Patent ID: 7044570

Claim:
An ink jet recording apparatus which moves a carriage having a print head mounted thereon to eject ink from the print head onto a print medium, said ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a platen for guiding a print medium at a position opposite to the print head; a guide shaft for guiding movement of the carriage; a cam which is disposed at said guide shaft, said cam rotating together with said guide shaft; a carriage lift mechanism capable of lifting the carriage to a first position at which a distance to said platen is a first distance and a second position at which a distance to said platen is a second distance by transmitting drive of a motor to said cam; and a restriction portion which is disposed at said cam, said restriction portion abutting against the carriage when the carriage is at the second position, thereby changing a movement range of the carriage so as to differ from a movement range when the carriage is at the first position, wherein, when the motor is driven to lift the carriage, judgment is made as to whether or not said carriage lift mechanism is operating normally by detecting the movement range of the carriage.