JP2005246934A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording device in which the unity of ink supply tubes 20a-20d can be maintained during the movement of a carriage 5 without binding the midway part of a plurality of the mutually independent ink supply tubes 20a-20d and connecting work of the ink supply tubes can be improved. <P>SOLUTION: The base end parts of a plurality of the flexible ink supply tubes 20a-20d, which are for supplying ink to a recording head mounted to the reciprocating carriage 5, are connected to an ink storage part at a stationary position. The side close to the base end part is fixed to an intermediate fixing part by a fixed body 33 at a stationary position. All the ink supply tubes 20a-20d are mutually independently arranged at a part from the intermediate fixing part to the carriage. The midway parts of all the ink supply tubes 20a-20d are curvedly arranged at a part from the movement path of the carriage 5 and the intermediate fixing part. It is constituted so that the phase of the array direction of the ink supply tubes 20a-20d extended to the intermediate fixing part side in the curved midway part and the array direction of the ink supply tubes 20a-20d extended to the connecting part 35 side in the carriage 5 is made different by 90 degrees. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet type image recording apparatus capable of color recording, and more specifically, supplies ink to a reciprocating recording head from an ink storage unit such as an ink cartridge mounted at a stationary position in the main body of the image recording apparatus. The present invention relates to an arrangement configuration of a plurality of flexible ink supply pipes.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer has been devised in which an ink is supplied from an ink storage unit to a recording head through a plurality of flexible ink supply pipes to supply ink and record an image. In such an ink jet printer, the middle parts of the plurality of ink supply pipes (the middle parts from the ink storage part to the recording head) are bundled with a tube band, so that the middle parts of the ink supply pipes are in a separated state. I try not to move. For example, in Patent Document 1, a recording unit in which a carriage having a recording head mounted on the rear side of a recording apparatus main body is configured to be reciprocally movable in a substantially horizontal direction perpendicular to a sheet (recording medium) conveyance (discharge medium) direction. 4 sheets for discharging the recorded paper to the recording head from a color ink cassette stationary in the recording apparatus main body while discharging the recorded paper out from the discharge outlet at the front end of the recording apparatus main body. Of the ink supply pipes, the middle part of every two ink supply pipes is bundled with a tube band, and the two bundled tips are connected to one side of the recording head, and the other two The leading end is connected to the other side of the recording head. Then, when the midway part of the bundled ink supply pipe is bent (bends) in a U shape in plan view as the carriage reciprocates, it is suppressed from taking a disjointed posture.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, four flexible ink supply pipes are arranged in a row in the vertical direction and connected to form a plate-like quadruple tube. It was flexible in the direction.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-175588 (see FIGS. 1 to 7) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-321351 (see FIGS. 4 and 5)

  However, the configuration of Patent Document 1 requires a tube band, which increases the number of parts and makes it difficult to reduce costs, and requires a work of bundling a plurality of tubes (ink supply tubes). There was a problem of being bad.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of Patent Document 2, since it is integrated into a quadruple tube shape, it does not require parts for bundling the tube and has good assemblability, but a plurality of tubes having different inner diameters and outer diameters can be used. When the combination of a plurality of tubes of different materials is required, the degree of freedom of design change or the like is reduced. In addition, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the ink supply tube itself cannot be reduced due to the integration such as the quadruple tube.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of these conventional techniques, and eliminates the need for a part that bundles the middle portions of the plurality of ink supply pipes while using a plurality of single ink supply pipes. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of improving the manufacturing cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction with respect to a recording apparatus main body, and selectively records ink by ejecting ink droplets. An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording head capable of recording an image thereon; and a plurality of flexible ink supply pipes for supplying ink to the recording head from an ink storage section placed stationary on the recording body The plurality of ink supply pipes are fixed to an intermediate fixing portion provided in the recording apparatus main body from the ink storage portion to the carriage, and between the intermediate fixing portion and the carriage. The plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged independently of each other, and a middle portion of the plurality of ink supply pipes is curvedly arranged between the carriage movement path and the intermediate fixing portion. The phase of the arrangement direction of the plurality of ink supply tubes extending toward the intermediate fixing portion and the arrangement direction of the plurality of ink supply tubes extending toward the coupling portion side of the ink supply tubes in the carriage portion in the curved middle portion Are configured to be different.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the ink supply pipe extends from the intermediate fixing portion to one direction side substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and is a curved halfway portion. And extending in a direction almost opposite to the one direction side and connected to the connecting piece of the carriage.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the position of the intermediate fixing portion along the movement direction of the carriage is such that the carriage has moved to one end in the movement direction. Sometimes, the position where the minimum bending radius of the ink supply tube is maintained with respect to the coupling portion of the ink supply tube on the carriage, and the position of the intermediate fixing portion along the moving direction of the recording medium Is a position that maintains the minimum bending radius of the ink supply tube with respect to the coupling portion of the ink supply tube on the carriage even when the carriage moves to the other end in the moving direction.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the phase difference is set to 30 degrees or more and 120 degrees or less.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged substantially along the vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion, while the carriage The plurality of ink supply pipes in the coupling part of the parts are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the radius of curvature of the curved middle portion of the ink supply tube having the highest bending rigidity among the plurality of ink supply tubes. Are arranged to be the largest.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the sixth aspect, in the intermediate fixing portion, the ink supply pipe having the highest bending rigidity is disposed at either the lowest position or the highest position. It is.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the ink supply tube having the largest bending rigidity among the plurality of ink supply tubes arranged in a substantially vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion. Is disposed above or below the height position of the coupling portion of the carriage portion, and the arrangement height positions of the other plurality of ink supply pipes are the height position of the coupling portion. It is biased downward or upward from the same position.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, all the arrangement height positions of the plurality of ink supply pipes arranged in a substantially vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion are The carriage portion is biased above or below the height position of the coupling portion.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the ink supply pipe is composed of four, and only one ink supply pipe is formed so as to have high bending rigidity. It is what.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the lengths of the plurality of ink supply pipes are all set to be the same.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the elastic communication member is provided between an end portion of each ink supply tube and each corresponding coupling portion of the carriage. Is inserted.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the plurality of ink supply pipes are appropriately divided into two groups every number, and the ink supply for each of the separated groups is performed. The tube is arranged so that the convex side of the curved middle part is directed toward the movement reversal side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects, the arrangement position of the coupling portion with respect to the carriage of the plurality of ink supply pipes is a width dimension in the reciprocating direction of the carriage. It is biased to the opposite side of the convex direction of the curved middle portion of the ink supply tube from the center of the ink supply tube.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, a flexible flat cable for transmitting a recording signal to the recording head is provided in the plurality of ink supply pipes. Without being along, it is connected to the recording apparatus main body side and the carriage.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, the flexible flat cable is fixed by clamping means and a recording head cover arranged at a coupling portion of the ink supply pipe.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, the flexible flat cable is disposed in a movable region of an ink supply tube that accompanies the reciprocating movement of the carriage. Is.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus of the seventeenth aspect, an upper cover body and a lower cover body that cover the upper and lower sides of the space of the movable region of the ink supply pipe are arranged in the recording apparatus main body. And a curved middle part of the flexible flat cable is turned upside down in the space between the upper and lower cover bodies, and the upper half of the flexible flat cable is open downwardly formed on the upper cover body. It is configured to be slidable along the guide groove.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the fifteenth to eighteenth aspects, a convex curve direction between a curved middle portion of the plurality of ink supply pipes and a curved middle portion of the flexible flat cable. Are set in opposite directions with respect to the reciprocating direction of the carriage.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the eighteenth aspect, an upward projecting ridge corresponding to a downward open guide groove formed in the upper cover body is provided above the upper cover body. The guide shaft of the image reading apparatus is arranged so as to be adjacent along the side of the image reading apparatus.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the eighteenth to twentieth aspects, a downwardly open guide groove formed in the upper cover body is parallel to the upper cover body. A second guide groove that is open upward is formed in the second guide groove, and the flexible flat cable is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the second guide groove.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the twenty-first aspect, the upward protrusion and the second guide groove are formed on a bottom wall of the image reading apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the region from the midway portion (intermediate fixing portion) of all the ink supply pipes to the coupling portion with respect to the carriage is a non-binding or non-constraining region, and the intermediate fixing portion. The direction extending to the side and the direction extending to the coupling portion side of the carriage are curved (reversed) so as to be different from each other by 180 degrees, and the arrangement direction of the ink supply pipes extending to the intermediate fixing portion side in the curved middle portion, and the carriage If the ink supply pipes are twisted so as to have a different phase from the arrangement direction of the ink supply pipes extending toward the coupling portion, all the ink supply pipes are easily bundled even though they are curved independently of each other.

