JP4678480B2 - Image recording apparatus and paper feed tray applied thereto - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus including a paper feed unit, a paper discharge unit, and an image recording unit, and more particularly to an image recording device in which a paper discharge unit is disposed above a paper feed unit and a paper feed tray applied thereto. Is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image recording apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile, an image is recorded on a paper feeding unit that feeds a recording medium (paper, cut sheet, etc.) and a recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit. There is known a structure including an image recording unit and a paper discharge unit that discharges the recording medium that has passed through the image recording unit so that a user can acquire the recording medium on which an image is recorded.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 or the like, an auxiliary tray that can be rotated at the end on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction is provided in the paper feeding tray provided in the paper feeding unit so that recording media having different length sizes can be accommodated. In addition, a technique is described in which the mounting area of the paper feed tray can be expanded. In Patent Document 1, a concave storage portion is formed in the vicinity of the upstream end of the paper feed direction in the paper feed tray, and when not expanded, the auxiliary tray is housed in the storage portion to make the whole compact. it can.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes a technique in which a rotatable auxiliary tray is added to a paper discharge tray of a paper discharge unit so that the placement area of the paper discharge tray can be expanded. As a result, when ejecting a long recording medium in the paper ejection direction, the auxiliary tray of the paper ejection tray is expanded and the ejected recording medium is stably supported by the paper ejection tray, the auxiliary, and the tray. can do. Further, this Patent Document 2 also describes a structure in which a paper discharge unit is disposed above the paper feed unit and a substantially U-turn shaped conveyance path is provided from the paper feed unit to the paper discharge unit.
JP-A-6-9066 (see FIG. 1) JP-A-10-167547 (see FIG. 1)

  Incidentally, in recent years, in an image recording apparatus, in a structure in which a paper feed unit and a paper discharge unit are arranged up and down as described in Patent Document 2, the vertical distance between the paper feed unit and the paper discharge unit is made closer. As a result, the entire apparatus is reduced in size and thickness. Therefore, there has been a demand for simplifying and sharing parts as much as possible in the structure of the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray, thereby reducing the overall size and thickness of the apparatus as described above, and further reducing the cost.

  However, in Patent Document 1, a storage portion is recessed in the paper feed tray so that the auxiliary tray can be stored. Therefore, when the auxiliary tray is opened and the concave surface of the storage portion is exposed, a phenomenon occurs in which the recording medium stored in the paper feed tray is bent so as to fall into the concave surface. If the recording medium remains bent or has a bent wrinkle, it is likely to cause a paper feed failure such as double feeding by the paper feeding means, or wrinkles or paper jams (paper jams) during transportation. In addition, when an ink jet recording head is used in the image recording unit, the distance between the recording head and the recording surface of the recording medium is partially different, and the recording quality is also deteriorated. Also have.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, enables the overall thickness of the apparatus to be reduced while simplifying the structure of the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray, and further improves the conveyance failure of the recording medium. The object is to provide an image recording apparatus and a paper feed tray.

