Recovery system for recording head, ink-jet recording apparatus including the same, and recovery method for the recording head

A recovery system for a recording head that has a nozzle region in which a discharge nozzle that discharges ink onto a recording medium is open, comprising:

• a wiper that wipes off purged ink forcibly pushed out from the discharge nozzle;
• a drive mechanism that drives the wiper to reciprocate along an ink discharge surface including the nozzle region;
• a first rotary mechanism that causes the wiper to rotate in such a direction as to move away from the ink discharge surface;
• and
• a control portion that controls pushing out and discharging of ink from the discharge nozzle and an operation of the drive mechanism,
• wherein
• the control portion is capable of executing a recovery operation of the recording head, which includes:
• an ink push-out operation in which ink is forcibly pushed out from the discharge nozzle so that purged ink adheres to the nozzle region;
• a first wipe-off operation in which, after the wiper is brought in press-contact with a first position on an outer side of the nozzle region on the ink discharge surface, the wiper is caused to move, in a state of being in press-contact with the ink discharge surface, in a first direction directed toward the nozzle region along the ink discharge surface, thus wiping off the purged ink;
• a rotary moving-away operation in which, at a second position on an opposite side to the first position with respect to the nozzle region on the ink discharge surface, while being caused to move in the first direction, the wiper is caused to rotate toward an obliquely lower side in a second direction opposite to the first direction, thus moving away from the ink discharge surface;
• and
• a second wipe-off operation in which, after the rotary moving-away operation, in a state of being in press-contact with the ink discharge surface, the wiper is caused to move in the second direction along the ink discharge surface from a position on an opposite side to the nozzle region with respect to the second position, thus wiping off ink at the second position.