Patent Publication Number: US-7594711-B2

Title: Recording apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording an image and the like on a recording medium (e.g., recording paper). In particular, the present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording by discharging ink droplets from a recording head detachably attached on a carriage which is movable along the recording medium. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Recently, as personal computers and digital cameras have become widespread, the handleability of image information has been increased, thus increasing the demand for uncomplicated recording apparatuses used to output such image information. Among various recording methods used in such recording apparatuses, inkjet recording is known as a recording method that allows a relatively small recording apparatus and achieves inexpensive and high-definition recording. 
   In a recording apparatus using such an inkjet recording method, an inkjet head cartridge, in which a recording head having a nozzle portion composed of several tens to several hundreds of discharge openings and an ink tank for supplying ink to the recording head are integrally formed with each other, is detachably attached to a carriage. The carriage is connected to a part of a driving belt for transmitting a driving force of a carriage driving motor so as to be movable. The movement of the carriage moves the inkjet head cartridge along a platen arranged opposite a discharge surface. During the movement, the inkjet head cartridge reciprocates (scans) along the full width of a recording medium transported onto the platen to perform recording. The recording medium is conveyed a predetermined distance determined according to the pitch of the nozzle portion by a conveying unit with every scanning of the carriage. Repeating such a scanning of the carriage and a conveyance of the recording paper completes recording on the entire area of the recording medium. 
   Some inkjet recording apparatuses using a recording unit (e.g., recording head or inkjet head cartridge) detachably attached on a carriage, when ink within an ink tank runs out or the recording head is broken, can easily return to a state capable of recording by replacing the recording unit with a new one. 
   Furthermore, some inkjet recording apparatuses can output (record) a photographic image with good photographic quality by including high-density and high-quality discharge openings (nozzles) for discharging ink on, for example, a recording head integrally formed with an inkjet head cartridge. Moreover, some inkjet recording apparatuses have become widely available in which the speed of an image output is further enhanced by a long recording head having an increased number of nozzles. 
   Some conventional inkjet recording apparatuses typically eliminate clogging (e.g., paper dust or thickened ink within nozzles) by moving a recording head to a preliminary discharge position after recovery processing performed by a recovery unit or when a carriage scans during recording and then performing preliminary discharge predetermined times in order to maintain the quality of recording by the recording head. At the preliminary discharge position, a waste-ink absorber is arranged opposite a nozzle surface so that the waste-ink absorber absorbs ink droplets dropped by performing preliminary discharge toward a preliminary-discharge receiving opening. 
   The conventional structure has a problem of accumulation of crud inside the apparatus caused by ink mist splashing off the preliminary-discharge receiving opening and ink mist flowing and spreading from between the preliminary discharge receiving opening and the waste-ink absorber and crud inside the apparatus caused by ink mist generated while a recording paper is recorded on. 
   As one approach to address the problem, a structure that suppresses the generation of ink mist by providing a waste-ink absorber and a preliminary discharge receiving mechanism that can control the flow of ink mist is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,189. 
   However, the conventional preliminary discharge receiving mechanism discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,189 may have a problem of a significantly large unevenness of obtained advantageous effects because the control of the flow of ink mist depends on the characteristics of a material of the waste-ink absorber and the acuteness of an incident angle of an ink droplet against the surface of the waste-ink absorber. Additionally, this traditional structure may have the drawback of a high cost of manufacturing because the waste-ink absorber is limited to a significantly narrow range of materials. 
   Furthermore, the conventional inkjet recording apparatus described above is prone to generate ink mist because the apparatus absorbs ink mist due to a preliminary-discharge receiving opening arranged in a platen, in which the gap between the platen and a recording head is relatively large, and therefore, the travel distance of ink droplets through the air from a nozzle portion to the preliminary-discharge receiving opening is increased. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a recording apparatus, a preliminary-discharge receiving unit, and a recording head that are capable of reducing the generation of ink mist with an inexpensive and simple structure. 
