Patent ID: 8506059

Claim:
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording head configured to discharge ink; a carriage configured to move with the recording head mounted thereon; an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to the recording head; a first path through which ink is supplied from the ink tank to the recording head; a second path through which ink is returned from the recording head to the ink tank, the second path being able to be in a first state of connecting to the recording head and be in a second state of disconnecting from the recording head; and a switching unit configured to switch between a state in which the first path is connecting to the recording head and the second path is in the first state so that the first path and the second path follow a movement of the carriage and a state in which the first path is connecting to the recording head and the second path is in the second state so that only the first path follows a movement of the carriage.