US Patent 7878620 Liquid-droplet ejecting apparatus

A liquid-droplet ejecting apparatus has a drawing mechanism and an ejection head. The ejection head has a nozzle face and a protection plate. The protection plate has a frame portion and a first end positioned at a first widthwise plane, and a second end positioned at a second widthwise plane. The protection plate has a first and a second opening formed therethrough. The first opening is in fluid communication with the nozzles, and the second opening provides fluid communication with the nozzles and an exterior of the ejection head. A cap member selectively contacts the nozzle face and the protection plate, and the drawing mechanism operates in a first mode in which the cap member covers the first and the second opening, and a second mode in which the cap member covers only one of the first and the second opening.