   According to one aspect of the present invention, a recording apparatus includes a carriage capable of reciprocating with respect to a recording medium, a recording head detachably attached on the carriage, the recording head being movable such that an ink discharge surface of the recording head is movable by a first moving distance in a direction of ink discharge when the recording head is detached from or attached to the carriage, and a preliminary-discharge receiving unit disposed at a position opposite the ink discharge surface of the recording head when the recording head attached on the carriage moves to a preliminary discharge position for performing preliminary discharge. A distance between the preliminary-discharge receiving unit and the ink discharge surface is smaller than the first moving distance. The preliminary-discharge receiving unit is movable in the direction of the ink discharge. The preliminary-discharge receiving unit is in contact with the ink discharge surface and moves in a direction remote from the carriage when the recording head is detached or attached. 
   Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a general structure of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a carriage and an inkjet head cartridge attached on the carriage. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the carriage before the inkjet head cartridge is attached thereto. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are perspective views of the inkjet head cartridge. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a preliminary-discharge receiving unit and its surroundings in the inkjet recording apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the preliminary-discharge receiving unit. 
       FIG. 7  is a section view showing a first state in a process of attaching the inkjet head cartridge. 
       FIG. 8  is a section view showing a second state in the process of attaching the inkjet head cartridge. 
       FIG. 9  is a section view showing a state in which the inkjet head cartridge has been attached. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart of one example of a recovery operation performed by a maintenance unit. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
   An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. 
     FIGS. 1 to 3  and  4 A and  4 B show an inkjet recording apparatus including a carriage and an inkjet head cartridge attached on the carriage, the carriage and inkjet head cartridge constituting a recording unit. The inkjet recording apparatus performs recording on a recording medium by discharging ink from the recording unit. 
     FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a general structure of the inkjet recording apparatus. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the inkjet recording apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment mainly includes a feeding unit  37  for feeding a recording sheet as a recording medium, a conveying unit  20  for conveying the recording sheet, a recording unit  1  for performing recording on the recording sheet conveyed by the conveying unit  20 , and a maintenance unit  300  for recovering the discharge characteristics of a recording head included in an inkjet head cartridge included in the recording unit  1 . Although not shown, the inkjet recording apparatus receives recording data from a host apparatus, stores the recording data in a control unit on a control board, issues a command to start a recording operation from the control unit, and starts the recording operation in response to the command. 
   When the recording operation starts, a feeding operation is first carried out. The feeding unit  37  can be a main automatic sheet feeder (ASF) and constitutes an automatic feeder which grabs a recording sheet from multiple sheets (not shown) stacked on a pressure plate  41  sheet by sheet every recording operation and feeds the recording sheet to the conveying unit  20 . 
   The recording sheet fed from the feeding unit  37  is conveyed toward a nip unit composed of a conveying roller  21  and a pinch roller  22  which constitute the conveying unit  20 . Then, a driving force transmitted to a feeding roller  39  is stopped, and the feeding roller  39  rotates so as to follow the recording sheet. At this point, the recording sheet is conveyed by only the conveying roller  21  and the pinch roller  22 . The recording sheet is forwarded in the normal direction, every quantity corresponding to a predetermined linefeed width, and is advanced along a lib on a platen  29 . The leading end of the recording sheet in the direction of feeding is gradually caught by a nip unit composed of a first eject roller  31  and a first spur group  32 . The peripheral velocity of the first eject roller  31  is set to be substantially equal to that of the conveying roller  21 . The conveying roller  21  is connected to the first eject roller  31  with a gear train disposed therebetween, so that the first eject roller  31  is rotated in synchronization with the conveying roller  21 . Therefore, the recording sheet is smoothly conveyed without being bent or stretched. 
