Patent ID: 7063409

Claim:
An ink jet printer, comprising: a print head that forms an image onto a recording medium by ejecting an ink; an ink container that contains the ink supplied to the print head, the ink container being provided separately from the print head; a guide rail that guides the print head in a width direction of the recording medium; a print head moving device that reciprocates the print head along the guide rail; a tube member that protrudes from an opening located at a first side surface or a second side surface of the print head on an end side facing a moving direction thereof and connects the print head and the ink container over a full range of a print head moving area to supply the ink from the ink container to the print head, the tube member having elasticity; and a roller that feeds the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail, the roller being disposed near the guide rail, wherein the tube member is routed between said print head and the ink container within the print head moving area such that a bend is formed in the tube member which dynamically flexes as the print head reciprocates along the guide rail, a volume of a trajectory delineated by the dynamically flexing bend in the tube member is substantially contained within a volume of a trajectory delineated by the print head while the print head reciprocates, the roller and the guide rail are disposed along a plane substantially perpendicular to a direction that the tube member bends as the print head moves, the opening and the guide rail are disposed at approximately a same height, and a distance between the roller and the guide rail prevents the tube member from passing through the distance between the roller and the guide rail.