CN215321527U

CN215321527U - Medium supply device and image forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN215321527U
Application number: CN202120280556.6U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 野村进
Original assignee: Toshiba TEC Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba TEC Corp
Priority date: 2021-02-01
Filing date: 2021-02-01
Publication date: 2021-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2031-02-01

Abstract

The utility model provides a medium supply device and an image forming apparatus. The medium supply device of the embodiment comprises: the medium supply device includes a first shutter, a second shutter, a first placing portion, a second placing portion, an arm, and a stopper, the first shutter being movable between a guide position for guiding the medium in the first placing portion and a retreat position for not preventing the second placing portion from conveying the medium to the first placing portion, the second shutter being pressed by the medium and rotated when the second placing portion conveys the medium to the first placing portion, the stopper restricting rotation of the second shutter when the first shutter is located at the guide position, the first shutter rotating the arm when the first shutter moves from the guide position to the retreat position, the stopper being operated in conjunction with rotation of the arm to release restriction of the second shutter. With the present invention, even if the media supply device collapses the stacked media, paper jam is not caused.

Description

Medium supply device and image forming apparatus

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a medium supplying apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a medium supply device capable of mounting a large capacity of media, the medium supply device including a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion on which stacked media are mounted, respectively. The two placement units may be independently switched to replenish the medium, and when the first placement unit is empty of the medium, the second placement unit may feed the medium to the first placement unit to replenish the first placement unit.

However, in the medium supply device, when the medium is placed on the tray of the second placement unit and the second placement unit is closed, some operators may perform the closing operation with a strong force. In this case, the stacked media may collapse toward one side. When the medium collapses to the first placement portion, the movement of the shutter of the first placement portion is resisted, so that the shutter of the first placement portion cannot move smoothly.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a medium supply device and an image forming apparatus which can not cause paper jam even if stacked medium collapses.

The medium supply device of the embodiment comprises: a first shutter, a second shutter, a first placing portion, a second placing portion, an arm, and a stopper, the first placing portion and the second placing portion each place a stacked medium, the first shutter is movable between a guide position at which the medium in the first placing portion is guided and a retracted position at which the second placing portion is not hindered from conveying the medium to the first placing portion, the second shutter is pressed by the medium and rotated when the second placing portion conveys the medium to the first placing portion, the stopper limits rotation of the second shutter when the first shutter is located at the guide position, the first stop rotates the arm when the first stop moves from the guide position to the avoidance position, the stopper operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm and releases the restriction of the second shutter.

An image forming apparatus of another embodiment includes: an original conveying portion that conveys an original to be transferred; a scanner section that reads the original to generate image data of the original; a transfer section that forms a toner image on a medium according to the image data; a fixing section that fixes the toner image on the medium; a medium supply device that supplies the medium to the transfer portion, the medium supply device including: a first shutter, a second shutter, a first placing portion, a second placing portion, an arm, and a stopper, the first placing portion and the second placing portion each place a stacked medium, the first shutter is movable between a guide position at which the medium in the first placing portion is guided and a retracted position at which the second placing portion is not hindered from conveying the medium to the first placing portion, the second shutter is pressed by the medium and rotated when the second placing portion conveys the medium to the first placing portion, the stopper limits rotation of the second shutter when the first shutter is located at the guide position, the first stop rotates the arm when the first stop moves from the guide position to the avoidance position, the stopper operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm and releases the restriction of the second shutter.

According to the present invention, even if the stacked media collapse when the operator strongly closes the loading portion of the media supply device, the jam of the media supply device is not caused.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the structure of an image forming apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a media supply of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a first flap of the media supply of the present invention in a guide position;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a first baffle of the media supply of the present invention in a guiding position;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a media supply of the present invention with a first flap in a guide position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a first baffle of the media supply of the present invention in an avoidance position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of a first baffle of the media supply of the present invention in an avoidance position;

fig. 8 is a schematic plan view of the first shutter of the medium supplying apparatus according to the present invention in the retracted position.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a medium supplying apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