In order to achieve the object, an image recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a sheet feeding unit that feeds a recording medium in a sheet feeding direction toward a substantially U-shaped conveyance path, and the sheet feeding. An image recording unit that records an image on a recording medium that has been fed through the conveyance path, and a recording medium that is disposed above the sheet feeding unit and passes through the image recording unit, In the image recording apparatus having a discharge unit for discharging in the reverse paper discharge direction, a paper feed tray disposed in the paper feed unit and capable of accumulating and storing a recording medium is housed in the paper feed tray. at least of the recording medium is provided at a bottom plate and an appropriate clearance of the paper feed tray so as to cover a portion of the sheet feeding direction upstream side, the sheet discharge direction upstream side of the recording medium discharged from the discharge portion and the discharge trays sites possible deposition of the auxiliary provided on the bottom plate A holding member and a discharge auxiliary tray provided on the auxiliary support member. The auxiliary support member has a first storage portion having an opening on the upper surface, and the bottom plate of the paper supply tray has the The auxiliary support member includes a second storage portion that slidably holds both side portions along the paper feeding direction and can store the auxiliary support member, and the auxiliary support member is stored in the second storage portion. And an extended position extending downstream in the paper discharge direction from the upstream end of the paper feed direction in the paper feed tray, and the paper discharge auxiliary tray is stored in the first storage unit. And an extended position that extends further downstream in the paper discharge direction than the upstream end of the paper feed direction in the paper feed tray, and the paper discharge auxiliary tray is in the extended position. When the ejected recording medium is The auxiliary support member is configured to be able to support the paper discharge tray and the paper discharge auxiliary tray, while the auxiliary support member has a lower portion of the recording medium placed on the bottom plate in the first storage portion. It is provided with a restricting part that restricts the bending to the right .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, as the restricting portion, the image recording device protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the first storage portion and extends along the paper feeding direction. One protrusion is provided, and the discharge auxiliary tray is provided with a long hole into which the first protrusion can be loosely fitted at the storage position.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the discharge auxiliary tray is a pivot provided at an upstream end in a paper feeding direction of the first storage unit. , And is provided so as to be rotatable between the storage position and the extended position. In the extended position, the discharge auxiliary tray is held in an inclined state in which the downstream side in the discharge direction is higher than the upstream side. It is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the auxiliary support member further feeds paper than the first storage portion provided in the auxiliary support member. A grip opening is formed through the plate surface at the upstream end of the direction, and the discharge auxiliary tray is inclined at the extended position when the discharge auxiliary tray is fed in the grip opening. It is characterized by being held by abutting against the inner part on the upstream side in the direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the first protrusion is at a position downstream of the bottom surface of the first storage portion in the paper feeding direction. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the height of the upper surface of the first protrusion is substantially flush with the height of the upper surface of the bottom plate of the paper feed tray. It is characterized by that.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the second to sixth aspects, the auxiliary support member has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and the auxiliary plate is provided on the bottom plate of the paper feed tray. both side portions along the sheet feeding direction of the member to together when slidably sandwiched, the second storage part capable of storing the auxiliary support member is formed, said in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of said auxiliary support member first A second ridge that protrudes upward and extends in the feeding direction is provided outside the region of the storage portion, and the height of the upper surface of the second ridge is such that the height of the paper feed tray It is characterized by being formed substantially flush with the height of the upper surface of the bottom plate.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the length of the second ridge is longer in the feeding direction than the first ridge. It is characterized by.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the fifth to eighth aspects, the bottom end of the paper discharge tray passes through the downstream end in the paper discharge direction of the paper discharge tray. A notch is formed, and at least the downstream ends of the first and second ridges in the paper feeding direction are located inside the notch in plan view, and the height thereof is It is formed in the taper shape which becomes low gradually toward the downstream.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed tray that feeds a recording medium in a paper feed direction toward a substantially U-shaped transport path, and the transport path from the paper feed section. An image recording unit that records an image on a recording medium that has been fed through, and a paper ejection direction that is disposed above the paper feeding unit and that has passed through the image recording unit is opposite to the paper feeding direction A bottom plate on which the recording medium in the paper feeding unit is placed; of the recording medium that is placed on the bottom plate, at least that to cover a portion of the paper feed direction upstream side, and the discharge trays can be deposited a recording medium is discharged from the discharge unit, wherein An auxiliary support member provided on the bottom plate and an exhaust provided on the auxiliary support member. A first storage portion having an opening on the upper surface is recessed in the auxiliary support member, and the bottom plate of the paper feed tray slides on both sides along the paper feed direction of the auxiliary support member. The auxiliary support member includes a second storage portion that can be sandwiched and can store the auxiliary support member, the auxiliary support member being stored in the second storage portion, and an upstream end in the paper feed direction of the paper feed tray. The auxiliary discharge tray is provided so as to be movable between an extended position extending downstream in the paper discharge direction and the upstream position in the paper feed tray. And is provided so as to be movable between an extended position extending downstream in the paper discharge direction from the end on the side, and when the discharge auxiliary tray is in the extended position, the discharged recording medium is the discharge tray. And the output auxiliary tray While it is able to support structure, wherein the auxiliary support member, those having a restricting portion for restricting the downward deflection of at the first accommodating portion of the recording medium placed on the bottom plate.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the bottom plate on which the recording medium is placed in the paper feeding unit and the recording medium placed on the bottom plate on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction A paper discharge tray capable of depositing a recording medium discharged from the paper discharge unit, an auxiliary support member provided on the bottom plate, and a paper discharge auxiliary tray provided on the auxiliary support member. The auxiliary support member has a first storage portion having an opening on the upper surface, and the bottom plate of the paper feed tray is slidably sandwiched on both sides along the paper feed direction of the auxiliary support member. And a second storage part that can store the auxiliary support member, wherein the auxiliary support member is stored in the second storage part, and the upstream end of the paper feed tray in the paper feed direction. Can be moved between extended positions extending downstream in the paper discharge direction The discharge auxiliary tray is provided between a storage position in which the discharge auxiliary tray is stored in the first storage unit and an extended position that extends further downstream in the paper discharge direction than the end of the paper supply tray on the upstream side in the paper supply direction. Since it is movably provided, the space between the output tray and the paper feed tray is effectively used as the vertical space required for moving the output auxiliary tray. Thus, it is possible to provide a discharge auxiliary tray that stably supports the recording medium without impairing the thinning of the entire apparatus.

  In addition, since the discharge auxiliary tray is movably provided between the extended position and the storage position, the discharge auxiliary tray is provided when it is unnecessary so as not to hinder the supply of the recording medium to the paper supply tray. Tray can be stored.

