Patent Abstract:
A plate-shaped main body, has a first face formed with a recess portion defined by a bottom face and side walls and a second face which is opposite to the first face. The plate-shaped main body is formed with a through hole connecting the bottom face and the second face. An overhanging portion, is provided on at least one of the side walls in the vicinity of the first face, and is located so as to at least partially hang over the through hole.

Full Description:
[0001]     The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-273786 filed Sep. 21, 2005 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a platen and a liquid ejecting apparatus having the same.  
         [0003]     The liquid ejecting apparatus referred to herein means not only a recording apparatus, such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine, which uses an inkjet type recording head and performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink from the recording head, but also an apparatus in which, instead of the ink, a liquid corresponding to its application is ejected from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the inkjet type recording head onto a target medium corresponding to the recording medium, so as to allow the liquid to attach to the target medium.  
         [0004]     As the liquid ejecting heads include, it is possible to cite, in addition to the recording head, a colorant ejecting head used in the manufacture of a color filter such as a liquid-crystal display, an electrode material (electroconductive paste) ejecting head used in the formation of electrodes for an organic EL display and a field emission display (FED), a bioorganic compound ejecting head used in the manufacture of a biochip, a sample ejecting head as a precision pipette, and so on.  
         [0005]     Hereafter, the ink jet printer as one example of the liquid ejecting apparatus will be described. In recent years, ink jet printers have come to be generally widespread whereby super-high image quality printing which is on par with that of silver halide photography is easily realizable at homes, just as is called home DPE. Among such ink jet printers, there are those which are configured to be able to execute so-called marginless printing in which printing is also effected at the four sides of printing sheet without margins so as to obtain an output result equivalent to that of silver halide photography.  
         [0006]     As the construction of such an ink jet printer, a generally adopted construction is such that recessed portions are provided in a platen provided so as to oppose the ink jet recording head and defining the distance between the printing sheet and the ink jet recording head, ink is ejected to regions offset from sheet end portions, and the ink ejected to the offset regions is discarded to the aforementioned recessed portions.  
         [0007]     In addition, an ink absorbing material for absorbing the ink is provided in the recessed portions to prevent as practically as possible the floating of an ink mist due to the atomization of the ink which is discarded, and hole portions for ejecting the absorbed ink to below are formed in its bottom. Further, a construction is adopted in which the ink absorbed by the ink absorbing material is allowed to drop from the hole portions to a waste liquid collecting means (e.g., a waste liquid tray) provided below the platen (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-86757A).  
         [0008]     When the carriage with the recording head mounted thereon starts to move from a standstill state, there are cases where, in conjunction with this operation, a negative pressure is temporarily applied to the place where the cartridge was at a standstill.  
         [0009]     If the above-described hole portions for ejecting the ink to outside are provided in the bottoms of the recessed portions formed in the platen, there occurs the flow of air which penetrates the platen upwardly from below owing to the occurrence of the aforementioned negative pressure. Due to such flow of air, the ink mist floating over the platen is scattered more extensively, so that there is a possibility that the interior of the apparatus is fouled, exerting an adverse effect on the constituent elements.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a platen and a liquid ejecting apparatus to prevent the ink mist from being scattered extensively due to the above-described flow of air occurring in conjunction with the moving operation of the carriage and from thereby fouling the interior of the apparatus, or to alleviate the extent of the fouling.  
         [0011]     In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention, there is provided a platen comprising: a plate-shaped main body, having a first face formed with a recess portion defined by a bottom face and side walls and a second face which is opposite to the first face, and the plate-shaped main body formed with a through hole connecting the bottom face and the second face; and an overhanging portion, provided on at least one of the side walls in the vicinity of the first face, and located so as to at least partially hang over the through hole. With this configuration, even if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below the platen through the through hole, the flow is hampered by the overhanging portions. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink mist floating over the platen from being scattered more extensively, or alleviate the extent thereof. Namely, it is possible to prevent the fouling of the interior of the apparatus and the exerting of an adverse effect on the constituent elements, or alleviate the extent thereof.  
         [0012]     The recess portion and the through hole may define a crank shaped channel connecting the first face and the second face. With this configuration, even if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below the platen through the hole portions, the flow is hampered Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink mist floating over the platen from being scattered more extensively, or alleviate the extent thereof. Namely, it is possible to prevent the fouling of the interior of the apparatus and the exerting of an adverse effect on the constituent elements, or alleviate the extent thereof.  
