Patent ID: 8186814

Claim:
A liquid injecting apparatus comprising: a carriage, which adheres liquid to a target by injecting liquid from a plurality of nozzles of a liquid injecting head while moving relative to said target; a liquid retainer, which is provided at a position apart from said carriage and which stores liquid to be supplied to said carriage; a flexible supply tube, which is located between said liquid retainer and said carriage, and which forms a liquid passage extending to the carriage from the liquid retainer; and a valve mechanism, mounted on said carriage and provided in a liquid passage extending to said liquid injecting head from said supply tube, wherein said liquid retainer is arranged above said valve mechanism by a predetermined height within a range over which said carriage moves, wherein the valve mechanism comprises: a pressure chamber connected to the liquid retainer via the supply tube; a valve, which selectively opens and closes the supply tube for supplying liquid to the pressure chamber; a drive body, which senses a negative pressure originated from a decrease in liquid in the pressure chamber in accordance with the consumption of the liquid by the liquid injecting head and which operates the valve; and a negative-pressure holding spring that abuts the drive body and urges the drive body in a direction to expand the volume of the pressure chamber.