JPH10138515A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a high discharge recovery performance in a continuous multinozzle recording head by furnishing ink force-feeding means on the ink supply path, and also furnishing means for pressurizing or decompressing the inner part of a sealed section formed at a discharge port outside area in contact relation on the discharge port surface of a recording head. SOLUTION: The common liquid chamber 1c and ink tank 8 are communicated with each other through ink supply tubes 3a, 3b, and a circulation pump 5 is provided on the ink supply tube 3a. By allowing an ink absorbing cap 2a having a waste ink absorbing body 2c to be in contact with the discharge port surface of a recording head 1a via cap sealing rubber 2b, a small-scale recovery operates to discharge small air bubbles, dusts, and the like along with ink from the inner part of a nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a to an ink tank by means of a suction pump 6 on an ink discharge tube 4. In conducting strong recovery operation, dusts or air bubbles are powerfully removed together with ink from the nozzle 1b with pressure of the circulation pump 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for performing an ejection recovery process for preventing and recovering from clogging at an ink ejection port of a recording head and defective ink ejection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a composite electronic apparatus including a computer or a word processor, or a recording apparatus used as an output apparatus such as a work station is based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording material (recording medium) such as a recording medium or a plastic thin plate. In such a recording apparatus, an ink jet recording system capable of performing high-speed, high-quality recording is often employed.

FIG. 7 shows an ink jet recording head used in an ink jet recording apparatus. Generally, an ejection port 11 for recording droplets, a nozzle 12 for supplying a recording liquid to the ejection port, a common liquid chamber 13 for supplying recording droplets to each nozzle, And an energy generating unit 15 provided at a part of the nozzle for applying the above energy to the recording liquid.

As the energy generating means, a heating element such as an electrothermal conversion element, an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezo element, or an electromagnetic wave such as a laser is radiated and sucked into a liquid there to generate heat. What discharges and flies droplets by the action of the liquid is known.

[0005] Among them, an ink jet recording head which uses an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating means and discharges recording droplets from a discharge port by thermal energy has a high nozzle density of 200 dpi to 600 dpi.
Since it is relatively easy to form a multi-nozzle having 64 to 5000 nozzles, an ink jet recording apparatus capable of high-speed, high-definition recording, and large-screen recording can be realized.

However, such an ink jet recording apparatus has a problem in that the recording ink in the nozzles 12 of the recording head thickens due to evaporation and temperature drop of the recording ink, bubbles are mixed into the nozzles 12 of the recording head, and ejection of the recording head. Clogging and poor ink ejection may occur due to the attachment of foreign matter to the exit surface, which causes a problem that image quality deteriorates. Therefore, some ejection recovery means for preventing and recovering from these have been employed.

A description will now be given of the main recovery mechanisms employed in the conventional ink jet apparatus, namely, the suction recovery and the circulation recovery.

FIG. 2 shows an example of suction recovery means in a conventional ink jet printing apparatus. The recording ink is ejected from the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a when the recording operation is performed, and every time the recording ink is consumed, the recording liquid passes through the ink supply tube 3a from the ink tank 8 and the common liquid chamber via the filter unit 7a. 1c,
Further, it is supplied into the nozzle 1b. This is the nozzle 1b
This causes the recording ink to flow from the ink tank 8 to the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a.
The nozzle 1b can be stably and continuously refilled even if there is no pressure feeding means for supplying the nozzle 1b.

However, as described above, the viscosity of the recording ink in the nozzle 1b increases due to the evaporation or temperature drop, the bubbles are mixed in the nozzle 1b, and the foreign substances adhere to the ejection opening surface of the recording head 1a. Stable and normal printing operation may not be performed due to clogging or defective ink ejection. Therefore, as disclosed in JP-A-61-158467 and the like, the suction recovery method uses the waste ink absorber 2c.
And a suction pump 6 via the ink discharge tube 4.
The suction cap 2a is connected to the nozzle 1b on the ejection port surface of the recording head 1a via the cap sealing rubber 2b.
After that, the suction pump 6 is driven to bring the pressure Ps in the closed space between the suction cap 2a and the discharge port surface of the recording head 1a into a negative pressure state equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure. An ejection recovery process of the recording head 1a is performed, in which the recording ink is sucked and discharged from the inside and is collected in the waste ink tank 9.