  Therefore, the arrangement of the moving ink supply pipes is less likely to be disturbed (disturbed) in the vertical direction in the middle of the curve, and the attitude of the moving ink supply pipes is stabilized. As a result, the space height of the area (movable area) through which the ink supply pipe passes when the carriage reciprocates can be reduced, and the height of the recording apparatus main body can be made compact. Further, even when all the ink supply pipes are independent from each other, since the posture during movement is stable, a separate tube bundling device is unnecessary, and the assemblability can be improved and the cost can be reduced.

  According to the configuration of the invention described in claims 2 and 3, a predetermined twisted curved portion can be formed in the middle portion of all the ink supply pipes in an unconstrained state during the movement of the carriage.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the angle of twisting so as to make the phase different from the arrangement direction of the ink supply pipes is 30 degrees to 120 degrees. This improves the stability.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the arrangement of the ink supply pipes on the coupling portion side is in the horizontal direction, interference with other parts densely arranged on the carriage side is reduced, and the height dimension at the carriage portion is reduced. Can be further reduced. Then, the arrangement of the ink supply pipes in the intermediate fixing part is in the vertical direction, and the ink supply pipes are arranged in the horizontal direction on the coupling part side, so that the ink supply along the transport direction of the recording medium is performed. The space required for arranging and moving the tube can be shortened, and the image recording apparatus can be downsized.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, it is possible to reduce the burden caused by the bending deformation of the ink supply pipe having a large bending rigidity. There is an effect that the durability of the ink supply pipe can be made substantially uniform. Further, when the arrangement of the ink supply pipes is arranged in the vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion, the space for arranging the ink supply pipes in the depth direction of the image recording apparatus main body can be reduced, and the image recording apparatus main body can be reduced in size. Play.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, by disposing the ink supply pipe having a high bending rigidity at the bottom in the vertical direction, a force for holding the ink supply pipe in the vertical upward direction by the torsional force acts. The sliding load between the ink supply pipe and the lower cover body can be reduced. On the other hand, by arranging the ink supply pipe having high bending rigidity at the top in the vertical direction, the torsional force acts to hold the ink supply pipe in the vertical downward direction, and the ink supply pipe is connected. A force that presses the carriage vertically downward is generated, and it is possible to prevent the carriage from being lifted off the guide rail.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the ink supply pipe having a high bending rigidity disposed above (or below) the height position of the coupling portion is directed downward (or (Upward) acting force, and conversely, when a plurality of ink supply pipes having a low bending rigidity disposed below (or above) the height position of the coupling portion are upwardly directed (when being drawn toward the coupling portion ( Or the total acting force (downward) can be easily balanced with each other, and the carriage can slide more easily without excessive force acting on the guide rail.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since all of the ink supply pipes are drawn downward from the intermediate fixing portion toward the coupling portion, a downward acting force acts, so that the carriage is lifted from the guide rail. There is an effect that can be surely prevented.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to increase the bending rigidity of only one ink supply pipe having a large ink use amount, and only the ink usage mode and the thickness of the ink supply pipe to be applied to it are selected. Good.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, since all the ink supply pipes have the same length, there is an effect that the assemblability is improved as compared with the case where the length is changed for each ink color.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, each ink supply is provided by inserting a flexible elastic communication body such as a soft synthetic resin or rubber between the coupling portion in the carriage and each ink supply tube. Torque due to bending external force due to the bending of the middle part of the tube is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastic communication member, thereby reducing the moment for rotating the carriage and reducing or eliminating twisting with respect to the guide rail when the carriage 5 is moved. Can be improved. In addition, the degree of freedom in the angle at which each ink supply pipe is pulled out (connected) non-parallel to the axis of the coupling portion is increased, and the assemblability of the image recording apparatus is improved.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the number of ink supply pipes bent in the same direction can be reduced, the height of the use space for passage of the ink supply pipes can be reduced, and the bending directions are opposite to each other. As a result, the moment of rotating the carriage can be reduced.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, the distance from the side surface of the carriage to the protruding end of the curved middle portion is shortened at the moving end in the direction in which the carriage approaches the curved middle portion of the ink supply pipe. can do. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the required space for the movement of the ink supply pipe when the carriage reciprocates, and the width of the recording apparatus main body can be reduced.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, since the ink supply pipe and the flexible flat cable are completely separated, the degree of freedom in designing the arrangement thereof is improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 16, the fixing work of the flexible flat cable is facilitated, and the assemblability of the apparatus is improved.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, since the ink supply pipe and the flexible flat cable can be arranged in the same movable region, there is an effect that the required space can be reduced and the image recording apparatus can be formed compactly.

