Image recording apparatus

There is provided an image recording apparatus including: a recording head; an ink storage section; a tube having one end thereof connected to the ink storage section; a channel member having an ink channel that communicates with the recording head formed therein; a joint connecting the other end of the tube and the ink channel in the channel member; a circuit board mounted on the recording head; and a cable electrically connected to the circuit board. The channel member, the cable, and the tube are disposed in this order from a lower side to an upper side in a vertical direction.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-050998, filed on Mar. 8, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus formed in a manner that a tube and a cable are connected to a recording head.

2. Description of the Related Art

There has been known an image recording apparatus in an ink jet method that records an image on a recording medium by jetting ink onto the recording medium based on an input signal. As for the ink jet method, there have been known a method of guiding ink to an actuator such as a piezoelectric element or an electrostrictive element provided in a recording head and jetting an ink droplet from a nozzle by bend of the actuator in accordance with an input signal, and a method of pressurizing and jetting an ink droplet by using local boiling of ink by a heat generating element.

A recording head in the ink jet method is mounted on, for example, a carriage to reciprocate in a constant direction across a recording medium such as a recording paper. A driving force is transmitted to the carriage from a drive source such as a motor, and the carriage is guided by a guide shaft and a guide rail to thereby reciprocate in the constant direction. In the above reciprocation of the carriage, ink droplets are selectively jetted onto the recording medium from the recording head and an image is recorded by the ink droplets that land on the recording medium.

Ink is supplied to the recording head from an ink cartridge or the like, and as a method of supplying ink in the above, a method to use a tube exists. The tube is a channel for making ink flow to the recording head from an ink cartridge provided at a position different from the recording head, and has sufficient flexibility in order to follow the reciprocation of the carriage.

Further, in the carriage, a control board controlling the operation of the recording head is provided. The above control board is operated based on a signal to be output from a main board provided in the image recording apparatus. The control board and the main board are connected by a flexible•flat•cable (FFC) to enable an electric signal to be transmitted/received therebetween. The above FFC also has sufficient flexibility in order to follow the reciprocation of the carriage.

There is sometimes a case that in the image recording apparatus, test printing is performed at the time of the image recording apparatus being manufactured or before shipment. In the test printing, ink is supplied to the recording head through the tube and a test pattern is practically printed on a recording paper. After the test printing, a dummy ink cartridge is installed in the image recording apparatus so that the ink does not leak from the tube after shipment.

The previously described dummy ink cartridge is hardly necessary to be used after an ink cartridge having ink stored therein is practically installed in the image recording apparatus and the image recording apparatus is started to be used. Thus, a user often discards the dummy ink cartridge after starting to use the image recording apparatus. Such a part to be discarded probably results in a waste of resources or an environmental impact, so that such a part is desirably reduced as much as possible. Further, even though the ink used for the test printing remains in the tube, when the user starts to use the image recording apparatus, there is a high possibility that the ink remaining in the tube already deteriorates. Thus, when the user starts to use the image recording apparatus, the ink remaining in the tube is discarded. In order to reduce the environmental impact, it is also desirable to reduce an amount of discarded ink as above as much as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide an image recording apparatus in which wastes such as a dummy ink cartridge and discarded ink to be an environmental impact can be reduced as much as possible and ink leakage from a tube can be reduced after test printing, and a test printing method in such an image recording apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording apparatus which jets droplets of an ink onto a recording medium, including:

a recording head having a plurality of nozzles through which the ink droplets are jetted;

an ink storage section which stores the ink;

a tube of which one end is connected to the ink storage section and through which the ink to be supplied to the recording head from the ink storage section flows;

a channel member in which an ink channel that communicates with the recording head is formed;

a joint which is detachably attached to the channel member which connects the other end of the tube and the ink channel of the channel member to flow the ink therebetween;

a circuit board which is mounted on the recording head; and

a cable which is extended from the carriage and electrically connected to the circuit board,

wherein the channel member, the cable, and the tube are disposed in an order of the channel member, the cable, and the tube from a lower side to an upper side in a vertical direction.