  In addition, the first storage portion that is recessed in the paper feed tray for storing the paper discharge auxiliary tray is provided with a restriction portion that restricts the downward deflection of the recording medium. It is possible to prevent the recording medium accommodated from being bent or the like, and there is no fear of causing poor conveyance or deterioration of recording quality.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first protrusion as the restricting portion is formed in the first storage portion to a height required for supporting the recording medium, and the elongated hole is formed in the discharge auxiliary tray. Therefore, the discharge auxiliary tray is disposed within the height of the first protrusion while the discharge auxiliary tray is stored, and the height can be made compact.

  In addition, since the restricting portion is formed on the ridge, and the portion formed in the discharge auxiliary tray for loosely fitting it may be an elongated shape such as a long hole, the perforation area is reduced, and the discharge auxiliary tray A decrease in rigidity can be prevented.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the discharge auxiliary tray is held in an inclined state in which the downstream side in the discharge direction is higher than the upstream side, in other words, the discharge auxiliary tray is positioned below in the extended position. The recording medium that protrudes obliquely so that the downstream side in the paper discharge direction is upward, with the paper feed tray side to be used as the base end, prevents the recording medium that protrudes from the paper discharge tray to the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. It is deposited across the paper auxiliary tray. At this time, the downstream end portion of the recording medium in the sheet discharge direction is stably deposited because the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction is lifted upward along the inclination of the sheet discharge auxiliary tray. The As a result, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from sagging and dropping when it is deposited on the paper discharge tray.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary support member is slid and extended, so that the paper feed tray can be placed corresponding to a recording medium having a long length. Further, the discharge auxiliary tray is extended in a state where the auxiliary support member is slid and extended, thereby further increasing the length size of the recording medium that can be supported across the discharge auxiliary tray and the discharge tray. Can do. Therefore, when the auxiliary support member and the paper discharge auxiliary tray are not extended, the entire apparatus is apparently small, but the length of the recording medium that can be actually handled can be set large. The versatility of the device is enhanced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the grip opening is provided, the user can easily perform the work when the auxiliary support member is slid and extended. Since the inside portion of the grip opening is used for maintaining the inclined state of the auxiliary discharge tray, it is not necessary to add a special structure for maintaining the inclined state.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the first first protrusion is formed integrally with the auxiliary support member, the first protrusion functions as a reinforcing rib. The rigidity of can be increased.

  In addition, a slot provided in the paper discharge auxiliary tray for loosely fitting the first protrusion can be drilled at a position away from the pivot point of the paper discharge auxiliary tray. A decrease in the rigidity of the tray can be further prevented.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the recording medium is supported by being in contact with the bottom plate of the paper feed tray and the upper surface of the first protrusion, which are formed substantially flush with each other. The flatness when being applied is improved.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, even if the upper surface of the auxiliary support member is provided lower than the bottom plate of the paper feed tray, the height of the upper surface of the second protrusion is equal to the upper surface of the bottom plate of the paper feed tray. Since the recording medium is formed substantially flush with the height and supported by these, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from sinking into the auxiliary support member and bending.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the stability of the recording medium with respect to the support can be improved by elongating the second protrusion. As described above, in order to prevent the rigidity of the paper discharge auxiliary tray from being lowered due to the drilling of the long hole, there is a limit in setting the length of the first ridge portion. Therefore, by increasing the length of the second ridge portion, Thus, it is possible to more reliably prevent the recording medium from being bent.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the paper discharge tray is covered with the paper discharge tray since the cutout portion is provided at the downstream end in the paper discharge direction, that is, the outer end. The operation of replenishing paper by putting a hand into the paper feed tray from the outside becomes easy.

  Further, when the discharged recording medium is a small size such as a postcard size, for example, the recording medium may fall from the notch portion toward the paper feed tray, but the feeding direction of the first and second ridges The end of the downstream side (that is, the upstream side in the paper discharge direction) is formed in a tapered shape whose height gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the paper feeding direction, in other words, chamfered. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording medium that has fallen from the notch from colliding with and catching on the corners of the first protrusion and the second protrusion.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the discharge auxiliary tray for assisting the discharge tray is provided on the bottom plate of the paper feed tray located below the discharge tray, and is necessary for the movement of the discharge auxiliary tray. Since the gap between the paper discharge tray and the bottom plate is effectively utilized as the vertical space, a paper discharge auxiliary tray that supports the recording medium stably by supporting the paper discharge tray is provided for the entire apparatus. It can be provided without impairing thinning.

  In addition, since the paper discharge auxiliary tray is movably provided between the extended position and the storage position, a paper discharge auxiliary tray is provided when it is unnecessary so as not to hinder the supply of the recording medium onto the bottom plate. Tray can be stored.

