Patent ID: 7467845

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a discharging head which has a nozzle surface on which nozzles for discharging liquid droplets are formed; a medium supporting device which supports a recording medium, the medium supporting device being disposed in a position opposing the nozzle surface of the discharging head and having a medium supporting region on which the recording medium is placed, the medium supporting device including a plurality of liquid collecting devices arranged throughout the medium supporting region in a width direction of the recording medium placed on the medium supporting region, each liquid collecting device having inclined surfaces along which liquid entering from a side of the discharging head is slidable downwards and openings formed at bases of the inclined surfaces and connecting to a rear surface of the medium supporting device; and a suctioning device which suctions the liquid through the openings in the liquid collecting device, wherein the plurality of liquid collecting devices are two-dimensionally arranged close to each other and across the entire medium supporting region, and the inclined surfaces have a downward slope with respect to a horizontal plane in which the recording medium is supported by the medium supporting device and the downward slope is not normal to the horizontal plane.