For convenience of explanation, coordinate axes are shown in the drawings. The X-axis direction is a lateral direction (hereinafter also referred to as a horizontal direction) of the medium supplying device and the image forming apparatus. The Y-axis direction is a longitudinal direction (hereinafter also referred to as a vertical direction) of the medium supplying device and the image forming device. The Z-axis direction is a depth direction of the medium supplying device and the image forming apparatus. The X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction are orthogonal to each other. The direction of the arrow along the X axis of the medium supplying device and the image forming apparatus is the right side, the direction of the arrow along the Y axis of the medium supplying device and the image forming apparatus is the upper side, and the direction of the arrow along the Z axis of the medium supplying device and the image forming apparatus (toward the back side in fig. 1) is the rear side, and the left side, the lower side, and the front side are opposite to the above. When the orientations of the + X (+ Y, + Z) direction and the-X (-Y, -Z) direction are not considered or both directions are included, the directions are simply referred to as the X (Y, Z) directions. In the drawings, the structure is shown enlarged, reduced, or omitted as appropriate for convenience of explanation.

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 1 of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is, for example, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a printer, a copier, or the like. The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on a medium based on image data read on a document. Next, a case where the image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction peripheral will be described.

The image forming apparatus 1 has a main body 11. An image reading portion 12 is provided on an upper portion of the main body 11, and the image reading portion 12 is used to read an original to generate image data of the original. The image reading portion 12 is composed of a document conveying portion 13 and a scanner portion 14.

A scanner unit 14 is provided below the document conveying unit 13. The original conveying portion 13 conveys an original to be transferred to the scanner portion 14. The scanner section 14 has an optical mechanism 15, and the scanner section 14 reads the original to be transferred conveyed by the original conveying section 13 or the original to be transferred placed directly on a platen glass of the scanner section 14 through the optical mechanism 15 to generate image data of the original.

The optical mechanism 15 moves in the lateral direction along the platen glass when reading an image of an original directly placed on the platen glass of the scanner section 14. The optical mechanism 15 reads an original image on one original page line by line. When reading an image of a document conveyed by the document conveying portion 13, the optical mechanism 15 reads the conveyed document at a fixed position shown in fig. 1.

An operation display unit 16 is provided on the front side of the scanner unit 14 and above the main body 11. The operation display unit 16 has a function of receiving an operation by an operator and displaying a state of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation display unit 16 is, for example, a touch-enabled liquid crystal display.

The main body 11 has a transfer portion 17 at the center in the longitudinal direction. The main body 11 has a medium supply device 3 for supplying a medium to the transfer unit 17 at a lower portion.

The medium feeding device 3 has a paper feeding mechanism 19. The paper feed mechanism 19 takes out the media P one by one from the media supply device 3 and conveys the media P to the conveyance path. For example, the paper feeding mechanism 19 may include a pickup roller, a separation roller, and a paper feeding roller.

The medium supply device 3 accommodates media (paper sheets) P of various sizes.

The transfer portion 17 forms a toner image on the medium P using toner from the image data read by the scanner portion 14, or image data made by a personal computer or the like.

The transfer portion 17 has a plurality of image forming units 51 that form images using different color toners (e.g., yellow, magenta, cyan, black, etc.), an exposer 52, and an intermediate transfer belt 53. The transfer unit 17 converts the image data into color signals of the respective colors, and controls the exposure unit 52 based on the color signals of the respective colors.

The configuration of the transfer section 17 is not limited to this, and the transfer section may have two or three image forming units, or the transfer section may have five or more image forming units.

The image forming units 51 are arranged in parallel below the intermediate transfer belt 53 (in a direction from the left side to the right side in fig. 1).

The exposure unit 52 irradiates exposure light L to each image forming unit 51. The exposer 52 may generate a laser scanning beam as the exposure light. The exposure unit 52 may be configured to include a solid-state scanning element such as a light-emitting diode that generates exposure light.

The structures of the respective image forming units 51 are the same as each other except that the colors of the toners are different. Examples of the toner include a decolorable toner which can be decolored (invisible) by an external stimulus (e.g., temperature, light having a specific wavelength, or pressure), and a normal non-decolorable toner. A toner that is decolored by temperature decolors when it reaches a specific decoloring temperature or higher, and develops color when it is equal to or lower than a specific restoration temperature.

The exposer 52 generates exposure light L modulated according to image data. The exposure light L exposes the photosensitive drum of the image forming unit 51. The potential of the area irradiated with light is changed to form an electrostatic latent image.

The intermediate transfer belt 53 is an endless belt member that circulates, and the intermediate transfer belt 53 is stretched over a driving roller 69 and a plurality of driven rollers 70.

