Maintenance mechanism, liquid ejection apparatus, and maintenance method for liquid ejection apparatus

A liquid ejection apparatus comprising:

• a printing head configured to eject a liquid;
• and
• a maintenance mechanism including:
• a first maintenance unit provided with a plurality of cleaning mechanisms for cleaning the printing head;
• a second maintenance unit provided with a cleaning mechanism different from the cleaning mechanisms provided in the first maintenance unit and disposed side by side with the first maintenance unit in a transverse direction of the printing head;
• a support member configured to support the first maintenance unit and the second maintenance unit so as to allow scanning in a longitudinal direction of the printing head;
• a first positioning member configured to position the printing head at a first cleaning position;
• and
• a second positioning member configured to position the printing head at a second cleaning position that is different from the first cleaning position in the transverse direction of the printing head.

A maintenance method for a liquid ejection apparatus, the method comprising:

• positioning a printing head configured to eject a liquid at a first cleaning position;
• performing first maintenance of the printing head positioned at the first cleaning position by a first maintenance unit including a plurality of cleaning mechanisms;
• positioning the printing head subjected to the first maintenance at a second cleaning position that is different from the first cleaning position in a transverse direction of the printing head;
• performing second maintenance of the printing head subjected to the first maintenance and positioned at the second cleaning position by a second maintenance unit including a cleaning mechanism different from the cleaning mechanisms included in the first maintenance unit;
• positioning the printing head subjected to the second maintenance at the first cleaning position;
• and
• performing third maintenance of the printing head subjected to the second maintenance and positioned at the first cleaning position by the first maintenance unit.