  In addition, the first storage portion recessed in the bottom plate for storing the paper discharge auxiliary tray is provided with a restricting portion for restricting the downward deflection of the recording medium, so that it is placed on the bottom plate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being bent or wrinkled, and there is no fear of causing a conveyance failure or a deterioration in recording quality.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the image recording apparatus without an image reading apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a paper feed cassette. 5 is a plan view of the paper feed cassette, FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette with the auxiliary support member in the extended position and the paper discharge auxiliary tray in the extended position, and FIG. FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the sheet cassette in a state where the auxiliary support member is in the extended position and the discharge auxiliary tray is in the storage position, FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIa-VIIa in FIG. FIG. 8B is a side sectional view of the paper feed cassette in a state where the auxiliary support member is in the storage position and the paper discharge auxiliary tray is in the storage position, and FIG. 8A is a view taken along line VIIIa-VIIa in FIG. FIG. 8B is a side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 8A when the first and second protrusions are not provided, and FIG. Example is a perspective view of a.

  An image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an application of the present invention to a multi-function device (MFD) having a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. As shown, the image recording apparatus 1 includes a housing 2 made of a synthetic resin injection-molded product as a recording apparatus main body.

  An image reading device 12 for a copy function and a facsimile function is disposed on the upper portion of the housing 2, and the image reading device 12 can be vertically opened and closed with respect to one side end of the housing 2 via a pivot portion (not shown). Further, the rear end of the document cover 13 that covers the upper surface of the image reading device 12 is attached to the rear end of the image reading device 12 so as to be rotatable up and down about a pivot 12a (see FIG. 2). .

  On the upper side of the housing 2, an operation panel unit 14 including various operation buttons and a liquid crystal display unit is provided in front of the image reading device 12. On the upper surface of the image reading device 12, there is provided a placement glass plate 16 on which the document cover body 13 can be opened and a document can be placed. A CIS (Contact Image Sensor) 17 is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along a guide shaft 44 extending in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2 (main scanning direction, Y-axis direction in FIG. 1).

  In the ink storage unit (not shown), ink cartridges for each color of black (Bk), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are stored as cartridges for individual colors in this embodiment. Thus, each ink cartridge and the recording head 4 in the recording unit 7 (corresponding to the image recording unit in the claims) are always connected by a flexible ink supply pipe.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a paper feeding unit 11 is disposed at the bottom of the housing 2, and a paper feeding cassette that can be moved forward and backward as a paper feeding tray in which the paper P is accumulated and stored. 3 is inserted through an opening 2a on the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the housing 2. In the present embodiment, the paper feed cassette 3 is a recording medium, for example, a paper P cut into A4 size, letter size, legal size, postcard size, etc. Multiple sheets can be stacked (stacked) so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, X-axis direction, and arrow A direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2, main scanning direction, Y-axis direction). Form.

  On the back side (right side in FIG. 2) of the paper feed cassette 3, an inclined separation plate 8 is disposed for paper separation. The inclined separation plate 8 is formed in a convex curve shape in plan view so as to protrude at the center side in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the paper P and to recede toward the left and right ends in the width direction of the paper P. In addition, a serrated elastic separation pad 8 a (see FIGS. 5 to 9) for abutting the leading edge of the paper P to promote separation is provided at the center in the width direction of the paper P.

  Further, on the housing 2 side, a base end portion of a paper feeding arm 6a in the paper feeding means 6 is mounted so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a paper feeding roller 6b provided at a tip portion of the paper feeding arm 6a The rotation from a drive source (not shown) is transmitted by a gear transmission mechanism 6c provided in the paper feed arm 6a. The paper P accumulated in the paper feed cassette 3 is separated and conveyed one by one by the paper feed roller 6b and the elastic separation pad 8a of the inclined separation plate 8. The paper P separated so as to proceed in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) is located above the paper feeding cassette 3 via a feeding path 9 including a substantially U-shaped path in the horizontal direction as a conveyance path ( It is fed to the recording unit 7 provided at a high position. The feeding path 9 is formed in a gap between the first transport path body 60 that forms the U-shaped outer peripheral side and the second transport path body 52 that forms the inner peripheral side.

  In this embodiment, the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) for separating and transporting the paper P from the paper feeding unit 11 to the recording unit 7 side, and the paper P transported from the recording unit 7 from the paper discharge unit 10 described later. The paper discharge direction (direction of arrow B) is set in the opposite direction. A direction (Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) and the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) is referred to as a width direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording unit 7 is supported by a box-shaped main frame 21 and a pair of left and right side plates 21a, and extends in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). It is formed between the first and second guide members 22 and 23. The carriage 5 on which the ink jet recording head 4 is mounted in the recording unit 7 is slidable across the first guide member 22 on the upstream side and the second guide member 23 on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction). Therefore, it can be reciprocated in the Y-axis direction.

  In order to reciprocate the carriage 5, a timing belt 24 extends on the upper surface of the second guide member 23 disposed on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) so as to extend in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction). A CR (carriage) motor (not shown) that is disposed and drives the timing belt 24 is fixed to the lower surface of the second guide member 23.

