PURPOSE: To maintain a carriage at a fixed position and securely prevent leakage of an ink during transportation, by automatically locking the carriage and closing a vent means leading into the interior of a cap when a power source is switched OFF and a recording head is covered by the cap.
CONSTITUTION: When a power source is switched OFF and a recording head 5 is covered by a cap 7 at a home position HP of a carriage 4, a solenoid 15 is turned OFF, and a movable member 14 is turned clockwise with a fulcrum 13 as a center, so that a pawl part 17 of the member 14 is engaged into a recessed part 16 of the carriage 4 to lock the carriage, and a pad part 18 provided at the other end of the member 13 closes a ventilating member 12 leading into the interioor of the cap 7. Thus, when an ink jet recorder is transported (the power source is switched OFF), ink-ejecting ports are automatically capped, and locking of the carriage 4 at a fixed position (the home position) and closing of the ventilating means 12 for the cap are performed automatically and simultaneously. Accordingly, leakage of an ink can be securely prevented.
TERASAWA HIROHARU
HIRANO HIROFUMI
YAMAGUCHI HIDEKI
TSUYUKUBO SHIGERU
IKEDA KOICHI