   The recording unit  1  mainly includes a black ink inkjet head cartridge  200 A, a three-color ink inkjet head cartridge  200 B, both cartridges functioning as a recording unit in which a recording head and an ink tank are formed integrally with each other, (hereinafter referred to simply as cartridges  200 A and  200 B, respectively), and a carriage  100  for mounting the cartridges  200 A and  200 B and scanning in a direction that intersects (typically, is perpendicular to) the direction of conveying the recording sheet. The carriage  100  is supported and guided by a guide rail  14  secured to a chassis  10  and a support rail  15 , which is part of the chassis  10 . The carriage  100  is reciprocated by receiving a driving force from the a carriage motor  17  via a carriage belt  16  extending between the carriage motor  17  and an idler pulley  18 . 
   Inside the cartridges  200 A and  200 B, a plurality of ink paths (not shown) is formed. The ink paths communicate with nozzles (discharge openings)  210  disposed in an ink discharge surface  201  arranged opposite the platen  29 , as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . Inside each of the plurality of nozzles  210 , which constitute a series of nozzles, an actuator (energy generating unit) for discharging ink is arranged. Examples of the actuator include an actuator that uses fluid pressure in film boiling caused by electrothermal conversion member (heating element) and that uses an electromechanical transducer (electro-pressure converting element) (e.g., piezoelectric element). 
   In order to electrically connect the cartridges  200 A and  200 B to a main body of the recording apparatus, each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B includes a flexible printed circuit (FPC)  206  having conductor exposing portions  206   a  to which no resist is applied. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the carriage  100 , on which the cartridges  200 A and  200 B are attached, includes pressure welding connectors  120  formed from a plated metal material. The pressure welding connectors  120  are pressure-welded to the conductor exposing portions  206   a  of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B by using an elastic deformation of the metal material for electrical connection to the conductor exposing portions  206   a.  Additionally, the pressure welding connectors  120  are soldered to a carriage substrate (not shown) attached on the carriage  100 . The carriage substrate is electrically connected to a circuit board (control circuit) in the main body of the recording apparatus with a flexible flat cable (FFC)  12  disposed therebetween. 
   In the inkjet recording apparatus described above, in response to a driving signal received in each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B from a head driver (not shown) via the FFC  12 , the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B discharges an ink droplet in accordance with recording data. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , a code strip  19  extending on the chassis  10  is read by using a carriage encoder (not shown) mounted on the carriage  100 , thereby discharging an ink droplet to the recording sheet with appropriate timing. In such a way, after a recording operation for a single line on the recording sheet has completed, the recording sheet is conveyed a necessary amount by the conveying unit  20 . Repeating this operation allows recording to be performed on the entire area of the recording sheet. The schematic structure of the inkjet recording apparatus is described above. 
     FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the carriage  100  and the cartridges  200 A and  200 B when the cartridges  200 A and  200 B are attached to the carriage  100 .  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the carriage  100  with the cartridges  200 A and  200 B removed. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the carriage  100  is provided with side walls  103 L and  103 R on opposite sides of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B in the direction of scanning and a middle wall  104  for partitioning an area into spaces for the cartridges  200 A and  200 B. A first cartridge attaching portion  100 A for allowing the cartridge  200 A to be attached thereto is disposed between the side wall  103 L and the middle wall  104 , and a second cartridge attaching portion  100 B for allowing the cartridge  200 B to be attached thereto is disposed between the side wall  103 R and the middle wall  104 .  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a state in which the cartridges  200 A and  200 B are attached to the carriage  100 . 
   In the carriage  100 , the middle wall  104  is provided with a thickened portion at each of the bottoms of opposite sides thereof, and each of the side walls  103 L and  103 R is provided with a thickened portion at the bottom of the inner side thereof. Each of these thickened portions is provided with a positioning protrusion  101  for engaging positioning slots  202  of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B. 
