Patent ID: 8454122

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head configured to jet liquid droplets of recording liquid; a maintenance device configured to maintain and restore a condition of the recording head, the maintenance device being detachably attached to an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus; and a waste liquid tank configured to hold waste liquid collected by the maintenance device, the waste liquid tank being disposed adjacent to the maintenance device, wherein: the maintenance device comprises a waste liquid jetting tube configured to discharge waste liquid into the waste liquid tank; the waste liquid tank comprises an induction opening substantially surrounding the waste liquid jetting tube, a peripheral wall part that is substantially vertical, and a notch part formed as an opening in the substantially vertical peripheral wall part of the waste liquid tank, the waste liquid jetting tube passing through the opening of the notch part when the maintenance device is detached from the apparatus main body and caused to move in a substantially horizontal direction; a top edge of a portion of the substantially vertical peripheral wall part in which the notch part is not formed is configured to be positioned higher, in a substantially vertical direction from a bottom edge of the peripheral wall part to the top edge, than a bottom edge of the waste liquid jetting tube, and a bottom edge of the notch part which is below the top edge of another portion of the peripheral wall part is configured to be positioned lower in the substantially vertical direction than the bottom edge of the waste liquid jetting tube; the maintenance device further comprises a wall member disposed at a position, and having a size and a shape, to a periphery of the notch part when the maintenance device is attached in the apparatus main body; the maintenance device is configured and disposed to he detached from, and attached to, the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus by sliding he maintenance device in the substantially horizontal direction, and when the maintenance device is slid in the substantially horizontal direction to be attached to the image forming apparatus, the wall member contacts the periphery of the notch part formed in the peripheral wall part of the waste liquid tank so as to cover the notch part; and when the wall member contacts the periphery of the notch part to cove the notch part, the peripheral wall part of the waste liquid tank and the wall member of the maintenance device are complementary to each other to surround the waste liquid jetting tube.