The ink is supplied to the recording head from the ink storage section through the tube and the channel member. The operation of the recording head is controlled by the circuit board. An electric signal is transmitted to/from the above circuit board through the cable. The ink droplets are selectively jetted from the recording head at a predetermined timing when the carriage reciprocates. The ink droplets land on the recording medium, and thereby an image is recorded on the recording medium.

In order to remove ink retained in the tube after test printing in the image recording apparatus, the tube is pulled out from the joint and the other end of the tube that is pulled out is held on an upper side in a vertical direction, and thereby the ink in the tube may be returned to the ink storage section due to a head difference between the ink storage section and the tube. The tube is disposed on an upper side of the cable, so that when the tube is detached from the joint from the upper side in the vertical direction, the cable is not required to be detached from the carriage.

Other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present teaching will be explained with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Incidentally, the embodiment to be explained below is merely one example where the present teaching is embodied, and it goes without saying that the embodiment can be changed as appropriate without changing the scope of the present teaching.

<Schematic Structure of a Multifunction Machine10>

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the multifunction machine10is integrally provided with a printer section11and a scanner section12, and has a print function, a scan function, a copy function, and a facsimile function. The printer section11corresponds to an image recording apparatus according to the present teaching. Incidentally, the functions other than that of the printer section11are arbitrary, and the image recording apparatus according to the present teaching may also be implemented as a single function printer without, for example, the scanner section12, which does not have the scan function and the copy function.

In the multifunction machine10, the printer section11is disposed on a lower side, and the scanner section12is disposed on an upper side. The printer section11is connected to an external information device such as a computer and records an image and a letter to a recording medium based on print data including image data and text data that are transmitted from the external information device. The scanner section12is what is called a flatbed scanner.

The multifunction machine10has a substantially wide and thin rectangular parallelepiped outer shape whose dimensions in a width direction101and a depth direction103are larger than that in a height direction102. The printer section11has an opening13provided in a front surface. A paper feeding tray20and a paper discharge tray21are provided inside the opening13. A recording paper housed in the paper feeding tray20is fed into the inside of the printer section11to have a desired image recorded thereon, and the recording paper on which the image is recorded is discharged to the paper discharge tray21.

An operation panel14is provided on a front upper portion of the multifunction machine10. On the operation panel14, predetermined inputs for making the printer section11and the scanner section12perform desired operations are performed. The operation panel14has a plurality of buttons for performing the inputs and a display for displaying a state, errors, and so on of the multifunction machine10thereon. Incidentally, in the case when the external information device is connected to the multifunction machine10, the multifunction machine10operates also based on instructions to be transmitted from the external information device through communication software such as a printer driver and a scanner driver.

As shown inFIG. 2, the paper feeding tray20is provided on the lowest side of the multifunction machine10. The paper discharge tray21is disposed to be superimposed over an upper side of the paper feeding tray20. The paper feeding tray20and the paper discharge tray21are connected by a paper transporting path23, and a recording medium such as the recording paper is transported to the paper discharge tray21from the paper feeding tray20through the paper transporting path23. The recording paper housed in the paper feeding tray20is guided to make a U-turn from a lower place to an upper place by the paper transporting path23and is transported to an image recording unit24, and an image is recorded on the recording paper by the image recording unit24and thereafter the recording paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray21.

The paper feeding tray20has a container shape of which upper side is opened, and in an inner space thereof, sheet-shaped recording media such as the recording papers are housed in a state of being stacked. In the paper feeding tray20, recording papers in various sizes that are not larger than an A3 size such as, for example, an A4 size, a B5 size, and a postcard size can be housed.

The paper discharge tray21has a tray shape, and the recording paper is discharged onto an upper surface of the paper discharge tray21. The paper discharge tray21is disposed at a front side of the apparatus (an apparatus-front side) than the front of the paper feeding tray20in the depth direction103. Thus, the paper discharge tray21is not provided above the paper feeding tray20at a rear side or a far side of the apparatus (an apparatus-rear side).

