JP2009262492A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of effectively inhibiting contamination of a linear scale by mist generated in the image forming apparatus with a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: A guide rod 11 is suspended by a left side plate 90 and a right side plate 91, has a hollow structure one end 11a of which is open and the other end 11b of which is closed, and has a hollow part 11c from the one end 11a to the other end 11b. A plurality of penetrated holes 11e communicating with the hollow part 11c are formed around the peripheral part 11d of the guide rod 11 with a predetermined distance in the axial direction of the guide rod 11. A fun motor 160, which is an air flow generation means, is connected to the one end 11a of the guide rod 11 so that air in the hollow part 11c is sucked accompanied by rotational driving of the motor fun 160 and the surrounding air is sucked from the penetrated holes 11e as shown by the arrow C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging a recording liquid and reciprocatingly moved in a main scanning direction.

As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a multifunction machine of these, for example, a recording head composed of a liquid discharge head for discharging a recording liquid (liquid) droplet is provided as an image forming means, and a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a recording medium) Although it is also referred to as “paper”, the material is not limited, and a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as ink) is conveyed while conveying a recording medium, a recording medium, a transfer material, and recording paper. In some cases, image formation (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously) is attached to a sheet. The image forming apparatus means an apparatus for forming an image by discharging a liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. The term “not only” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium. Further, the liquid is not limited to the recording liquid and ink, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a liquid capable of forming an image.
As such an image forming apparatus, a liquid discharge head as an image forming unit is mounted on a carriage, the liquid discharge head is moved and scanned in the main scanning direction, and the recording medium is intermittently moved in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. There is known a serial type image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by ejecting liquid droplets from a liquid ejection head while moving.

In such a serial type image forming apparatus, a maintenance / recovery mechanism is provided to maintain and recover the state of the recording head. As this maintenance and recovery mechanism, for example, a moisturizing cap for capping the surface (nozzle surface) on which the nozzles (ejection ports) of the recording head are formed, or a cap member for both suction and moisturizing, and the nozzle surface of the recording head A cleaning member (wiper blade) or the like is provided for cleaning. In addition, even if the nozzle surface is capped to prevent drying, if it is left without being discharged or sucked for a long time, the recording liquid in the nozzle dries and thickens, causing a discharge failure. Also, before entering the image forming operation, a recording liquid that does not contribute to image formation, which is referred to as an idle ejection operation, is performed, and an empty ejection receiving member that receives the ejected recording liquid is also provided.
By the way, when such an idle ejection operation is performed, minute recording liquid particles called mist are generated, and if the recording liquid particles adhere to the head surface, there is a problem of poor printing due to color mixing or non-ejection. Further, when the recording liquid particles are scattered inside the apparatus main body and adhere to a linear scale used for drive control of a carriage or the like, it may cause erroneous detection and malfunction. Therefore, it is desirable to collect or eliminate the mist floating in the vicinity of the recording head or the linear scale. Conventionally, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, the mist is opened substantially on the same plane as the nozzle surface of the recording head. A technique in which a flexible duct serving as a suction path is provided is known.
JP-A-2005-205766

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, when the opening of the suction (discharge) path provided for sucking the mist is arranged in the vicinity of the nozzle of the recording head, a long flexible duct is used for discharging to the outside of the apparatus. There is a problem that the suction (discharge) route becomes large and complicated.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently and easily removing mist generated in the image forming apparatus with a simple configuration. To do.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a simple configuration and capable of effectively suppressing contamination of the linear scale due to mist generated in the image forming apparatus.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging a recording liquid and reciprocating in the main scanning direction, a guide rod for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a recording Conveying means for conveying the medium in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and an empty discharge receiving member for receiving the recording liquid discharged from the recording head in a non-printing area where printing is not performed on the recording medium in the scanning direction of the carriage The guide rod has a hollow portion extending to at least one end of the guide rod, and the hollow portion is disposed on the outer periphery of the guide rod disposed around the idle discharge receiving member. At least one through hole communicating with the guide rod, connecting an air flow generating means to a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod, and by the air flow generating means, Characterized in that from the hole to suck recording liquid mist generated around the air discharge receiving member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the plurality of through holes are provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a filter for capturing the recording liquid mist is attached between the air flow generating means and a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod. It is characterized by that.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the filter is detachably attached.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging a recording liquid and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, a guide rod for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a recording medium in the main scanning direction. Conveying means for conveying in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the carriage, a blank discharge receiving member for receiving a recording liquid discharged from the recording head in a non-printing area not printed on the recording medium in the scanning direction of the carriage, and scanning of the carriage In the image forming apparatus, the guide rod has a hollow portion extending to at least one end of the guide rod. A plurality of through holes communicating with the hollow portion are provided in an outer peripheral portion of the guide rod disposed around, and one guide rod is provided. An air flow generating means is connected to the hollow portion of the recording medium, and the air flow generating means ejects an air flow from the through holes to scatter the recording liquid mist generated from the idle discharge receiving member from the linear scale. And
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the through holes are formed at a predetermined interval.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the air sucked by the air flow generation means between the air flow generation means and a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod. A filter for capturing the dust inside is attached.
The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the filter is detachably attached.

