Patent ID: 7032513

Claim:
A printing screen cleaning device for cleaning printing paste from a printing screen through which printing paste was supplied to a circuit-forming body through a printing paste supply section of the printing screen, said cleaning device comprising: a wiping member for sliding in a sliding direction along a lower surface of the printing screen; a backup member having a backup surface for backing up the wiping member, the backup member having a suction port provided in a suction region of the backup surface, and a first groove disposed approximately parallel to the suction region to provide a backup release section, wherein the backup member is operable to suck paste from the lower surface of the printing screen via the wiping member while sliding the wiping member on the lower surface of the printing screen, wherein the suction region extends in a direction that is roughly perpendicular to the sliding direction, and the first groove is formed in at least one of a preceding section of the backup member and a succeeding section of the backup member relative to the suction region; an elevation device for pressing the backup member against the printing screen or for releasing the backup member from the printing screen; and a movement device for moving the cleaning head under the printing screen from a standby position beside the printing screen, and for moving the cleaning head back to the standby position, wherein the suction region includes a plurality of suction ports, the suction ports are arranged in an array, and each of the suction ports extends in a direction that is inclined relative to the sliding direction.