JP2010208295A - Multi-row type flexible tube and fluid jetting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-row flexible tube body that is easily bent in the thickness direction and difficult to bend in the width direction, and a fluid ejecting apparatus using the same.
A substantially band-shaped ink supply tube having a plurality of ink flow paths arranged side by side in the width direction and having a pair of wide surfaces along the direction arranged side by side. The thickness of the part where the ink flow paths 101a and 101d at both ends in the direction are provided is larger than the thickness of the part where the other ink flow paths 101b and 101c are provided, and each cross section of the ink flow path 101 is in the width direction In contrast, a configuration in which the thickness direction has a short shape is employed.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-row flexible tube body and a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  A tube body made of a flexible elastomer material is flexible and can be bent easily, and is resistant to vibration and bending, so it is widely used in the field of handling fluids such as gas and liquid. Yes. For example, in the field of ink jet type fluid ejecting apparatuses, the tube body is used to form a flow path connecting an ink cartridge fixed at a predetermined position and a recording head mounted on a carriage and movable. .

  Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a multi-row tube body that includes a plurality of mutually independent flow paths and is capable of individually distributing inks having different color tones. This tube body is manufactured by extruding a resin material using a mold having a core and a die having a predetermined shape.

JP 2007-203617 A

  By the way, this tube body is required to have low permeability to air, moisture, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as permeability) in order to prevent ink thickening in the course of flowing through the flow path. For this reason, conventionally, in order to adjust the permeability, the shape of the tube body is a substantially band shape having a uniform thickness corresponding to each flow path and a certain thickness.

However, the tube body having the above shape has a problem that it is difficult to bend in a direction orthogonal to the width direction when the tube body is connected to the recording head and deforms following the movement of the carriage. If the tube body becomes difficult to bend, a load is applied to the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, which may affect the smooth movement of the tube body.
Although there is a means for reducing the thickness of the tube body and making it easy to bend by reducing the rigidity, it is not possible to simply adopt this means because of the permeability. In addition, the characteristics that the flow paths at both ends in the width direction of the tube body are liable to be crushed due to the influence of the drooping of the tube body must be taken into consideration when adopting this means.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a multi-row flexible tube body that is easily bent in the thickness direction and difficult to bend in the width direction, and a fluid ejecting apparatus using the same. To do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has a plurality of flow paths arranged in parallel in a predetermined direction and a substantially strip-shaped multi-row type including a pair of wide surfaces along the arranged directions. A thickness of a portion of the flexible tube body where the flow paths at both ends in the predetermined direction are provided is larger than a thickness of a portion where the other flow paths are provided, and each cross section of the flow paths Adopts a configuration in which a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction is short with respect to the predetermined direction.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, the cross-section of each flow path is formed short in a direction (thickness direction) perpendicular to a predetermined direction (width direction), so the tube body is easily deformed in that direction. Become. Moreover, since the site | part (both ends) in which the flow path of this tube body is provided is thicker than the site | part (center part) in which another flow path is provided, rigidity improves and it becomes difficult to bend in the width direction.

Further, in the present invention, a configuration in which the shape of the cross section is a substantially elliptical shape is adopted.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, since the cross section of the flow path is formed in a substantially elliptical shape, it is easy to deform in the minor axis direction. For this reason, the tube body is easily deformed in the thickness direction.

Moreover, in this invention, the structure in which the site | part in which the said flow path of the predetermined direction both ends is provided has a cross-sectional view substantially circular shape expanded diameter rather than the site | part in which the said other flow path is provided.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, since both end portions are enlarged in a substantially circular shape, it is strong against bending in the width direction and suppresses sagging and vibration in that direction, thereby stabilizing the flow path. be able to.

Moreover, in this invention, the site | part in which the said other flow path is provided employ | adopts the structure that it has a substantially flat plate shape whose thickness is smaller than the said circular diameter.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, since the central part is thinner than the both end parts and is flat, the tube body is easily bent in the thickness direction.

Moreover, in this invention, it has the 2nd flow path through which the 2nd fluid from which a fluid characteristic differs from the fluid which distribute | circulates the said flow path, and the said 2nd flow path is provided with the flow path of the said predetermined direction both ends. A configuration is adopted in which it is provided on the outer side in the predetermined direction with respect to the portion to be provided.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, the second flow path through which the second fluid having different fluid characteristics flows is provided outside the both end portions, whereby both ends in the permeability relationship with the second fluid. It is possible to avoid the thickening effect of the flow path of the part.