A paper feeding roller25is provided at the apparatus-rear side of the paper feeding tray20. The paper feeding roller25supplies the recording paper stacked in the paper feeding tray20to the paper transporting path23. The driving force is transmitted to the paper feeding roller25from a not-illustrated motor to rotate the paper feeding roller25. The paper feeding roller25is rotatably supported to a tip of a paper feeding arm26. The paper feeding arm26is formed to be able to pivot, and a paper feeding roller25side is set as a pivot tip side. In other words, the paper feeding arm26can pivot about an end portion of the paper feeding arm26that is opposite to the paper feeding roller25as a pivot shaft. By the pivot, the paper feeding roller25moves up and down in such a direction as to approach/go away from the paper feeding tray20. The paper feeding arm26is biased by a weight, a spring, or the like of the paper feeding roller25to pivot downward, and moves upward in accordance with an amount of the recording papers housed in the paper feeding tray20. Thereby, the paper feeding roller25comes into contact with the recording paper positioned uppermost in the paper feeding tray20. When the paper feeding roller25is rotated in such a state, the recording paper positioned uppermost is sent to the paper transporting path23by a frictional force between a roller surface of the paper feeding roller25and the recording paper.

The paper transporting path23extends upward from the paper feeding tray20at the apparatus-rear side and then curves toward the apparatus-front side and extends from the apparatus-rear side of the multifunction machine10to the apparatus-front side thereof along the depth direction103and leads to the paper discharge tray21through the image recording unit24. A portion, of the paper transporting path23, other than portions where the image recording unit24and the like are provided is demarcated by an outer guide surface and an inner guide surface that face each other at a predetermined interval. For example, the portion, of the paper transporting path23, curved at the apparatus-rear side is demarcated by an outer guide member18and an inner guide member19that are fixed to an apparatus frame or the like.

The image recording unit24is mainly formed in a manner that a recording head39mounted on a carriage38and a platen42are disposed to face each other at a predetermined interval. The detailed structure of the image recording unit24will be described later.

On an upstream side from the image recording unit24in a transporting direction. a pair of transporting roller60and pinch roller are provided. Incidentally, inFIG. 2, the pinch roller is hidden by another member and is not shown, but the pinch roller is disposed on a lower side of the transporting roller60in a pressure contact state. The driving force is transmitted to the transporting roller60from a not-illustrated motor to rotate the transporting roller60. The transporting roller60and the pinch roller sandwich the recording paper being transported through the paper transporting path23to transport it onto the platen42.

A pair of paper discharge roller62and spur arc provided on a downstream side from the image recording unit24in the transporting direction. Incidentally, inFIG. 2, the spur is hidden by another member and is not shown, but the spur is disposed on an upper side of the paper discharge roller62in a pressure contact state. The driving force is transmitted to the paper discharge roller62from a not-illustrated motor to rotate the paper discharge roller62. The paper discharge roller62and the spur sandwich the recorded recording paper to transport it to the paper discharge tray21.

<Schematic Structure of the Image Recording Unit24>

As shown inFIG. 2, the carriage38has the recording head39of the ink jet type mounted thereon. As shown inFIG. 3, respective color ink of cyan (C), •magenta (M), •yellow (Y)• and black (Bk) are supplied to the recording head39from ink cartridges disposed independently of the recording head39in the multifunction machine10through ink tubes41. While the carriage38is reciprocating, an image is recorded on the recording paper transported on the platen42by selectively jetting the respective color ink onto the recording paper from nozzles of the recording head39as fine ink droplets. Incidentally, inFIG. 3, the ink cartridges in which the color ink of plurality of colors is stored respectively are not illustrated, but the ink cartridges correspond to ink storage sections in the present teaching. Further, the ink tubes41correspond to tubes in the present teaching.