  A flat platen 26 extending in the Y-axis direction so as to face the lower surface of the recording head 4 in the carriage 5 is fixed to the main frame 21 between the guide members 22 and 23 (see FIG. 3). .

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the upstream side of the sheet discharge direction (arrow B direction) of the platen 26, as shown in FIG. A nip roller 51 is disposed below the roller 50. Further, on the downstream side of the platen 26 in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction), the paper P that has passed through the recording unit 7 is discharged so as to be conveyed to the paper discharge unit 10 along the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction). A paper roller 28 and a spur roller (not shown) urged toward the paper discharge roller 28 are disposed opposite to the paper roller 28.

  The paper discharge unit 10 on which the paper P recorded by the recording unit 7 is discharged with its recording surface facing upward is disposed above the paper supply unit 11, and a paper discharge port 10 a communicating with the paper discharge unit 10 is provided in the housing. 2 is opened in common with the front opening 2a. Then, the paper P discharged from the paper discharge unit 10 in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) is accumulated and accommodated in a paper discharge tray 10b located inside the opening 2a. Further, a synthetic resin made to cover the upper side of the paper discharge tray 10b is provided between the lower surface of the guide member 23 on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction (direction of arrow B) and the paper discharge port 10a at the front end of the housing 2. A partition plate (lower cover body) 29 is formed integrally with the housing 2 (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the paper feed cassette 3 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the paper feed cassette 3 is provided with a bottom plate 31 on which the paper P is placed. The upstream side of the bottom plate 31 in the paper feed direction (arrow A direction) is the paper feed direction. Side plates 32 and 32 are erected on both side portions. The paper discharge tray 10b described above is detachable across both side plates 32 and 32 so as to cover a part of the upstream side in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) of the paper P placed on the bottom plate 31. It is attached. At the downstream end of the paper discharge tray 10b in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction), in order to make it easy to replenish the paper P onto the bottom plate 31, a central portion in the width direction is substantially U-shaped in plan view. A notch 43 is formed.

  Further, on the downstream side of the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) in the bottom plate 31, a sheet width guide 45 for setting the sheet P symmetrically with respect to the center of the sheet cassette 3 in the width direction is provided in the left-right direction (width direction). ) Is movably arranged to expand and contract.

  At the center in the width direction at the upstream end of the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) of the bottom plate 31, it is slidable further outward (further downstream in the paper discharge direction) from this upstream end. The auxiliary support member 33 is provided, and the auxiliary discharge member 35 is attached to the auxiliary support member 33. The paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 can support the downstream end of the paper P protruding outward from the paper discharge tray 10b in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) (see FIG. 2). .

  In the auxiliary support member 33, a first storage portion 34 having an opening on the upper surface is recessed in the vicinity of the upstream end portion in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction). The discharge auxiliary tray 35 is stored in the first storage portion 34 (see FIGS. 4, 6B and 7B), and upstream of the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) of the bottom plate 31. It is provided so as to be movable between an extended position (see FIGS. 1, 5, 6A and 7A) extending so as to be closer to the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) than the end of the sheet. Thus, when in the extended position, the paper P protruding outward can be supported as described above.

  Further, the auxiliary support member 33 has a grip opening at the upstream end in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) further than the first storage portion 34 so that the user can easily grip the auxiliary support member 33 when sliding it. The portion 42 is formed through the plate surface.

  In the extended position, the discharge auxiliary tray 35 abuts on the upstream inner side in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) of the gripping opening 42 of the auxiliary support member 33, so that the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction). ) Is maintained in an inclined state in which the downstream side is higher than the upstream side (see FIGS. 6A and 7A). At this time, the downstream end portion of the discharge auxiliary tray 10b in the discharge direction (arrow B direction) protrudes upward to substantially the same height as the discharge tray 10b. This inclined state makes it easy to receive the end of the paper P protruding from the paper discharge tray 10b positioned above. Further, since the inner portion of the gripping opening 42 is used to hold the discharge auxiliary tray 35 in an inclined state, it is not necessary to add a special structure for holding the inclined state. Note that a rotation notch is provided at the end of the discharge auxiliary tray 35 far from the pivot 38 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) so that the discharge auxiliary tray 35 can be easily picked when the auxiliary discharge tray 35 is rotated. A portion 46 is provided (see FIGS. 6A and 6B).

  Further, there is provided a restricting portion that restricts downward bending of the paper P placed on the bottom plate 31 in the first storage portion 34 when the auxiliary discharge tray 35 is in the extended position. As a restricting portion, a first protrusion portion 36 is provided on the bottom surface of the first storage portion 34 so as to protrude upward and extend along the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) (FIGS. 5 and 6). a) and FIG. 8 (a)). The first protrusions 36 also function as reinforcing ribs in the auxiliary support member 33, and can increase the rigidity of the auxiliary support member 33. Two (a pair) of first protrusions 36 are provided side by side in the width direction on the downstream side of the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) on the bottom surface of the first storage portion 34. The number of the first protrusions 36 is not limited to this number, but it is desirable that the number of the first protrusions 36 be plural in order to restrict the bending of the paper P and stably support it.

