As an image forming device for a printer, a facsimile machine, a reproducing unit, a plotter, and a multifunctional unit having these functions, an inkjet recording device is known as a liquid ejection recording-type image forming device which uses a recording head which ejects ink droplets, for example. The liquid ejection recording-type image forming device, which ejects the ink droplets from the recording head to a sheet to be conveyed to perform image forming (recording, print, imaging, printing also used interchangeably), includes a serial-type image forming device which ejects liquid droplets while the recording head moves in a main scanning direction to perform image forming and a line-type image forming device with the use of a line-type head which ejects liquid droplets while the recording head does not move to perform image forming.
Herein, an “image forming device” represents a device which sets ink onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., to perform image forming, and “image forming” represents not only providing a medium with an image which has a meaning (e.g., character or graphics), but also providing a medium with an image which does not have a meaning such as a pattern, etc. (merely impacting the liquid droplet onto the medium). Moreover, “ink” is not limited to what is called ink, so that it is used to generally represent all types of liquids which can perform image forming, such as what is called recording liquid, fixing solution, liquid, resin, etc. Furthermore, the “sheet”, a material of which is not limited to paper and which includes an OHP sheet, a cloth, etc., represents what the ink droplets are adhered to and is used to generally represent what includes a medium to be recorded on, a recording medium, recording paper, a recording sheet, etc. Moreover, an “image” is not limited to a planar one, so that it also includes an image provided to what is formed three-dimensionally, and also an image formed by three dimensionally shaping a solid itself.
Now, a liquid ejection-type image forming device includes a maintaining and restoring mechanism which includes a wiper member (also called a wiper blade, a wiping blade, a blade, etc.) which wipes off a nozzle face of a recording head for cleaning; and a cap which caps a nozzle face of the recording head in order to maintain ejection stability of a nozzle of the recording head, to prevent ink in the nozzle from drying and to prevent dust from mixing into the nozzle). A recovering operation is performed in which, for instance, after draining bodied-up ink from the nozzle into the cap, the device wipes off the nozzle face with the wiper member to form a nozzle meniscus and a non-contributing ejection operation is performed in which a liquid droplet which does not contribute to image forming is ejected from the recording head at a required timing.
A related-art non-contributing ejection receiving member for receiving non-contributing ejection droplets which are ejected in an non-contributing ejection operation is known, wherein a multi-porous sheet is arranged at a position which is in proximity to and which opposes a recording head and a waste liquid which is received at the multi-porous sheet is absorbed by an absorbing material (see Patent document 1).