Patent ID: 7537322

Claim:
An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording apparatus body; a carriage being capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction in the recording apparatus body; a recording head mounted on the carriage and being capable of recording an image on a recording medium by selectively ejecting ink drops thereon; joint portions disposed on the carriage and having paths leading to the recording head; an ink storage disposed in the recording apparatus body separately from the recording head; a plurality of flexible ink supply tubes connected between the ink storage and the joint portions for supplying ink from the ink storage to the recording head; and an intermediate fixing portion provided in the recording apparatus body and fixing the plurality of ink supply tubes, wherein the plurality of ink supply tubes between the intermediate fixing portion and the joint portions are disposed independently and bent at midsections thereof, and a direction of arrangement of the plurality of ink supply tubes at the midsections thereof extending toward the intermediate fixing portion and a direction of arrangement of the plurality of ink supply tubes at the midsections thereof extending toward the joint portions are differentiated, and wherein the plurality of flexible ink supply tubes extend from the joint portions in a direction substantially parallel to the predetermined direction wherein the plurality of ink supply tubes are arranged substantially along a horizontal direction at the joint portions, and wherein the plurality of ink supply tubes are arranged substantially along a vertical direction at the intermediate fixing portion.