  According to the invention of claim 18, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 13, the flexible flat cable can move along the guide groove in the upper cover body. There is no slip.

  According to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, since the directions of the curved middle portions of the ink supply pipe and the flexible flat cable are opposite to each other, there is an effect that they do not interfere with each other even if the movable region is shared. In addition, the ink supply pipe and the flexible flat cable can be arranged at substantially the same height (substantially in the same horizontal plane), and as a result, the entire image recording apparatus can be thinned.

  According to the invention of claim 20, the movable area of the flexible flat cable connected to the reciprocating image scanner device and the carriage is completely partitioned by the upper cover body while reducing the arrangement height of the image reading device, The movements of each other are not interfered.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, an upwardly open second guide groove is formed in parallel with a downwardly open guide groove formed in the upper cover body, and the second guide groove has a longitudinal length thereof. Since the flexible flat cable is arranged along the direction, the vertical space necessary for the movement of the flexible flat cable can be arranged at a low height, and the entire image recording apparatus can be thinned. Play.

  According to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention, since the upward protrusion and the second guide groove are formed on the bottom wall of the image reading apparatus, the upper cover body and the bottom wall are exactly aligned. As a result, the entire image recording apparatus can be made thinner.

  Next, the best mode for embodying the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an image recording apparatus provided with an ink jet recording head according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which an outer cover of the main body of the image recording apparatus and a lid cover body of the image reading apparatus are removed. 3 is a plan view of the image recording apparatus with the image reading apparatus removed, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image recording apparatus with the image reading apparatus removed, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the carriage moving support means. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 7 is an enlarged side sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3, FIG. 8 is an enlarged side sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a routed state of the flexible flat cable, FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a routed state of the ink supply tube and the flexible flat cable, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a connection portion of the ink supply tube and the flexible flat cable with respect to the carriage. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state in which the ink supply pipe is routed, FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement phase state of the ink supply pipe of the first embodiment, and FIGS. 14 and 15 are explanatory views of other embodiments. 16 (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the end portion of the ink supply pipe and the carriage, FIG. 16 (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part showing another embodiment of the end part of the ink supply pipe, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the guide portion of the flexible flat cable as viewed from below.

  An image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an application of the present invention to a multi-function device (MFD) having a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, as shown in FIG. A sheet feeding cassette 3 that can be inserted from an opening 2a on the front side (left side in FIG. 1) of the recording apparatus main body 2 is disposed at the bottom of the recording apparatus main body 2 made of synthetic resin.

  In the present embodiment, the paper feed cassette 3 is a paper P that has been cut into, for example, A4 size, letter size, legal size, postcard size or the like as a recording medium, and its short side is in the paper transport direction (sub-scanning direction, X axis). A plurality of sheets are stacked (deposited) so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1, main scanning direction, Y-axis direction) (see FIG. 1). Note that an auxiliary support member 3a capable of supporting the rear end portion of a long sheet P of a legal size or the like is attached to the front end of the paper feed cassette 3 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the auxiliary support member 3a is disposed at a position protruding outside from the recording apparatus main body 2. However, the auxiliary support member 3a is housed in the A4 size paper feed cassette 3 (recording from the opening 2a). When using paper P that does not protrude to the outside of the apparatus main body 2, the auxiliary support member 3a can be stored in the storage portion 3b so as not to interfere with paper feeding.

  Further, on the back side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the paper feed cassette 3, a bank portion 8 for paper separation is disposed. Further, an arm 6a whose upper end is rotatable in the vertical direction is mounted on the recording apparatus main body 2 side, and a paper feed cassette is provided by a paper feed roller 6 provided at the lower end of the arm 6a and a bank 8. The paper P, which is a recording medium laminated (deposited) on the sheet 3, is separated and conveyed one by one. The separated sheet P is fed to a recording unit 7 provided on the upper side (high position) behind the sheet feeding cassette 3 through a U-turn path (feeding path) 9 facing upward. As will be described in detail later, the recording unit 7 includes a reciprocating carriage 5 on which an ink jet recording head 4 for realizing a printer function and the like is mounted.

  The paper discharge unit 10 from which the paper P recorded by the recording unit 7 is discharged with its recording surface facing upward is formed on the upper side of the paper feed cassette 3, and is a paper discharge port 10a communicating with the paper discharge unit 10. Is opened toward the front surface of the recording apparatus main body 2.

  An image reading device 12 for reading a document in a copy function or a facsimile function is disposed on the upper part of the recording apparatus main body 2. The bottom wall 11 of the image reading device 12 is configured to be superimposed from above an upper cover body 30 described later with almost no gap. The image reading device 12 is configured to be vertically openable and closable with respect to one side end (a side end on the near side in the Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 2) via a pivoting portion (not shown). The rear end of the document cover 13 that covers the upper surface of the image reading device 12 is attached to the rear end of the image reading device 12 so as to be pivotable up and down about a pivot 12a.

  On the upper side of the recording apparatus main body 2, an operation panel unit 14 including various operation buttons, a liquid crystal display unit, and the like is provided in front of the image reading device 12. A plane between the image reading device 12 and the operation panel unit 14 is provided. The recording unit 7, the paper discharge unit 10, and the ink storage unit 15 provided on one side of the paper discharge unit 10 are disposed within the visual projection area. In the state where the auxiliary support member 3a is stored in the storage portion 3b, the length of the paper feed cassette 3 in the X-axis direction is substantially equal to the length of the image reading device 12 and the operation panel portion 14 in the X-axis direction. . Accordingly, since the image recording apparatus 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in plan view, the packaging is facilitated even when packaging as a product, and the packaging box can be downsized.

