1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet recording apparatuses include a carriage having a recording head mounted therein. The recording head includes an ejection port for ejecting ink. The carriage is connected to part of a drive belt and moves together with the drive belt. The drive belt transfers the driving force of a drive motor.
The recording head is removably mounted in the carriage. If ink in the recording head is used up for recording operations, the recording head is replaced with a new one in order to continue the recording operation in which ink is ejected.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-160560 describes an inkjet recording apparatus including a recording head that is removable from the front of a carriage at a position outside the area of a platen.
In addition, inkjet recording apparatuses including a recording head having a replacement position above a platen (that is, inside the area of the platen) have been developed. In such inkjet recording apparatuses, a user operates in front of a carriage above the platen at the replacement position to press down the recording head with respect to the carriage and remove the recording head. According to the configuration of the apparatus, when the recording head is removed, an ejection port portion of the recording head may be brought into contact with the platen. Accordingly, at the replacement position, a rib formed on the platen needs to be inclined downward to a lower position so that a gap formed between the recording head and the platen increases.
According to the inkjet recording apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-160560, since the recording head is replaced in an area outside the platen, a space for the replacement operation is additionally needed.
Furthermore, in inkjet recording apparatuses having a rib of the platen that is inclined downward to a lower position at the replacement position, a recording medium may not be stably conveyed on the platen.