         [0013]     The through hole may be formed on an entire peripheral edge of the bottom face. With this configuration, the ink is difficult to stay in the bottom, i.e., the ink can be ejected smoothly to outside the platen.  
         [0014]     The recess portion may be adapted to accommodate an ink absorbing member; and the overhanging portion may be adapted to retain the ink absorbing member accommodated in the recess portion. With this configuration, the ink absorbing member can be retained on the recess portion inexpensively.  
         [0015]     According to the invention, there is also provided a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejecting head, operable to eject liquid toward a target medium; and the platen as described above, which is disposed so as to oppose the liquid ejecting head and is adapted to support the target medium so as to define a gap between the target medium and the liquid ejecting head. With this configuration, the liquid ejecting apparatus is able to obtain operational effects similar to above-described operational effects. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus body of a printer in accordance with the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the printer;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a lower sheet guide and constituent elements in the vicinity of the same;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of a platen in the printer;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of the lower sheet guide;  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the main scanning direction, of the platen;  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of the platen;  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of an ink absorbing material; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of a platen in accordance with another embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereafter, referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a description will be given of the outline of an ink jet printer hereafter referred to as the “printer1”)  1  as one example of a liquid ejecting apparatus in accordance with the invention. It should be noted that in the following description the rightward direction side (front side of the printer) in  FIG. 2  will be referred to as the “downstream side” of a sheet transporting (feeding) route, while the leftward direction side (rear side of the printer) will be referred to as the “downstream side” thereof  
         [0027]     The printer  1  has a feeding device  2  whereby recording sheet (cut sheet in the main; hereafter referred to as the “sheet P”) as one example of the “recording medium” or the “target medium” can be set in an inclined posture, and the sheet P is fed from the feeding device  2  toward a recording medium transporting means  4 . The fed sheet P is transported to a recording means  3  on the downstream side by the recording medium transporting means  4  to execute recording. The sheet P on which recording has been performed by the recording means  3  is ejected to forwardly of the apparatus by a recording media ejecting means  5  on the downstream side.  
         [0028]     Hereafter, a more detailed description will be given of the constituent elements of the printer  1  on the sheet transporting route. The feeding device  2  is comprised of a hopper  11 , a feed roller  12 , a retard roller  13 , a return lever  14 , a sheet support  15 , an auxiliary support  16 , a movable edge guide  17 , and a fixed edge guide  19 .  
         [0029]     The hopper  11  consists of a plate-like member and is provided swingably about a swinging fulcrum (not shown) at its upper portion. As the hopper  11  is swung, it is changed over between a pressure contact posture in which the sheet P supported on the hopper  11  in the inclined posture is brought into pressure contact with the feed roller  12  and a spaced-apart posture in which the sheet P is spaced apart from the feed roller  12 . The feed roller  12  is formed in a substantially D-shape in a side view, and is controlled such that the sheet P at the uppermost position is fed to the downstream side by its circular arc portion, and such that while the sheet P is being transported by the recording medium transporting means  4  after the feeding of the sheet P, its flat portion opposes the sheet P so as not to apply a transporting load, as shown in the drawing.  
         [0030]     The retard roller  13 , which has its outer periphery formed of an elastic material, is provided so as to be capable of being brought into  6 pressure contact with the circular arc portion of the feed roller  12 , and is provided in a state in which a predetermined rotational resistance (torque) is applied thereto. In a case where the multiple feeding of the sheet P does not occur and only one sheet is being fed, a torque exceeding the aforementioned rotational resistance is applied to the retard roller  13 , so that the retard roller  13  is drivenly rotated (clockwise in  FIG. 2 ) with respect to the feed roller  13 . Meanwhile, in a case where a plurality of sheets of the sheet P are present between the first ribs  12  and the retard roller  13 , since the coefficient of friction between the sheets of sheet is lower than the coefficient of function between the sheet P and the retard roller  13 , the torque exceeding the aforementioned rotational resistance is not applied to the retard roller  13 , so that the retard roller  13  doe not rotate and remains at a standstill. Accordingly, the subsequent sheets of the sheet P which tend to be fed overlapped by accompanying the uppermost sheet P to be fed do not advance from the retard roller  13  toward the downstream side, thereby preventing the multiple feeding.  