  On the upper surface of the image reading device 12, there is provided a placement glass plate 16 on which a document cover body 13 can be opened and a document can be placed, and an image scanner device (CIS :) for reading a document is provided on the lower side. A Contact Image Sensor) 17 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (Y-axis direction in FIGS. 2 to 6).

  The ink storage unit 15 is open toward the upper side of the recording apparatus main body 2, and the ink storage unit 15 has a small area and a height in plan view each containing four colors of ink for full-color recording. Ink cartridges 19 having a large rectangular size and high dimensions (indicated by reference numerals 19a to 19d for ink cartridges for individual colors, that is, black (BK), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y)) 2 to 4) can be stored in a line along the X-axis direction, and is configured to be detachable from above.

  A plurality (four in the present embodiment) of ink supply pipes (ink tubes) 20 (individually indicated by reference numerals 19a to 19d) from each ink cartridge 19 (individually indicated by reference numerals 19a to 19d) are described below. Ink is supplied via (indicated by reference numerals 20a to 20d). In addition, when using a larger number of ink colors than four colors (six colors to eight colors, etc.), an ink cartridge corresponding to the number of ink colors may be configured to be stored in the ink storage unit 15, The number of ink supply tubes 20 may be increased according to the number of ink cartridges.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the recording unit 7 is supported by a pair of left and right side plates 21 a in the main frame 21, and has horizontally long plate-like guide rails 22 and 23 extending in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). The carriage 5 that is slidably mounted over both the guide rails 22 and 23 and configured to reciprocate and the carriage 5 on which the recording head 4 is mounted reciprocally move in the paper conveyance direction ( A timing belt 24 arranged in parallel to the upper surface of the guide rail 23 arranged on the downstream side in the direction of arrow A), and a CR (carriage) motor 25 (in this embodiment, a DC motor) that drives the timing belt 24 However, it may be another motor such as a stepping motor.) And a plate-like platen 26 that supports the paper P conveyed on the lower surface side of the recording head 4.In addition, a pair of registration rollers 27 (see FIG. 1) is arranged on the upstream side of the conveyance with the platen 26 interposed therebetween, and the paper P is sent to the lower surface of the recording head 4. A spur (not shown) in contact with the upper surface of the paper P and a paper discharge roller 28 on the lower surface side are arranged on the downstream side of the platen 26, and the recorded paper P is conveyed to the paper discharge unit 10.

  Further, outside the width of the paper P to be transported (width in the direction intersecting the transport direction of the paper P), an ink receiving portion (on the side close to the left side plate 21a in FIG. 3 in the embodiment) is disposed on one end side thereof. A maintenance unit (not shown) is disposed on the other end side (portion close to the right side plate 21a in FIG. 3). As a result, the recording head 4 periodically discharges ink to prevent nozzle clogging during a recording operation at a flushing position provided in the ink receiving portion, and receives ink at the ink receiving portion. In the maintenance unit portion, the carriage 5 is in a standby position and cleans the nozzle surface of the recording head 4, selectively sucks ink for each color, or removes bubbles in a buffer tank (not shown) of the recording head 4. A recovery process is performed for removal.

  In addition, a partition plate (lower cover body) 29 is provided so as to cover the upper part of the discharge unit 10 from the lower surface of the guide rail 23 on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction to the discharge port 10a at the front end of the recording apparatus main body 2. Has been. Further, an upper cover body 30 is arranged above the partition plate (lower cover body) 29 so as to cover the carriage 5 and the reciprocating path of the carriage 5 appropriately. A rectangular window hole 31 is formed in the middle of the upper cover body 30 so that the reciprocating path of the carriage 5 can be seen from above (see FIG. 2). When the paper P causes a paper jam in the recording unit 7, the user can take out the paper P from the window hole 31 by rotating the image reading device 12 from the recording device main body 2. In this case, since the ink supply tube 20 is not drawn around the platen 26, the paper P can be easily removed.

  Next, the arrangement structure of the flexible ink supply pipe 20 that always connects each ink cartridge 19 accommodated in the ink storage unit 15 and the recording head 4 in the recording unit 7 will be described in detail.

  In the embodiment, each of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d is an independent tube body, and all the ink supply tubes 20b to 20d are used with the same length.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10 and the like, the root portions of the plurality (four in the embodiment) of the ink supply pipes 20 are bundled at one end portion 15 a of the ink storage portion 15 to be bonded to the upper surface of the lower cover body 29. And extending from the one side end (right end in FIGS. 3 and 10) in the direction of the other end (left end in FIGS. 3 and 10) along the Y-axis direction. At this time, the base portions of all the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d are arranged in a horizontal row along the upper surface of the substantially horizontal lower cover body 29. At least a part of the ink supply pipe 20 (such as an intermediate part) is supported on the upper surface of the lower cover body 29.

  All the ink supply tubes 20b to 20d have the same overall length. That is, the length from the one end portion 15 a of the ink storage unit 15 to the coupling portion (connection portion) 35 in the carriage 5 is all equal. The one end portion 15a is provided with four connecting shafts that protrude with the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d, and these are arranged side by side in a direction along the moving direction of the carriage 5. Accordingly, the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d are twisted in the horizontal direction from the vertical direction in the routing path of the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d from the intermediate fixing section (fixed body 33) described later to the one end portion 15a. The lengths of these ink supply pipes 20b to 20d are adjusted. In addition, a LAN cable or a USB cable (not shown) passes through the routing path of the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d from the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) to the one end part 15a, so that the height is reduced. In terms of meaning, the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d are twisted in the horizontal direction from the vertical direction in the routing path of the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d from the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) to the one end part 15a.

  Next, all the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d are twisted so that the middle part thereof is along one vertical surface (substantially vertical surface) of the horizontally long vertical partition plate 32 in the lower cover body 29, and this vertical partition plate 32. The middle portions of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are arranged in a row in the vertical direction (vertical direction) between the vertical plate-like fixing body 33 made of synthetic resin and facing one of the vertical surfaces. And fix (hold or pinch). A portion where all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are fixed (embraced) by the fixed body 33 and one vertical surface of the vertical partition plate 32 is an intermediate fixing portion described in the claims.