As shown inFIG. 3, a pair of guide rails43,44are provided to extend in an intersecting direction intersecting with the transporting direction of the recording paper (a left-right direction inFIG. 3, the width direction101). The pair of guide rails43,44are disposed at a predetermined distance on an upper side of the paper transporting path23in the transporting direction of the recording paper (in a direction from an upper side to a lower side inFIG. 3). The guide rails43,44are provided in a casing of the printer section11, and form a part of a frame supporting respective members forming the printer section11. The carriage38is placed to straddle the guide rails43,44, and can slide in an extending direction of the guide rails43,44(the left-right direction inFIG. 3, the width direction101). The width direction101corresponds to a first direction in the present teaching.

An edge portion45of the guide rail44on an upstream side in the transporting direction is bent upward substantially perpendicularly. The carriage38supported by the guide rails43,44slidably sandwiches the edge portion45with a sandwiching member equivalent to a roller. Thereby, the carriage38is positioned across the transporting direction of the recording paper (the direction from the upper side to the lower side inFIG. 3, the depth direction103), and becomes slidable in the intersecting direction intersecting with (perpendicular to, in this embodiment) the transporting direction of the recording paper. That is, the carriage38is slidably supported on the guide rails43,44, and reciprocates in the intersecting direction intersecting with the transporting direction of the recording paper based on the edge portion45of the guide rail44.

A belt drive mechanism46is provided on an upper surface of the guide rail44. The belt drive mechanism46has a drive pulley47and a driven pulley48that are provided in the vicinities of both ends of the paper transporting path23in the width direction101respectively and an endless annular timing belt49that is stretched between the drive pulley47and the driven pulley48and has teeth provided on an inner surface thereof. A driving force is input to a shaft of the drive pulley47from a not-illustrated motor. By rotation of the drive pulley47, the timing belt49moves around the drive pulley47and the driven pulley48.

The carriage38is coupled to the timing belt49on a bottom surface side of the carriage38, which is not shown inFIG. 3. When the timing belt49moves around the drive pulley47and the driven pulley48, the carriage38reciprocates on the guide rails43,44based on the edge portion45as a reference. The recording head39mounted on the carriage38also reciprocates in the width direction101of the paper transporting path23together with the carriage38.

On a lower side of the paper transporting path23, the platen42is provided to face the recording head39. The platen42is provided to overlap a center portion through which the recording paper passes within a range where the carriage38reciprocates. A width of the platen42is sufficiently wider than a maximum width of the recording paper usable in the printer section11. The recording paper is supported on an upper surface of the platen42so that a distance to the recording head39is maintained constantly. The ink droplets jetted from the recording head39land on the above recording paper.

The ink cartridges in which the color inks are stored respectively are installed in the cartridge installing section of the printer section11, which is not shown inFIG. 3. The four ink tubes41corresponding to the respective color inks are routed from the cartridge installing section to the carriages38. The ink tubes41routed to the carriages38supply the respective color inks to the recording head39mounted on the carriage38. The ink tubes41follow the reciprocation of the carriage38and postures thereof change.

As shown inFIG. 3, the ink tubes41and a FFC53are fixed to a clip36and each extend to the carriage38. The FFC53is one through which an electric signal is transmitted between a control board of the multifunction machine10and a head control board52(a circuit board) of the recording head39. Incidentally, the control board is disposed at the apparatus-front side at the front of the clip36, which is not shown in each of the drawings. The FFC53is a thin belt-shaped one in which a plurality of lead wires through which electric signals are transmitted are covered with a synthetic resin film such as a polyester film to be insulated.

The FFC53has sufficient flexibility in order to bend in accordance with the reciprocation of the carriage38. One end side of the FFC53fixed to the carriage38is electrically connected to the head control board52mounted in the carriage38. The other end side of the FFC53fixed to the clip36further extends to be electrically connected to the control board. A portion, of the FFC53, bent in a substantially U-shape is not fixed to any member. Thus, a posture of the FFC53changes in accordance with the reciprocation of the carriage38similarly to the ink tubes41.