According to the present invention, the guide rod has a hollow portion extending to at least one end of the guide rod, and at least communicates with the hollow portion on the outer peripheral portion of the guide rod disposed around the idle discharge receiving member. One through hole is provided, an air flow generating means is connected to a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod, and the recording liquid mist generated from the through hole to the periphery of the idle discharge receiving member is generated by the air flow generating means. By sucking, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently and easily removing mist generated in the image forming apparatus with a simple configuration.
According to the present invention, the guide rod has a hollow portion extending to at least one end of the guide rod, and a plurality of guide rods communicated with the hollow portion on the outer periphery of the guide rod disposed around the linear scale. The recording liquid is generated from the idle discharge receiving member by injecting an air flow from the through hole by the air flow generating means, and connecting the air flow generating means to a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod. By scattering the mist from the linear scale, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of effectively suppressing contamination of the linear scale by the mist generated in the image forming apparatus with a simple configuration. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
An ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the printing unit of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the maintenance / recovery device of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus has an apparatus main body 1, a paper feed tray 2 for loading paper mounted on the apparatus main body 1, and an image recorded (image formation) mounted on the apparatus main body 1. And a paper discharge tray 3 for stocking the printed paper. Further, the front end 4 of the apparatus main body 1 has a cartridge loading portion 6 that protrudes forward from the front cover 4 and is lower than the upper cover 5. An operation unit 7 such as a key or a display is arranged. A main tank (hereinafter referred to as “ink cartridge”) 10 that is a liquid storage tank as a liquid replenishing unit is replaceably mounted on the cartridge loading unit 6, and has an ink cartridge cover 8 that can be opened and closed. ing.

Next, the mechanism of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The carriage 13 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by the guide rod 11 and the stay 12 that are horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates (not shown), and is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 by the main scanning motor (not shown). Scan.
A direction in which a plurality of nozzles of a recording head 14 including a liquid discharge head (here, an ink jet head) for discharging droplets of a recording liquid (here, ink) intersects the main scanning direction. And are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward. Here, as the recording head 14, four independent liquid discharge heads which are droplet discharge heads that discharge ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Or a configuration using one or a plurality of heads having a plurality of nozzle rows that eject ink droplets of each color. The number of colors and the order of arrangement are not limited to this.
As the ink-jet head constituting the recording head 14, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that utilizes a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase change caused by a temperature change. A shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as energy generating means for discharging ink can be used.
Further, the carriage 13 is equipped with a sub tank 15 which is a liquid container of each color for supplying ink of each color to the recording head 14. Ink is supplied to the sub tank 15 from the main tank (ink cartridge) 10 for each color through the ink supply tube 16. Here, the main tank 10 stores ink of each color of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) corresponding to each color.