  The position of the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction, movement direction of the carriage 5) is such that the carriage 5 is at one end in the main scanning direction (for example, the intermediate fixing portion in FIGS. 5 and 10). At a position where the minimum bending radius of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d is maintained with respect to the coupling part (connection part) 35 of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d on the carriage 5. is there. Further, the position of the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) in the sub-scanning direction (X-axis direction, movement direction of the recording medium P) is determined by the carriage 5 at the other end (for example, FIG. 5). 10, even when the ink supply pipe 20a to the rightmost position from the intermediate fixing portion is moved, the ink supply pipes 20a to 20a are connected to the coupling portions (connection portions) 35 of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d on the carriage 5. This is the position that maintains the minimum bending radius of 20d. With this configuration, during the movement of the carriage 5, all the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d are connected in the middle part (intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) to the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d on the carriage (connections). A predetermined twisted curved portion can be formed in the non-constraint portion between part 35) and 35).

  The intermediate fixing portion is fixed (embraced) by arranging the middle portions of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d in a vertical line on a downward U-shaped or upward U-shaped fixing body (not shown), for example. (Holding or pinching) may be sufficient. In FIGS. 4 and 9, the paper conveyance downstream direction (arrow A direction) is opposite to the expression in FIGS.

  The carriage 5 is provided with a connecting piece 34 that extends substantially horizontally in the paper conveyance downstream direction (arrow A direction), and the leading ends of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are shown in FIGS. Are connected to a connecting portion (connecting portion) 35 provided at the left end in a substantially horizontal horizontal array. Then, between the position of the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) and the connecting portion (connecting portion) 35, the direction of the middle portion of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d is leftward substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 5. To the right direction, which is the opposite direction, and the phase of all the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d (arrangement) is changed from the substantially vertical direction on the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) side to the coupling portion (connection). Part) Twist so that it is different in the almost horizontal direction on the 35 side. In other words, the middle part of the four ink supply pipes 20a to 20d is curvedly arranged between the moving path of the carriage 5 and the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) so that the direction is changed by approximately 180 degrees in plan view. In the curved middle portion, the four ink supply tubes 20a to 20d extending toward the intermediate fixing portion and the four inks extending toward the coupling portion 35 of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d in the carriage 5 are arranged. The supply pipes 20a to 20d are routed so as to have a different phase from the arrangement direction.

  Accordingly, the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are extended from the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) to one direction side substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 5, and are substantially opposite to the one direction side through the curved middle part. It extends in the direction and is connected to a connecting portion (connecting portion) 35 provided on the connecting piece 34 of the carriage 5. With this configuration, during the movement of the carriage 5, the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d on the carriage are moved from the middle part (intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33)) of the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d in an unconstrained state. A predetermined twisted curved portion can be formed at the non-restraining portion between the connecting pieces 34.

  Of course, all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are separated from each other between the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) and the coupling portion (connecting portion) 35.

  In this way, intermediate fixing is performed in the middle part of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d (between the position of the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) and the coupling part (connecting part) 35, a non-binding or non-constrained region). The direction extending to the portion (fixed body 33) side and the direction extending to the coupling portion 35 side of the carriage 5 are curved (reversed) so as to differ by approximately 180 degrees, and the intermediate fixed portion (fixed body) 33) When the arrangement direction of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d extending to the side and the arrangement direction of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d extending to the coupling portion 35 side in the carriage 5 are twisted so as to be different from each other, the respective ink supply pipes 20a are arranged. Although all of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are easily bent, they are easily bent. In particular, when the arrangement of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d on the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) side is the vertical direction (vertical direction) and the arrangement on the coupling portion 35 side is the horizontal direction, The arrangement of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d is less likely to be disturbed (disturbed) in the vertical direction in the middle of the curve, and the posture of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d during movement is stabilized.

  As a result, the spatial height of the region (movable region, non-binding or non-binding region) through which the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d pass when the carriage 5 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction) can be reduced. The height of the recording apparatus main body 2 can be made compact. Further, if the arrangement of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d on the coupling part 35 side is horizontal, interference with other parts densely arranged on the carriage 5 side is reduced, and the height dimension at the carriage 5 part is reduced. Can do. If the arrangement of the ink supply tubes 20 is set to the vertical direction at the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33), the size of the recording apparatus main body 2 in the depth direction (Y-axis direction) can be shortened to be compact, and all the ink supplies can be supplied. The length of the tube 20 can be made substantially equal. Furthermore, even if all the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d are independent from each other, the posture during movement is stabilized, so that a separate tube bundling device is not required, and assemblability is improved, which contributes to cost reduction. The phase difference angle is preferably about 30 to 120 degrees.

  Therefore, the term “between the movement path of the carriage 5 and the intermediate fixed portion” in the claims means that the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d pass when the carriage 5 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). These ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are non-bundled or unconstrained areas, and the posture of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d is restricted (fixed) by the end portion of the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d being coupled to the carriage 5, for example. ) Refers to the part that is not. In other words, it refers to a portion that is not fixed to the component that reciprocates integrally with the carriage 5 and that is not fixed to the intermediate fixing portion. Accordingly, as the carriage 5 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction), the positions of the curved middle portions of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d are the lengths of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d themselves from the coupling portion 35. It changes with direction.

  More specifically, the ink supply tube 20a for supplying black (BK) ink has an inner diameter of 1.6 mm and an outer diameter of 2.4 mm. The ink supply tube 20b for supplying cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) The three ink supply tubes, the ink supply tube 20c for supplying ink and the ink supply tube 20d for supplying yellow (Y) ink, have an inner diameter of 1.2 mm and an outer diameter of 2.0 mm. Accordingly, the bending rigidity (second moment of section) with respect to the axis of the ink supply pipe 20a is 1.91 times the bending rigidity of the ink supply pipes 20b to 20d for color ink such as cyan. In the embodiment, the reason why the inner diameter of the ink supply tube 20a for black (BK) ink is increased as compared with the case of other color inks is that the recording speed is higher than that of color recording in the case of monochrome recording. This is because the number of nozzles for black (BK) ink is larger than the number of nozzles for other color inks (substantially doubles the nozzle row), so that the amount of ink supplied per unit time is increased.