         [0031]     The return lever  14  is provided swingably in a side view of the feeding route of the sheet P. As the return lever  14  is swung, the return lever  14  exhibits the action of returning onto the hopper  11  the subsequent sheets of the sheet P which tended to be fed overlapped.  
         [0032]     The sheet support  15  and the auxiliary support member  16  ( FIG. 1 ) end the sheet supporting surface in the hopper  11  toward the rear end of the sheet P to support the rear end of the sheet P.  
         [0033]     The movable edge guide  17  and the-fixed edge guide  19  are provided so as to oppose each other in the hopper  11 , and abut against the edges of the sheet P to rests the positions of the edges. The movable edge guide  17  is provided displaceably (slidably) in the widthwise direction of the sheet P in the hopper  11 , with the result that the movable edge guide  17  is displaceable to an appropriate position fitted to the widthwise dimension of the sheet P.  
         [0034]     It should be noted that reference numerals  17   a  and  19   a  denote restricting portions which are respectively formed on the movable edge guide  17  and the fixed edge guide  19 . These restricting portions  17   a  and  19   a  function to guide the sheet P at the time of setting the sheet P, and restrict a maximum number of sheets (an allowable maximum number of sheets) of the sheet P which are supported on the hopper  11  (set in the feeding device  2 ).  
         [0035]     Next, the following are provided between the feeding device  2  and the recording medium transporting means  4 : sheet detecting means (not shown) for detecting the passage of the sheet P; a guide roller  26  which forms the posture of the sheet P being fed and prevents the contact of the sheet P with the feed roller  12  so as to alleviate the transport load; and a rear portion guiding member  57  for guiding to the recording medium transporting means  4  the sheet P being fed.  
         [0036]     The recording medium transporting means  4  provided on the downstream side of the feeding device  2  is comprised of a transport drive roller  30  which is rotatively driven by a motor and transport driven rollers  31  which are drivenly rotated by coming into pressure contact with the transport drive roller  30 . The transport drive roller  30  is formed by having an adherent layer in which abrasion resistant particles are dispersed substantially uniformly on an outer peripheral face of a metallic shaft extending in the widthwise direction of the sheet. The transport driven rollers  31  has its outer peripheral surface formed of a low friction material such as an elastomer, and are arranged in the axial direction of the transport drive roller  30 .  
         [0037]     More specifically, in this embodiment, two transport driven rollers  31  are axially supported freely rotatably at a downstream end portion of each of three main body portions  24   b  constituting an upper sheet guide  24 . As the three main body portions  24   b  are provided in the widthwise direction of the sheet, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the three main body portions  24   b  as a whole constitute the upper sheet guide  24 . As a shaft  24   a  of the upper sheet guide  24  is axially supported by a main frame  23 , the upper sheet guide  24  is provided swingably about the shaft  24   a  in a side view of the sheet feeding route, and is urged by a coil spring  25  in a direction in which the transport driven rollers  31  are brought into pressure contact with the transport drive roller  30 .  
         [0038]     The sheet P which reached the recording medium transporting means  4  is transported to the recording means  3  on the downstream side as the transport drive roller  30  rotates in a state in which the sheet P is nipped by the transport drive roller  30  and the transport driven rollers  31 .  
         [0039]     The recording means  3  is comprised of an ink jet recording head (hereafter, the “recording head”)  36  and a lower sheet guide  50  (platen  56 ) provided in such a manner as to oppose the recording head  36 . The recording head  36  is provided on a bottom portion of a carriage  33 , and the carriage  33  is driven so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction by an unillustrated drive motor while being guided by a carriage guide shaft  34  extending in the main scanning direction. Further, ink cartridges  35  which are respectively independent for a plurality of colors are installed on the carriage  33  to supply ink to the recording head  36 .  
         [0040]     On the lower sheet guide  50  (platen  56 ) which defines the distance between the sheet P and the recording head  36 , first ribs  51 , second ribs  52 , and third ribs  53  are formed on its surface opposing the recording head  36 , and grooves  54  and  55  and grooves A to G (see  FIG. 5 ) serving as “recessed portions” for discarding the ink are formed therein. It should be noted that a detailed description will be given later of the construction of the lower sheet guide  60 .  