As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the carriage38has a carriage body30holding the recording head39, a channel member50, a joint51, the head control board52, and the FFC53therein and a cover31covering the carriage body30from an upper side. The carriage body30has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an upper side opened. The cover31can be assembled to cover the opening of the carriage body30. The recording head39, the channel member50, the joint51, the head control board52, and the FFC53are housed in an inner space of the carriage body30. Incidentally, inFIG. 5, a state where the recording head39is housed in the inner space of the carriage body30is shown. Further, in the description of the present specification, the direction from “the upper side” to “the lower side” is defined so that a direction in which gravity is applied becomes downward.

In the carriage body30, the channel member50is disposed on an upper side of the recording head39. The channel member50has mainly a channel section55forming a channel and a tank section56storing the inks therein. The channel section55has a thin flat plate shape. In the channel section55, four lead-in ports57into which the respective color inks are led are aligned. The lead-in ports57are each formed in the channel section55to have an upper side thereof opened. Further, the respective lead-in ports57are arranged along the depth direction103perpendicular to the width direction101in which the carriage38reciprocates.

In the channel section55, four channels58are provided corresponding to the respective lead-in ports57. As shown by dotted lines inFIG. 7, the respective channels58extend from the respective lead-in ports57in the width direction101to be bent perpendicularly and extend toward the tank section56in the depth direction103. A portion of the respective channels58along the width direction101is referred to as a first portion71and a portion of the respective channels58along the depth direction103is referred to as a second portion72. The depth direction103corresponds to a second direction in the present teaching. On an upper side of the channels58, the FFC53extends in the depth direction103to overlap the second portion72mainly, and does not overlap most of the first portion71. The lead-in ports57to be connected to the joint51are formed in a region, of the first portion71, that does not overlap the FFC53. Thus, the FFC53and the joint51can be disposed so as not to overlap vertically.

The tank section56is partitioned into four chambers corresponding to the four channels58. The color inks can be independently stored in the chambers respectively. The inks can flow into the chambers from the channels58respectively. Further, the respective chambers of the tank section56are coupled to the recording head39so as to enable the respective color inks to flow, and the inks discharged from the respective chambers of the tank section56flow into the recording head39, which is not shown in each of the drawings.

The channel member50is assembled in the carriage body30so that the channel section55and the tank section56are arranged in the depth direction103. The channel section55is disposed on a guide rail43side that is the apparatus-front side, and the tank section56is disposed on a guide rail44side that is the apparatus-rear side.

In the carriage body30, the joint51is disposed on an upper side of the channel section55of the channel member50. The joint51has four openings (second connection portions) capable of connecting to the respective lead-in ports57of the channel member50formed in a lower surface of the joint51, which are not shown in each of the drawings. The four openings formed in the lower surface of the joint51are aligned, and the joint51is a long member in a direction in which the openings are aligned. The joint51is assembled in the channel member50in a state where a longitudinal direction of the joint51is along the depth direction103. On the channel member50, two pins65,66projecting upward are provided. The above pins65,66are inserted into the joint51, and thereby the joint51is positioned with respect to the channel member50. Incidentally, a handle51afor which a worker holds is provided on one end portion of the joint51in the longitudinal direction as described above. Thus, the worker can easily assemble the joint51in the channel member50by holding the handle51a. Incidentally, the position, of the joint51, where the handle51ais provided is not limited to the one end portion in the longitudinal direction, and it is possible to provide the handle51aat an arbitrary position as necessary.

As shown inFIG. 6, on an upper surface side of the joint51, connection portions59(first connection portions) to be connected to the respective ink tubes41are provided. The four connection portions59are aligned corresponding to the four ink tubes41. Each of the connection portions59has a cylindrical tube shape capable of being inserted into an inner space of each of the ink tubes41. The connection portions59are each disposed so that an axis direction of each of the cylindrical tube shapes is coincident with the width direction101. Further, the four connection portions59are aligned in the depth direction103. The ink tubes41are connected to the connection portions59respectively, and thereby it is designed in a manner that the inks can flow into the recording head39from the ink tubes41through the channel member50.