The intermediate transfer belt 53 is in contact with the image forming unit 51 from above. A primary transfer roller is disposed above the image forming unit 51 at a position facing the photosensitive drum via the intermediate transfer belt 53. The primary transfer roller is disposed inside the intermediate transfer belt 53. The primary transfer roller transfers the toner image formed on the image forming unit 51 onto the intermediate transfer belt 53 when a primary transfer voltage is applied thereto. After the toner images on the plurality of image forming units are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 53 in such a manner as to overlap each other, toner images formed of the toners of the respective colors are formed.

The secondary transfer roller 71 faces the drive roller 69 across the intermediate transfer belt 53. The contact portion between the intermediate transfer belt 53 and the secondary transfer roller 71 constitutes a secondary transfer position. The driving roller 69 drives the intermediate transfer belt 53 to rotate. When the medium P passes through the secondary transfer position, a secondary transfer voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 71, and the secondary transfer roller 71 secondarily transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 53 onto the medium.

A belt cleaner 72 is disposed at a position facing one of the driven rollers 70 across the intermediate transfer belt 53. The belt cleaner 72 removes the residual transfer toner on the intermediate transfer belt 53 from the intermediate transfer belt 53. Specifically, the belt cleaner 72 may be a resin member made of urethane or the like.

A pair of conveying rollers 75 and a pair of registration rollers 76 are provided on a conveying path from the medium supply device 3 to the secondary transfer roller 71. The pair of transport rollers 75 transport the medium P taken out of the medium supply device 3 by the paper feed mechanism 19.

The pair of registration rollers 76 align the positions of the leading ends of the media P fed from the pair of transport rollers 75 at the positions where they abut against each other. The positions of the pair of registration rollers 76 in contact with each other constitute registration positions. The pair of registration rollers 76 conveys the medium P such that the leading end of the region on the medium P where the toner image is to be transferred reaches the secondary transfer position when the leading end of the toner image reaches the secondary transfer position.

A fixing portion 80 is disposed downstream (upper side in fig. 1) of the secondary transfer roller 71 in the conveyance direction of the medium P. The fixing unit 80 heats and pressurizes the medium P to fix the toner image to the medium P.

A discharge roller pair 81 is disposed downstream (upper left side in fig. 1) of the fixing section 80 in the conveyance direction of the medium P. The discharge roller pair 81 discharges the medium P to the sheet discharge portion 82.

The reverse conveyance path 10 is disposed downstream (right side in fig. 1) of the fixing section 80 in the conveyance direction of the medium P. The reverse conveyance path 10 reverses the medium P and guides the medium P to the secondary transfer roller 71. The reverse conveyance path 10 is used when performing duplex printing.

Next, the overall configuration of the medium supplying device 3 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the medium supplying device 3 includes a first shutter 31, a second shutter 32, a first placing portion 33, a second placing portion 34, and the like.

The medium supply device 3 is a two-in-one supply device capable of placing a large volume of medium, that is, a medium supply device composed of two placement portions. For the sake of clearer explanation, in fig. 2, the stacked media P are shown only at the second mounting portion 34, and the stacked media P are not shown at the first mounting portion 33, but the stacked media P may be present at the first mounting portion 33. That is, in the present invention, the first placing unit 33 and the second placing unit 34 place the stacked media P, respectively.

The first mounting portion 33 and the second mounting portion 34 are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction (X-axis direction), and the first mounting portion 33 is a member that supplies the medium P to, for example, the transfer portion 17 in the image forming apparatus 1 in fig. 1. The first placing portion 33 feeds the media P one by one along the downstream side (for example, the transfer portion 17 shown in fig. 1) in the conveying path by a paper feeding mechanism or the like (not shown).

The second placing unit 34 is a member that stores the medium P and directly conveys the medium P to the first placing unit 33 when the first placing unit 33 needs. A conveying roller, not shown, is provided on the bottom surface of the second mounting portion 33.

The first mounting portion 33 or the second mounting portion 34 can be independently pulled out (moved in the-Z direction) and retracted (moved in the + Z direction) in the depth direction (Z-axis direction). The medium P can be replenished manually by pulling out (moving in the-Z direction) the first mounting portion 33 or the second mounting portion 34 in the depth direction (Z-axis direction). By retracting (moving in the + Z direction) the first placing portion 33 or the second placing portion 34 in the depth direction (Z axis direction), the placing portion which has been replenished with the medium P can be retracted in the medium supplying device 3.