  The discharge auxiliary tray 35 is provided with a long hole 37 into which the first protrusion 36 can be loosely fitted at the storage position, and the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is stored in the first storage portion 34. Sometimes, the upper end of the first protrusion 36 slightly protrudes from the elongated hole 37 (see FIGS. 6B and 7B). In other words, the discharge assist tray 35 is folded. In this state, it is arranged within the height of the first protrusion 36, so that the occupied space in the height direction can be made compact. By providing the bottom side of the first storage portion 34 on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction (in the direction of arrow A), the long hole 37 formed in the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 can be separated from the pivot 38 serving as a pivot point of rotation. The rigidity of the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is prevented from being lowered.

Auxiliary support member 33 is a plan view a rectangular shape, the bottom plate 31, both side portions along the sheet feeding direction of the auxiliary support member 33 (arrow A direction) together when slidably sandwiched, housing the auxiliary support member 33 The 2nd accommodating part 39 which can be formed is formed (refer FIG.5, FIG.6 (a) and FIG.8 (a)). The auxiliary support member 33 is attached to the second storage portion 39 by forming the upper surface of the auxiliary support member 33 on a flat surface that is flush with the both side portions, and the both side portions are provided on the inner side surface of the second storage portion 39 as they are. The structure is fitted in the slide groove 40, and the cost is reduced by a simple shape. Therefore, in this embodiment, the upper surface of the auxiliary support member 33 is slightly lower than the upper surface of the bottom plate 31.

  And the 2nd protrusion 41 which protrudes upwards and extends along a feed direction is provided in the outer side of the width direction rather than the area | region of the 1st accommodating part 34 in this auxiliary | assistant support member 33. As shown in FIG. The height of the upper surface of the second ridge 41 is substantially flush with the height of the upper surface of the first ridge 36 and the height of the upper surface of the bottom plate 31 of the sheet feeding cassette 3. Strictly speaking, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 7A, the auxiliary support member 33 slides slightly with respect to the bottom plate 31 in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction). Since the slide groove 40 is provided, the upper surface of the first protrusion 36 and the upper surface of the second protrusion 41 on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) when the auxiliary support member 33 is pulled out. Is substantially flush with the upper surface of the bottom plate 31 (see FIG. 7A), and in a state where the auxiliary support member 33 is housed in the second housing portion 39, the feeding direction of the second protrusion 41 (arrow) (A direction) It is comprised so that the upper surface of an upstream side may become substantially flush with the upper surface of the baseplate 31 (refer FIG.7 (b)). Accordingly, even when the auxiliary support member 33 is stored in the second storage portion 39, the paper P on the bottom plate 31 is supported by the second protrusion 41 without being bent toward the upper surface side of the auxiliary support member 33. ing.

  The second protrusion 41 is longer in the paper feeding direction (arrow A direction) than the first protrusion 36, and in this embodiment, two (a pair) are provided with the first protrusion 36 in between. However, the number of the second protrusions 41 is not limited to this.

  In addition, at least each downstream end of the first protrusion 36 and the second protrusion 41 in the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) is located inside the notch 43 of the sheet discharge tray 10b in plan view. The taper has a height that gradually decreases toward the downstream side, that is, a so-called chamfered shape. That is, the taper-shaped part 36a is provided in the 1st protrusion part 36, and the taper-shaped part 41a is each provided in the 2nd protrusion part 41 (refer FIG.5, FIG.6 (a) and FIG.7 (a)). For example, when the paper P is a relatively small size such as a postcard size, even if the downstream end in the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) falls downward from the notch 43, the paper P The first protrusion 36 and the second protrusion 41 are designed so as not to get caught in the downstream corner of the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction).

  According to the above configuration, when the sheet P having a long length in the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction) such as the legal size is accumulated and accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 3, the user opens the grip opening of the sheet feeding cassette 3. 42, the auxiliary support member 33 is pulled out from the second storage portion 39 of the bottom plate 31, and a finger is put on the turning notch portion 46 of the auxiliary support member 33, so that the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is removed from the first storage portion 34. The rotation is released, and the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 is moved to the extended position that is inclined (see FIGS. 5, 6A, and 7A).

  Based on the image recording command, the sheets P placed on the bottom plate 31 of the sheet feeding cassette 3 are separated one by one in the sheet feeding direction (arrow A direction), and a substantially U-shaped path is passed. It is conveyed to the recording unit 7 through the feeding path 9 that includes it. Then, the paper P that has passed through the recording unit 7 is discharged from the paper discharge unit 10 along the paper discharge direction (arrow B direction) and is deposited on the paper discharge tray 10b.

