| 摘要 |
PURPOSE: To perform automatic capping and selective priming and cleaning of a printhead such that contaminating substance is sucked out by moving the printhead to a service position upon detection of a failed state of the printhead, sucking ink through priming and then returning the printhead back to the print position. CONSTITUTION: When a pump cooperates with a valve sub-unit to detect a specified failure state of a selected printhead, priming of the printhead is performed and a printer is recovered from a state where the printhead is clogged with ink. Since it is insufficient to suck ink simply from the printhead into a tube, the pump 56 and the valve sub-unit 48 also clean the ink led out from the selected printhead into the tube thence led into an accumulator 24, or the like. Consequently, the ink is prevented from being dried up and deposited in the tubes 18, 20, 22 and the period where an apparatus 10 can operate without being supported of failure recovery is extended significantly. |