Such a suction recovery type ejection recovery means has a simple configuration and is advantageous in cost reduction. Therefore, the ink supply tube 3a between the ink tank 8 and the recording head 1a is omitted, and the ink tank and the recording head In an ink jet recording apparatus having a configuration in which
Many are used.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional ink jet printing apparatus using circulation recovery means. Such a configuration is disclosed in JP-A-63-130348. At the same time as the recording ink is consumed, the recording ink from the ink tank 8 is supplied to the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a via the ink tubes 3a, 3b and the filter units 7a, 7b.
And is filled in the nozzle 1b. At this time,
The circulating pump 5 as the ink pressure feeding means is open,
Ink is supplied through both the ink supply tube 3a and the ink supply tube 3b.

At the time of the circulation recovery operation, by driving the circulation pump 5, ink is transferred from the ink tank 8 to the ink tank 8 via the ink supply tube 3a, the common liquid chamber 1c, and the ink supply tube 3b. And circulate. During this circulation, pressure is also applied to the ink in the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a, and the ink is discharged from the nozzle opening. Therefore, dust, bubbles, and the thickened ink in the nozzle 1b are also discharged at the same time. Thus, the ejection of the recording head 1a can be recovered. The nozzle 1b
The waste ink discharged from the printer is stopped by the waste ink receiver 10 and discharged to the waste ink tank 9 through the ink discharge tube 4.

Further, due to this circulation, the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b and the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a can be replaced when the recording head 1a or the ink tank 8 is replaced or left for a long time.
The air bubbles mixed into the inside can be discharged to the ink tank 8 via the supply tube 3b.

Such an ink circulation type ejection recovery means is excellent in recovery from clogging and ejection failure of the recording head and in removing bubbles entering the common liquid chamber of the recording head. For high-speed recording using a recording head of
It has been employed in ink jet recording apparatuses for recording large screens.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for high-speed recording and large-screen recording of ink jet printers, and there has been a demand for commercialization of ink jet printers employing a long recording head having a recording nozzle number of 256 to 5000 nozzles. I have.

[0016]

However, when a long recording head having a number of recording nozzles of 256 to 5,000 is employed, it is expected that a large amount of recording ink will be consumed in a short time by high-speed continuous printing. To be
It is essential to increase the capacity of the ink tank. However, if an ink cartridge-integrated head is used, a large-capacity ink cartridge will also be mounted on the carriage, causing problems such as an increase in the weight of the carriage. Therefore, such a long high-speed recording ink jet recording apparatus desirably has a configuration in which a tube is supplied from a recording head on a carriage and connected to an ink tank provided on the main body side, and a supply system for supplying the tube is provided.

However, there are several problems in the ejection recovery method in the ink jet recording apparatus having such a configuration of the tube drawing supply system.

First, recovery using a suction recovery mechanism including a suction cap 2a, an ink discharge tube 4, a suction pump 6, and a waste ink tank 9 as shown in FIG. 2 will be considered.
In this recovery method, since the control is relatively easy, the nozzle 1b
It is suitable for recovery in which only a small amount of ink inside the nozzles needs to be discharged, such as removing small bubbles mixed into the inside and foreign matters adhering to the ejection surface of the recording head 1a. However, this recovery mechanism has a weak recovery force, and when removing air bubbles that have entered the common liquid chamber 1c, the suction pump must be driven for a long time, and as a result, a long recovery time is required, A lot of waste ink will be discharged. Further, if air bubbles enter the ink supply tube 3a when the recording head 1a or the ink tank 8 is replaced or left for a long time, it is necessary to remove the ink from the air bubbles to the tip of the nozzle of the recording head 1a. Must be discharged, and the amount of waste ink becomes very large.