The joint51, in a state of being assembled in the channel member50, is stacked on an upper side of the first portion71of the channel section55in the channel member50, but is not stacked on an upper side of the second portion72. On the upper side of the second portion72of the channel section55, the FFC53is disposed as will be described later. In other words, the joint51is disposed at a position that is on the upper side of the channel member50and on which the FFC53is not disposed. The ink tubes41connected to the joint51each extend from the apparatus-front side in the carriage38in the depth direction103along the width direction101. The apparatus-front side in the carriage38in the depth direction103corresponds to one end side in the second direction intersecting with the first direction in the present teaching.

As shown inFIG. 6, the head control board52is disposed on an upper side of the tank section56of the channel member50in the carriage body30. The head control board52is a board controlling the operation of the recording head39and is electrically connected to the recording head39. The head control board52is such that various electronic elements are assembled on a printed circuit board, but explanations of a circuit configuration and the like of the head control board52are omitted here.

The head control board52is electrically connected to the previously described control board by the FFC53. The control board controls the operation of the multifunction machine10. The head control board52outputs an electric signal such as a drive signal in order to control the operation of the recording head39based on an electric signal output from the control board.

One end of the FFC53is electrically connected to an end portion of the head control board52on the apparatus-front side in the depth direction103. The FFC53is linearly extended on the upper side of the channel section55of the channel member50and is extended to the outside from the apparatus-front side in the carriage38in the depth direction103. At the apparatus-front side in the carriage38in the depth direction103, the FFC53is appropriately bent to be extended in the same direction as that of the ink tubes41, namely in the width direction101.

The FFC53extends on the upper side of the second portion72along the depth direction103on the upper side of the channel section55of the channel member50. Further, the FFC53is disposed on the upper side of the channel section55so that flat front and rear surfaces thereof become parallel to an upper surface of the channel section55. Further, as described previously, the joint51is not disposed on the upper side of the second portion72in the channel section55. In such a disposition, the FFC53is positioned lower than the connection portions59in the joint51in the height direction102. Thus, the FFC53is disposed on the upper side of the channel section55of the channel member50, and on an upper side of the FFC53, the ink tubes41connected to the connection portions59are disposed.

The multifunction machine10is manufactured in a factory and then test printing is performed. The test printing is an inspection for determining whether the printer section11has a print quality in a predetermined standard. A test printing method will be explained with reference toFIG. 8. When the test printing is performed, the multifunction machine10is prepared (SO) and respective color ink cartridges are installed in the printer section11. Respective color inks are supplied to the recording head39from the respective color ink cartridges through the ink tubes41and the channel member50(S1). The operation of the recording head39is controlled by the head control board52. An electric signal is transmitted to the head control board52from the control board through the FFC53. Ink droplets are selectively jetted onto a recording paper from the recording head39at a predetermined timing while the carriage38reciprocates (S2). The above ink droplets land on the recording paper, and thereby a test pattern is recorded on the recording paper.

After the test printing, the multifunction machine10determined to have a print quality in a predetermined standard is packed for shipment. When packing the multifunction machine10, the inks remaining in the ink tubes41are also detached. Further, the ink cartridges in which the inks remain are removed from the printer section11.

In order to remove the inks retained in the ink tubes41, each of the ink tubes41is pulled out from the joint51(S3), and one end of each of the ink tubes41that are pulled out, namely the end connected to the joint51is held above the ink cartridge in a vertical direction, and thereby the ink in the ink tube41is retuned to the ink cartridge due to a head difference between the ink cartridge and the ink tube41(S4). As described above, the handle51ais formed on the joint51, so that the worker can easily detach the ink tubes41from the joint51while holding the joint51.

As described previously, the ink tubes41are each disposed on the upper side of the FFC53in the carriage38. Therefore, when the cover31of the carriage38is removed and each of the ink tubes41is detached from the joint51from the upper side in the vertical direction, the FFC53connected to the head control board52is not required to be detached from the carriage body30.

