Inkjet recording apparatus

#The invention relates to an inkjet recording device configured to perform an image recording by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium from a recording head, and more specifically, to an inkjet recording device comprising a purge mechanism configured to suck ink from the recording head by a suction pump.

#An image recording device has been known that is configured to perform an image recording by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium based on input signals. Such an image recording device is commonly referred to as an inkjet printer. The inkjet printer implements an image recording by selectively ejecting ink droplets from nozzles of a recording head.

#In the recording head, air bubbles may be generated in ink passages extending to the nozzles or the ink passages may be clogged with foreign matters. These may cause an ejection failure of ink droplets from the nozzles. In order to prevent or recover such a problem, there has been known a technique for eliminating air bubbles or foreign matters from the nozzles of the recording head, which is commonly referred to as a purge operation. The purge operation is implemented by a maintenance unit. The maintenance unit comprises a cap configured to cover the nozzles of the recording head and a pump configured to generate a suction pressure in the cap covering the nozzles of the recording head. A motor is used as a drive source of the cap and the pump. In the inkjet printer, in addition to the purge operation, a flushing operation for eliminating air bubbles and impure ink from the recording head and a wiping operation for wiping off ink adhering to the nozzles are performed. These operations are collectively referred to as a cleaning operation.

#Illustrative aspects will be described in detail with reference to the following figures in which like elements are labeled with like numbers and in which:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a multifunction device in an embodiment according to one or more aspects of the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a vertical schematic sectional view showing an internal structure of a printing portion of the multifunction device in the embodiment according to one or more aspects of the invention;

#Hereinafter, an embodiment according to aspects of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment described below will be an example of the invention. It would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, arrangements and modifications may be applied therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. An up-down direction 7 is defined with reference to an orientation of a multifunction device 10 that is disposed in which it is intended to be used as shown in FIG. 1. A side, on which a front opening 13 is provided, of the multifunction device 10 is defined as the front of the multifunction device 10. A front-rear direction 8 is defined with reference to the front of the multifunction device 10 as shown in FIG. 1. A right-left direction 9 is defined when the multifunction device 10 is viewed from its front.

#As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 10 (an example of an inkjet recording device of the invention) has a substantially thin box shape. The multifunction device 10 comprises a printing portion 11 at its lower part. The multifunction device 10 has various functions, e.g., a facsimile function and a printing function. Although having a single-sided image recording function only as the printing function in this embodiment, the multifunction device 10 may have a double-sided image recording function in addition to the single-sided image recording function.

#The printing portion 11 comprises a housing 14. The housing 14 comprises a front wall 17, which extends in the up-down direction 7 and the right-left direction 9 and defines the front of the housing 14, and a rear wall 16 (See FIG. 8B), which faces the front wall 17 and defines the rear of the housing 14. The front opening 13 is formed in a substantially middle of the front wall 17. A sheet feed tray 20 and a sheet discharge tray 21 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 14 through the front opening 13. Recording sheets of desired sizes can be placed on the sheet feed tray 20.