In the present invention, a fluid ejecting head that ejects fluid and is movable in a predetermined direction, a fluid storage tank that stores the fluid, and the fluid flows between the fluid ejecting head and the fluid storage tank. A fluid ejecting apparatus having an end connected to the fluid ejecting head and a tube body that is movable following the fluid ejecting head, the tube body as described above A configuration in which a multi-row flexible tube body is provided is adopted.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, it is possible to stably supply a fluid to the fluid ejecting head.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ink supply tube in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the extrusion molding apparatus which manufactures the ink supply tube in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the metal mold | die with which the extrusion molding apparatus in embodiment of this invention is provided. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 5. It is a top view which shows typically the attachment state of the ink supply tube in embodiment of this invention. It is the arrow X figure in FIG. 7, and the line CC sectional drawing in the figure. It is sectional drawing of the ink supply tube in another embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size. In the present embodiment, as a fluid ejecting apparatus using a multi-row flexible tube according to the present invention, ink droplets are ejected (ejected) onto a recording paper (object) that is a recording medium, and the recording paper is ejected. An ink jet printer that performs recording (hereinafter referred to as an ink jet printer) will be exemplified.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 1 includes a recording unit 2 that performs recording on a recording sheet with ink, and a recording sheet conveyance mechanism 3 that conveys the recording sheet.
The recording unit 2 is disposed at a position facing the recording head 4 and the carriage 5, a recording head (fluid ejecting head) 4 that ejects ink, a carriage 5 that is movable while supporting the recording head 4, and ink is ejected. And a platen 6 that supports the recording paper to be recorded.

The inkjet printer 1 includes a carriage driving device 7 including a motor that moves the carriage 5 and a carriage guide member that guides the movement of the carriage 5.
The carriage 5 is moved in the main scanning direction (predetermined direction) by the carriage driving device 7 while being guided by the carriage guide member. The recording paper is moved in the sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction with respect to the recording unit 2 by the recording paper transport mechanism 3.

The ink jet printer 1 includes a paper feed cassette 9 that stores recording paper.
The paper feed cassette 9 is detachably provided on the back side of the main body of the inkjet printer 1. The paper feed cassette 9 is provided so as to accommodate a plurality of stacked recording papers.

  The recording paper transport mechanism 3 includes a paper feeding roller for carrying out the recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9, a paper feeding roller driving device 10 including a motor for driving the paper feeding roller, and recording for guiding the movement of the recording paper. A paper guide member 11, a transport roller disposed downstream in the transport direction with respect to the paper feed roller, a transport roller driving device that drives the transport roller, and a downstream of the recording unit 2 in the transport direction And a discharge roller.

  The paper feed roller is configured to pick up the recording paper arranged on the uppermost side among the plurality of recording papers stacked in the paper feed cassette 9 and to carry it out of the paper feed cassette 9. The recording paper in the paper feeding cassette 9 is fed to the conveying roller by the paper feeding roller driven by the paper feeding roller driving device 10 while being guided by the recording paper guide member 11. The recording paper sent to the transport roller is transported to the recording unit 2 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction by the transport roller driven by the transport roller driving device.

  The platen 6 of the recording unit 2 is disposed at a position facing the recording head 4 and the carriage 5 and supports the lower surface of the recording paper. The recording head 4 and the carriage 5 are disposed above the platen 6. The recording paper transport mechanism 3 transports the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction in conjunction with the recording operation by the recording unit 2. The recording paper recorded by the recording unit 2 is discharged from the front side of the inkjet printer 1 by a recording paper transport mechanism 3 including a discharge roller.

The ink jet printer 1 includes an ink cartridge (fluid storage tank) (not shown) that is fixed at a predetermined position in the apparatus, and an ink supply tube (multi-row) that conveys ink of the ink cartridge toward the recording head 4 of the carriage 5. Mold flexible tube body) 12 (described later). The ink in the ink cartridge is supplied to the ink supply path via the ink supply needle, and is supplied from the ink supply path to the recording head 4 of the carriage 5 via the ink supply tube 12.
The ink jet printer 1 also includes a maintenance device 13 that can maintain the recording head 4.

The maintenance device 13 includes a capping device 14 and a wiping device 15. The wiping device 15 includes a wiping member 44 that can face the recording head 4. The wiping device 15 can wipe or remove foreign matter adhering to the ejection surface of the recording head 4, such as residual ink, using the wiping member 44.
The maintenance device 13 is disposed at the home position of the carriage 5 and the recording head 4. The home position is set in an end area outside the recording area in which the recording operation by the recording unit 2 is executed, within the movement area of the carriage 5.
When the power is turned off or when the recording operation is not performed for a long time, the carriage 5 and the recording head 4 are arranged at the home position.