When the medium P needs to be replenished from the first mounting unit 33 and the medium P is sufficient in the second mounting unit 34, the medium P in the second mounting unit 34 may be conveyed to the first mounting unit 33 without manually replenishing the medium P, and the medium P in the first mounting unit 33 may be automatically replenished. Specifically, when the first placing unit 33 is short of the medium P and needs to be replenished, the conveying rollers (not shown) of the second placing unit 34 can convey the medium P stacked on the second placing unit 34 one by one in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) to the first placing unit 33 to automatically replenish the first placing unit 33.

The first baffle 31 is a plate extending in the depth direction (Z-axis direction), standing in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction), and having a certain thickness in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction). The first shutter 31 is disposed on the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) of the first mounting portion 33, and the first shutter 31 is located on the edge of the first mounting portion 33 near the second mounting portion 34.

The first flap 31 is guided by the guide portion D of the medium supply device 3, and independently moves in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) between a guide position at which the medium P of the first mounting portion 33 is guided and a retracted position at which the second mounting portion 34 is not hindered from conveying the medium P to the first mounting portion 33. When the first flap 31 is at the guide position, the first flap 31 can contact the edge of the medium P in the first mounting portion 33, and the first flap 31 guides the medium P in the first mounting portion 33 to be fed to the downstream side along a predetermined path, and at this time, the position of the first flap 31 prevents the medium P in the second mounting portion 34 from being fed to the first mounting portion 33 side in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction). When the first shutter 31 is located at the retracted position, the first shutter 31 moves to a position where the medium P in the second placing portion 34 is not blocked from being conveyed to the first placing portion 33 in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), and the second placing portion 34 can convey the medium P to the first placing portion 33.

The second shutter 32 stands in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction). The second shutter 32 extends in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), and continues toward the front side in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) (-Z direction) at the end of the right side (+ X direction) in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), whereby the second shutter 32 forms an L shape. By configuring the second shutter 32 to be L-shaped, it is possible to significantly show the position where the medium P is placed when the medium is manually replenished into the second placing portion 34, that is, the position where the end of the medium P on the right side (+ X direction) in the horizontal direction (X axis direction) is placed, and the position where the end of the medium P on the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) is placed. The second shutter 32 is located on the rear side (+ Z direction) of the second placement portion 34 in the depth direction (Z axis direction).

The second shutter 32 can move together with the movement of the second placement portion 34 in the depth direction (Z-axis direction). The second shutter 32 is rotatable along an axis (not shown in fig. 2) parallel to the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction). As shown in fig. 2, when the second loading portion 34 conveys the medium P to the first loading portion 33, the second shutter 32 is pushed by the medium P in the second loading portion 34 and rotates around an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) in a direction avoiding the medium P, even if the second shutter 32 rotates to the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) so that the second shutter 32 avoids a path on which the second loading portion 34 conveys the medium P to the first loading portion 33. When the second shutter 32 loses the pressing force of the medium P, it returns to the home position by the reset mechanism.

Although the second shutter 32 can position the medium P in the second mounting portion 34 to a certain extent, the second shutter 32 needs to be provided to such an extent that it can be pressed by the medium P and rotated when the medium P is supplied to the first mounting portion 33 from the second mounting portion 34, and therefore the second shutter 32 can only position the medium P without violent movement of the medium P in the second mounting portion 34.

However, in some cases, when the operator pulls out the second loading portion 34 in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) and manually supplies the medium P to the second loading portion 34, the second loading portion 34 is strongly accommodated in the medium supply device 3, and at this time, the medium P stacked in the second loading portion 34 may collapse toward the first loading portion 33, that is, the medium P may not be maintained in a stacked state completely aligned in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction), but may be inclined so as to be more toward the upper side (+ Y direction) in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) and more toward the right side (+ X direction) in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction).

Since the second shutter 32 does not have the ability to restrict the position of the medium P when the user strongly closes the second loading portion 34 (that is, when a violent operation occurs), when the medium P collapses, the medium P directly presses the second shutter 32 to rotate the second shutter 32, and after the second shutter 32 rotates, the collapsed medium P passes over the second shutter 32 and directly presses the first shutter 31 located at the guide position, thereby deflecting the first shutter 31 that should be originally parallel to the YZ plane. This deflection causes the first shutter 31 to apply a resistance force to the guide portion D toward the right side in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction (+ X direction)), resulting in no effect on the force with which the guide portion D drives the first shutter 31 to move.