   The carriage  100  is provided with the pressure welding connectors  120  for electrical connection to the cartridges  200 A and  200 B by being in contact with the conductor exposing portions  206   a  of the FPCs  206  of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B. The carriage  100  is provided with head set cams  110  functioning as a securing member for facilitating the installation and securement of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B. The head set cams  110  are pressed downward by an urging force applied by head set springs  111  which can be compression coil springs. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B  are perspective views of the cartridge. As described above, the cartridge in the exemplary embodiment is a replaceable inkjet head cartridge in which an inkjet recording head and an ink reservoir (ink tank) are formed integrally with each other. In the case of normal color recording, as the cartridge, the cartridge  200 A for a black ink is attached to the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A, and the cartridge  200 B for three colors of ink (cyan, magenta, and yellow) is attached to the second cartridge attaching portion  100 B. In the case of photographic color recording with photographic quality, in place of the black-ink cartridge, an optional photo cartridge (black, light cyan, and light magenta), not shown, can be used. The cartridges  200 A and  200 B have substantially the same outer dimensions as the photo cartridge. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the cartridge  200 A includes one or more head press receiving portions  204  on the top thereof and at an end adjacent to the conductor exposing portions  206   a . Each of the head press receiving portions  204  includes a cam rotation slope  204   b  for facilitating rotation of the head set cam  110  shown in  FIG. 3  at a surface facing the end adjacent to the conductor exposing portions  206   a . The cartridge  200 A includes the positioning slots  202  for being positioned in place with respect to the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A on the bottoms at both sides thereof. The cartridge  200 A includes rough guide projections  203  disposed more to the front than the positioning slots  202  on the end adjacent to the conductor exposing portions  206   a  at both sides thereof. 
   The recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B includes one or more nozzle protectors  211  for protecting the nozzles  210  from coming into contact with a recording sheet resulting from a warp of the recording sheet fed from the feeding unit  37  or the like such that the nozzles  210  in the ink discharge surface  201  is disposed between the nozzle protectors  211 . The nozzle protectors  211  slightly protrude in the direction of ink discharging more than the nozzles  210 . 
   Therefore, even when the recording sheet approaches the nozzles  210  resulting from a warp of the sheet or the like, the nozzle protectors  211  come into contact with the recording sheet before the nozzles  210  do so. Therefore, the possibility that the nozzles  210  might come into contact with a recording sheet is reduced to a minimum. In other words, the nozzle protectors  211  prevent the nozzles  210  from being damaged by coming into contact with the recording sheet or a preliminary-discharge receiving unit (described later). 
   As shown in  FIG. 8 , the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B is movable such that the ink discharge surface  201  is movable by a predetermined detachable/attachable moving distance d 1  in the direction of ink discharge when the cartridges  200 A and  200 B are detached from or attached to the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A and second cartridge attaching portion  100 B of the carriage  100 , respectively. The detachable/attachable moving distance d 1  of the recording head is larger than a preliminary discharge distance d 2  of a preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80 , which is described below. 
   A maintenance operation for the recording head to avoid the recording unit  1  from performing poor recording is described next. The maintenance unit  300  included in the inkjet recording apparatus is disposed at the right part in the recording apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 . The maintenance unit  300  includes a blade  301  for wiping ink or the like on a discharge opening surface (the surface where the discharge openings are formed) of the recording head when the recording head of the cartridge moves during scanning of the carriage, a capping member for selectively adhering closely to the discharge opening surface of the waiting recording head, a pump for performing a sucking operation via a through-hole of the capping member, and a main absorber (not shown) for absorbing and holding ink sucked by the pump. 
   The maintenance unit  300  performs a recovery operation including a sequence of steps of suction, idle suction, wiping, and preliminary discharge (steps  150  to  155 ) shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 10 , thus avoiding the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B from performing poor recording caused by a clogging of the nozzle or the like. 
   During the recovery operation, the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B is moved up to a preliminary discharge position (described below) and a preliminary discharge is performed, which has no direct bearing on recording on a recording sheet, thus eliminating the cause of clogging (e.g., paper dust or thickened ink within nozzles). 
