Ink jet recording apparatus having wiping mechanism

An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising:

• a recording head with at least one nozzle on a nozzle surface for performing printing on recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzle;
• a wiping mechanism having a first wiping member and a second wiping member both of which can contact the nozzle surface;
• wherein at least one of the first and second wiping members can wipe and clean the nozzle surface of the recording head;
• a drive device that relatively moves the wiping mechanism and the recording head with respect to each other to allow the wiping mechanism to wipe the nozzle surface;
• and
• a controller that selectively performs either a normal wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface using the first wiping member or a powerful wiping operation for wiping the nozzle surface using both the first and second wiping members, in accordance with operational status of the ink jet recording apparatus.

A method for wiping a nozzle surface of a recording head provided in an ink jet recording apparatus, the ink jet recording apparatus including a wiping mechanism having a first and second wiping members for wiping and cleaning the nozzle surface and a drive device for relatively moving the wiping mechanism and the recording head with respect to each other to allow the wiping mechanism to wipe the nozzle surface, comprising the steps of:

• analyzing an operational status of the ink jet recording apparatus;
• determining predetermined time periods from a preceding ink ejection based on analytical results;
• determining between a normal wiping operation, in which the nozzle surface is wiped using the first wiping member with a first wiping force against the nozzle surface, and a powerful wiping operation, in which the nozzle surface is wiped using at least the second wiping member with a second wiping force stronger than the first wiping force, in accordance with the analytical results and the predetermined time periods;
• and
• controlling the wiping mechanism for performing the determined wiping operation.