In this case, when the first loading portion 33 is replenished with the medium by the second loading portion 34, since the first shutter 31 cannot be moved from the guide position to the retreat position, the medium in the second loading portion 34 cannot be conveyed into the first loading portion 33 but is caught at the first shutter 31, that is, a jam occurs in the medium supply device 3.

Next, a structure of the medium supply device 3 according to the present invention, which does not cause a jam even if the medium collapses, will be described with reference to fig. 3 to 8.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the first shutter 31 of the medium supplying apparatus 3 of the present invention at the guide position.

Fig. 4 is a schematic front view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 of the present invention with the first shutter 31 in the guide position.

Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 of the present invention in which the first shutter 31 is located at the guide position.

Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 according to the present invention, in which the first shutter 31 is located at the retracted position.

Fig. 7 is a schematic front view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 of the present invention with the first shutter 31 in the retracted position.

Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view of the medium supplying apparatus 3 according to the present invention, in which the first shutter 31 is located at the escape position.

In fig. 3 to 8, for the sake of more clear description, the first mounting portion 33, the second mounting portion 34, and other components may not be illustrated. The first mounting portion 33 and the second mounting portion 34 are only shown in fig. 5 and 8.

As shown in fig. 3 to 8, in the present embodiment, the medium supplying device 3 includes a first shutter 31, a second shutter 32, a first placing portion 33, a second placing portion 34, an arm 35, and a stopper 36.

In the present embodiment, the first placement portion 33, the second placement portion 34, the first shutter 31, and the second shutter 32 are the same as described above. In addition, in fig. 3 to 8, a shaft 321 provided on the second shutter 32 is also shown, and the second shutter 32 is rotatable about the shaft 321.

As shown in fig. 3 to 8, in the present embodiment, the arm 35 has a plate-like structure, and the arm 35 has a constant thickness in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction). A shaft 351 is provided at the center of the arm 35, and the arm 35 is rotatable about the shaft 351.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, the arm 35 is provided at a position close to the lower (-Y direction) end in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) of the first shutter 31.

As shown in fig. 5 and 8, the arm 35 is provided on the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) of the first shutter 31, and the arm 35 is provided on a path along which the end portion of the right side (+ X direction) in the horizontal direction (X axis direction) is moved in the depth direction (Z axis direction) of the first shutter 31.

As shown in fig. 3 to 8, in the present embodiment, the stopper 36 has a plate-like structure, the stopper 36 has a constant thickness in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), and the end surface of the stopper 36 on the front side (Z-direction) in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) is the contact surface 361. A shaft 362 is provided at the center of the stopper 36, and the stopper 36 is rotatable about the shaft 362. The contact surface 361 can be switched between a state of contacting with the second shutter 32 and a state of not contacting with the second shutter 32 in accordance with the rotation of the stopper 36.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, the stopper 36 is provided on the lower side (-Y direction) in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) of the arm 35.

As shown in fig. 5 and 8, the stopper 36 is provided on the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) of the second shutter 32, and the stopper 36 is provided at a position close to the left side (-X direction) end in the horizontal direction (X axis direction) of the arm 35.

As shown in fig. 4, when not pressed by the external force of the arm 35, the stopper 36 is inclined such that the rear end (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) is located lower than the front end (-Z direction) in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) (-Y direction). In this inclined position, the end surface of the stopper 36 facing the arm 35 does not contact the lower side (-Y direction) of the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) of the arm 35, but the end portion of the stopper 36 on the front side (-Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) is on the rotation path of the arm 35. At this time, if the arm 35 is rotated, the stopper 36 is also rotated by pressing the front (Z direction) end of the stopper 36 in the depth direction (Z axis direction), and the stopper 36 is operated in conjunction with the rotation of the arm 35.

In order to prevent the second stopper 32 from being worn during contact with the stopper 36 and affecting the original shape of the second stopper 32, a protruding abutting portion 322 is further formed on the rear (+ Z direction) end surface of the second stopper 32 in the depth direction (Z axis direction). The contact portion 322 has a block-like structure that contacts the contact surface 361 of the stopper 36. The stopper 36 is provided to abut against the abutting portion 322 of the second shutter 32 when the second placement portion 34 is completely retracted into the medium supply device 3 in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) (at this time, the second shutter 32 is completely retracted into the medium supply device 3 as the second placement portion 34 moves together).

The operations of the first shutter 31, the second shutter 32, the arm 35, and the stopper 36 in the medium supplying device 3 according to the present invention will be described below.

