JP4978376B2 - Inkjet nozzle cleaning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning and removing foreign matter clogged in an ink jet nozzle in an ink jet drawing apparatus.

  The ink jet drawing apparatus has a thin ink jet nozzle in its head. While the head and the object to be colored are moved relative to each other, the ink is ejected as fine droplets from the inkjet nozzle toward the object to be colored by a piezo element, a heater, etc. Is.

  However, ink-containing components, dust mixed in the ink, and the like may become foreign matter and adhere to the ink jet nozzle and cause clogging. When such clogging occurs, ink droplets are not ejected, the ejection amount is reduced, or the flight direction of the droplets is bent, and normal coloring becomes difficult.

  Conventionally, in order to eliminate such clogging, the head is washed at the start of coloring, at the end of coloring, at the time of finding defective coloring, or the like. As the cleaning method, a cap is placed on the head so as to cover the ink jet nozzle, and ink in the head is sucked out of the head from the ink jet nozzle by a suction pump (for example, see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3). A method of feeding the ink jet nozzle from the tip of the ink jet nozzle into the head using a pump (for example, see Patent Document 4), and a method of wiping the outside of the ink jet nozzle with a wiper after sending a cleaning liquid such as a solvent into the head using a pump (for example, Patent Document 5). See) has been proposed.

JP-A-5-201027 JP 2004-34663 A JP 2004-106450 A JP 2004-174820 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-282329

  However, the conventional method of sucking out the ink in the head from the ink jet nozzle to the outside of the head with the suction pump has a problem that a lot of ink is consumed, and if the nozzle opening is narrowed due to taper or the like, the ink jet nozzle eye is rather different. There is a problem that clogging is promoted.

  The method of sending ink into the head from the tip of the ink jet nozzle by the pump has a problem that foreign matter is drawn into the head and easily mixed into the ink, and clogging of the ink jet nozzle is promoted. There is.

  The method of wiping the outside of the inkjet nozzle with a wiper after sending the cleaning liquid into the head with a pump reduces ink consumption, but it takes time to remove foreign matter when the nozzle opening is narrowed due to taper etc. There's a problem. In particular, when coloring an object to be colored such as a glass plate having a large area, such as a color filter, by an inkjet method, one head has about several tens to hundreds of inkjet nozzles. However, there is a problem that it takes too much time to eliminate clogging of such a large number of inkjet nozzles by the conventional cleaning method.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet nozzle cleaning method and apparatus capable of solving such problems.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to the ink jet nozzle (7) from the inside to the outside, the forward cleaning of the cleaning liquid (17a) by the forward rotation of the pump, and the ink jet nozzle (7) from the outside. Inkjet nozzle (7) by repeating the reverse cleaning in which the cleaning liquid (17a) is sucked inward by reversing the pump inward until the pressure of the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid drops to the pressure when the foreign matter is removed. It is characterized by removing foreign matter from the body.

  As described in claim 2, in the ink jet nozzle cleaning method according to claim 1, ink can be used as the cleaning liquid (17a).

  As described in claim 3, in the ink jet nozzle cleaning method according to claim 1, an ink solvent can be used as the cleaning liquid (17a).

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet nozzle cleaning method according to the first aspect, the reverse cleaning is performed by immersing the tip of the ink jet nozzle (7) in the cleaning liquid (17a), and the ink jet nozzle (7). This can be done by sucking the cleaning liquid (17a) from the inside.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is directed to the sequential cleaning in which the cleaning liquid (17a) is ejected from the inside toward the outside of the ink jet nozzle (7), and the cleaning liquid (17a) from the outside to the inside of the ink jet nozzle (7). ), And a cleaning liquid supply means (15) for forward cleaning that supplies the cleaning liquid (17a) to the pump (10) during forward cleaning. And a reverse cleaning cleaning liquid supply means (17) for supplying a cleaning liquid (17a) to the tip of the inkjet nozzle (7) during reverse cleaning, and a conduit (11, 14) upstream or downstream of the pump (10). comprising a pressure sensor (23) for detecting the pressure of the cleaning liquid through the inner (17a) or waste (18a), that the pressure of the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid drops to the pressure at which the foreign substances have been removed Serial and the order cleaning and the backwash to a pressure sensor (23) is detected, characterized in that it has to be repeated alternately.