  An ink supply tube 20a for black (BK) ink is disposed at the most upstream side of the sheet conveyance in the end portion 15a of the ink storage unit 15, and then an ink supply for cyan (C) ink is provided downstream thereof. A tube 20b, an ink supply tube 20c for magenta (M) ink, and an ink supply tube 20d for yellow (Y) ink are arranged in order. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11, 13, and 15, the ink supply tubes 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are arranged in order from the top in the vertical direction at the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33). Conversely, in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 14, the ink supply tubes 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, and 20 d are arranged in order from the bottom in the vertical direction at the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33). Therefore, in any case, the curvature radius R of the ink supply tube 20a for black (BK) ink is the largest in the curved middle portion, and the ink supply tube 20b for cyan (C) ink and magenta (M) ink. The radius of curvature decreases in the order of the ink supply tube 20c for ink and the ink supply tube 20d for yellow (Y) ink.

  As described above, the radius of curvature R of the ink supply pipe 20a for black (BK) ink having a large bending rigidity is made larger than those of the other ink supply pipes 20b to 20d having a small bending rigidity, so that the ink for black (BK) ink with respect to bending is used. The burden due to the curved deformation of the ink supply pipe 20a can be reduced, and the durability of all the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d can be made substantially uniform.

  As shown in FIG. 13, among the four ink supply tubes 20 arranged in the substantially vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion by the fixing body 33, the ink supply tube 20a for black (BK) ink having the highest bending rigidity. Is disposed above the horizontal height position H1 (the height position of the coupling portion 35 of the carriage portion) passing through (linking) the center lines of all the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d at the position of the coupling portion 35. The ink supply tube 20b for cyan (C) ink adjacent to the lower side of the ink supply tube 20b is positioned almost at the same height as the horizontal height position H1, and the other two ink supply tubes 20c and 20d having small bending rigidity are provided. If the arrangement height position is deviated below the horizontal height position H1 (the coupling portion 35), the ink supply pipe 20a having high bending rigidity is routed downward toward the coupling portion 35. When The downward acting force and the upward acting force when the two ink supply pipes 20c and 20d having small bending rigidity are drawn upward toward the coupling portion 35 are balanced, and the carriage 5 is guided. The rails 22 and 23 can be slid easily without excessive force acting.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 14, in the intermediate fixing portion by the fixing body 33, the arrangement height position of the ink supply pipe 20 a for black (BK) ink having the highest bending rigidity is all at the position of the coupling portion 35. For the cyan (C) ink which is biased below the horizontal height position H1 (height position of the coupling portion 35 of the carriage portion) passing through (connecting) the center lines of the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d. The ink supply pipe 20b has a height position substantially equal to the horizontal height position H1, and the arrangement height positions of the other two ink supply pipes 20c and 20d having small bending rigidity are the horizontal height position H1 (coupled). If the ink supply pipe 20a having a high bending rigidity is drawn upward toward the coupling part 35, and an bending force 2 having a small bending rigidity is disposed. Book ink Supply tube 20c, 20d are is to balance the downward force acting when routed downward toward the coupling portion 35.

  As shown in FIG. 15, in the intermediate fixing portion by the fixing body 33, the arrangement height positions of all the ink supply tubes 20 a to 20 d are the centers of all the ink supply tubes 20 a to 20 d at the position of the coupling portion 35. If the position is set so as to be higher than the horizontal height position H1 passing (connecting) the line, an acting force is exerted so that all of these ink supply pipes 20a to 20d are drawn downward toward the coupling portion 35. When the carriage 5 is mounted on the upstream and downstream guide rails 22 and 23 from above, the carriage 5 is lifted from the guide rails 22 and 23 by the downward acting force. Can be reliably prevented, and stable reciprocation in the main scanning direction (Y direction) can be stabilized.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, even when the lengths of all the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d are set to be equal, as the carriage 5 moves in the main scanning direction, the middle portion of the curve of each ink supply tube (movable region) In the non-bundled or unconstrained region), they can be bent independently of each other (a plurality of ink supply pipes are relatively shifted), and the assembly of the ink supply pipes is improved.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, it is desirable to insert the elastic communication body 36 between the end portions of the ink supply tubes 20 a to 20 d and the coupling portions 35 of the carriage 5. For example, the coupling portion 35 shown in FIG. 16A has an end portion of each ink supply tube 20a to 20d with respect to each cylindrical projection portion 37 formed integrally with the coupling piece 34 made of hard synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 16 (b), between the protrusions 37 and the ink supply pipes 20a to 20d, a highly flexible elastic material such as a soft synthetic resin or rubber is used. By inserting the communication body 36, the torque due to the bending external force due to the bending of the middle part of each of the ink supply pipes 20 a to 20 d is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastic communication body 36, and the moment that rotates the carriage 5 is reduced. As a result, when the carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction, the twisting of the guide rails 22 and 23 is reduced or eliminated, and the recording accuracy can be improved. In addition, the degree of freedom with which the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d are drawn out (connected) in a non-parallel manner with the axis of each projection 37 is increased, and the assembly of the image recording apparatus 1 is also improved.

  It should be noted that four or more ink supply pipes 20 are used when 6 to 8 color inks are used to improve the image quality of color recording, or when a brightening agent for finishing the surface of the paper P is discharged onto the paper P. When these are used, the plurality of ink supply pipes 20 are divided into two groups every appropriate number, and the ink supply pipes 20 of the separated groups are reciprocated with respect to the carriage 5 in the direction of the convex side of the curved middle portion. You may comprise so that it may arrange | position toward the movement reversal side of a moving direction. In this way, the number of ink supply pipes 20 that are bent in the same direction can be reduced, the height of the use space for passing the ink supply pipe 20 can be reduced, and the bending directions can be reversed. Thus, the moment for rotating the carriage 5 can be reduced.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the movable region of the ink supply pipe 20 is not located between the middle part of all the ink supply pipes 20 (from the position of the intermediate fixing part (fixed body 33) to the coupling part (connection part) 35. In the binding or non-restraining region), the direction extending toward the intermediate fixing portion (fixed body 33) and the direction extending toward the coupling portion 35 in the carriage 5 are curved (reversed) so as to differ by approximately 180 degrees, and all The arrangement position of the coupling portion 35 in the carriage 5 of the ink supply tube 20 is more than the center line O1 of the width dimension in the reciprocating movement direction (Y-axis direction) of the carriage 5 and the convex direction of the curved middle portion of the ink supply tube 20. If it is set so as to be biased to the opposite side, it is curved from the side surface 5a of the carriage 5 at the moving end in the direction in which the carriage 5 approaches the curved middle portion (Y2 direction in FIG. 12). Horizontal distance to the protruding end parts Y3 can be shortened (see Figure 12). Therefore, the required space in the Y-axis direction for moving the ink supply tube 20 when the carriage 5 reciprocates in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction) can be shortened, and the width of the recording apparatus main body 2 can be made compact. There is an effect.