   As another example, when an image with only a specific color is recorded, only a specific ink is used, and therefore, only a specific nozzle is used. In such a case, clogging caused by, for example, paper dust or thickened ink may occur in an unused nozzle during the recording operation. To address this problem, it is necessary to move the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B up to the preliminary discharge position and perform a preliminary discharge even during the recording operation. In consideration of this case, the preliminary discharge position is required to be arranged outside a recording operation area of the recording head. 
     FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a preliminary-discharge receiving unit at the preliminary discharge position and its surroundings.  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the preliminary-discharge receiving unit. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the preliminary discharge position is substantially the same as a position where the recording head is replaced with a new one (i.e., position where the recording head is detached from or attached to the carriage) arranged outside the recording operation area of the recording head. 
   The preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is disposed opposite the direction of discharging performed by the recording unit  1 . The preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  includes a waste-ink absorber  81  for absorbing an ink droplet of a preliminary discharge performed by the recording head, an absorber holder  82  for holding the waste-ink absorber  81 , the absorber holder  82  being provided with a preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84  for receiving the ink droplet of the preliminary discharge, and a compression coil spring  83  functioning as an elastic (resilient) member for urging the absorber holder  82  in a direction adjacent to the nozzles of the recording head. 
   In the vicinity of the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , at the position of replacing the recording head, a head supporting base  13  functioning as a guiding member for attaching the recording head to the carriage  100  is disposed. 
   As shown in  FIG. 6 , the head supporting base  13  includes an opening  13   a  for exposing the waste-ink absorber  81  held in the absorber holder  82  to the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B attached on the carriage  100 . The head supporting base  13  includes a boss  13   b  for rotatably supporting the absorber holder  82  such that the boss  13   b  is formed integrally with the head supporting base  13  so as to project therefrom. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 6 ,  7 , and  8 , the absorber holder  82  holds the waste-ink absorber  81  and includes the preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84  for exposing the waste-ink absorber  81  to the carriage  100 . At the edge of the preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84 , a set of linear guide abutting portions  82   a  are formed on the opposite sides of the preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84 . 
   The absorber holder  82  includes a bearing  82   b  for engaging the boss  13   b  of the head supporting base  13  at an upstream position in the direction of conveying a recording sheet. Therefore, the absorber holder  82  is supported so as to be rotatable about the boss  13   b  engaging the bearing  82   b,  thereby allowing the absorber holder  82  to be movable in directions that are adjacent to and remote from the carriage  100 . 
   On the outer region of the absorber holder  82 , at a downstream position in the direction of conveying the recording sheet, an engagement lug  85  including a position regulating surface  85   a  for regulating the rotation position of the absorber holder  82  about the boss  13   b  is disposed. The engagement lug  85  movably engages an engagement slot (not shown) formed in the head supporting base  13 . The position regulating surface  85   a  engages the inner wall of the engagement slot, thereby regulating the rotation position of the absorber holder  82  rotated by an urging force applied by the compression coil spring  83 . 
   As a result, under normal conditions, which are other than an operation of replacing the cartridge with a new one, the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is held within the opening  13   a  in the head supporting base  13  while being urged in a direction adjacent to the carriage  100 . In other words, the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is disposed as close as possible to the nozzles  210 , although the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is not in contact with the recording head of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B attached on the carriage  100 . The distance between the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  and the ink discharge surface  201  of each of the cartridges  200 A and  200 B is maintained to be a predetermined preliminary discharge distance d 2 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the preliminary discharge distance d 2  is smaller than the detachable/attachable moving distance d 1  of the recording head described above. 
   As described above, the carriage  100  and the cartridges  200 A and  200 B can smoothly move when the carriage  100  on which the cartridges  200 A and  200 B are attached moves up to the preliminary discharge position because no obstacle is present in their paths. At the preliminary discharge position, the preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84  of the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the nozzles  210 . 
   Generally, it has been shown that the amount of ink mist generated during a preliminary discharge decreases with decrease in the travel distance of ink droplets through the air. As a result, the generation of ink mist can be reduced with decrease in the distance between the nozzles  210  and the waste-ink absorber  81 . In other words, according to the exemplary embodiment, when a preliminary discharge is performed, the travel distance of ink droplets can be significantly reduced, and therefore, the generation of ink mist can be reduced. 