Next, the configuration of the ink supply tube 12 included in the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the ink supply tube 12 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an extrusion molding apparatus 200 that manufactures the ink supply tube 12 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a mold 210 provided in the extrusion molding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing an attached state of the ink supply tube 12 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply tube 12 is a multi-tube (multi-row tube) having a plurality (four in this embodiment) of ink flow paths (flow paths) 101 that are independent from each other along the longitudinal direction. . The plurality of ink flow paths 101a to 101d are arranged in parallel in a predetermined direction (width direction) at a predetermined interval. The ink supply tube 12 uses these ink flow paths 101, and inks (for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K) having different color tones from the ink cartridge toward the recording head 4. )) In a batch.

The ink supply tube 12 has a substantially band shape including a pair of wide surfaces 102 along the parallel direction of the ink flow paths 101. The ink supply tube 12 can be easily bent in a direction intersecting the wide surface 102 rather than bending along the wide surface 102.
The ink supply tube 12 is formed of a synthetic resin made of a flexible elastomer material that is resistant to vibration and bending. The ink supply tube 12 is made of, for example, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), styrene-based TPE, polyamide-based TPE, urethane-based TPE, or the like. The ink supply tube 12 is made of the above material and has a certain degree of permeability to air, moisture, and the like.

  In the ink supply tube 12 of the present embodiment, the thickness W1 of the portion (both ends 12A) where the ink flow paths 101 (101a, 101d) at both ends in the width direction are provided, and the other ink flow paths 101 (101b, 101c) are present. It has a shape larger than the thickness W2 of the site | part (center part 12B) provided. Each cross section of the ink channel 101 has the same shape and a substantially elliptical shape. This substantially elliptical cross section has a shape in which the minor axis is along the thickness direction and the major axis is along the width direction.

Both end portions 12A have a substantially circular shape in cross-sectional view with a diameter larger than the thickness W2 of the central portion 12B, and extend over substantially the entire longitudinal direction along each of the ink flow paths 101a and 101d. Both end portions 12A are formed so that their circular center positions substantially coincide with the center positions of the ink flow paths 101a and 101d, respectively.
The central portion 12B has a substantially flat plate shape whose thickness is smaller than the diameter of the circular cross section of the both end portions 12A, and extends substantially along the entire length in the longitudinal direction along the ink flow channel 101b and the ink flow channel 101c. . The central portion 12B is formed such that the center position of the thickness W2 substantially coincides with the center positions of the ink flow paths 101b and 101c.

Here, the distance between the side wall surface of the ink flow path 101a or the ink flow path 101d and the corresponding outside air contact surface 12A1 of both end portions 12A is defined as a distance L1. The distance between the side wall surface of the ink channel 101b or the ink channel 101c and the wide surface 102 that is the outside air contact surface of the central portion 12B is defined as a distance L2.
The relationship between the distances L1 and L2 is L1> L2.

  The ink supply tube 12 having the above configuration is manufactured using, for example, an extrusion molding apparatus 200 shown in FIG. The extrusion molding apparatus 200 includes an extrusion molding die 210 shown in FIG. The mold 210 includes a core plate 211 having a core 211a that defines the inner shape (ink channel 101) of the ink supply tube 12, a die plate 212 that surrounds the periphery of the core 211a to form a resin channel, and ink. A lip plate 213 that defines the outer shape of the supply tube 12 is combined.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the resin flow channel 211b is formed in the core plate 211 so that the base end part of the core 211a may be enclosed. The core plate 211 is formed with a vent hole 211a1 that penetrates to the tip of the core 211a. As shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the core 211a is branched into four, and a vent hole 211a1 is formed in each of them. The outer shape of the distal end portion of the core 211 a of the present embodiment is substantially elliptical corresponding to the shape of the ink flow path 101. The lip plate 213 has an opening 213 a that opens in a shape that follows the outer shape of the ink supply tube 12. When the mold is clamped, the leading end of the core 211a passes through the opening 213a and protrudes outward by a predetermined length.

  The extrusion apparatus 200 supplies a resin material to the mold 210 via the hopper 220 shown in FIG. 3, and adjusts the size of the molded product extruded through the opening 213 a of the mold 210 with the sizing plate 230. Then, the molded product whose size is adjusted by the sizing plate 230 is cooled by the cooling device 240, and the molded product cooled and taken by the take-up machine 250 is cut into a predetermined length by the cutting machine 260, whereby the ink supply tube 12 is cut. To manufacture.

