Patent ID: 8585176

Claim:
An inkjet printing apparatus for performing printing by moving a recording medium relative to inkjet heads each with a plurality of liquid discharge nozzles, comprising: an inkjet head holder for holding a plurality of inkjet head rows arranged in a moving direction of the recording medium, each of the inkjet head rows having the inkjet heads over a width in a transverse direction of the recording medium intersecting the moving direction of the recording medium; a plurality of head caps corresponding to the plurality of inkjet heads held by the inkjet head holder; a plurality of head cap holders for holding the plurality of head caps in a state corresponding to the respective inkjet heads, and as divided into a plurality of areas with respect to the moving direction of the recording medium; a lift mechanism for moving the inkjet head holder up and down; and a head cap holder moving mechanism for arranging the plurality of head cap holders as horizontally juxtaposed in a capping position, where the respective inkjet heads and the respective head caps are opposed to each other, below the inkjet head holder when the inkjet head holder is in a raised position, and for arranging the plurality of head cap holders as vertically superposed in a withdrawn position laterally of a vertical movement area of the inkjet head holder when the inkjet head holder is in a lowered position, wherein each of the head cap holders has bearings attached to opposite ends thereof; the head cap holder moving mechanism has guide plates having two guide grooves formed therein for engaging the bearings, each guide groove having a region for up-and-down movement and a region for horizontal movement; the pair of bearings provided in each of the head cap holders is shifted horizontally and vertically from each other in each of the opposite ends of the head cap holders; a connecting rod extends from one of the pair of bearings in each of the opposite ends of the head cap holders; one of the two guide grooves has a pass-through slot penetrated by the connecting rod; the two guide grooves are horizontally spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to an amount of horizontal shift between the pair of bearings in the vertically extending regions for up-and-down movement, and vertically spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to an amount of vertical shift between the pair of bearings in the horizontally extending regions for horizontal movement; and a drive device is connected to the connecting rod provided in one end of each of the head cap holders for moving the head cap holders along the guide grooves.