         [0041]     Subsequently, an auxiliary roller  43  and the recording medium ejecting means  5  are provided on the downstream side of the recording head  36 . The auxiliary roller  43  is provided so as to be drivenly rotated in contact with the recording surface of the sheet P on the sheet transporting route ranging from the region where the recording head  36  and the platen  56  oppose each other to the recording medium ejecting means  5 . Hence, the auxiliary roller  43  functions to maintain the distance between the sheet P and the recording head  36  to a fixed distance by preventing the lifting up of the sheet P from the platen  56 . The recording medium ejecting means  5  is comprised of eject drive rollers  41  which are rotatively driven by an unillustrated motor and eject driven rollers  42  which are drivenly rotated in contact with the eject drive rollers  41 . In this embodiment, the eject drive rollers  41  are constituted by rubber rollers and are arranged in the anal direction of a rotating shaft  40  which is rotatively driven (see  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0042]     The eject driven rollers  42  are constituted by toothed rollers having a plurality of teeth on their outer peripheries, and are provided on a sheet eject frame assembly  45  having an elongated shape in the main scaring direction so as to respectively correspond to the eject drive rollers  41 . The sheet P on which recording has been performed by the recording means  3  is ejected toward the front side (unillustrated stacker) of the apparatus as the eject drive rollers  41  are rotatively driven in a state in which the sheet P is nipped by the eject drive rollers  41  and the eject driven rollers  42 .  
         [0043]     The above-described is the outline of the printer  1 , and a detailed description will be given of the lower sheet guide  50  with reference to FIGS.  3  to  8 . Here,  FIG. 3  is an external perspective view of the lower sheet guide  50  and constituent elements in its vicinities.  FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged perspective view of the lower sheet guide  50  (platen  56 ).  FIG. 5  is a plan view of the lower sheet guide  50 .  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the main scanning direction, of the lower sheet guide  50  (platen  56 ).  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of the lower sheet guide  50  (platen  56 ).  FIG. 8  is a plan view of an ink absorbing material  70 .  
         [0044]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the lower sheet guide  50 , which is integrally molded from a resin material, has as its principal body the platen  56  on the downstream side of the transport drive roller  30 , and is integrally comprised mainly of the rear portion guiding member  57  on the upstream side of the transport drive roller  30 , bearing portions  58   a ,  58   b , and  58   c  for axially supporting the transport drive roller  30 , bearing portions  59   a ,  59   b , and  59   c  for anally supporting the rotating shaft  40  of the eject drive rollers  41 , and a rotation-detecting-means attaching portion  60  for attaching a rotation detecting means (not shown) for detecting the amount of rotation of the transport drive roller  30 .  
         [0045]     As has been described with reference to  FIG. 2 , the platen  56  is provided at a position opposing the recording head  36 , defines a gap between the sheet P and the recording head  36 , and guides the sheet P to the downstream side. The rear portion guiding member  57  guides to the transport drive roller  30  the sheet P which is fed from the feeding device  2 .  
         [0046]     As shown in FIGS.  3  to  5 , on the surface of the platen  56  opposing the recording head  36 , the first ribs  51  extending in the sub scanning direction are provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the transport drive roller  30 ; the second ribs  52  extending in the sub sang direction are provided on the downstream side of the fist ribs  51  with the groove  54  located therebetween; and the third ribs  53  are provided on the downstream side of the second ribs  52  with the groove  55  located therebetween. The first ribs  51 , the second ribs  52 , and the third ribs  53  are respectively provided at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction, support the sheet P from below, and define the gap between the sheet P and the recording head  36 . It should be noted that the second ribs  52  are located in a range where ink ejecting nozzles (not shown) in the recording head  36  are formed, while the first ribs  51  and the third ribs  53  are located outside the range where the ink ejecting nozzles are formed.  
         [0047]     As described above, the groove  54  extending in the main scanning direction is formed between the first ribs  51  and the second ribs  52 , and the groove  55  extending in the main scanning direction is similarly formed between the second ribs  52  and the third ribs  53 . In addition, the grooves A to G are formed between the first ribs  51  and the third ribs  53  at portions corresponding to side end positions of the sheet P of predetermined sizes.  