After the inks in the ink tubes41are returned to the ink cartridges, the ink cartridges are removed from the printer section11. Further, the ink tubes41are connected to the joint51again (S5), and the cover31is assembled in the carriage body30.

As described above, the test printing method for the multifunction machine10may include the steps of: preparing the multifunction machine10of the present embodiment (S0); supplying the inks stored in the ink cartridges to the recording head39(S1); jetting the ink droplets onto the recording paper from the recording head39to perform a test printing on the recording paper (S2); opening one end of the ink tubes41by detaching the ink tubes41from the joint51or detaching the joint51from the channel member50(S3); holding the one end of the ink tubes41higher than the ink cartridges to return the ink in the ink tubes41to the ink cartridges (S4); and attaching the ink tubes41, the joint51, and the channel member50to communicate one another after the returning the ink in the ink tubes41to the ink cartridges.

In the carriage38, the channel member50, the FFC53, and the ink tubes41are disposed in the order of the channel member50, the cable, and the ink tubes41from a lower side to an upper side in the vertical direction, so that when the ink tubes41is detached from the joint51from the upper side in the vertical direction, the FFC53is not required to be detached from the carriage. This makes it easy to return the ink to the ink cartridges from the ink tubes41after the test printing. The ink supplied to the ink tubes41in the test printing is returned to the ink cartridges, so that the ink in the ink tubes41can be reused without being discarded, and ink leakage from the ink tubes41can be reduced after the test printing.

Incidentally, the work of removing the inks remaining in the ink tubes41as described above may be performed similarly also after test printing to be performed after the multifunction machine10is repaired. Incidentally, in the above-described test printing method, after the inks in the ink tubes41are returned to the ink cartridges, the ink cartridges are not necessarily removed from the printer section11, and the ink cartridges may also remain attached to the printer section11as they are. Further, in the above-described test printing method, instead of detaching the ink tubes41from the joint51, the joint51may also be detached from the channel member50in a state where the ink tubes41remain attached to the joint51. In these cases, the ink tubes41are detached from the channel member50and the end portions of the ink tubes41on a joint51side are opened.

According to the above described embodiment, in the carriage38, the channel member50, the FFC53, and the ink tubes41are disposed in the order of the channel member50, the FFC53, and the ink tubes41from the lower side to the upper side in the vertical direction, so that when the ink tubes41are detached from the joint51from the upper side in the vertical direction, the FFC53is not required to be detached from the carriage38. This makes it easy to make the inks remaining in the ink tubes41flow into the ink cartridges after the test printing, and as a result, at the time of being stocked or transportation, dummy ink cartridges are not required to be used and ink leakage from the ink tubes41can be reduced. However, in the present teaching, it is not always necessary that dummy ink cartridges are not used at the time of being stocked or transportation. It may also be designed in a manner that the inks in the ink tubes41are returned to the ink cartridges, and then the ink cartridges are removed from the printer section11and dummy ink cartridges are attached to the printer section11in order to prevent small amounts of the inks remaining in the ink tubes41from leaking.

Further, since the joint51and the FFC53are disposed at the different positions in a plane view shown inFIG. 6, in the carriage38, it is easy to attach/detach the ink tubes41to/from the joint51while the FFC53is being attached to the carriage38.

Further, since the ink tubes41and the FFC53are extended from the same end side of the carriage38in the depth direction103, the control board to be connected to the ink cartridges and the FFC53can be disposed at the same apparatus-front side. Further, since the channels55of the channel member50have the first portion71along the width direction101and the second portion72along the depth direction103, even when the channel member50and the FFC53are stacked in the vertical direction, it is easy to dispose the joint51and the FFC53at the different positions in a plane view shown inFIG. 6.

Further, since the four ink tubes41are arranged along the depth direction103to be connected to the joint51, an extra space is created in the vertical direction (height direction102) perpendicular to the width direction101and the depth direction103, and resulting that an apparatus height in the vicinity of the carriage38can be reduced.