Patent ID: 7488050

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium in a first direction; a plurality of nozzles that eject ink toward the recording medium being conveyed by the conveyance unit; a recording unit that comprises a plurality of recording heads being arranged in parallel, each recording head comprising a nozzle formation surface formed with the nozzles; a cap unit that is able to abut against the nozzle formation surface of each recording head to form a closed space in which the nozzle formation surface is sealed up; a first moving mechanism that reciprocates the cap unit along a second direction crossing the first direction, between a capping position facing the nozzle formation surfaces and a non-capping position apart from the capping position; a first ink receiving unit that comprises an ink receiving region larger than a region that all the nozzles of the recording heads occupy; and a second moving mechanism that reciprocates the first ink receiving unit along the second direction, between an ink receiving position facing the nozzle formation surfaces and an ink non-receiving position apart from the ink receiving position, wherein: when the first ink receiving unit is located at the ink non-receiving position, at least a part of the first ink receiving unit overlaps the cap unit, which is located at the non-capping position, as viewed from a direction intersecting the nozzle formation surface, and when the cap unit is located at the capping position, the first ink receiving unit is located at the ink receiving position and overlaps the entire cap unit as viewed from the direction intersecting the nozzle formation surface.