Further, the sub tank 15 is provided with an ink end sensor using a detection electrode for detecting that the amount of ink (recording liquid) contained in the sub tank 15 is less than or equal to a predetermined amount (ink end). When the inside of the ink tank 15 reaches the ink end, the recording liquid of the corresponding color is replenished and supplied from the corresponding ink cartridge 10, and the ink end state in the sub tank 15 is resolved despite the replenishing and supplying operation from the ink cartridge 10. If not, the ink cartridge 10 is also assumed to be in an ink end and performs the required processing. The “no recording liquid” state in the present invention corresponds to a state in which the ink cartridge 10 is in an ink end. The ink end state includes an ink near end state.
On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the paper 22 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 21 of the paper feed tray 2, a paper feeding roller 23 that separates and feeds the paper 22 one by one from the paper stacking unit 21. And a separation pad 24 made of a material having a large friction coefficient. The separation pad 24 is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 23 side. As a transport unit for transporting the paper 22 fed from the paper feed unit on the lower side of the recording head 14, a transport belt 31 for transporting the paper 22 by electrostatic adsorption, and a paper feed unit The counter roller 32 for transporting the paper 22 fed through the guide 25 while sandwiching it between the transport belt 31 and the paper 22 fed substantially vertically upward are turned approximately 90 ° and copied onto the transport belt 31. A conveying guide 33 for adjusting the pressure and a tip pressing roller 35 urged toward the conveying belt 31 by a pressing member 34. In addition, a charging roller 36 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 31 is provided.

Here, the conveyance belt 31 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyance roller 37 and the tension roller 38 and circulate in the belt conveyance direction B of FIG. The charging roller 36 is disposed so as to contact the surface layer of the conveyor belt 31 and rotate following the rotation of the conveyor belt 31, and applies 2.5 N to both ends of the shaft as a pressing force. Then, by applying a predetermined voltage to the charging roller 36, the surface of the transport belt 31 is charged and the paper 22 is electrostatically attracted onto the transport belt 31. In addition, a guide member 41 is disposed on the back side of the conveyance belt 31 so as to correspond to a printing area by the recording head 14.
Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 22 recorded by the recording head 14, a paper discharge roller 52 and a paper discharge roller 53 are provided, and a paper discharge tray 3 is provided below the paper discharge roller 52. . Here, the height from the sheet discharge roller 52 and the sheet discharge roller 53 to the sheet discharge tray 3 is increased to some extent in order to increase the amount that can be stored in the sheet discharge tray 3.
In addition, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 22 recorded by the recording head 14, a separation claw 51 for separating the paper 22 from the conveyance belt 31, a paper discharge roller 52, and a paper discharge roller 53 are provided. The paper discharge tray 3 is provided below the paper discharge roller 52. Here, the height from the sheet discharge roller 52 and the sheet discharge roller 53 to the sheet discharge tray 3 is increased to some extent in order to increase the amount that can be stored in the sheet discharge tray 3. A double-sided paper feeding unit 61 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The double-sided paper feeding unit 61 takes in the paper 22 returned by the reverse rotation of the transport belt 31, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 32 and the transport roller 37. A manual paper feed unit 62 is provided on the upper surface of the double-sided paper feed unit 61.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 14 having two head surfaces (nozzle surfaces) 14a and 14b for ejecting ink in one non-printing region X in the scanning direction of the carriage 13 of the printing unit 20 is provided. A maintenance / recovery mechanism 71, which is a reliability maintaining means for maintaining and recovering the state of the nozzles, is disposed, and an idle discharge receiving member 81 is disposed in the other non-printing area Y.
The maintenance / recovery mechanism 71 includes cap members 72a and 72b that are capping means for capping the nozzle surfaces 14a and 14b of the recording head 14, and a wiper blade 73 that is a wiping means for wiping the nozzle surfaces. Yes. As shown in FIG. 4, a waste liquid tank 150 is disposed below the maintenance / recovery mechanism 71. The waste liquid tank 150 is a means for storing waste ink generated by the maintenance / recovery operation by the maintenance / recovery mechanism 71. The discharge side of the tube 119 of the suction pump 120 faces the funnel-shaped inlet 150a. The waste liquid tank 150 is configured not to have an absorber inside, but may be configured to have an absorber.
In addition, if the recording head 14 is left without being discharged or sucked for a long time, the ink (recording liquid) in the nozzles is dried and thickened to cause a discharge failure. Ink discharge that does not contribute to image formation, which is called a discharge operation, is performed. At this time, an empty ejection receiving member 81 having openings 81a and 81b for receiving the ejected ink is provided, and the ink ejected into these openings 81a and 81b is received. When such an idle ejection operation is performed, minute recording liquid particles called recording liquid mist are generated, and if the recording liquid particles adhere to the head surface, there is a problem of poor printing due to color mixing or non-ejection. Further, when the recording liquid particles are scattered inside the apparatus main body and adhere to a linear scale used for drive control of a carriage or the like, it may cause erroneous detection and malfunction.