On the other hand, in the case of the circulation recovery as shown in FIG. 3, when discharging the bubbles which have entered the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b, the ink is circulated via the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b, and Since the bubbles are discharged into the ink tank 8, the ink is not wasted as much as when the bubbles in the tube are discharged by the suction recovery. Moreover, in this method, since the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a is also on the ink circulation path, it is suitable for discharging air bubbles that have entered the common liquid chamber 1c. In addition, the ink circulation operation is performed by the recording head 1 that has been heated by printing.
It also has the effect of cooling a.

However, even when relatively small-scale recovery such as removal of small air bubbles mixed into the nozzles 1b of the recording head 1a during printing and foreign matter adhering to the ejection surface of the recording head 1a is required, ink supply is also required. Tubes 3a, 3b
In addition, since all the ink in the common liquid chamber 1c is circulated, waste ink is unnecessarily discharged due to the difficulty of the control, and it takes time to recover the ink.

Therefore, in the present invention, even if a long multi-nozzle recording head having a recording nozzle number from 256 nozzles to 5000 nozzles is used for high-speed recording, the amount of waste ink at the time of ejection recovery is small, and It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can maintain high ejection recovery performance.

[0022]

According to the present invention, there is provided a multi-nozzle having a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink and performing recording by discharging ink on a recording medium. An ink jet recording head, a common liquid chamber provided on the recording head, communicating with each nozzle of the recording head, and an ink jet recording apparatus in which the common liquid chamber and the ink tank are communicated by a plurality of ink supply paths. Ink supply means for circulating ink in the common liquid chamber of the supply path and the recording head is provided on the ink supply path, and in addition, the contact can be released with respect to the discharge port surface of the recording head. The recording head is characterized in that a closed section is formed by contacting the discharge port surface of the discharge port surface outside the discharge port, and means for pressurizing or depressurizing the closed section is provided. (Operation) According to the present invention, by performing an optimal recovery operation in accordance with the state of the print head and the supply path, recovery of a long multi-nozzle print head having 256 to 5000 nozzles can be performed. A good image quality can be maintained with a small amount of waste ink and a short recovery time.

[0023]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

The present invention is characterized in that, as print recovery means, circulation recovery means for recovering printing performance by circulating ink between the ink tank and the common liquid chamber of the recording head, and a cap on the ejection opening surface of the ink jet recording head. And a suction recovery means for discharging ink to a waste ink tank connected to the cap, and performing optimum recovery by selectively using these according to the state of the recording head and the supply path. It is in the point.

In FIG. 1, the common liquid chamber 1c and the ink tank 8 are communicated with each other by ink supply tubes 3a and 3b via filter units 7a and 7b. In addition,
The ink supply tubes 3a and 3b can supply the ink in the ink tank 8 to the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a. The ink in the common liquid chamber 1c is supplied into the nozzle 1b, receives energy from an energy application section (not shown) in the nozzle 1b, and is discharged onto a recording medium. The supply of the recording ink is performed stably and continuously by the capillary phenomenon in the nozzle 1b.

A small-scale recovery that recovers a small bubble that has entered the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a during the printing operation or a defective discharge caused by clogging due to the attachment of a foreign substance to the discharge port surface is not required. The ejection recovery of the recording head 1a is performed using only suction recovery, which is relatively easy to control and has a small amount of waste ink. That is, first, the ink suction cap 2a having the waste ink absorber 2c is brought into contact with the ejection port surface of the recording head 1a via the cap sealing rubber 2b. Next, the suction pump 6 on the ink discharge tube 4 connecting the suction cap 2a and the waste ink tank 9 is driven to reduce the pressure Ps of the closed space between the suction cap 2a and the discharge port surface of the recording head 1a. By setting a negative pressure state equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure, small bubbles and dust are discharged from the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a together with the ink.
Foreign matter on the discharge port surface is also removed.