  Since the length of the paper P is long, when the rear end (upstream end of the paper discharge direction) of the paper P is released from contact with the paper discharge roller 28, the front end (downstream of the paper discharge direction). The end portion is conveyed to a position protruding from the paper discharge tray 10b. At this time, the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 has the paper feed cassette 3 positioned below the paper discharge tray 10b as the base end side, and the front end side protrudes upward to substantially the same height as the paper discharge tray 10b. The front end of the paper P protruding from the paper discharge tray 10b is received by the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 without hanging down (see FIG. 1). Thus, the paper P discharged from the paper discharge unit 10 is supported across the paper discharge tray 10b and the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35, and the discharged paper P is sequentially and stably stacked and deposited. There is no fear of dropping the tray 10b causing the inconvenience that the order of deposition is disturbed.

  On the other hand, in the first storage section 34 of the paper feed cassette 3, since the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is in the extended position, the concave surface is exposed on the bottom plate 31, and the upper surface of the auxiliary support member 33 is lower than the bottom plate 31. Yes. However, since the first protrusion 36 and the second protrusion 41 are provided so as to be substantially flush with the bottom plate 31, the paper P is supported as shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent the sheet P from falling and bending inside the first storage portion 34 or the upper surface of the auxiliary support member 33.

  Temporarily, when the 1st protrusion part 36 and the 2nd protrusion part 41 are not provided, as shown in FIG.8 (b), the paper P is the inside of the 1st accommodating part 34, or the auxiliary | assistant support member 33. It falls on the top surface and bends. As a result, the paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 3 for a long time has a bending wrinkle, so that the paper feeding means 6 double feeds the paper P or causes paper jam or paper jam (paper jam) during the transportation. There are concerns about the occurrence. Further, when the sheet is conveyed to the recording unit 7 with a bending wrinkle, the distance between the upper surface of the paper P and the recording head 4 is partially different, particularly when the recording head 4 is an ink jet type as in this embodiment. This will have a large adverse effect on the recording quality.

  Further, when the paper cassette 3 stores, for example, A4 size, letter size, postcard size paper P, etc., the paper discharge auxiliary tray 35 is stored in the first storage portion 34, and the auxiliary support member 33 is the first support member 33. 2 is stored in the storage unit 39. If necessary, the auxiliary support member 33 is stored in the second storage portion 39 while the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is in the extended position, or the auxiliary support member 33 is set while the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is in the storage position. May be pulled out, and these can be set in combination as appropriate.

  In the embodiment described above, the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is provided on the auxiliary support member 33 of the paper feed cassette 3. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the auxiliary support member 33 is provided on the paper feed cassette 3. If not, the auxiliary discharge tray 35 may be directly attached to the bottom plate 31 of the paper feed cassette 3. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the paper feed cassette 3 of the above embodiment.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the discharge auxiliary tray 35 is moved by rotation, but may be configured to slide. In that case, an elongated cutout is formed instead of the elongated hole 37.

  In addition, the present invention is not only applied to a configuration in which the paper feed cassette described above is only one stage, but also in an image recording apparatus having a plurality of paper feed cassettes on the upper and lower sides, the uppermost stage closest to the paper discharge unit. You may apply to a paper feed cassette.

1 is a perspective view of an image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a side sectional view of an image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the image recording apparatus with the image reading apparatus removed. It is a perspective view of a paper feed cassette. It is a top view of a paper feed cassette. (A) is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette with the auxiliary support member in the extended position and the paper discharge auxiliary tray in the extended position, and (b) is the auxiliary support member in the extended position and the paper discharge auxiliary tray is stored. It is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette in a state in the position. 6A is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6B is a sectional side view of the sheet feeding cassette in a state where the auxiliary support member is in the storage position and the discharge auxiliary tray is in the storage position. It is. (A) is a VIII-VII arrow directional cross-sectional view of Fig.6 (a), (b) is a sectional side view corresponding to Fig.8 (a) when there is no 1st and 2nd protrusion part. It is a perspective view of the modification of a paper feed cassette.