In the present invention, it is intended to suppress the contamination of the recording head surface and the linear scale due to the recording liquid mist generated in accordance with such an idle ejection operation. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing unit of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the recording liquid mist generated by the idle ejection operation is sucked and collected by using the guide rod 11 that guides the carriage 13 and is discharged outside the system.
The guide rod 11 is suspended from the left side plate 90 and the right side plate 91, has a cylindrical hollow structure in which one end 11a is opened and the other end 11b is closed, and the hollow portion 11c extends from the one end 11a to the other end 11b. Have. In addition, a plurality of through holes 11 e communicating with the hollow portion 11 c are formed in the outer peripheral portion 11 d of the guide rod 11 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction of the guide rod 11. Further, a fan motor 160, which is an air flow generating means, is connected to one end 11a of the guide rod 11, and the air in the hollow portion 11c is sucked with the rotation of the fan by the rotational drive of the fan motor 160, and the arrow As indicated by C, air around the through hole 11e is sucked. Accordingly, the recording liquid mist generated around the idle ejection receiving member 81 by performing the idle ejection operation is sucked into the hollow portion 11c of the guide rod 11 according to the air flow indicated by the arrow C. Further, the recording liquid mist sucked into the hollow portion 11 c of the guide rod 11 is discharged out of the system by the fan motor 160. As a result, the recording liquid mist floating near the head surfaces 14a and 14b of the recording head 14 in the printing unit 20 and the linear scale 19 provided in the vicinity of the carriage 13 and parallel to the scanning direction of the carriage 13 is obtained. It is possible to appropriately suppress the adhesion of the recording liquid mist by appropriately sucking the liquid.
In this case, the fan motor 160 is attached not only to the one end 11a of the guide rod 11, but also to the other end 11b that is opened by opening the other end 11b of the guide rod 11, and the air flow is supplied from the other end 11b to the one end 11a. It is possible to increase the suction force of the hollow portion 11c by blowing air toward the head. Further, the shape of the guide rod 11 is not limited to the cylindrical shape in the above embodiment, and may be a rectangular tube shape.

In this embodiment, a filter 162 is detachably attached between the fan motor 160 and the one end 11a of the guide rod 11. The filter 162 captures the recording liquid mist and records the recording liquid mist. Is prevented from being discharged outside the system. Thus, since the filter 162 is detachably attached between the fan motor 160 and the one end 11a of the guide rod 11, the filter performance of the mist can be maintained by periodically replacing the filter 162.
In the present embodiment, in order to eliminate floating recording liquid mist around the printing unit 20, the through holes 11e formed in the outer peripheral part 11d of the guide rod 11 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. It is sufficient if at least one mist is generated in the vicinity of the empty discharge receiving member 81 or the like. However, it is preferable that a plurality of the through holes 11e are provided. In this case, it is preferable that the through holes 11e are provided more densely around the empty discharge receiving member 81 than the other portions. The shape of the through hole 11e is not limited to a circle, and may be a long hole, a small hole, or a square hole.
As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, recording is performed by sucking from the through-hole 11e formed in the outer peripheral portion 11d of the guide rod 11 using the guide rod 11 that guides the conveyance of the carriage 13. Since the liquid mist is discharged out of the system, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the mist in the vicinity of the recording head, which is the location where the mist is generated. Furthermore, since the guide rod 11 that guides the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction also serves as an air flow path, there is no need to provide a large and complicated suction path member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

