Patent ID: 8132890

Claim:
A recovery apparatus comprising: an absorber that directly abuts, at the same time, a plurality of nozzles of a recording head aligned in a line for discharging ink and absorbs the ink from the plurality of nozzles by a capillary force; a holder member that includes an open recessed portion and a communication port communicating an inside of the recessed portion with an outside of the recessed portion, the recessed portion housing the absorber; and a waste liquid foam that is disposed outside the holder member and contacts the absorber through the communication port of the holder member; wherein the waste liquid foam has a capillary force greater than the capillary force of the absorber; wherein an ink supply port of the recording head is disposed at one end of the line of the nozzles, and the communication port of the holder member is disposed at a position different from a position facing the ink supply port; wherein the absorber includes: an abutment foam that directly abuts the plurality of nozzles; and a plurality of suction foams disposed in a direction along the line of the plurality of nozzles between the abutment foam and the communication port; and wherein the plurality of suction foams having respectively different capillary forces are aligned in such an order that the capillary forces of the respective suction foams become greater from the position facing the ink supply port toward the communication port.