6. The apparatus for cleaning an inkjet nozzle according to claim 5 , wherein the cleaning liquid supply means for back cleaning stores a cleaning liquid (17a) for immersing the tip of the inkjet nozzle (7). (17).

The invention according to claim 7 is the inkjet nozzle cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein the first cleaning liquid container (15) for storing the cleaning liquid for forward cleaning (17a) and the waste liquid (18a) for the cleaning liquid for back cleaning are used. The first waste liquid container (16) to be received is arranged in a pair, and the second cleaning liquid container (17) for storing the back cleaning liquid (17a) and the second cleaning liquid waste liquid (18a) is received. The waste liquid container (18) is arranged in a pair and is switched to the first cleaning liquid container (15) by the first switching means (V2) during the forward cleaning and at the same time by the second switching means (20, 21). The second waste liquid container (18) is switched to the first waste liquid container (16) by the first switching means (V2) at the time of backwashing, and at the same time by the second switching means (20, 21). Second cleaning liquid container ( It can be those to switch to 7).

According to the first and fifth aspects of the present invention, the forward cleaning is performed by causing the ink jet nozzle (7) to eject the cleaning liquid (17a) from the inside toward the outside, and the ink jet nozzle (7) is cleaned from the outside toward the inside. Since the reverse cleaning for sucking (17a) is repeated, foreign matters can be easily and quickly removed from the inkjet nozzle (7).

  As described in claim 2, if ink is used as the cleaning liquid (17a), it is not necessary to replace the cleaning liquid with ink after cleaning the inkjet nozzle (7), and the process can be quickly shifted to the coloring process. . Further, it is not necessary to consider the compatibility between the cleaning liquid and the ink (including solvent shock caused by a solvent).

  If the solvent for ink is used as the cleaning liquid (17a), the cleaning efficiency is improved.

As described in claims 4 and 6 , reverse cleaning is performed by immersing the tip of the inkjet nozzle (7) in the cleaning liquid (17a) and sucking the cleaning liquid (17a) from the inside of the inkjet nozzle (7). By doing so, the cleaning liquid (17a) can be easily and reliably supplied into the inkjet nozzle (7).

According to the ink jet nozzle cleaning apparatus of the seventh aspect , it is possible to simply and efficiently perform the supply of the cleaning liquid (17a) and the recovery of the waste liquid (18a) that accompany repeated forward cleaning and reverse cleaning.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet drawing apparatus for producing a color filter includes a stage 2 on which a glass plate 1 as a coloring object is placed horizontally, and ink jet heads 3a, 3b, 3c arranged above the stage 2. And a three-axis movement mechanism that relatively moves the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, and 3c on the stage 2.

  In FIG. 1, one inkjet head 3a, 3b, 3c is provided for each color ink of RGB, but a plurality of inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c may be provided. The three-axis moving mechanism includes a guide bar 4 extending in the x-axis direction, a telescopic cylinder device 6 that can expand and contract in the z-axis direction, and a guide bar and a driving device (not shown) that move the stage 2 in the y-axis direction. Thereby, the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, and 3c can move relative to each other in the xyz axial directions on the stage 2. Of course, the stage 2 itself may be moved in all axial directions of xyz, or the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c themselves may be moved in all axial directions of xyz.

  A large number of thin inkjet nozzles 7 (see FIG. 2) are formed in each inkjet head 3a, 3b, 3c. A piezoelectric element or the like (not shown) is disposed corresponding to the ink jet nozzle.

  After the gap between the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c and the surface of the glass plate 1 on the stage 2 is adjusted by driving in the z-axis direction by the telescopic cylinder device 6 of the triaxial moving mechanism, by driving in the xy-axis direction All the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c are integrally scanned on the surface of the glass plate 1 on the stage 2, while the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c eject ink droplets toward the surface of the glass plate 1. Thus, a color filter is drawn on the surface of the glass plate 1.