In the present embodiment, when both the first mount portion 33 and the second mount portion 34 are housed in the medium supply device 3, the medium supply device 3 is in an operating state. Unless otherwise stated, the medium supplying device 3 is in an operating state in the following description.

When the medium feeding device 3 is in an operating state, the first loading portion 33 may feed the medium P to the transfer portion 17 in the image forming apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1, and the second loading portion 34 may directly convey the medium P to the first loading portion 33.

As shown in fig. 3, 4, and 5, when the first placing portion 33 supplies the medium P to the transfer portion 17 in the image forming apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1, the first flapper 31 is located at a guide position for guiding the medium P in the first placing portion 33. At this time, the rear end (+ Z direction) of the first shutter 31 in the depth direction (Z axis direction) is positioned just in contact with the front end (-Z direction) of the arm 35 in the depth direction (Z axis direction), but at this time, the first shutter 31 does not apply a force to the arm 35.

As shown in fig. 4, when the first shutter 31 is at the guide position, the arm 35 is not rotated because the arm 35 is not subjected to force, and the stopper 36 that operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm 35 is in an inclined state where it is not pressed by the arm 35. At this time, the abutment surface 361 of the stopper 36 abuts against the abutment portion 322 of the second shutter 32.

Since the stopper 36 can only rotate about the shaft 362 and cannot move in the depth direction (Z-axis direction), when the abutment surface 361 of the stopper 36 abuts against the second shutter 32, the abutment surface 361 becomes an obstacle to stop the rotation of the second shutter 32 about the shaft 321, and the stopper 36 restricts the rotation of the second shutter 32. The second shutter 32 is in a fixed state.

That is, when the first shutter 31 is at the guide position, since the first shutter 31 does not apply a force to the arm 35, the arm 35 does not rotate, the stopper 36 that operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm 35 does not rotate, and the stopper 36 is held at a position that restricts the rotation of the second shutter 32.

As shown in fig. 5, when the second shutter 32 is in the fixed state in which the rotation is restricted, even if the medium P in the second loading portion 34 collapses, that is, the medium P moves in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) in a direction approaching the first shutter 31, the second shutter 32 is not pressed by the medium P to rotate, and the L-shaped second shutter 32 restricts the movement of the medium P in the second loading portion 34 in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), so that the medium P in the second loading portion 34 does not press the first shutter 31 to cause a jam.

As shown in fig. 6, 7, and 8, when the second mounting portion 34 conveys the medium into the first mounting portion 33, the first shutter 31 is driven to move from a guide position, at which the medium P in the second mounting portion 34 is stopped from being conveyed in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) into the first mounting portion 33, to a retreat position, at which the medium P in the second mounting portion 34 is avoided from being conveyed in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) into the first mounting portion 33, toward the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z-axis direction).

At this time, the end surface of the arm 35 facing the first shutter 31 in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) is pressed by the first shutter 31 due to the movement of the first shutter 31, and the first shutter 31 starts the rotation of the arm 35 about the shaft 351 toward the rear side (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z-axis direction).

Since the stopper 36 is still at the position for restricting the rotation of the second shutter 32 at this time, the end portion on the front side in the depth direction (Z-axis direction) (-Z direction) of the stopper 36 is positioned on the rotation path of the arm 35, and therefore, when the arm 35 starts to rotate, the stopper 36 operates in conjunction with the rotation operation of the arm 35. As shown in fig. 7, the stopper 36 is pressed by the arm 35, and the surface of the upper side (+ Y direction) in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) of the stopper 36 is pressed by the surface of the lower side (-Y direction) of the arm 35 into a state parallel to the ZX plane. At this time, the abutment surface 361 of the stopper 36 no longer abuts against the abutment portion 322 of the second shutter 32. That is, when the first shutter 31 moves from the guide position to the retreat position, the first shutter 31 rotates the arm 35, and the stopper 36 operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm 35 to release the restriction of the rotation of the second shutter 32. When the stopper 36 releases the restriction of the rotation of the second shutter 32, the second shutter 32 is in the rotatably movable state.

At this time, as shown in fig. 8, the medium P in the second mounting portion 34 is driven by a driving roller (not shown) and starts moving in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) toward the first mounting portion 33, and the medium P presses the second shutter 32 to start rotating the second shutter 32 around the shaft 321. The medium P in the second placing portion 34 can be conveyed in the first placing portion 33 across the second shutter 32 and the first shutter 31 in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) without being hindered.