The ink supply tube 12 is attached to the inkjet printer 1 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the drawing, one end of the ink supply tube 12 is connected to an ink cartridge fixed at a predetermined position in the inkjet printer 1 via a connector 130A. On the other hand, the other end (end) of the ink supply tube 12 is connected to the recording head 4 mounted on the carriage 5 that is movable in the main scanning direction via a connector 130B.

  The ink supply tube 12 extends along the main scanning direction from a position where the connector 130A is fixed, and is folded back to have a predetermined diameter and connected to the recording head 4. The ink supply tube 12 is attached so that the wide surface 102 a side is outside the folded portion (bent portion) 120 and the wide surface 102 b side is inside the folded portion 120.

Next, the operation of the ink supply tube 12 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. Fig.8 (a) shows the arrow X figure in FIG. 7, FIG.8 (b) shows the line CC sectional drawing of Fig.8 (a).
As shown in the figure, the ink supply tube 12 forms a flow path connecting the ink cartridge and the recording head 4. When the recording head 4 moves, the other end of the ink supply tube 12 moves following the movement of the recording head 4 in the main scanning direction. The ink supply tube 12 repeats bending and extending following the movement of the carriage 5 in the main scanning direction.

  The ink supply tube 12 of the present embodiment is easy to bend in the thickness direction and difficult to bend in the width direction. Therefore, the load applied to the carriage 5 on which the recording head 4 is mounted can be reduced, and its smooth movement is possible. It becomes. In other words, each cross section of each ink flow path 101 has a substantially elliptical shape with a short diameter along the thickness direction and a long diameter along the width direction. . For this reason, it is easier to deform in the thickness direction at the folded portion 120 than the conventional tube body having a circular cross section (see FIG. 8B), and as a result, the ink supply tube 12 can be easily bent in the thickness direction. become. Further, since the central portion 12B has a substantially flat plate shape whose thickness is smaller than the circular diameter of both end portions 12A, the ink supply tube 12 can be easily bent in the thickness direction.

  On the other hand, the ink supply tube 12 has a shape in which the thickness of both end portions 12A where the ink flow paths 101a and 101d at both ends in the width direction are provided is larger than the thickness of the central portion 12B where the other ink flow paths 101b and 101c are provided. Have. Furthermore, since both end portions 12A are enlarged in a substantially circular shape, the moment of inertia of the cross section is improved and the bending is enhanced in the width direction along the wide surface 102, and drooping in the gravitational direction (FIG. 8A). 2), vibration, and the like can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to stabilize the ink flow paths 101a and 101d that are easily crushed under the influence of them.

In addition, the ink supply tube 12 of the present embodiment has an effect of suppressing variations in ink viscosity during the distribution process. That is, by making the thickness of both end portions 12A, which have a large outside air contact area and easily thicken due to evaporation of moisture contained in the ink, penetration of outside air, etc., larger than the thickness of the central portion 12B where the ink is difficult to thicken, It is possible to reduce the permeability of the both end portions 12A and balance the ease of thickening between the two. Further, it is possible to reduce the heat dissipation of the ink flowing through the both end portions 12A having a large outside air contact area, and it is also a measure against thickening of thermal factors. Therefore, the ink supply tube 12 configured as described above can maintain the viscosity of the ink substantially uniformly in the flow process of each ink flow path 101.
Note that, if each ink flow path 101 is arranged close to each other as in the present embodiment, it is possible to actively permeate (exchange) moisture between the respective flow paths. This is useful for uniformly adjusting the viscosity of inks having different color tones.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the ink supply having a substantially band shape including the plurality of ink flow paths 101 arranged in parallel in the width direction and including the pair of wide surfaces 102 along the arranged direction. The thickness of the portion of the tube 12 where the ink flow paths 101a and 101d at both ends in the width direction are provided is larger than the thickness of the portion where the other ink flow paths 101b and 101c are provided, and By adopting a configuration in which each cross section has a shape whose thickness direction is shorter than the width direction, it is easy to bend in the thickness direction and difficult to bend in the width direction. Therefore, the load applied to the carriage 5 on which the recording head 4 is mounted can be reduced, and smooth movement thereof can be achieved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the recording head 4 that ejects ink and is movable in the main scanning direction, the ink cartridge that stores ink, and the flow path through which ink flows between the recording head 4 and the ink cartridge. And the other end connected to the recording head 4 has a tube body that can move following the recording head 4 and includes an ink supply tube 12 as the tube body. Is used to stabilize and smooth the movement of the recording head 4 and to supply the recording head 4 with a plurality of inks having substantially uniform viscosities, so that good image formation can be performed. effective.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring drawings, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiments are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the ink supply tube 12 includes ink flow paths 101 a to 101 d, ink flow paths 101 e and 101 f through which light magenta, light cyan, and the like circulate, and a sub ink tank of the recording head 4. The structure provided with the air flow path (2nd flow path) 101g through which the air (2nd fluid) for suppressing bubble generation | occurrence | production inside distribute | circulates may be sufficient.
According to this another embodiment, the air flow path 101g through which air having different fluid characteristics from the ink flowing through the ink flow paths 101a to 101f flows in the width direction rather than the portion where the ink flow paths 101a at both ends in the width direction are provided. In this case, it is possible to avoid the thickening effect of the ink flowing in the ink flow path 101a in relation to the air.