  At the end in the x-axis direction, inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8a, 8b and 8c for eliminating clogging of the inkjet head 3 are installed corresponding to the RGB ink jet heads 3a, 3b and 3c. When the ink jet nozzles 7 of the ink jet heads 3a, 3b and 3c are clogged with foreign matters and the ejection of ink is disturbed to cause poor coloration, the triaxial moving mechanism causes the ink jet heads 3a, 3b and 3c to move the ink jet nozzles 3a, 8b, 8c, and the inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8a, 8b, and 8c clean the inkjet nozzles of the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, and 3c. This washing may be automatically executed at a desired time such as when a coloring defect is discovered, when coloring of the object to be colored is performed for a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times, or at the start of coloring or at the end of coloring. Is possible.

  Inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8a, 8b, and 8c are used for sequential cleaning in which cleaning liquid is ejected from the inside to the outside of the inkjet nozzles of the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, and 3c in the inkjet drawing device, and the inkjet nozzles are moved from the outside to the inside. By repeating reverse cleaning for sucking the cleaning liquid toward the outside, foreign matters are removed from the ink jet nozzles, which are prepared for each color ink such as RGB and controlled by the control unit 9 which is a computer. ing.

  Since the inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8a, 8b, and 8c for the respective color inks have the same configuration, the inkjet nozzle cleaning device 8a for the R ink will be described, and the description of the inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8b and 8c for the other color inks will be omitted. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the R ink inkjet nozzle cleaning device 8 a includes a pump 10 that repeats forward cleaning and reverse cleaning by switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation. The forward / reverse rotation of the pump 10 is switched by the control unit 9 controlling the motor 10a.

  As the pump 10, a gear pump, a trochoid pump, or the like that can smoothly pump the cleaning liquid even when switching between forward and reverse rotation is used.

  As the cleaning liquid, R ink or its main solvent can be used.

  The illustrated inkjet head 3a is a multi-head type, and a plurality of inkjet heads 3a1, 3a2, 3a3 are prepared for the R color, and all the inkjet heads 3a1, 3a2, 3a3 are integrated with inkjet heads of other color inks. The The number of the ink jet heads 3a1, 3a2, 3a3 can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the size of the glass plate 1 which is the object to be colored. As described above, all the ink jet heads are movable relative to the stage 2 by the triaxial moving mechanism.

  A first conduit 11 extends from one opening of the pump 10, and branch pipes 11a, 11b, and 11c extend from the first conduit 11 to the inkjet heads 3a1, 3a2, and 3a3. Before reaching the branch pipes 11a, 11b, and 11c of the first conduit 11, an on-off valve V3 that is an electromagnetic valve is disposed. Similar on-off valves V4, V5, V6 are also arranged in the branch pipes 11a, 11b, 11c. The on-off valves V4, V5, V6 on the branch pipes 11a, 11b, 11c may be omitted, and the cleaning liquid may flow to all the ink jet heads 3a1, 3a2, 3a3 when the on-off valve V3 is opened. A supply pipe 13 extending from the R ink tank 12 is connected to the first conduit 11 before the on-off valve V3. A similar on-off valve V1 is disposed in the supply pipe 13. The opening / closing of these on-off valves V1, V3, V4, V5, V6 is controlled by the control unit 9.

  A second conduit 14 extends from the other opening of the pump 10, and a first waste solution container for receiving a waste solution of a first cleaning solution container and a back cleaning solution as a forward cleaning solution supply means from the second conduit 14. A branch pipe extends to each container. These containers are provided in pairs as a cleaning liquid tank 15 and a waste liquid tank 16, respectively. A three-way valve V2 that is operated by a solenoid or the like serving as a first switching means is provided at a location where the second conduit 14 branches into two branch pipes 14a and 14b. The flow path of the second conduit 14 can be switched to either the cleaning liquid tank 15 or the waste liquid tank 16 by the operation of the three-way valve V2. Switching of the three-way valve V2 is controlled by the control unit 9.

