Patent ID: 6871936

Claim:
An ink jet printing apparatus having plural ink jet heads each having an ink ejecting port forming surface provided with ink ejecting ports, for effecting printing on a printing medium, comprising: an ink recovery assembly including plural ink recovery means spaced apart by gaps through which said ink jet heads project for printing and retract for recovery, each of said recovery means being paired with a corresponding one of said ink jet heads, being adapted to recover ink from said ink jet head in order to maintain an ink ejecting state in a good condition, and having a capping member which contains a first droplet absorbing member to cover said ink ejecting port forming surface, and a wiping member for slidingly wiping said ink ejecting port forming surface; a driving mechanism for moving said ink jet heads to a printing position where printing is effected and to a distant position which is remote from the printing medium in comparison with the printing position; a second droplet absorbing member provided for each said ink jet head interposed between a first space for accommodating said ink ejecting port forming surface at the printing position and said ink recovery means and a second space for accommodating said driving mechanism, while permitting said ink jet head to move; and a recovery controller, adapted to effect, for each of said recovery means, a first mode in which said capping member is disposed at a position where said first droplet absorbing member is distant from and opposed to said ink ejecting port forming surface so as to bring said first droplet absorbing member in contact with droplets adhered to said ink ejecting port forming surface in order to absorb the droplets with said first droplet absorbing member, without said first droplet absorbing member contacting said ink ejecting port forming surface; a second mode in which said wiping member contacts with said second droplet absorbing member and said ink ejecting port forming surface is positioned at a more retreated position than that of said second droplet absorbing member from said wiping member; and a third mode in which said wiping member is disposed at a position where said wiping member can contact with said ink ejecting port forming surface, said wiping member slidingly wiping said ink ejecting port forming surface, and removing droplets which are adhered to said ink ejecting port forming surface and which have not been absorbed by said first droplet absorbing member.