   The volume of the waste-ink absorber  81  is set so as to temporarily absorb waste ink produced by preliminary discharge. Therefore, the absorber holder  82  includes a ditch and/or an ink hole in the direction of the weight of the waste-ink absorber  81  so that waste ink absorbed in the waste-ink absorber  81  is guided to the lower main absorber (not shown). The preliminary-discharge receiving unit in the exemplary embodiment is also applicable to a case where the waste-ink absorber  81  has a relatively large volume that allows waste ink produced by preliminary discharge to be sufficiently absorbed. 
   A cartridge replacing operation in the structure in which the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is disposed as close as possible to the nozzles  210  of the recording head is described next. An operation of attaching the cartridge  200 A to the carriage  100  is described below with reference to  FIGS. 3 to 9 . To detach the cartridge  200 A from the carriage  100 , the reverse procedure is followed. The operation for the cartridge  200 A is the same as that for the cartridge  200 B.  FIG. 7  illustrates a vertical section of the carriage  100  and the cartridge  200 A when the cartridge  200 A starts being attached to the carriage  100 .  FIG. 8  illustrates a vertical section of the carriage  100  and the cartridge  200 A when the cartridge  200 A is being attached to the carriage  100 .  FIG. 9  illustrates a vertical section of the carriage  100  and the cartridge  200 A when the cartridge  200 A is locked and secured to the carriage  100 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 7 , when a user holds the cartridge  200 A and inserts the cartridge  200 A into the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A in the carriage  100 , the rough guide projections  203  go into engagement with guide ditches  105  of the carriage  100  without requiring the user to pay attention to the operation. 
   In this state, if the user moves his/her hand off the cartridge  200 A, the cartridge  200 A is held in a predetermined attitude without being rotated about the rough guide projections  203 . In other words, in order to maintain the attitude of the cartridge  200 A in the operation of attachment and detachment, a rear portion of the recording head which is provided relatively remote from a contact area of the ink discharge surface  201  in which the nozzles  210  is in contact with the head supporting base  13 . 
   Then, when the cartridge  200 A is pressed in the direction of arrow A of  FIG. 7 , the cartridge  200 A comes into contact with the guide abutting portions  82   a  of the absorber holder  82 . At this time, the guide abutting portions  82   a  of the absorber holder  82  is in contact with the nozzle protectors  211  of the cartridge  200 A. 
   As a result, the nozzles  210  of the recording head are not in contact with the waste-ink absorber  81  and the absorber holder  82 . The bearing  82   b  of the absorber holder  82  engages the boss  13   b  of the head supporting base  13 , as described above, and the absorber holder  82  is urged in a direction adjacent to the carriage  100  by an urging force applied by the compression coil spring  83 . 
   Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 8 , as the cartridge  200 A is further inserted into the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A, the guide abutting portions  82   a  of the absorber holder  82  comes into contact with the nozzle protectors  211  of the cartridge  200 A, and the absorber holder  82  is rotated about the bearing  82   b  and pressed downward so that the absorber holder  82  can move in a direction remote from the carriage  100 . At this time, the absorber holder  82  is urged toward the recording head of the cartridge  200 A by an urging force applied by the compression coil spring  83 . However, since the urging force of the compression coil spring  83  is relatively small to allow only the absorber holder  82  and the waste-ink absorber  81  to approach the carriage  100 , the urging force does not block the operation of attachment and detachment when the cartridge is replaced with a new one. 