  The second conduit 14 is provided with a pressure sensor 23 for determining whether or not foreign matter has been removed from the inkjet nozzle 7 by detecting the pressure of the cleaning liquid passing through the second conduit 14. When the foreign matter is removed from the ink jet nozzle 7, the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid passing through the first conduit 11 or the second conduit 14 is improved, and the removal of the foreign matter is detected using the decrease in pressure. Is. This pressure sensor 23 can also be provided in the first conduit 11. A signal from the pressure sensor 23 is sent to the control unit 9.

  Below the inkjet heads 3 a, 3 b, 3 c arriving at the end of the x-axis guide bar 4, reverse cleaning cleaning liquid supply means is provided for supplying a cleaning liquid to the tip of the inkjet nozzle 7 during reverse cleaning. This reverse cleaning cleaning liquid supply means is provided as the second cleaning liquid container 17, and specifically, is a wide-mouthed container storing a cleaning liquid 17 a for immersing the tip of the inkjet nozzle 7. Further, a container having the same size and shape as the second cleaning liquid container 17 is provided as a pair with the second cleaning liquid container 17 as the second waste liquid container 18 that receives the waste liquid 18a for the forward cleaning liquid. .

  The second cleaning liquid container 17 and the second waste liquid container 18 are connected by a connecting arm 19, and a shaft of a rotary cylinder 20 arranged vertically is connected to the connecting arm 19, and the rotary cylinder 20 is arranged vertically. The rod of the telescopic cylinder 21 to be connected is connected. The rotary cylinder 20 and the telescopic cylinder 21 function as second switching means, and either the second cleaning liquid container 17 or the second waste liquid container 18 is ink-jetted by the switching operation of the second switching means. It moves directly below the heads 3a1, 3a2, 3a3.

  The second switching means and the first switching means are in an interlocking relationship and are controlled by the control unit 9. That is, during the forward cleaning, the three-way valve V2 which is the first switching means is switched to the cleaning liquid tank 15 which is the first cleaning liquid container, and at the same time, the second switching means which is the second cylinder by the rotary cylinder 20 and the telescopic cylinder 21. It is switched to the waste liquid container 18 and is switched to the waste liquid tank 16 that is the first waste liquid container by the three-way valve V2 that is the first switching means at the time of backwashing. The cylinder 21 is switched to the second cleaning liquid container 17. Thereby, at the time of forward cleaning, the cleaning liquid flowing out from the cleaning liquid tank 15 becomes waste liquid and flows into the second waste liquid container 18, and at the time of reverse cleaning, the cleaning liquid flowing out from the second cleaning liquid container 17 becomes waste liquid. It flows into the waste liquid tank 16.

  Next, the operation of the inkjet nozzle cleaning device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(1) When an operator of the ink jet drawing apparatus finds a coloring defect during or after coloring the glass plate 1 that is a colored object in the ink jet drawing apparatus, the operator of the ink jet heads 3a, 3b, 3c It is confirmed whether or not the inkjet nozzle is clogged (step S1).
When the operator operates the input unit 22, coloring is stopped or interrupted, the on-off valves V1 of all the ink supply pipes 13 are closed, and the inkjet heads 3a, 3b, 3c are raised in the z-axis direction by driving the xyz moving mechanism. Then, it is transported in the x-axis direction to the inkjet nozzle cleaning devices 8a, 8b, 8c (step S2).

(2) By examining the color of the glass plate 1 to determine what color ink causes the poor coloring, the inkjet head in which clogging has occurred is identified (step S3). By this specification, information such as the type of RGB color, all heads or what number head is input from the input unit 22 to the control unit 9 (step S4).

(3) If the first ink-jet head 3a1 of the R ink is clogged, V4 is opened by a signal from the control unit 9, and the other on-off valves V5 and V6 are closed. Further, the on-off valve V3 of the first conduit 11 is opened, the motor 10a of the pump 10 is turned on, and the three-way valve V2 is turned on (step S5).