When the medium P in the second loading portion 34 has completed the conveyance into the first loading portion 33. As shown in fig. 5, the second shutter 32 is returned to the position parallel to the XY plane by the returning mechanism due to the loss of the pressing of the medium P. At this time, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the stopper 36 is returned to a state inclined such that the rear end (+ Z direction) in the depth direction (Z axis direction) is located below the front end (-Z direction) in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) (-Y direction), and the abutment surface 361 of the stopper 36 is brought into continuous abutment with the abutment portion 322 of the second shutter 32, whereby the stopper 36 is returned to a state of restricting the rotation of the second shutter 32. Even if the medium P in the second loading portion 34 collapses at this time, the medium P in the second loading portion 34 passes over the second shutter 32 and presses the first shutter 31, and therefore, a jam does not occur in the medium supply device 3.

In order to allow the stopper 36 to be naturally returned to the position where the abutment surface 361 abuts against the second shutter 32 without manual operation when the second mounting portion 34 does not convey the medium P to the first mounting portion 33, a return portion 37 is further provided to the stopper 36. The reset portion 37 applies a restoring force to the stopper 36, so that the stopper 36 naturally returns to a position where the rotation of the second shutter 32 is restricted after being released from the position. The force applied to the stopper 36 by the returning section 37 needs to be set appropriately, for example, the magnitude of the restoring force is set so as not to hinder the stopper 36 from being pressed by the arm 35, that is, to hinder the stopper 36 from rotating due to the restoring force. That is, when the first shutter 31 moves from the retracted position to the guide position, the returning section 37 returns the stopper 36 to a position where the rotation of the second shutter 32 can be restricted.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, as a specific example of the returning section 37, a torsion spring may be employed as the returning section 37. However, the reset portion 37 may be a member such as elastic rubber, instead of a torsion spring, to perform the reset function.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the abutting portion 322 for preventing the frictional loss between the second shutter 32 and the stopper 36 is formed in the second shutter 32 is shown, but when the frictional loss between the stopper 36 and the second shutter 32 does not need to be considered, the stopper 36 may be directly abutted against the surface of the second shutter 32 without providing the abutting portion 322.

According to at least one embodiment described above, the rotation of the second flapper in the medium feeding device is restricted by the arm and the stopper that operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm, and it is possible to prevent the medium in the second loading portion from passing over the second flapper and pressing the first flapper, and thus causing a jam in the medium feeding device, even when the medium in the second loading portion collapses.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the utility model. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various manners, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the present invention, and are included in the present invention and the equivalent scope thereof described in the claims.

Claims

1. A medium supply device is characterized by comprising:

a first shutter, a second shutter, a first placing portion, a second placing portion, an arm, and a stopper,

the first placing part and the second placing part are respectively used for placing the laminated mediums,

the first flap is movable between a guide position for guiding the medium in the first placement portion and a retracted position for not preventing the second placement portion from feeding the medium to the first placement portion,

the second shutter is pressed by the medium and rotated when the second placing portion conveys the medium to the first placing portion,

the stopper restricts the rotation of the second shutter when the first shutter is located at the guide position, and rotates the arm when the first shutter moves from the guide position to the avoidance position, and the stopper operates in conjunction with the rotation of the arm to release the restriction of the second shutter.

2. The medium supplying apparatus according to claim 1,

the stopper has an abutting surface abutting against the second shutter, and when the abutting surface abuts against the second shutter, the stopper restricts rotation of the second shutter.

3. The medium supplying apparatus according to claim 1,

the stopper is provided with a reset portion that resets the stopper to a position where rotation of the second shutter can be restricted when the first shutter moves from the avoidance position to the guide position.

4. The medium supplying device according to claim 2,

the second shutter is formed with an abutting portion abutting against the abutting surface.

5. The medium supplying device according to claim 3,

the reset part is a torsion spring.

6. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an original conveying portion that conveys an original to be transferred;

a scanner section that reads the original to generate image data of the original;

a transfer section that forms a toner image on a medium according to the image data;

a fixing section that fixes the toner image on the medium;

a medium supply device that supplies the medium to the transfer portion, the medium supply device including: a first shutter, a second shutter, a first placing portion, a second placing portion, an arm, and a stopper,

wherein,

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6,

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6,

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8,

the reset part is a torsion spring.