On the other hand, the recording head 1a
If the ink in the nozzle 1b increases in viscosity or large bubbles occur in the nozzle 1b or the common liquid chamber 1c due to continuous printing, the ink tank 8 and the recording head 1a need to be replaced or replaced. Consider a case where bubbles are generated in the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b due to leaving for a period. At this time, the ink supply tubes 3a, 3a
A strong recovery operation is performed by using a circulation recovery unit that circulates the ink inside b. That is, the ink supply tube 3a
A circulation pump 5 is provided in the path, and is driven to pressurize the ink in the ink supply tube 3a from the ink tank 8 toward the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a. The ink is discharged from the nozzle 1b by the pressure, and the dirt and bubbles that have entered the nozzle 1b are removed more strongly than the previous suction recovery, and the recording head 1a
The ejection performance is recovered. The ink that has not been discharged from the nozzle 1b returns to the ink tank 8 via the ink supply tube 3b. At this time, the air bubbles that have entered the common liquid chamber 1c and the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b also The ink is discharged to the ink tank 8. Therefore, when air bubbles in the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b are discharged, a large amount of ink is not wasted as in the case of suction recovery, so that the running cost can be reduced.

As described above, when strong recovery such as small-scale suction recovery during printing and long-term storage is required, circulating recovery is used, and appropriate recovery depending on the conditions of the recording head and the ink supply tube. By performing a proper recovery operation,
The recovery operation can be performed reliably and without waste in both the amount of waste ink and the recovery time.

(Embodiment 2) In the second embodiment, in addition to the recovery in the first embodiment, the object is to realize a stronger recovery by simultaneously operating the suction recovery means and the circulation recovery means. And This recovery method is used when the ink in the nozzles of the print head thickens due to being left for a long time, or when large bubbles are generated in the nozzles of the print head due to continuous printing. Suitable for strongly recovering parts. This method is characterized in that it has stronger recovery performance than recovery by suction only or circulation only, and can suppress the amount of waste ink more than recovery by circulation.

First, in FIG. 1, the suction cap 2a is brought into contact with the ejection opening face of the recording head 1a via the cap sealing rubber 2b. Next, both the suction pump 6 for applying a negative pressure to the inside of the suction cap 2a and the ink circulation pump 5 for pressurizing and feeding ink at the time of circulation recovery are driven. As a result, ink is discharged from the nozzles 1b of the recording head 1a by both the pressure due to the circulation and the negative pressure in the closed space between the suction cap 2a and the ejection surface of the recording head 1a. Then, air bubbles in the nozzle 1b, dust attached to the discharge port surface, and air bubbles generated in the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a can be more reliably discharged than recovery by only suction or circulation. At this time, an arrow A is shown inside the ink supply tube 3a.
Flow rate Qa of the ink flowing in the direction of arrow B in the ink supply tube 3b,
The flow rate Qc of ink discharged from the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a to the suction cap 2a and flowing through the ink discharge tube 4.
It is assumed that the capacity of the circulation pump 5 and the suction pump 6 is set so that Qa = Qb + Qc.

Further, by using this recovery method, not only the recovery ability can be enhanced, but also the amount of waste ink can be saved and the recovery time can be shortened.

In the case of the recovery using only the conventional circulation, when the circulation pump is driven at a certain constant circulation speed, the amount of ink Qdk discharged from each nozzle Nk (k = 1 to n) of the recording head is: The distribution is as shown in FIG. As described above, since the amount of ink discharged from the nozzles near the ink supply tube 3a is larger, extra waste ink and recovery time are required until the nozzles near the ink supply tube 3b with a small flow rate are completely recovered. I needed it.

Further, the distribution of the amount of ink Qek discharged from each nozzle Nk (k = 1 to n) of the recording head when the circulation recovery and the suction recovery are simultaneously performed in the ink jet recording apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. Is shown in FIG. Even in this case, there is a bias in the amount of ink discharged from each nozzle,
After all, the waste ink amount and the recovery time are wasted.

Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
This problem is solved by using suction recovery means connected to the suction cap 2a when the ink discharge tube 4 is shifted toward the ink supply tube 3b. A suction cap 2 for compensating for a bias in the amount of waste ink for each nozzle.
As for a, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-195712 discloses an embodiment of recovery using only suction. The present embodiment is characterized in that the suction cap of FIG. 8 is used when both the circulation recovery and the suction recovery are used in combination, so that a stronger and more reliable recovery than the suction-only recovery can be achieved with less waste. It can be realized by the amount of ink and the recovery time. In the configuration shown in FIG.
First, the suction cap 2a is brought into contact with the ejection port surface of the recording head 1a. Next, by driving both the circulation pump 5 and the suction pump 6, ink is discharged from each nozzle 1b on the recording head 1a, and the recording head 1a is recovered. At this time, by appropriately adjusting the controls of the ink circulation pump 5 and the suction pump 6, the distribution of the amount Qfk of the ink discharged from each nozzle Nk (k = 1 to n) of the recording head 1a to the suction cap 2a side. Can be fairly uniform, as represented in FIG. Thank you
The amount of wasted waste ink can be suppressed, and not only low running costs can be measured, but also the time required for print recovery can be shortened.

Although the effects of the present invention have been described so far with respect to the ink jet recording apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 1, in order to reduce the deviation of the suction amount of each nozzle in the suction by the suction cap, It is also possible to change the shape inside the suction cap or the material of the waste ink absorber inside the suction cap for each part, or change the shape inside the common liquid chamber. Further, the present invention is also effective when a plurality of ink supply tubes and ink discharge tubes exist, and the amount of waste ink discharged from each nozzle of the recording head is biased due to their arrangement and flow rate difference.

Further, since the ink discharge tube 4 is connected to the suction cap 2a when the ink discharge tube 4 is biased toward the ink supply tube 3b, the waste discharged from the nozzle near the ink discharge tube 4 at the time of recovery only by suction is eliminated. In this case, the amount of ink becomes large, but the relation between the flow path resistance Ra of the ink supply tube 3a and the flow path resistance Rb of the ink supply tube 3b is Ra <Rb.
Thus, the flow rate may be adjusted by changing the thickness of the tube or attaching a valve.

Such a problem of the uneven flow rate of the ink discharged from the nozzles of the recording head becomes more remarkable as the recording head becomes longer and the number of nozzles increases. Is considered a very important issue.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, by adding a new recovery mode to the previous embodiments, the amount of waste ink when the ink supply system is recovered can be further reduced.

Consider a case where bubbles are generated in the ink supply tube or the common liquid chamber of the recording head when the ink tank or the recording head 1a is replaced or left for a long time. In the first and second embodiments, a method of circulating the ink in the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b and the common liquid chamber 1c in FIG. Using.

However, according to this method, the nozzles 1b of the recording head 1a are used until the bubbles in the ink supply tubes 3a and 3b and the common liquid chamber 1c of the recording head 1a are discharged from the ink supply tube 3b to the ink tank 8. Ink will continue to be discharged from the printer, and a considerable amount of ink will be consumed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to suppress the amount of waste ink, the suction cap 2a is diverted as a pressure cap, and pressure is applied to the ink in the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a from the discharge port side to discharge the ink. Reduce the amount that is done. That is, first, the waste ink contained in the waste ink absorber 2c in the suction cap 2a for the suction recovery described above is
The ink is discharged to the waste ink tank 9 by the suction pump 6. Next, the suction cap 2a is brought into contact with the discharge port surface via the cap sealing rubber 2b, and the inside of the sealed space between the suction cap 2a and the discharge port surface is pressurized by the suction pump 6 used for suction recovery. Divert as a pump and pressurize. Then, pressure is applied to the ink in the nozzle 1b of the recording head 1a from the ejection port side, and the amount of ink discharged from the nozzle 1b can be suppressed. At this time, it is necessary to appropriately adjust the circulation pressure and the pressure on the suction cap 2a side so that air does not enter from the nozzle 1b.

