Patent ID: 7712864

Claim:
An apparatus for maintaining a recording head which is for use as a portion of a recording device, in a recording-head maintaining state in which the recording head is not attached to a remaining portion of the recording device, wherein the remaining portion includes at least a portion of an ink communication passage connected to the recording head during a recording operation, the recording head having at least one nozzle opening in a nozzle-defining surface thereof for ejecting at least one droplet of ink toward a recording medium, the apparatus comprising: an elastically deformable cover member which is adapted to air-tightly contact the recording head to cover the nozzle-defining surface thereof such that a space filled with air is formed between the elastically deformable cover member and the nozzle-defining surface; and selectively communicating means configured to selectively take (a) a first state thereof in which the selectively communicating means allows said space to communicate with an atmosphere so that substantially no difference is produced between an air pressure in said space and an atmospheric pressure while the elastically deformable cover member is air-tightly contacted with the recording head, and a volume of said space is decreased by elastic deformation of at least a portion of the elastically deformable cover member and (b) a second state thereof in which the selectively communicating means shuts off communication between said space and the atmosphere, and air-tightly closes said space, after the elastically deformable cover member has been air-tightly contacted with the recording head.