  In this embodiment, the flexible flat cable 40 for transmitting a command signal for selectively ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles of the recording head 4 mounted on the carriage 5 from a control unit (not shown) provided on the recording apparatus main body 2 side. The direction in which the ink supply tube 20 extends to the region (movable region, non-binding or non-binding region) through which the ink supply tubes 20a to 20d pass when the carriage 5 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). They are arranged substantially in parallel (see FIGS. 3, 4, 9, 9, 10, 11, and 12).

  The convex curve directions of the midway curve portion of the ink supply tube 20 and the midway curve portion of the flexible flat cable 40 are set to be opposite to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 5. In other words, the direction in which the ink supply tube 20 extends with respect to the coupling portion 35 of the carriage 5 and the direction in which the flexible flat cable 40 extends with respect to the carriage 5 are set to be separated from each other. In addition, the middle part of the flexible flat cable 40 is curved so as to be turned upside down in the space between the upper and lower cover bodies 30 and 29.

  With this configuration, the ink supply tube 20 and the flexible flat cable 40 can be arranged at substantially the same height (substantially in the same horizontal plane) in the vertical direction, and as a result, the entire image recording apparatus 1 can be thinned.

  The wide surface of the flexible flat cable 40 is arranged in parallel with the upper surface of the lower cover body 29. An intermediate portion 40a of the flexible flat cable 40 is fixed to the lower cover body 29 at a substantially central portion of the movement range in the Y-axis direction, and a base end portion (not shown) is a main substrate (see FIG. On the other hand, the distal end portion 40 b of the flexible flat cable 40 is bent at 90 degrees with respect to the midway portion, and the lid of the carriage 5 is located near (above) the coupling portion of the ink supply pipe 20. A cover body (recording head cover) 41 is configured to be connected to a control board (not shown) of the recording head 4 provided on the lower surface side (see FIG. 11). Further, the bent portion 40 c in the vicinity of the distal end portion 40 b is sandwiched and fixed by a clip 42 provided on the connecting piece 34 of the carriage 5. And as shown in FIG.18 and FIG.19, the cross section of the opening piece 41a (insertion side of the flexible flat cable 40) extended in a bowl shape above the lid cover body 41 is formed in a downward U-shape, And the opening width is formed substantially equal to the width dimension of the flexible flat cable 40. If comprised in this way, the mounting | wearing attitude | position of the front-end | tip part 40b of the flexible flat cable 40 will be hold | maintained more reliably, the fixing operation | work of the flexible flat cable 40 will become easy, and the assembly property of an apparatus will also improve.

  Further, at least one, preferably both sides, of the connecting piece 34 on which the flexible flat cable 40 is placed is provided with a protrusion 39 for regulating the position of the distal end portion 40b of the flexible flat cable 40 (or preventing lateral vibration). It has been. Thereby, there is no position shift of the flexible flat cable 40 attached to the carriage 5, and it is possible to prevent the flexible flat cable 40 from being detached or the insertion point from being loosened by the reciprocating movement of the carriage 5.

  Further, a first guide groove 43 that is long in the Y-axis direction and open downward is integrally formed on the upper cover body 30 that covers the space above the movable area of the ink supply pipe 20 and the flexible flat cable 40. ing. The width dimension W1 of the first guide groove 43 in the X-axis direction is set to be slightly wider than the width dimension W2 of the flexible flat cable 40 (see FIGS. 7, 8, 11, and 17). The upper half of the flexible flat cable 40 can slide in a state of being fitted in the first guide groove 43 formed in the upper cover body 30 as the carriage 5 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction. Is arranged. Therefore, the moving flexible flat cable 40 does not wobble in the width direction. Further, the first guide groove 43 protrudes upward with respect to the entire upper surface of the upper cover body 30 and the other portions are at low positions, so no useless space is formed in the height direction of the recording apparatus main body 2. Can be made compact.

  Further, the guide shaft 44 of the image scanner device 17 in the image reading device 12 is arranged so as to be adjacent along the outside of the side plate 43a (the side of the upward protrusion corresponding to the guide groove) extending below the first guide groove 43. It arrange | positions so that it may extend in a Y-axis direction. Further, an upwardly open second guide groove 45 is formed in the bottom wall 11 of the image reading device 12 so as to be adjacent to the downwardly open first guide 43, and the second guide groove 45 has a longitudinal direction in the second guide groove 45. A flexible flat cable 46 for signal transmission to the image scanner device 17 is disposed along the line (see FIGS. 1, 7, 8, and 17). With these configurations, the movable areas of the image scanner device 17 and the flexible flat cables 40 and 46 that move in the Y-axis direction are completely partitioned by the upper cover body 30, so that their movements are not interfered with each other and are almost at the same height position. The arrangement height of the image reading device 2 can be lowered.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the multi-function device. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to an image recording apparatus including an ink jet recording head.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink storage unit 15 has been described with the configuration in which the ink cartridges 19a to 19d containing the four colors of ink (BK, C, M, Y) are stored. The storage unit 15 itself may be configured to directly store ink. In this case, the ink may be directly replenished to the ink storage unit 15.

