Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet recording apparatus having a stable recovery means capable of absorbing discharged ink by a discharged ink holding means, preventing ink discharge openings from clogging and maintaining eject recovery performance. For that purpose the ink-jet recording apparatus is arranged as follows. A recording means having a plurality of nozzles and nozzle rows for ejecting ink, a reciprocatingly moving carriage on which the recording means is mounted, a recovery means for recovering or maintaining an ink eject status, and a discharged ink holding means for absorbing discharged ink from the recovery means and for keeping discharged ink from flowing out of the apparatus, where pigment ink and dye ink discharge openings are arranged closely so that both discharged inks are mixed so as to dissolve a stuck deposition of the pigment ink or to suppress the stuck deposition.

Abstract: The present invention provides a capping mechanism for protecting recording means for effecting recording by discharging ink toward a recording medium, comprising a cap movable in directions along which the cap can be contacted with and separated from a discharge port face of the recording means, cam means for controlling a position of the cap, shifting means for shifting the cap in said directions, and biasing means for biasing the cap to be separated from the discharge port face, and wherein the cam means includes first and second cams and the shifting means includes first and second engagement portions so that the first cam is normally engaged with the first engagement portion, and, when the first cam is disengaged from the first engagement portion, the second cam is engaged with the second engagement portion.

Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet recording apparatus which has a stable and widely applicable eject recovery means regardless of ink properties and recording head types for a compact and highly dense recording head equipped with a plurality of nozzles and nozzle rows. The ink-jet recording apparatus arranged as follows meets the above-mentioned requirements. A cap for capping a plurality of nozzle rows having a plurality of eject ports from which ink is ejected, communicating valves for communicating inner spaces of the cap to the atmosphere, a sucking means communicated to the cap for sucking ink from said nozzle rows, where; the cap is formed in one piece having a plurality of inner spaces corresponding to a plurality of eject ports, and a plurality of communicating valves are formed so as to communicate to the respective inner spaces and so as to control ejecting ink from nozzle rows by opening/closing operations by the communicating valves.