         [0048]     The grooves  54  and  55  are for respectively discarding ink droplets which are ejected to portions offset from a trailing end and a leading end of the sheet P. Namely, when the leading end of the sheet P has reached the upper portion of the groove  55 , ink droplets are ejected to the leading end of the sheet P and a portion offset from that leading end, whereby marginless recording is executed at the leading end of the sheet P, and the ink droplets offset from the leading end of the sheet P are discarded to the groove  55 . Also, when the trailing end of the sheet P has reached the upper portion of the groove  54 , ink droplets are ejected to the trailing end of the sheet P and a portion offset from that trailing end, whereby marginless recording is executed at the trailing end of the sheet P, and the ink droplets offset from the trailing end of the sheet P are discarded to the groove  54 .  
         [0049]     Also, the grooves A to G are for discarding ink droplets which are ejected to portions offset from side ends of the sheet P. Specifically, the groove G is provided at a position where a side end on one side of the sheet P of all sizes passes, while the grooves A to F are respectively provided at positions where side ends on the other sides of the sheet P of the respective sizes pass. As ink droplets are ejected to portions offset from both side ends of the sheet P on which recording is performed, marginless recording is executed at the side ends of the sheet P, and the ink droplets are discarded to the grooves provided at positions corresponding to the sheet width.  
         [0050]     As also shown in  FIG. 2 , the rear portion guiding member  57  is located in the vicinity of the upstream side of the transport drive roller  30 , and has on its surface a plurality of ribs extending in the sub scanning direction at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction so as to guide the sheet P smoothly to the transport drive roller  30 .  
         [0051]     Next, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the transport drive roller  30  located between the rear portion guiding member  57  and the platen  56  is anally supported by the bearing portions  58   a ,  58   b , and  58   c  hereafter, collectively referred to as the “bearing portions 58,” as required) which are integrally formed of a resin material together with the rear portion guiding member  57  and the platen  56 . Also, the rotating shaft  40  of the eject drive rollers  41  located on the downstream side of the platen  56  are axially supported by the bearing portions  59   a ,  59   b , and  59   c  hereafter, collectively referred to as the “bearing portions 59,” as required) which are integrally formed of the material together with the rear portion guiding member  57  and the platen  56 .  
         [0052]     Accordingly, since the constituent elements of the rear portion guiding member  57 , the bearing portions  58 , and the bearing portions  59  are integrally provided on the platen  56 , it is possible to reduce the number of steps of assembly as compared with the construction in which the constituent elements are separately formed and are subsequently assembled. At the same time, it becomes possible to minimize variations in the manufacture of the constituent elements, assembly errors at the time of assembly, and so on. In consequence, it is possible to form a sheet transport route of more uniform quality, with the result that individual differences between apparatuses decrease, thereby making it possible to realize further stabilization of the recording quality. In addition, it becomes possible to prevent a decline ion the sheet transporting accuracy, and when marginless printing is executed, it becomes possible to minimize the amount of ink discarded by being offset from the end portions of the sheet P. Namely, it becomes possible to appropriately execute marginless printing in which the amount of image data discarded is extremely small.  
         [0053]     In addition, since the bearing portions  58  for pivotally supporting the transport drive roller  30  are provided at both shaft end positions (bearing portions  58   a  and  58   c ) of the transport drive roller  30  and one position (bearing portion  58   b ) between the both shaft end positions, the transport drive roller  30  is difficult to deflect even if it is subjected to a pressing load from the transport driven rollers  31 . Hence, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the transport drive roller  30 . Further, since the bearing portions  58  are provided integrally with the platen  56  by resin molding, even if the transport drive roller  30  is anally supported at a plurality of positions, since the positions of the bearing portions are accurately fixed, the transport drive roller  30  can be driven smoothly without imparting a load thereto.  
         [0054]     In addition, since the rotating shaft  40  of the eject drive rollers  41  is also axially supported at both shaft end positions (bearing portions  59   a  and  59   c ) and one position (bearing portion  59   b ) therebetween, it is possible to obtain an operational effect similar to the case of the transport drive roller  30  described above. Furthermore, even if backlash (clearance) has occurred between the rotating shaft  40  of the eject drive rollers  41  and each of the bearing portions  59   a  to  59   c , since the rotating shaft  40  of the eject drive rollers  41  is axially supported at the plurality of positions, the bearing portions  59   a  to  59   c  are arranged at mutually offset positions with respect to the rotating shaft  40 , it is possible to overcome the backlash.  
