substantially vertical end face)  75   c  of the engaging rib  75   a  of the wiper holder  19 . Therefore, the wiper cleaner  50  is pivoted by the wiper holder  19  so as to be out of contact with or substantially out of contact with the wiper  4 . Since the wiper  4  passes the wiper cleaner  50  in this state during the backward movement, it does not touch the wiper cleaner  50 , and ink does not scatter. After all the wiper portions  4   a ,  4   b , and  4   c  of the wiper  4  pass the wiper cleaner  50 , the elastic arm  70   a  and the engaging rib  75   a  are disengaged, and the wiper cleaner  50  is returned to the normal position where the abutting portion  50   c  is in contact with the engaging portion  52   a  ( FIG. 10 ) by the biasing force of the spring  53  ( FIG. 10 ). Then, the wiper holder  19  reaches the initial position, and the initial state is brought about. 
   The second embodiment has a configuration substantially similar to that of the fist embodiment except in the above-described points. In the above-described second embodiment, operational advantages similar to those of the first embodiment can be provided without adding a special component, and a cost advantage is also provided. While the elastic arm is provided in the wiper cleaner in the second embodiment, it may be provided in the wiper holder and the engaging rib may be provided in the wiper cleaner. This also provides similar operational advantages. Therefore, the present invention also covers such a structure. 
   In the above-described embodiments, the discharge recovery device for the ink-jet recording apparatus includes the wiper  4  for wiping the discharging surface  110   a  of the ink-jet recording head  110 ; the wiper-driving unit for moving the wiper  4  in a reciprocating manner along the discharging surface; and the pivotable wiper cleaner  50  for removing ink adhering to the wiper  4 . The wiper cleaner  50  is prevented from pivoting and rubs against the wiper  4  to remove the ink when the wiper  4  moves forward, and pivots out of contact with the wiper  4  when the wiper  4  moves backward. Therefore, when ink adhering to the wiper  4  is removed by the wiper cleaner  50 , it can be reliably prevented from scattering during the backward movement of the wiper  4  without reducing the cleaning performance of the wiper cleaner  50 . 
   Furthermore, since the wiper cleaner  50  is biased to the predetermined position in the pivot direction by the spring  53 , it properly overlaps the wiper  4 . This can more efficiently provide the above-described advantages. In the first embodiment, the wiper holder  19  for holding the wiper  4  is provided with the pivotable lever  55 . When the wiper  4  moves forward, the lever  55  touches the wiper cleaner  50  and pivots. When the wiper  4  moves backward, the wiper cleaner  50  touches the lever  55  and pivots. This can more efficiently provide the above advantages. In the second embodiment, the elastic arm  70   a  is provided integrally with the wiper cleaner  50 , and the wiper holder  19  for holding the wiper  4  is provided with the engaging portion (engaging rib)  75   a . When the wiper  4  moves forward, the elastic arm  70   a  touches the engaging portion  75   a  and bends to rub the wiper cleaner  50  against the wiper  4 . When the wiper  4  moves backward, the wiper cleaner  50  touches the elastic arm  70   a , and the wiper cleaner  50  pivots. This also efficiently provides the above advantages. 
   The present invention is similarly applicable to an ink-jet recording apparatus having a single recording head, a color ink-jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording heads for recording with different color inks, a half-tone ink-jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording heads for recording in the same color and at different densities, and a combination of the above ink-jet recording apparatuses. In any of the cases, similar advantages can be provided. The present invention is also similarly applicable to any arrangement of a recording head and an ink tank, for example, a case in which an exchangeable ink-jet cartridge having a combination of a recording head and an ink tank is used, or a case in which a recording head and an ink tank are separately provided and are connected by an ink supply tube. In any of the cases, similar advantages can be provided. While the present invention is also applicable to an ink-jet recording apparatus that has a recording means using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezoelectric element, it is most effectively applied to an ink-jet recording apparatus that has a recording means for discharging ink by utilizing heat energy. 
   While the present invention has been described with reference to what are presently considered to be the embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.