  In the above embodiment, the cross section of the ink flow path 101 has been described as having an approximately elliptical shape. However, the present invention is not limited to the above configuration. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is the ink jet printer 1 has been described as an example. However, the fluid ejecting apparatus is not limited to the ink jet printer, and may be an apparatus such as a copying machine and a facsimile.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the fluid ejecting apparatus is a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid (liquid material) such as ink has been described as an example. However, the fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to ink. The present invention can be applied to a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges another fluid. Fluids that can be ejected by the fluid ejecting apparatus include fluids, liquids in which particles of functional materials are dispersed or dissolved, gel-like fluids, solids that can be ejected as fluids, and powders (such as toner). .

  In the above-described embodiment, as the fluid (liquid material) ejected from the fluid ejecting apparatus, not only ink but also fluid corresponding to a specific application can be applied. By providing the fluid ejecting apparatus with an ejecting head capable of ejecting a fluid corresponding to the specific application, ejecting the fluid corresponding to the specific application from the ejecting head, and attaching the fluid to a predetermined object, A given device can be manufactured. For example, the fluid ejecting apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus) according to the present invention uses a predetermined material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display (FED). The present invention is applicable to a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid (liquid material) dispersed (dissolved) in a dispersion medium (solvent).

Further, the fluid ejecting apparatus may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, or a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample.
In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resins to form fluid injection devices that inject lubricating oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements, etc. For example, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto a substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects gel, and a powder such as toner. It may be a toner jet recording apparatus that ejects a solid.

  In addition to the above, the multi-row flexible tube body of the present invention can be widely used in the field of handling fluids such as gas and liquid.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer (fluid ejecting apparatus), 4 ... Recording head (fluid ejecting head), 5 ... Carriage, 12 ... Ink supply tube (multi-row flexible tube body), 12A ... Both ends, 12B ... Central part, 101 ... Ink channel (channel), 101g ... Air channel (second channel), 102 ... Wide surface, W1 ... Thickness, W2 ... Thickness

Claims (6)

A substantially strip-shaped multi-row flexible tube body having a plurality of flow paths arranged in parallel in a predetermined direction and having a pair of wide surfaces along the arranged direction,
The thickness of the part where the flow path at both ends of the predetermined direction is provided is larger than the thickness of the part where the other flow path is provided, and
Each of the cross sections of the flow paths has a shape with a short direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the predetermined direction.   The multi-row flexible tube body according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape is substantially elliptical.   3. The multi-row type according to claim 1, wherein the portion where the flow paths at both ends in the predetermined direction are provided has a substantially circular shape in cross-sectional view with a larger diameter than the portion where the other flow paths are provided. Flexible tube body.   4. The multi-row flexible tube body according to claim 3, wherein a portion where the other flow path is provided has a substantially flat plate shape whose thickness is smaller than the diameter of the circular shape. Having a second flow path through which a second fluid having a different fluid characteristic from the fluid flowing through the flow path;
5. The multi-row according to claim 1, wherein the second flow path is provided outside in a predetermined direction with respect to a portion where the flow paths at both ends in the predetermined direction are provided. Type flexible tube body. A fluid ejection head that ejects fluid and is movable in a predetermined direction; a fluid storage tank that stores the fluid; and a flow path through which the fluid flows between the fluid ejection head and the fluid storage tank. A fluid ejecting apparatus having an end connected to the fluid ejecting head and a tube body movable following the fluid ejecting head;
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising the multi-row flexible tube body according to any one of claims 1 to 5 as the tube body.

Images