         [0055]     Next, a description will be given of hole portions  64  for ejecting the ink discarded to the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G to outside (below) the lower sheet guide  50 .  
         [0056]     The hole portions  64  are formed over the entire peripheral edges of the bottoms of the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G, and openings  63  at upper portions of all the hole portions  64  are formed in such a manner as to oppose side walls of the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G. In other words, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , each hole portion  64  has a shape in which it extends from the bottom toward the upper portion, and a protective portion  65  is formed on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion  64 . Namely, each hole portion  64  is formed in a crank shape so as not to form a channel of the fluid (air and ink) which would penetrate the platen  56  straightly upwardly from below.  
         [0057]     The hole portions  64  which are thus formed exhibit the following operational effect. When the carriage  33  starts to move from the standstill state, there are cases where, in conjunction with that moving operation, a negative pressure is temporarily applied to the place where the cartridge  33  was at a standstill. Consequently, if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portions  64 , an ink mist floating over the platen  56  is scattered more extensively, so that there is a possibility that the interior of the apparatus is fouled, exerting an adverse effect on the constituent elements.  
         [0058]     However, since the protective portion  65  is provided on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion  64 , as described above, the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portion  64  abuts against the protective portion  65 , and the flow is hampered, as indicated by an arrow in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Namely, since the flow of air which would penetrate straightly upwardly from below through the hole portion  64  is not produced, even if the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below is produced in the hole portion  64  in conjunction with the movement of the carriage  33 , since the flow is hampered, the ink mist floating over the platen  56  can be prevented from being scattered more extensively, or the extent of the scattering can be alleviated.  
         [0059]     It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the protective portion  65  is formed in such a manner as to substantially completely cover the opening of the hole portion  64  in a plan view of the platen  56 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portion  64  is prevented more reliably.  
         [0060]     The ink absorbing material  70  shown in  FIG. 8  is disposed in the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G. On this ink absorbing material  70 , as shown in the drawing, a plurality of projecting portions  71  are formed on its surfaces opposing the inner side walls of the respective grooves when it is disposed in the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G. Accordingly, when the ink absorbing material  70  is disposed in the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G, the ink absorbing material  70  is disposed such that its projecting portions  71  are fitted in the openings  63  ( FIG. 4 ).  
         [0061]     As a result, the ink absorbing material  70  is held inside the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G more reliably, so that the lifting up of the ink absorbing material  70  toward the recording head  36  side can be prevented reliably. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent such drawbacks as the fouling of the reverse surface of the sheet P due to the lifting up of the ink absorbing material  70  and causing a decline in the recording quality due to a change in the gap between the sheet P and the recording head  36 . Here, since the protective portion  65  formed on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion  64  also serves as a holding means for holding in the respective grooves the ink absorbing material  70  disposed in the grooves  54  and  55  and the grooves A to G, it becomes possible to inexpensively provide the construction for holding the ink absorbing material  70  in the respective grooves.  
         [0062]     It should be noted that there are cases where, depending on the circumstances at the time of, for instance, resin molding, hole portions  66  which would penetrate the platen  56  straightly upwardly from below are inevitably formed at the bottoms of the grooves  54  and  55  (and the grooves A to G), as shown in  FIG. 9 . It should be noted that  FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of a platen  56 ′ in accordance with another embodiment.  
         [0063]     In such a case, if the ink absorbing material  70  formed of a porous material is merely disposed as it is, there can occur the flow of air which would penetrate the ink absorbing material  70  upwardly from below when the cartridge  3  is moved, whereby the ink mist floating over the platen  56 ′ is possibly scattered extensively.  
         [0064]     Accordingly, in such a case, as a sheet material such as the one indicated by reference numeral  68  in  FIG. 9  is laid in the bottoms of the grooves  54  and  55  (and the grooves A to G), it is possible to shut off the flow of air passing through the hole portions  66 . Since the flow of air which would penetrate the ink absorbing material  70  upwardly from below does not occur, it is possible to prevent the scattering of the ink mist extensively.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1