(4) The control unit 9 sends a control signal as shown in FIG. 4 to the pump 10, and the pump 10 repeats forward rotation and reverse rotation alternately. Each time of forward rotation and reverse rotation is set by a timer 9 a of the control unit 9. In synchronism with forward and reverse rotation of the pump 10, the three-way valve V2 opens and closes, the rotary cylinder 20 rotates by a predetermined angle, and the telescopic cylinder 21 performs reciprocating linear motion (step S6).
The forward rotation of the pump 10 corresponds to forward cleaning. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3A, the second conduit 14 is the first cleaning liquid container by the three-way valve V2 as the first switching means. The flow path can be switched to the tank 15. At the same time, the second switching means 18 is switched to the second waste liquid container 18 by the rotary cylinder 20 and the telescopic cylinder 21.
When the pump 10 rotates normally within a predetermined time set by the timer 9a, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 15 to the three-way valve V2, the second conduit 14, the pump 10, the first conduit 11, the on-off valve V3, the branch pipe 11a, and the on-off The ink flows into the ink jet head 3a1 through the valve V4, and the ink jet nozzle 7 ejects the cleaning liquid from the inside toward the outside. This cleaning liquid is received in the second waste liquid container 18 as a waste liquid 18a.
When the predetermined time has elapsed, the pump 10 reverses. The reverse rotation of the pump 10 corresponds to reverse cleaning, and when switching from forward cleaning, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), a waste liquid tank which is a first waste liquid container by a three-way valve V2 which is a first switching means. The flow path can be switched to 16. At the same time, the second switching means 17 is switched to the second cleaning liquid container 17 by the rotary cylinder 20 and the telescopic cylinder 21. That is, in the state shown in FIG. 3A, the telescopic cylinder 21 is contracted to lower the second waste liquid container 18 below the ink jet head 3a1, and the rotary cylinder 20 rotates about 180 degrees for the second cleaning liquid. The container 17 is moved directly below the inkjet head 3a1, and the second waste liquid container 18 is detached from just below the inkjet head 3a1. Then, the telescopic cylinder 21 extends to immerse the portion where the inkjet nozzle 7 of the inkjet head 3a1 is opened in the cleaning liquid 17a of the second cleaning liquid container 17 as shown in FIG.
When the pump 10 reverses within a predetermined time set by the timer 9a, the cleaning liquid 17a is sucked from the second cleaning liquid container 17 into the ink jet head 3a1 using the ink jet nozzle 7 as a suction port, and the branch pipe 11a, the on-off valve V4, It passes through one conduit 11, the on-off valve V3, the pump 10, the second conduit 14, and the three-way valve V2, and flows into the waste liquid tank 16 as waste liquid.
In this embodiment, the forward / reverse switching timing of the pump 10 is performed by the count of the timer 9a of the control unit 9. However, as shown in FIG. Switching between forward cleaning and reverse cleaning may be performed when no change is detected. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 23a indicates a point in time when the pressure fluctuation is eliminated. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, when the pressure sensor 23 detects an increase in pressure in forward cleaning and reverse cleaning, switching between forward cleaning and reverse cleaning may be performed. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 23b indicates this pressure increase time point.

(5) When such forward cleaning and reverse cleaning are repeated and foreign matter in the ink jet nozzle 7 is removed, it is detected by the pressure sensor 23 installed in the second conduit 14 as shown in FIG. The pressure of the cleaning liquid or waste liquid decreases. When this pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the controller 9 determines that the foreign matter has been removed (step S7).

(6) The on-off valve V4 of the ink jet head 3a1 whose clogging has been eliminated is closed by a signal from the control unit 9 (step S8).

(7) It is confirmed whether the other ink jet heads 3a2, 3a3 are clogged. This is normally determined by the operator (step S9).

(8) If there is another clogged inkjet head, the operator confirms the inkjet head (step S3), and inputs information of the inkjet head from the input unit 22 to the control unit 9 (step S4). . Thereafter, the above steps S5 to S9 are repeated, and when it is determined that the other heads are not clogged, the on-off valves V1 in all the ink supply pipes 13 are opened, the on-off valves V3 are closed, and the pump 10 and the three-way valve V2 are turned off, and the on-off valves V4, V5, V6 of the branch pipes 11a, 11b, 11c are closed (step S10).