   When the cartridge  200 A is further pressed in the direction of arrow A of  FIG. 8  at the state shown in  FIG. 8 , the head press receiving portions  204  disposed at the upper portion of the cartridge  200 A overcomes the urging force of the head set spring  111  and the dead center in the head pressing generated by the head set cam  110 , and the cartridge  200 A is further drawn in the first cartridge attaching portion  100 A. When the cartridge  200 A is rotated up to a position where the cartridge  200 A is fully drawn by the head set cam  110 , as shown in  FIG. 9 , the positioning slots  202  engage the positioning protrusion  101 , and an upper abutting portion  205  of the cartridge  200 A engages an engagement concave portion  121  of the carriage  100 . Therefore, the cartridge  200 A is attached to the carriage  100  with stability. In this attachment state, the electrical connection between the cartridge  200 A and the pressure welding connectors  120  has been established. 
   Therefore, without requiring a user to pay attention to the operation, the cartridge  200 A is positioned and secured in the state in which the recording head is set shown in  FIG. 9  by being rotated. As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the cartridge  200 A is secured, in the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80 , the absorber holder  82  pressed by the compression coil spring  83  is maintained at a predetermined position with respect to the head supporting base  13  by means of the position regulating surface  85   a . Therefore, the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  does not block an operation of securing the cartridge  200 A ( 200 B) at a predetermined position and a moving operation during scanning of the carriage  100 . 
   As described above, in the inkjet recording apparatus and the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  according to the exemplary embodiment, the absorber holder  82  for holding the waste-ink absorber  81  is rotatably disposed in the directions adjacent to and remote from the carriage  100 , and the preliminary-discharge receiving unit  80  is in contact with another element other than the nozzles  210  of the recording head when the recording head is detached from and attached to the carriage  100 . Therefore, the preliminary-discharge receiving opening  84  and the waste-ink absorber  81  can be very close to the nozzles  210  without damaging the nozzles  210 , and therefore, the generation of ink mist during preliminary discharge can be reduced. 
   Furthermore, according to the inkjet recording apparatus in the exemplary embodiment, the position where the recording head is detached from or attached to the carriage  100  (position where the recording head is replaced with a new one) is disposed outside the recording operation area of the recording head and is substantially the same as the preliminary discharge position. Therefore, the preliminary discharge position can be set without preparing a new scanning area of the carriage  100  for the preliminary discharge, and as a result, the entire size of the recording apparatus can be reduced. 
   In the preliminary-discharge receiving unit according to the exemplary embodiment, the absorber holder  82  and the platen  29  are formed as separate elements. Alternatively, the absorber holder  82  can be formed integrally with the platen, with a waste-ink absorber for so-called borderless recording or with the main absorber. These alternatives also achieve the same advantageous effects as those described above. 
   In the exemplary embodiment, the structure in which the two cartridges  200 A and  200 B are attached to the carriage  100  is described as an example. The number of cartridges is not limited to two. The present invention is applicable to an inkjet recording apparatus that uses one or more cartridges, a color inkjet recording apparatus that uses multiple types of cartridges employing different colors of ink, a continuous tone inkjet recording apparatus that uses multiple types of cartridges employing different densities of ink in the same color, and a combination thereof. These apparatuses achieve the same advantageous effects as those described above. 
   The present invention is also applicable to a structure that uses a replaceable inkjet head cartridge in which a recording head is formed integrally with an ink reservoir (ink tank), a structure that includes a separate recording head and a separate ink tank such that they are connected to each other with a tube or the like for supplying ink disposed therebetween, and other structures that have any arrangement of the recording head and the ink tank. These structures achieve the same advantageous effects as those described above. In the case of an inkjet recording apparatus, the present invention is also applicable to an apparatus that uses an inkjet head cartridge that uses an electromechanical transducer (e.g., piezoelectric element). In particular, an inkjet recording apparatus that uses an inkjet head cartridge that uses a method of discharging ink by employing thermal energy achieves highly advantageous effects. This method realizes high-density and high-quality recording. 
   As described above, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the generation of ink mist can be reduced with a simple and inexpensive structure, and the crud inside the apparatus caused by ink mist and the deposition of ink mist on a recording medium can be suppressed. 
   While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications, equivalent structures and functions. 
   This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2005-127929 filed Apr. 26, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.