1 is a side sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus main body. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the recording apparatus main body with an upper cover body removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the recording apparatus main body with an upper cover body removed. It is a top view of a carriage and a pair of guide rails. It is a perspective view of a carriage and a pair of guide rails. FIG. 7 is an enlarged side sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is an enlarged side sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 3. It is a perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning state of the ink supply pipe | tube with respect to a carriage, and a flexible flat cable. It is a top view which shows the arrangement state of the ink supply pipe | tube with respect to a carriage, and a flexible flat cable. It is a perspective view which shows the connection part of the ink supply pipe | tube with respect to a carriage, and a flexible flat cable. It is explanatory drawing which shows the drawing-out state of an ink supply pipe with a plane. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning phase state of the ink supply pipe | tube of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of other embodiment which shows the arrangement | positioning phase state of an ink supply pipe | tube. It is explanatory drawing of other embodiment which shows the arrangement | positioning phase state of an ink supply pipe | tube. FIG. 16A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the end portion of the ink supply pipe and the carriage, and FIG. 16B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part showing another embodiment of the end part of the ink supply pipe. It is the perspective view seen from the lower part which shows the guide part of a flexible flat cable. It is a partially expanded perspective view of the fixing | fixed part of the flexible flat cable with respect to a carriage. It is a partial enlarged plan view of the fixing part of the flexible flat cable with respect to the carriage.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording apparatus 2 Recording apparatus main body 3 Paper feed cassette 4 Recording head 5 Carriage 7 Recording part 10 Paper discharge part 12 Image reading apparatus 15 Ink storage part 17 Image scanner apparatus 19 (19a-19d) Ink cartridge 20 (20a-20d) Ink supply pipe 22 Upstream guide rail 23 Downstream guide rail 29 Lower cover body (lower partition plate)
30 Upper cover body 32 Vertical partition plate 33 Fixed body (intermediate fixed part)
35 coupling portion 36 elastic communication body 37 projection portion 40 flexible flat cable 41 lid cover body 42 clip 43 guide groove 44 guide shaft

Claims (22)

A recording head mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined direction within the recording apparatus main body and capable of recording an image on a recording medium by selectively ejecting ink droplets, and ink left stationary on the recording apparatus main body In an image recording apparatus comprising a plurality of flexible ink supply tubes for supplying ink from a storage unit to the recording head,
The plurality of ink supply pipes are fixed to an intermediate fixing portion provided between the ink storage portion and the carriage in the recording apparatus main body, and between the intermediate fixing portion and the carriage, A plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged independently of each other,
A middle portion of the plurality of ink supply pipes is curvedly arranged between the carriage movement path and the intermediate fixing portion,
An arrangement direction of the plurality of ink supply tubes extending toward the intermediate fixing portion in the curved middle portion, and an arrangement direction of the plurality of ink supply tubes extending toward the coupling portion side of the ink supply tubes in the carriage portion An image recording apparatus characterized by being configured to have different phases.   The ink supply pipe extends from the intermediate fixing portion to one direction substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and extends in a direction almost opposite to the one direction through a curved halfway portion, and is connected to the connecting piece of the carriage. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus is an image recording apparatus.   The position of the intermediate fixing portion along the moving direction of the carriage is such that when the carriage moves to one end in the moving direction, the ink supply tube is connected to the coupling portion of the ink supply tube on the carriage. The position of the intermediate fixed portion along the moving direction of the recording medium is the position on the carriage even when the carriage moves to the other end in the moving direction. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply pipe has a minimum bending radius with respect to the joint portion of the ink supply pipe.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the phase difference is not less than 30 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. In the intermediate fixing portion, a plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged along a substantially vertical direction,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink supply pipes in the coupling portion of the carriage portion are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction.   6. The image according to claim 1, wherein the curvature radius of the curved middle portion of the ink supply tube having the greatest bending rigidity among the plurality of ink supply tubes is arranged to be the largest. Recording device.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein in the intermediate fixing portion, the ink supply pipe having the largest bending rigidity is arranged at either the lowest position or the highest position. Among the plurality of ink supply pipes arranged in a substantially vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion, the arrangement height position of the ink supply pipe having the greatest bending rigidity is the center of the plurality of ink supply pipes at the coupling portion position. Biased above or below the horizontal height position through the line,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the arrangement height positions of the other plurality of ink supply pipes are biased downward or upward from a position equal to the height position of the coupling portion.   All the arrangement height positions of the plurality of ink supply pipes arranged in the substantially vertical direction in the intermediate fixing portion are biased above or below the height position of the coupling portion of the carriage portion. The image recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:   The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the ink supply pipe is composed of four, and only one ink supply pipe is formed to have high bending rigidity.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of ink supply pipes have the same length.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an elastic communication member is interposed between an end portion of each ink supply tube and each corresponding coupling portion of the carriage.   The plurality of ink supply pipes are divided into two groups as appropriate, and the ink supply pipes of the separated groups are arranged so that the convex side of the curved halfway portion is on the movement reversal side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus is disposed so as to face.   The arrangement position of the coupling portion with respect to the carriage of the plurality of ink supply pipes is biased to the opposite side of the convex direction of the curved middle portion of the ink supply pipe from the center of the width dimension of the carriage in the reciprocating direction. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The flexible flat cable for transmitting a recording signal to the recording head is connected to the recording apparatus main body side and the carriage without being along the plurality of ink supply pipes. The image recording apparatus according to any one of 1 to 14.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the flexible flat cable is fixed by clamping means and a recording head cover disposed at a coupling portion of the ink supply pipe.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flexible flat cable is disposed in a movable region of an ink supply tube that accompanies the reciprocation of the carriage. In the recording apparatus main body, an upper cover body and a lower cover body that cover the upper and lower sides of the space of the movable region of the ink supply pipe are disposed,
In the space between the upper and lower cover bodies, the middle part of the flexible flat cable is curved so as to be flipped up and down,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 17, wherein an upper half portion of the flexible flat cable is configured to be slidable along a downward open guide groove formed in the upper cover body.   16. The convex curve directions of the mid-curve portion of the plurality of ink supply pipes and the mid-curve portion of the flexible flat cable are set to be opposite to each other with respect to the reciprocating direction of the carriage. The image recording apparatus according to any one of items 18 to 18.   Above the upper cover body, a guide shaft of the image reading device is disposed so as to be adjacent along the side of the upward protrusion corresponding to the downwardly open guide groove formed in the upper cover body. The image recording apparatus according to claim 18, wherein:   Above the upper cover body, an upwardly open second guide groove is formed in parallel with the downwardly open guide groove formed in the upper cover body, and the second guide groove extends along the longitudinal direction thereof. The image recording apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the flexible flat cable is arranged.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the upward protrusion and the second guide groove are formed on a bottom wall of the image reading apparatus.

Images