(9) Thereafter, the ink jet drawing apparatus is restarted, and the coloring of the glass plate 1 is executed.

  Although the present invention is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, although the object to be colored is a glass plate in the above embodiment, it is possible to color other objects to be colored. It is also possible to use ink as the cleaning liquid.

It is a conceptual diagram of the inkjet drawing apparatus provided with the washing | cleaning apparatus of the inkjet nozzle which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the apparatus for enforcing the cleaning method of the inkjet nozzle which concerns on this invention. FIG. A is a block diagram illustrating a cleaning device that is performing forward cleaning, and FIG. B is a block diagram illustrating a cleaning device that is performing reverse cleaning. It is a wave form diagram of the voltage applied to a pump. It is a wave form diagram of the pressure which a pressure sensor detects. It is a flowchart figure for performing the washing | cleaning method. It is a wave form diagram of the pressure which a pressure sensor detects, and is a figure which shows that the change of forward washing and back washing is the time when pressure fluctuation was lost. It is a wave form diagram of the pressure which a pressure sensor detects, and is a figure which shows that the change of forward washing and back washing is the time of a pressure increase start.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Inkjet nozzle 10 ... Pump 11, 14 ... Conduit 15 ... Cleaning liquid tank 16 ... First waste liquid container 17 ... Second cleaning liquid container 17a ... Cleaning liquid 18 ... Second waste liquid container 18a ... Waste liquid 20 ... Rotating cylinder 21 ... telescopic cylinder V2 ... three-way valve

Claims (7)

The cleaning liquid includes a forward cleaning in which the cleaning liquid is pumped and ejected from the inner side to the outer side of the ink jet nozzle by the forward rotation of the pump, and a reverse cleaning in which the cleaning liquid is sucked from the outer side to the inner side of the ink jet nozzle by the reverse rotation of the pump. Alternatively, the method of cleaning an ink jet nozzle, wherein the foreign matter is removed from the ink jet nozzle by repeating alternately until the pressure of the waste liquid drops to the pressure when the foreign matter is removed.   2. The method for cleaning an inkjet nozzle according to claim 1, wherein ink is used as a cleaning liquid.   2. The ink jet nozzle cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein an ink solvent is used as the cleaning liquid.   The inkjet nozzle cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the reverse cleaning is performed by immersing the tip of the inkjet nozzle in a cleaning liquid and sucking the cleaning liquid from the inside of the inkjet nozzle. . A pump that repeats a forward cleaning in which the inkjet nozzle ejects cleaning liquid from the inside to the outside and a reverse cleaning in which the inkjet nozzle sucks the cleaning liquid from the outside to the inside by switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation. Cleaning liquid supply means for forward cleaning that supplies the cleaning liquid to the pump during cleaning, cleaning liquid supply means for reverse cleaning that supplies the cleaning liquid to the tip of the inkjet nozzle during reverse cleaning, and in the conduit upstream or downstream of the pump A pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid passing through, and the reverse cleaning and the reverse until the pressure sensor detects that the pressure of the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid has dropped to the pressure when the foreign matter is removed. An inkjet nozzle cleaning apparatus, wherein cleaning is alternately repeated . 6. The inkjet nozzle cleaning apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the reverse cleaning cleaning liquid supply means is a container storing a cleaning liquid for immersing the tip of the inkjet nozzle. 6. The apparatus for cleaning an inkjet nozzle according to claim 5 , wherein the first cleaning liquid container for storing the cleaning liquid for forward cleaning and the first waste liquid container for receiving the waste liquid of the reverse cleaning cleaning liquid are disposed in pairs, for back cleaning. When the second cleaning liquid container for storing the cleaning liquid and the second waste liquid container for receiving the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid for sequential cleaning are arranged in pairs, and switched to the first cleaning liquid container by the first switching means at the time of sequential cleaning. At the same time, the second switching means switches to the second waste liquid container, and at the time of reverse cleaning, the first switching means switches to the first waste liquid container, and at the same time, the second switching means changes to the second cleaning liquid container. An ink-jet nozzle cleaning device characterized in that it can be switched.

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