Incidentally, this recovery operation is an operation suitable for removing air bubbles that have entered the common liquid chamber 1c of the ink supply tubes 3a, 3b and the recording head 1a. It is desirable to perform print recovery by using the methods described in Embodiments 1 and 2 together.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by simultaneously performing the circulation recovery and the pressurization of the nozzle portion of the recording head by the suction cap, the operation of removing the air bubbles that have entered the supply tube and the common liquid chamber of the recording head is performed. And a smaller amount of waste ink and a shorter recovery time.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A multi-nozzle ink jet recording head that has a plurality of recording nozzles for discharging ink and performs recording by discharging ink to a recording medium, and is provided on the recording head and communicates with each nozzle of the recording head. An ink jet recording apparatus having a common liquid chamber and a plurality of ink supply paths communicating between the common liquid chamber and the ink tank; and an ink pressure supply for circulating ink in the common liquid chamber between the ink supply path and the recording head. Means are provided on the ink supply path, and in addition, the contact can be released from the discharge port surface of the recording head, and at the time of contact, it comes into contact with the area outside the discharge port of the recording port discharge surface and hermetically seals In an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a section for forming a section and for pressurizing or depressurizing the inside of the closed section, a circulation recovery means is provided depending on the state of the recording head and the supply path. By using the suction recovery means optimally or simultaneously, even when recovering a long multi-nozzle print head with 256 to 5000 print nozzles, a small amount of waste ink and a short recovery time are required. Maintaining good image quality can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus using an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus using a suction recovery unit according to the related art.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus using a circulation recovery unit according to the related art.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a waste ink amount in each nozzle when a recovery operation is performed in an ink jet recording apparatus using a circulation recovery unit according to the related art.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a waste ink amount in each nozzle when a recovery operation is performed in the ink jet recording apparatus using the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a waste ink amount in each nozzle when a recovery operation is performed in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing an ink jet recording head in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a cap in a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Recording head 1b Nozzle 1c Common liquid chamber 2a Suction cap 2b Seal rubber for cap 2c Waste ink absorber 3a Ink supply tube 3b Ink supply tube 4 Ink discharge tube 5 Circulation pump 6 Suction pump 7a Filter unit 7b Filter unit 8 Ink tank 9 Waste Ink tank 10 Waste ink receiver 11 Discharge port 12 Nozzle 13 Common liquid chamber 14 Energy action section 15 Energy generation means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A multi-nozzle ink jet recording head having a plurality of recording nozzles for discharging ink and performing recording by discharging ink to a recording medium, and a multi-nozzle ink jet recording head provided on the recording head, To circulate the ink in the common liquid chamber between the ink supply path and the recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus in which a common liquid chamber communicating with each nozzle and a plurality of ink supply paths communicate between the common liquid chamber and the ink tank. The ink pressure feeding means is provided on the ink supply path, and in addition, it can be released from contact with the discharge port surface of the recording head. Contact to form a closed section,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising means for increasing or decreasing the pressure in the sealed section. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a recovery operation using only the circulation recovery unit, a recovery operation using only the suction recovery unit, and a recovery operation using both the circulation recovery unit and the suction recovery unit. And an ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recovery modes. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tube for supplying ink from the ink tank to the common liquid chamber and a tube for discharging ink from the common liquid chamber to the ink tank at the time of the circulation recovery operation. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that a position of an ink discharge tube communicating with a suction cap is set at a position facing a position near a tube for discharging ink. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recovery operation is performed using both the circulation recovery means and the suction recovery means. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when performing a recovery operation using the circulation recovery means, the suction cap is brought into contact with the discharge port surface of the recording head at an area outside the discharge port. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a closed section is formed and an operation of pressurizing the inside of a suction cap is performed.