Next, an ink jet recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing unit of an inkjet recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the point that the guide rod 11 is used as an air flow path is the same as that in the above-described embodiment. However, air flows from the fan motor 160 into the hollow portion 11c of the guide rod 11, and the outer peripheral portion 11d. The air is blown toward the linear scale 19 from the through-holes 11e formed in the above, and the floating recording liquid mist is prevented from adhering to the linear scale 19.
That is, the guide rod 11 is suspended from the left side plate 90 and the right side plate 91 and has a cylindrical hollow structure in which one end 11a is opened and the other end 11b is closed, and a hollow portion extends from one end 11a to the other end 11b. 11c. In addition, a plurality of through holes 11 e communicating with the hollow portion 11 c are formed in the outer peripheral portion 11 d of the guide rod 11 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction of the guide rod 11. In this case, the through hole 11e is formed above the outer peripheral portion 11d so as to approach the linear scale 19. Further, a fan motor 160 as an air flow generating means is connected to the one end 11a. As the fan motor 160 is driven to rotate, air is sucked from outside the system and is fed into the hollow portion 11c. As shown in the figure, air is blown from the through hole 11e toward the linear scale 19. As a result, the floating recording liquid mist generated due to the idle ejection operation is prevented from adhering to the linear scale 19.

Also in this case, a filter 162 is detachably attached between the fan motor 160 and the one end 11a of the guide rod 11, and the filter 162 filters out dust or the like sucked from outside the system and is clean. Air is supplied into the hollow portion 11 c to prevent the dust and the like from adhering to the linear scale 19.
As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, air is ejected from the through-hole 11e formed in the outer peripheral portion 11d of the guide rod 11 using the guide rod 11 that guides the conveyance of the carriage 13. Since the recording liquid mist is prevented from adhering to the linear scale 19, the linear scale 19 is prevented from being contaminated by the recording liquid mist, and the drive control of the carriage 13 can be appropriately performed. Furthermore, since the guide rod 11 that guides the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction also serves as an air flow path, there is no need to provide a large and complicated suction path member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. It is a top view of the printing part of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the maintenance recovery apparatus of the inkjet recording device shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the printing part of the inkjet recording device which concerns on one Embodiment by this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the printing part of the inkjet recording device which concerns on other embodiment by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body, 2 Paper feed tray, 3 Paper discharge tray, 6 Cartridge loading part, 10 Main tank, 11 Guide rod, 11a One end, 11b Other end, 11c Hollow part, 11d Outer peripheral part, 11e Through-hole, 13 Carriage, 14 Recording head, 14a, 14b Head surface, 15 sub tank, 19 linear scale, 20 printing unit, 21 paper stacking unit, 22 paper, 31 transport belt, 71 maintenance / recovery mechanism, 72a, 72b cap member, 81 idle discharge receiving member, 81a , 81b opening, 160 fan motor, 162 filter

Claims (8)

A carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging recording liquid and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, a guide rod for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a recording medium are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. In the image forming apparatus, comprising: a conveying unit; and an empty discharge receiving member that receives the recording liquid discharged from the recording head in a non-printing area that is not printed on the recording medium in the scanning direction of the carriage.
The guide rod has a hollow portion that extends to at least one end of the guide rod, and at least one transparent member that communicates with the hollow portion on an outer peripheral portion of the guide rod disposed around the idle discharge receiving member. A hole is provided, an air flow generating means is connected to a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod, and the recording liquid mist generated around the empty discharge receiving member is sucked from the through hole by the air flow generating means. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus comprising a plurality of the through holes. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a filter for capturing the recording liquid mist is attached between the air flow generating means and a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the filter is detachably attached. A carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging recording liquid and reciprocatingly moved in the main scanning direction, a guide rod for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a recording medium are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. A conveying unit; an empty discharge receiving member that receives the recording liquid discharged from the recording head in a non-printing area that is not printed on the recording medium in the scanning direction of the carriage; and is provided in parallel with the scanning direction of the carriage, In an image forming apparatus including a linear scale for performing drive control of a carriage,
The guide rod has a hollow portion extending to at least one end of the guide rod, and provided with a plurality of through holes communicating with the hollow portion in an outer peripheral portion of the guide rod disposed around the linear scale. An air flow generating means is connected to a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod, and the recording liquid mist generated from the idle discharge receiving member is ejected from the linear scale by ejecting an air flow from the through hole by the air flow generating means. An image forming apparatus, characterized by being scattered. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the through holes are formed at a predetermined interval. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a filter for capturing dust in the air sucked by the air flow generating means is attached between the air flow generating means and a hollow portion at one end of the guide rod. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the filter is detachably attached.

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