Patent ID: 7144096

Claim:
An inkjet recording apparatus for executing recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium based on recording data using a recording head for ejecting the ink from ejection ports, comprising: recovery means for executing recovery processing for maintaining the ink ejection capability of the recording head; a cap member for capping the ejection ports of the recording head; capping means for moving said cap member in a direction in which said cap member approaches the recording head and in a direction in which said cap member is separated from the recording head; measurement means for measuring a cap-open period that is an elapsed period of a cap-open state while recording onto the recording medium, in which the ejection ports are not capped with said cap member; and control means for executing the recovery processing by said recovery means when the cap-open period measured by said measurement means exceeds a predetermined period, wherein said control means resets the measured cap-open period when the recovery processing is executed while the cap-open period is measured, wherein until the cap-open period measured by said measurement means reaches the predetermined period, cap-open periods elapsed up to respective cap-closed states are cumulated, and a total of the cumulated cap-open periods is held, and when the cap is subsequently separated from the recording head, the held total is read out and a measurement operation by said measuring means is re-started.