1 image recording device 2 housing 2a opening 3 paper feed cassette 4 recording head 6 paper feed means 7 recording unit 10 paper discharge unit 10a paper discharge port 10b paper discharge tray 11 paper feed unit 28 paper discharge roller 31 bottom plate 32 side plate 33 auxiliary support Member 34 first storage portion 35 discharge auxiliary tray 36 first protrusion 37 long hole 38 pivot 39 second storage portion 40 slide groove 41 second protrusion 42 grip opening 43 notch

Claims (10)

A paper feeding unit that feeds the recording medium in a paper feeding direction toward a substantially U-shaped conveyance path, and an image that records an image on the recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit via the conveyance path In an image recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit; and a discharging unit that is disposed above the paper feeding unit and passes through the image recording unit and discharges the recording medium in a paper discharging direction opposite to the paper feeding direction.
A paper feed tray disposed in the paper feed unit and capable of storing recording media;
At least of the recording medium stored in the paper feed tray is provided at a bottom plate and an appropriate clearance of the paper feed tray so as to cover a portion of the sheet feeding direction upstream side, and is discharged from the sheet discharge portion A paper discharge tray capable of depositing a portion upstream of the recording medium in the paper discharge direction ;
An auxiliary support member provided on the bottom plate;
A discharge auxiliary tray provided on the auxiliary support member,
The auxiliary support member is recessed with a first storage portion having an opening on the upper surface,
The bottom plate of the paper feed tray includes a second storage portion that can slidably hold both side portions along the paper feed direction of the auxiliary support member and can store the auxiliary support member,
The auxiliary support member is movably provided between a storage position stored in the second storage portion and an extended position extending from the upstream end of the paper feed tray in the paper feed direction to the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. And
The discharge auxiliary tray is movable between a storage position stored in the first storage portion and an extended position extending downstream from the upstream end of the paper feed tray in the paper feed direction. Provided,
When the discharge auxiliary tray is in the extended position, the discharged recording medium is configured to be supported across the discharge tray and the discharge auxiliary tray,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary support member includes a restricting portion that restricts downward bending of the recording medium placed on the bottom plate in the first storage portion . As the restricting portion, a first protruding portion that protrudes upward and extends in the paper feeding direction is provided on the bottom surface of the first storage portion.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge auxiliary tray is provided with a long hole in which the first protrusion can be loosely fitted at the storage position. The discharge auxiliary tray is provided so as to be rotatable between a storage position and an extended position around a pivot provided at an upstream end in a paper feeding direction of the first storage section.
3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the extended position, the discharge auxiliary tray is held in an inclined state in which the downstream side in the discharge direction is higher than the upstream side. In the auxiliary support member, a grip opening is formed through the plate surface at the upstream end in the paper feeding direction further than the first storage portion provided in the auxiliary support member.
The inclined state at the extended position of the paper discharge auxiliary tray is held by the paper discharge auxiliary tray being brought into contact with an inner side of the gripping opening on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction. The image recording apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3 . 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first protrusion is formed at a downstream position in a sheet feeding direction on a bottom surface of the first storage portion . The image recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the height of the upper surface of the first protrusion is substantially flush with the height of the upper surface of the bottom plate of the paper feed tray . Outside the region of the first storage portion in the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the auxiliary support member, a second protrusion that protrudes upward and extends along the feeding direction is provided.
7. The image recording according to claim 2, wherein the height of the upper surface of the second protrusion is substantially flush with the height of the upper surface of the bottom plate of the paper feed tray. apparatus. The image recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second protrusion is formed to have a longer length in the feeding direction than the first protrusion . A notch passing through the bottom plate of the paper discharge tray is formed at the downstream end of the paper discharge tray in the paper discharge direction, and at least downstream of the first protrusion and the second protrusion in the paper supply direction. Each of the end portions on the side is located inside the notch portion in plan view, and is formed in a tapered shape whose height gradually decreases toward the downstream side. 9. The image recording apparatus according to any one of 8 A paper feeding unit that feeds the recording medium in a paper feeding direction toward a substantially U-shaped conveyance path, and an image that records an image on the recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit via the conveyance path Provided in an image recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit; and a discharge unit that is disposed above the paper supply unit and discharges a recording medium that has passed through the image recording unit in a paper discharge direction opposite to the paper supply direction. In the paper feed tray capable of accumulating and storing the recording medium of the paper feed unit,
A bottom plate on which a recording medium in the paper feeding unit is placed;
A paper discharge tray capable of depositing a recording medium discharged from the paper discharge unit so as to cover at least a part of the recording medium placed on the bottom plate on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction;
An auxiliary support member provided on the bottom plate;
A discharge auxiliary tray provided on the auxiliary support member,
The auxiliary support member is recessed with a first storage portion having an opening on the upper surface,
The bottom plate of the paper feed tray includes a second storage portion that can slidably hold both side portions along the paper feed direction of the auxiliary support member and can store the auxiliary support member,
The auxiliary support member is movably provided between a storage position stored in the second storage portion and an extended position extending from the upstream end of the paper feed tray in the paper feed direction to the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. And
The auxiliary discharge tray is movable between a storage position stored in the first storage portion and an extended position extending downstream from the upstream end of the paper supply tray in the paper discharge direction. Provided,
When the discharge auxiliary tray is in the extended position, the discharged recording medium is configured to be supported across the discharge tray and the discharge auxiliary tray,
The sheet feeding tray according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary support member includes a restricting portion that restricts downward bending of the recording medium placed on the bottom plate in the first storage portion .

Images